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\u201cIf volunteering organizations accept anyone, why would my experience matter to potential employers?\u201d This is a question we see all the time, and the truth of the matter is: your time isn\u2019t free. Your time is very important and valuable, and employers know this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can imagine, more often than not, people who volunteer are not doing it for their resume; the vast majority of volunteers typically volunteer for an emotional reason, and these reasons can demonstrate your value to employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The short answer to why volunteering experience matters to employers is that you\u2019re demonstrating that you’re placing your passion above your time, and doing something greater for others than for yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The honest reality is that volunteering experience likely won\u2019t land you the job, but it\u2019ll support their reasons to hire you. They\u2019ll learn more about you and your interests from your volunteer experience, whereas other jobs might just tell them what experience you have in a specific skillset. Volunteer experience demonstrates so much more than what you did, it shows the employer who you are, which, if you\u2019re volunteering, you\u2019re pretty awesome in our book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should you always include volunteering experience on your resume? Should you ever exclude it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an earlier section, we briefly discussed bloated resumes, ones with too many soft skills listed that could just make the resume feel overloaded and overwhelming. While soft skills are great, listing a bunch of them doesn\u2019t tell the hiring person anything special. In general, the best practice is to always ensure your resume is relevant and short. Only specific industries prefer resumes longer than one page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is, if you\u2019ve volunteered for any amount of time, you should add it to your resume<\/strong>. It\u2019s important, and again, it shows employers more about who you are than what you can do. Plus, the more closely related the volunteer work is to the job or organization, the better! Adding volunteer work is not something a lot of other potential job candidates do on their resumes, so take advantage of it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we\u2019ve established how important adding volunteer work to your resume is, let\u2019s cover where you should place the volunteer work on your resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your traditional resume reads top to bottom from newest job to the oldest, followed by any certifications, educational credentials, and soft skills. Adding volunteering work to your resume should follow the same format as a traditional resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is your volunteering experience in-between jobs or overlapping? Don\u2019t worry, it doesn\u2019t matter if you volunteered while you had a job, you should still keep it in that linear, chronological order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some individuals with a lot of experience may consider creating a separate branch on their resume that is underneath their professional jobs in its own section, simply labeled \u201cVolunteer Experience\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, the choice is up to you on whether to stack it with job experiences or create a whole new section. When we asked people who work in HR and those who frequently review resumes for their preference, they preferred to read linearly so that they can quickly reference your capacity and find any trends that may work better for the employer. Keep that in mind when you\u2019re adding your experience to your resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should you be formal or informal when discussing your volunteering experience? Should it sound just like a job? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The answers to these questions ultimately depend on you and your unique style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In our opinion, describing volunteer roles should be a mix of formal and informal, while ensuring that the formatting of the description matches what you have in your other job experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we say you should have a mix of formal and informal, we don\u2019t mean you need to talk in first person or third person, it means that you should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Briefly explain what you did<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorting Specialist at Mission Fresh Closets <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Briefly explain why you did it<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy attention to detail made me a great candidate for the volunteer position since they process such a high volume of donated clothing. I am also highly moved by the nonprofit’s mission to provide children in financial need access to clean clothing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see from the generalized example above, we\u2019re mixing the tone into both formal and slightly informal. If this was a job experience, it may have looked like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Briefly explain what you did<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorting Specialist at Mission Fresh Closets <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026.and then you\u2019d likely leave the reason you did it out, because if it’s a traditional job, your answer would likely be money- or career-related.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve discussed how you should be both formal and informal on your volunteering experience you listed on your resume, so how exactly can you make a mistake? Worry not, we\u2019ll walk you through the more common mistakes that individuals make when listing their volunteering experience on their resumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first mistake many make when listing their volunteer experience on their resume is sticking to the traditional method of showcasing their experience, and not illustrating their passion, like why they are moved by the organization\u2019s mission, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a way, we already illustrate our passion in our job experience listings. It\u2019s evident by how we choose to speak about our profession. It\u2019s just a matter of rephrasing or expanding on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In an earlier example, we discussed a non-volunteering experience for a nonprofit that processes new clothes for children in need. It could be changed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorting Specialist at Mission Fresh Closets <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This example works if you cannot provide two entries on your experience. If you can have multiple entries, we still suggest following the \u201cwhat\u201d and \u201cwhy\u201d methodology (what did you do, why did you do it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another common mistake that many make is trying to impress the employer through self-sacrificial means, such as trying to make themselves out to be a hero. While volunteering certainly is noble, you\u2019re likely not the only one trying to make a difference. Volunteering isn\u2019t about you, it\u2019s about the collective group of volunteers working together towards something larger than yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can tie back into passion, but more so into showcasing too much passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On your resume, finding a positive balance between being the hero and being yourself is crucial for listing your volunteering experience. More often than not, you should consider showcasing the <\/em>impact, not your <\/em>impact. To reiterate, it\u2019s more important to showcase what the group did and why you did it with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen to Include Volunteering on Your Resume<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where to Place Volunteer Work in Your Resume<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Describe Volunteer Roles Like Professional Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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3 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Listing Volunteering on Your Resume<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Lack of Passion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2. Portraying Yourself as a Hero<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n