Do you have volunteering experience? Include it in your resume, and you will get the job of your dreams.
The results of the Deloitte Volunteerism Survey show that 82% of hiring managers are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteering experience. It’s explained by the fact that recruiters associate volunteering with strong leadership, teamwork, and advanced professional skills.
Do you want to make the most of your volunteering experience? Use the following writing tips to create an outstanding resume and grab the hiring managers’ attention.
1. Specify your volunteering experience as work experience
If your volunteering experience is relevant to the job you are applying to, you can mention it in the “work experience” section of your resume.
In fact, it doesn’t really matter whether you were paid for the work done or not. If you have completed the project successfully and gained some new professional experience, you are more than welcome to add it to your CV.
Imagine the following situation. You are applying for a software development company. This month you’ve volunteered for a local environmental organization – you have designed an app that helps people sort and recycle different types of waste the right way. Even though you completed this project for free, you can add it to your work experience because it shows your level of professional qualification.
2. Present your volunteering experience in a favorable light
Everything you include in your resume must be relevant to the job description you are applying to, and volunteering experience is not an exception.
If you simply write, “I was volunteering at XYZ non-profit organization,” it will not impress the recruiter and will not help you that much. You should provide more details and explain how this volunteering experience makes you a good candidate. Take a look at the following example:
Software Engineer Experience
ABC, an environmental organization
- Held a volunteer position as a software developer for ABC, an environmental organization.
- Designed a virtual assistant for waste sorting that was downloaded 20,500+ times.
- Worked with 10+ team members from 5 European countries to design the most advanced environmental solution.
Is it challenging for you to decide which details are worth adding to your resume? Consider getting assistance from professional resume writers. Check out the best paper writing service reviews and find an expert who will help you complete your CV with relevant facts regarding your volunteering experience.
3. Add a “volunteering” section to your resume, if needed
Well, you don’t need to try to fit all your volunteering experience in the work experience section. If you have lots of paid work experience or your volunteering experience doesn’t relate to the specified job, you should create a separate “volunteering” section.
Let’s say you work at a pet shelter and help rescued cats and dogs to find new homes. Such volunteering experience doesn’t relate to your skills and knowledge in the field of software development. Naturally, you can’t add it to your “work experience” section.
However, you still can use your volunteering experience to convince a hiring manager that you are a perfect candidate for the job. Volunteering at a pet shelter defines you as a person with good interpersonal and communication skills who can work with minimal supervision and direction. So if you add the “volunteering” section to your resume, it will work in your favor.
4. Add bulleted lists
Modern recruiters are busy people. They don’t have time to read each and every resume thoroughly. For this reason, you should create a clear resume structure and make the text skimmable – in such a way, you will more likely to grab the recruiters’ attention.
If you have vast volunteering experience, you should use bullet points to list all the projects you have worked on. Here is an example of how your resume’s volunteering section should look like:
Volunteering experience
- Helped 25 children with disabilities to learn the basics of programming.
- Updated the design of a local youth organization’s website and increased traffic by 20%.
- Hosted a career fair. Motivated 100+ students to choose a software engineer career path.
If you need help with formatting your resume, feel free to use online editing services. Check Grabmyessay review or similar writing websites, and get the assistance you need to make your CV perfect.
5. Use digits
Do you want your resume to get noticed? Be specific and describe your volunteering experience as precisely as possible and use digits where possible. In such a way, you will demonstrate the real value and importance of your volunteering efforts to a recruiter.
Take a look at the following example: the bad one and the good one.
- Volunteer at Stop Cancer Foundation.
- Volunteer at Stop Cancer Foundation since 2015. Raised $5+ million dollars and helped 38 patients with cancer.
Basically, both statements reveal the same information. But the second statement sounds much more impressive, isn’t it?
Here is another example.
- Helped students from developing countries to learn German.
- Helped 25 students from 5 developing countries learn German in three months and successfully start studying in Germany.
As you can see, the difference between the two statements is significant. The more specific information you include, the more value you add to your resume.
The takeaway
Hiring managers have positive attitudes toward the candidates with vast volunteering experience. So make sure that you specify all your volunteering projects in your CV. Prove that you have all skills and knowledge necessary to fit into a successful working environment.
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