sample volunteer experience on resume

30 Examples: How To List Volunteer Work on a Resume

Volunteering is a great way to acquire new skills, network with professionals, and make a difference in your community. When it comes time to update your resume, incorporating your volunteer experiences may give you a competitive edge. The key is to present your volunteer experience in a manner that highlights the relevant skills you’ve gained and what you’ve accomplished.

Begin by examining the volunteer work you’ve done and identifying the skills that would be most applicable to the job you’re seeking. For example, if you volunteered at an animal shelter, you might have developed strong communication and teamwork skills while coordinating with other volunteers and shelter employees. Or, if you volunteered as a tutor, you could highlight your ability to effectively teach complex subjects and demonstrate expert problem-solving skills.

Identifying Your Volunteer Experiences

Start by making a list of all your volunteer activities, including the organization, your role and responsibilities, and the length of time you were involved. For example:

• Nonprofit Organization A – Volunteer Coordinator (6 months)
• Community Event B – Event Volunteer (one-time event)
• Local Animal Shelter C – Dog Walker (3 months)

As you review your list, consider the skills and knowledge you gained from each experience. This could be anything from project management to customer service or even special skills like event planning or social media promotion.

Next, prioritize your experiences by relevance for the job you’re applying for. This means considering which volunteer activities showcase the most important skills, expertise, and qualities that the employer is looking for. After you’ve identified the most relevant volunteer experiences, it’s time to think about how to present them on your resume. One effective approach is to include a dedicated volunteer work section, ideally located near your professional experience section. This allows you to highlight valuable skills and experiences while also demonstrating your commitment to giving back.

Where to Place Volunteer Work on Your Resume

Main experience section.

Consider placing volunteer work in your main experience section if it relates closely to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you have volunteered at an animal shelter and are applying for a position as a veterinarian assistant, it would be relevant to include this experience with your professional work history.

When listing volunteer work in the main experience section, it should be formatted similarly to your regular employment:

• Organization Name, City, State
• Your role/job title
• Duration (Month Year – Month Year)
• Key accomplishments or responsibilities (use bullet points to make these easier to read)

Separate Volunteer Section

If your volunteer work is not directly related to the job you’re applying for, or if you already have extensive relevant employment experience, it might be more appropriate to create a separate volunteer section on your resume. This section should come after your main experience section, but before the education and skills sections.

In the separate volunteer section, you can still emphasize how these experiences contributed to your personal and professional growth. List your volunteer experiences by following the same format as the main experience section.

Volunteer Work on a Resume: 30 Examples

1. Community Service Volunteer – Organized weekly community clean-up events, managing teams of 20+ volunteers – Coordinated with local businesses for resource contributions

2. Hospital Volunteer – Provided companionship and support to patients, improving their hospital experience – Assisted nurses with non-medical tasks to enhance patient care

3. Animal Shelter Volunteer – Cared for and socialized animals to prepare them for adoption – Implemented a new system for tracking animal vaccinations and health records

4. Youth Mentor – Mentored a group of 10 high school students, providing academic and personal guidance – Developed and facilitated workshops on college readiness and career exploration

5. Event Planning Volunteer – Played a key role in organizing annual charity gala, raising over $50,000 – Managed logistics, including venue selection, catering, and guest list coordination

6. Environmental Conservation Volunteer – Participated in reforestation projects, planting over 1,000 trees – Educated the public on sustainability practices through workshops and presentations

7. Disaster Relief Volunteer – Assisted in rebuilding efforts after local flooding, contributing over 200 hours of service – Distributed food and supplies to affected families

8. Volunteer Tutor – Provided weekly math tutoring to underprivileged students, resulting in a 25% average grade improvement – Created personalized lesson plans and practice exercises

9. Food Bank Volunteer – Organized food drives that collected over 3 tons of food for the local community – Streamlined the food sorting process, increasing efficiency by 30%

10. Special Olympics Volunteer – Coached a team of 15 athletes, leading them to win gold in regional competitions – Coordinated travel and accommodations for team events

11. Habitat for Humanity Volunteer – Contributed to the construction of 5 homes for low-income families – Led a team of volunteers in framing and drywall installation

12. Volunteer Fundraiser – Spearheaded a crowdfunding campaign that raised $10,000 for a local animal rescue – Developed marketing materials and social media strategies to promote the campaign

13. Library Volunteer – Managed book inventory and assisted patrons with locating resources – Organized weekly storytime sessions for children, fostering a love of reading

14. Crisis Hotline Volunteer – Provided empathetic support to individuals in crisis, contributing to a 20% increase in positive outcomes – Completed 60 hours of specialized training in crisis intervention techniques

15. ESL (English as a Second Language) Volunteer Teacher – Taught English to adult learners, helping 30+ students achieve conversational proficiency – Developed culturally sensitive teaching materials

16. Nonprofit Board Member – Served on the board of a local nonprofit focused on youth development – Participated in strategic planning and fundraising efforts

17. Volunteer Translator – Provided translation services for a community health center, improving access for non-English speakers – Translated over 200 pages of health education materials

18. Legal Aid Volunteer – Assisted in providing free legal services to low-income individuals – Conducted legal research and prepared case documents under attorney supervision

19. Volunteer Web Developer – Designed and maintained the website for a local charity, increasing online donations by 40% – Implemented SEO best practices to enhance the site’s visibility

20. Art Program Volunteer – Facilitated art workshops at a community center, inspiring creativity in 50+ participants – Curated a successful art exhibit showcasing local talent

21. Senior Center Volunteer – Organized social activities and outings for seniors, improving community engagement – Provided tech support, helping seniors connect with their families online

22. Volunteer Coach – Coached a youth soccer team, emphasizing teamwork and sportsmanship – Organized fundraising events to support team equipment and travel expenses

23. Public Health Volunteer – Supported public health campaigns by distributing educational materials and organizing community events – Conducted surveys to assess the impact of health initiatives

24. Music Therapy Volunteer – Performed weekly music sessions at a local hospital to enhance patient well-being – Collaborated with therapists to tailor sessions to individual patient needs

25. Museum Docent – Led educational tours, engaging visitors with the museum’s exhibits – Assisted in the development of new exhibit materials and interactive displays

26. International Volunteer – Taught English and basic computer skills in a rural community abroad – Assisted with the development of a local microfinance program

27. Volunteer Social Media Coordinator – Managed social media accounts for a nonprofit, growing the follower base by 500% – Created engaging content that increased audience interaction

28. Literacy Advocate Volunteer – Participated in reading programs at local schools, helping to improve literacy rates – Organized book donation drives to provide resources for underfunded libraries

29. Volunteer Research Assistant – Supported a university research project by collecting and analyzing data – Co-authored a paper on the project’s findings, which was published in a peer-reviewed journal

30. Homeless Shelter Volunteer – Assisted with daily operations at a shelter, providing meals and support to residents – Developed a job search workshop to help residents gain employment

How to Describe Your Volunteer Work

Use action verbs.

It’s important to use action verbs to describe your duties and accomplishments in your volunteer work. This helps create a strong impression on the reader and showcase your proactive nature.

Examples of strong action verbs:

• Collaborated
• Implemented
• Coordinated
• Facilitated

Quantify Your Impact

When describing your volunteer work, try to quantify your impact whenever possible. This helps provide more context and shows the impact of your contributions.

• Coordinated a team of 15 volunteers
• Raised $5,000 for a local charity
• Organized a charity event with over 200 attendees
• Contributed 120 hours of tutoring
• Assisted in the construction of three homes for low-income families
• Led a group of ten in weekly park cleanups
• Mentored 50 students in an after-school program
• Facilitated team-building exercises for 100 employees
• Developed and implemented a new training curriculum
• Served meals to over 500 people in need

Tailoring Your Volunteer Experience to the Job Description

Emphasize the relevant skills you gained during your volunteer experiences by relating them to the job you’re applying for. This helps demonstrate how your volunteer work has prepared you for the position.

• Improved interpersonal communication through tutoring sessions
• Developed leadership abilities as a team coordinator
• Strengthened problem-solving skills as a volunteer mediator
• Enhanced project management abilities by organizing events
• Acquired customer service experience through volunteer receptionist duties
• Gained public speaking skills through community outreach presentations
• Developed multitasking abilities in a busy office setting
• Improved teamwork skills through group collaborations
• Enhanced negotiation skills through sales fundraising efforts
• Strengthened event planning skills by leading committee meetings

Carefully read the job description and make note of the key requirements and skills the employer is looking for. You can then try to match these with your volunteer experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some ways to present volunteer work on my resume.

You can present volunteer work on your resume in a few different ways, depending on how closely it relates to your desired job and how much experience you have. For example,

• Create a separate Volunteer Work section: This approach is suitable if your volunteer experience is not directly related to your career goals but still demonstrates relevant skills and responsibilities.
• Include volunteer work within your Professional Experience section: If your volunteer experience aligns with your career goals or if you have minimal professional experience, present it alongside your paid positions.
• Highlight related volunteer work under your Skills section: If your volunteer experience helped you gain specific expertise, showcase those skills in your Skills section and mention the relevant volunteer work.

Can you provide a description for including volunteer experience in a resume?

When including volunteer experience in your resume, it’s important to provide details such as the organization’s name, your role or position, the dates you volunteered, and a brief description of your accomplishments and relevant responsibilities. For example:

Volunteer Work

• Provided tutoring in math and English to underprivileged high school students, resulting in improved grades of over 90% of participants.

How should a student with volunteer experience showcase it on their resume?

As a student with limited work experience, emphasizing your volunteer work can demonstrate your skills, initiative, and commitment to potential employers. You can:

• Include your volunteer work in a dedicated Volunteer Experience section, or even within your Work Experience section if it’s directly related to your career goals.
• Highlight key skills gained through your volunteer work in the Skills section, mentioning specific achievements where possible.
• If relevant, mention any leadership roles or significant responsibilities within your volunteer work.

In what manner can I detail my contributions in volunteer positions?

When detailing your contributions, focus on accomplishments and the impact you made through your volunteer work. To do this, use action verbs, quantify results, and emphasize outcomes. For example:

• Organized an annual charity event that raised over $10,000 for children’s educational resources, resulting in a 20% increase in funds compared to the previous year.

Is it beneficial to describe volunteer activities in a resume, and if so, how?

Yes, describing volunteer activities in a resume can be beneficial as it showcases your transferable skills, commitment to the community, and ability to collaborate. To describe your activities effectively:

• Focus on any tasks that demonstrate relevant skills for the position you are applying for.
• Be specific in describing your role, responsibilities, and accomplishments.
• If possible, quantify the impact of your activities, e.g., dollars raised, number of attendees, or percentage improvements.

Are there any specific words or phrases that effectively convey volunteer experiences?

To effectively convey your volunteer experiences, use action verbs and descriptive language that highlights your accomplishments and transferable skills. Examples:

These words can show potential employers that you were actively engaged in your volunteer work and achieved meaningful results.

• 30 Examples: How to List Leadership Skills on Your Resume
• 30 Examples: How to List Accomplishments on a Resume
• 35 Examples: How To Highlight Work Experience on a Resume
• 4 Examples: Impressive Resume with No Work Experience for Students
• 30 Examples of Customer Service Resume Objective
• List of 21 Important Technical Skills (with Examples)

• How to List Volunteer Experience on Resume (with examples)

The purpose of writing a resume is to show potential recruiters that you are the most suitable candidate for a particular job. Professional experience, skills, education details, and work-related achievements are some of the things you can include in your CV to make it stand out in a pile. 

While not many job seekers know this, another section you might consider including to make your application stand out is the volunteer one. With that said, you might now be wondering, “Well, but does volunteering count as work experience?” The answer is, “it does.” Especially if the experience you gained is relevant to the job you are applying to. 

However, you will increase your chances of sending a successful application only if you understand where to put volunteer work on a resume. So, take the time to learn about all that right below. 

When to Put Volunteering in Resume Experience Section

You must include your volunteer information under the Work Experience section if the following three conditions are met: 

• Your volunteer experience is relevant to the position that you’re applying
• You lack work experience
• You have employment gaps

Volunteer Resume Samples with Related Experience

If you applying for a nursing position and you have minimal paid experience, here’s how you can put your volunteer experience on resume:

Nursing Experience

Better Health Center, Baltimore, MD

• Held a volunteer nursing role at Better Health Center. Provided nursing care, health evaluations, health guidance, health education, and referral services to patients and institutions. 
• Administered prescribed drugs and emergency services to patients.
• Assessed and monitored the physical and mental states of patients. 
• Tracked the progress of care plans.
• Conducted home visits and rendered preventive solutions. 

Penning your volunteer section like so shows that you really have relevant nursing experience. As such, you can be sure that you will impress the hiring executive. 

No matter what, never write this section as below. It is wrong.

Additional Activities

• Volunteered at Better Health Center, Baltimore, MD.
• Penned nursing blog articles regularly.
• Member of a mountain climbing charity group.

So, what is the problem here? You are diluting your relevant experience by putting it together with entirely unrelated activities. As you might already have picked up, the trick here is to mention the specific experience that relates to what you want to apply for.

Note, when putting volunteer work on resume as work experience, always name it correctly. For example, in the above sample, it is “nursing experience” and not “additional activities.” Likewise, if you are applying for a manager’s position, write “managing experience.” 

When to Put Volunteering in Resume Special Section

You must write your volunteer information under a Volunteering section when it is not related to the position you are applying for. In another case – you do so when you have many paid and related work-related experiences.

Volunteer Resume Samples with Unrelated Experience

If you are applying for a receptionist job and your volunteer experience has no relation to it, here is the right way to do it.

Volunteer Experience

• Did fundraising for the protection of dolphins;
• Participated in a community service week;
• Supported team-mates and assisted in various activities.

All told, volunteering shows that you give back to the community. You can convert this noble course into something that helps with your career development by incorporating other useful strategies for improving your job-seeking efforts. One among them is  organizing your job search from scratch . 

How to Put Volunteer Work on Resume to Wow the Recruiter

The point of tweaking your resume in different ways is to please the hiring executive. When it comes to volunteering activities, writing more detailed bullet points can go a long way in impressing a recruiter. Take a look at these two volunteer resume samples.

The wrong way:

• An administrative assistant at St. James Parish.
• Volunteer at Rescue Earth.
• A frequent volunteer at Red Cross.

The proper way:

• Volunteer administrative assistant at St. James Parish. Supervised four $30,000 building projects, always achieving an 8% budget saving. 
• As a volunteer at Rescue Earth, was in charge of 15 workers to enforce a zero-plastic initiative. 
• Launched three IT solutions as a volunteer at Red Cross.

In addition to learning how to write the volunteer section correctly, you have to learn about the  things you should never put on your resume . Failure to do this can water down your overall efforts of coming up with that perfect application.  

Useful Tips for Listing Volunteer Work on a Resume

Here are some useful things to do when writing your volunteer section.

• Tailor your application

Always ensure that your volunteer skills and qualifications match the role you are applying for by examining the vacancy announcement thoroughly. Moreover, you can gather some information on the organization you want to work in to find out the qualities required for the employees. 

• Include keywords from the vacancy description

Identify essential keywords from the position’s description. Then, ponder on your volunteer work to see how you can phrase the skills you have gained from it using the keywords that are present in the description. 

We all tend to be mistaken; thus, do not forget to proofread or find someone to help you out.

When Not to Include Volunteer Work on Resume

According to LinkedIn research, 41% of recruiters prefer to hire people with volunteering experience on resume.

So never leave your volunteer information off of your resume completely. Even if it’s not related to your job, it’ll be wise to include your pro bono work under the Additional Activities section, especially if you have lots of impressive accomplishments you to add to your resume.

Check out the following example to see how to include unrelated volunteer experience on resume:

• Coordinated fundraisers for various non-profit organizations.
• Volunteered as a celebrity’s giving back team. 
• Supervised a project for feeding the homeless.

That said, note that apart from showing that you are involved in your community,  volunteering comes with tons of benefits . Best of all, it showcases some of the  soft skills  that recruiters look out for in applicants such as leadership, teamwork, compassion, and so forth. 

In conclusion, adding volunteer work to resume is sure to make your application stand out among others. However, before you go on with providing this information, take time to evaluate how your volunteering activities show the skills that the hiring company has communicated in the vacancy announcement.

Is there any other concern regarding how to include volunteering gigs in your CV? Feel free to drop in your queries or comments below. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Alias aut delectus magni officia quidem quis tempora veniam. Culpa eius expedita mollitia nemo perspiciatis. Atque ipsum quas quis repellat voluptate. Placeat?

• Career Blog

Volunteer Experience on Your Resume: Examples for 2024

If you are looking for a way to stand out on your resume or show that you are more than just your work experience, volunteer experience is a great place to start. In this article, we will define volunteer experience, discuss its importance in a resume, and provide examples of how to incorporate it effectively.

Volunteer experience is any work that is done willingly and without pay to help a person or organization outside of one’s family. This can include traditional volunteer work like serving at a soup kitchen or volunteering at a non-profit organization’s fundraising event, as well as other activities such as coaching a youth sports team, running a community garden, or participating in a beach cleanup.

Importance of Volunteer Experience in a Resume

While work experience is important, volunteer experience can show a potential employer that you have more to offer than just the skills required for a specific job. It can demonstrate that you are passionate about a cause, have leadership skills, are a team player, and are willing to take the initiative to make things happen. Additionally, volunteer work can help fill gaps in your work history or show that you have been actively involved in your community during times of unemployment.

Types of Volunteer Experience

When it comes to volunteering, there are multiple ways to get involved and contribute your time and skills. Here are some of the most common types of volunteer experience:

Direct Service Volunteer

Direct service volunteering involves hands-on work that directly impacts the people or cause served by the organization. Examples of direct service volunteering include serving meals at a homeless shelter, tutoring students, or providing care for animals at a shelter.

Volunteering in direct service roles allows you to see the impact of your work firsthand and gain valuable skills in working with people or tasks.

Indirect Service Volunteer

Indirect service volunteering refers to tasks that support the organization performing its mission, but do not involve direct interaction with the people or causes served. Examples of indirect service volunteering include data entry, mailings, or event planning.

Indirect service roles are crucial for the smooth operation of an organization and allow volunteers to contribute their skills and time in a way that suits their strengths.

Virtual Volunteer

Virtual volunteering allows individuals to contribute their time and skills remotely, through online platforms or digital platforms. Examples of virtual volunteering include data entry, social media management or writing.

Virtual volunteering options have increased in recent years due to technology advancements and allow volunteers to contribute their time and skills to organizations from anywhere in the world.

Volunteer Leadership

Volunteer leadership roles involve managing other volunteers and can include overseeing volunteer programs, organizing events, and coordinating efforts between volunteers and staff.

Volunteer leadership roles are crucial for the successful management of volunteers and require strong organizational and leadership skills.

Board Member

Board members provide leadership and governance for the organization, which includes making major decisions on the organization’s behalf, managing finances, and hiring staff.

Being a board member requires significant time commitment and leadership skills, and is often a high-level volunteer role for experienced professionals.

Understanding the different types of volunteer experience available can provide insights into the best way to contribute to an organization, and can also help you showcase your skills and experiences to potential employers when crafting a resume.

Incorporating Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Volunteer experience can add depth and demonstrate your commitment to community involvement and social responsibility. Including volunteer experience on your resume is a great way to showcase your skills and interests outside of paid employment.

Where to Place Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Volunteer experience can be included in the work experience section or in a separate section dedicated to volunteerism. If the volunteer work is relevant to the position you are applying for, it is best to include it in the work experience section. However, if the volunteer work is not directly related to the position, it can be listed separately in a Volunteer section.

How to Highlight Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

It is essential to highlight your volunteer experience effectively. When presenting your volunteer experience, include the name of the organization or group, the length of time you served, and the position you held. Use bullet points to describe the responsibilities you had and any accomplishments you achieved while volunteering. Be descriptive and quantify your achievements, linking them to concrete results.

How to Quantify Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Quantifying your volunteer experience is crucial. It is not enough to state that you volunteered for a certain number of hours or held a specific position; you need to describe how you contributed to the organization’s progress or success. For instance, if you raised funds, specify how much you raised, and if you led a team, indicate how many team members you oversaw.

Here are some examples of quantifying volunteer experience:

Raised $5,000 for a local food bank in a month-long fundraising campaign.

Supervised and trained a team of eight volunteers, resulting in a 30% reduction in errors and increased efficiency.

Coordinated and executed 10 community outreach events, involving more than 200 volunteers and reaching over 2,000 participants.

By quantifying your volunteer experience, you are providing concrete evidence of your contribution and commitment, which will make you a more attractive candidate to potential employers.

Incorporating volunteer experience on your resume can add value and demonstrate that you have a broader range of skills and interests. It is important to present your volunteer experience effectively by including it in the right section, describing your achievements in bullet points, and quantifying your impact.

Examples of How to Include Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Volunteer experience is an excellent way to showcase your skills and demonstrate your commitment to giving back to the community. It can also help you stand out among other candidates when applying for a job. In this section, we will provide examples of how to include volunteer experience on your resume, tailored for different career stages.

Example 1: Entry-Level Candidate

If you are just starting your career, you may not have much work experience to showcase on your resume. However, you can highlight your volunteer work to demonstrate your transferable skills and passion for making a difference.

Here’s how to include volunteer experience on your resume as an entry-level candidate:

Include a volunteer section:  Create a separate section on your resume for your volunteer experience. This will make it easy for the hiring manager to see your involvement in the community.

Focus on transferable skills:  Highlight the skills you developed through volunteering that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you volunteered at a non-profit organization, you may have gained skills in event planning, fundraising, or social media management.

Quantify your impact:  Use numbers and figures to showcase the impact you made through your volunteer work. For instance, if you organized a fundraising event, you could mention the total amount of funds raised or the number of attendees.

Volunteer Experience

• Organized and executed a successful fundraising event that raised over $10,000 for the organization
• Managed social media accounts and increased followers by 30%
• Coordinated volunteer efforts and recruited 15 volunteers for various events

Example 2: Mid-Career Professional

As a mid-career professional, you likely have more work experience to showcase on your resume. However, you can still leverage your volunteer work to demonstrate your leadership skills and community involvement.

Here’s how to include volunteer experience on your resume as a mid-career professional:

Include a community involvement section:  Create a separate section on your resume to showcase your community involvement, including volunteer work, board membership, or pro-bono consulting.

Emphasize leadership roles:  Highlight any leadership roles you had in your volunteer work, such as serving as a board member, committee chair, or team leader.

Connect the dots:  Explain how your volunteer experience has prepared you for the job you’re applying for. Be explicit about the transferable skills you developed, such as project management, communication, or event planning. Volunteering can bring about numerous benefits that extend beyond helping others. It is a fulfilling activity that can help individuals gain a variety of skills that can be used in different areas of their lives. When it comes to adding volunteer experience to your resume, it’s essential to highlight the skills gained through such experience. Here are some of the skills you can acquire through volunteering:

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are those abilities that can be applied to different jobs and settings. Volunteering can help individuals develop transferable skills that can be utilized in various professional and personal contexts. Some examples of transferable skills you can acquire through volunteering include:

• Time management: Volunteering requires planning to ensure that tasks are completed on time, regardless of how busy your schedule is.
• Communication skills: Volunteering provides opportunities to engage and work with people from different backgrounds and abilities, enhancing your communication skills.
• Adaptability: When volunteering, it’s crucial to be able to adapt to different situations, such as unexpected changes or challenges.
• Leadership skills: Depending on the volunteer role you take on, you may have the chance to lead group activities or manage people. Such experiences can help strengthen your leadership skills.

Niche Skills

Niche skills, also known as specialist skills, are relevant to specific professions or industries. Volunteering can afford individuals the chance to develop these skills or build on existing ones in a particular field. Here are some examples of niche skills that you can learn through volunteering:

• Event planning: Volunteering for events, such as charity galas, can provide opportunities to learn and develop event planning skills, such as managing budgets, scheduling, and coordinating with vendors.
• Fundraising skills: Volunteers in non-profit organizations can gain fundraising skills, such as donor prospecting, creating fundraising goals and strategies, and managing donor databases.
• Non-profit management skills: Volunteering in non-profit organizations can offer valuable exposure to non-profit management, including volunteer management, program development, and organizational operations.

Soft Skills

Soft skills, also known as interpersonal or emotional intelligence skills, are necessary social and emotional competencies that can help individuals interact effectively with others. Volunteering can enhance and develop soft skills, including:

• Empathy: Volunteering can help individuals build empathy and a deeper understanding of the struggles and challenges that others face, which can enhance their ability to relate to and communicate with others.
• Teamwork: Volunteering often involves working in teams, which can help develop collaborative and cooperative skills.
• Conflict resolution: Volunteering can provide opportunities to learn conflict resolution and problem-solving skills through diffusing disagreements and finding solutions that work for everyone.
• Patience: Volunteering can help cultivate patience, especially when working with individuals from different backgrounds with varying abilities or needs.

Volunteering is an enriching activity that provides immense opportunities to develop diverse skills that can boost both personal and professional growth.

Benefits of Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Volunteer experience is not only a selfless act of giving back to the community, but it can also enhance your resume and increase your chances of being hired. Here are some benefits of including volunteer work on your resume:

Increased Employability

Volunteering shows your dedication and commitment to a cause, which translates into a positive work ethic. Employers appreciate individuals who have a track record of being dependable and passionate about what they do. Also, volunteering provides an opportunity to network with professionals in your industry or field of interest, which can lead to potential job opportunities or referrals.

Demonstrates Passion

In many cases, volunteer work is a reflection of your personal interests, values and passions. When you include it on your resume, it shows potential employers that you are more than just a set of skills and job experiences. You are a well-rounded individual who cares about things beyond the workplace. Your volunteer experience can also provide talking points during job interviews, allowing you to demonstrate your personality and character traits.

Highlights Transferable Skills

Volunteering often requires you to work with others towards a common goal, communicate effectively, manage your time, and take initiative. These are valuable transferable skills that can be applied to any job or industry. When you include your volunteer experience on your resume, you are showing employers that you possess these skills and that you are capable of working in a team-oriented environment.

Volunteering can provide many benefits when included on your resume. Not only does it show increased employability, it also demonstrates passion and highlights transferable skills. When employers see that you have volunteered, they may view you as a more well-rounded and desirable candidate. So, don’t shy away from including your volunteer experience on your resume – it could be the key to landing your dream job!

Common Questions About Volunteer Experience on a Resume

Volunteer experience can make a significant difference in your resume, especially if you have limited professional experience. However, knowing how to include it can be challenging. Here are some common questions about volunteer experience on a resume and how to make the most of it.

How to Include Volunteer Experience on a Resume with Limited Professional Experience?

If you are starting your career or changing fields, showcasing your volunteer experience can help you stand out. You can add a section called “Volunteer Experience” or “Community Involvement” to your resume and list your volunteer work. Another option is to integrate it into your work experience section by highlighting the transferable skills you gained from your volunteer experience that align with the job you are applying for.

When listing your volunteer experience, make sure to include the organization’s name, your role, dates, and a brief description of your responsibilities and accomplishments. Highlight the skills and achievements that can transfer to the job you’re applying for. Quantify your accomplishments and provide tangible examples.

Should You List Volunteer Experience Chronologically or Reverse Chronologically?

Listing your volunteer experience chronologically means listing them in the order you participated, beginning from the most recently completed volunteer activity. In contrast, reverse chronological order means listing your volunteer work starting from your earliest experience and ending with your latest.

The best way to list your volunteer experience depends on how relevant it is to the job you’re applying for. If your volunteer experience is more recent and matches the job requirements, list it in reverse chronological order. However, if your volunteer activity was several years ago, and your work experience is more relevant, list it chronologically.

Does Volunteer Experience Have to be Relevant to the Job You’re Applying For?

While it’s best to focus on experiences relevant to the job you’re applying for, volunteer experience does not always have to be directly relevant. Volunteer experience can demonstrate different soft skills, such as teamwork, leadership, and communication, which can be valuable in various industries.

However, if your volunteer experience is not directly relevant, it’s essential to highlight the transferable skills and how they relate to the job you’re applying for. By doing so, you can showcase how your volunteer experience can translate into valuable skills for the position.

Volunteer experience can enhance your resume, even with limited professional experience. Make sure to include it in a clear and concise way, highlighting your accomplishments and transferable skills. By doing so, you can demonstrate your commitment to your community and showcase the skills that make you a valuable asset to any employer.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Including Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

When it comes to including volunteer experience on your resume, there are a few common mistakes you want to avoid:

Making Volunteer Experience Too Long : While it’s important to showcase your volunteer experience on your resume, it’s also important to remember that hiring managers often have limited time to review resumes. Therefore, make sure that you summarize your volunteer experience concisely.

Only Focusing on Duties and Responsibilities : When listing your volunteer experience, it’s easy to get caught up in listing out all of your duties and responsibilities. However, it’s important to also highlight the impact you made while volunteering. Use specific examples to show how your volunteer work made a difference.

Not Explaining the Impact : Your volunteer experience can be a powerful asset when it comes to standing out to potential employers. However, if you don’t explain the impact you made while volunteering, it can be difficult for hiring managers to understand the value you bring to the table.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can ensure that your volunteer experience is presented in the best light possible and makes a strong impression on potential employers.

Ways to Showcase Volunteer Experience Outside of Your Resume

In today’s job market, simply listing your previous job experiences might not be enough to catch the recruiter’s attention. Employers are looking for candidates who possess qualities like leadership, team-working, problem-solving, and dedication. And what better way to demonstrate those qualities than through your volunteer experience?

However, some individuals might find it challenging to capture their volunteer work on their resume. Fortunately, there are various digital platforms that you can utilize to showcase your volunteer experience outside of your resume. Here are three ways you can do so:

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for professional networking, and it can help you create a strong online presence. Utilize LinkedIn to highlight your volunteer experience by adding it to your profile. This will make it easier for hiring managers to see your involvement and dedication to your community. Additionally, you can join groups related to your causes, which will lead to new connections and potential career opportunities.

Personal Website

Having a personal website that showcases your volunteer work can give you an edge in your job search. Use your website as a platform to tell your story, showcase pictures of your volunteering experience, and explain the impact that you’ve made in your community. Your site will not only demonstrate your dedication to contributing to society but will also give the interviewer a unique insight into who you are as a person.

Cover Letter

While your resume is your ticket to getting your foot in the door, your cover letter is where you can truly shine light on your volunteer experience. Use your cover letter to tell a story about your experiences, how it has affected you and how it integrates with the position you are applying for. In your cover letter, you can also take the chance to show your passion for the cause and how it aligns with the organization’s mission.

Volunteer work can be an indication of your willingness to go above and beyond to make a difference in your community. Using digital media platforms such as LinkedIn, your personal website and your cover letter are great ways to help you stand out and demonstrate your qualifications as a candidate. Highlighting your volunteer experience demonstrates not only your character but also sets you apart from others in a competitive job market.

Additional Tips for Incorporating Your Volunteer Experience into Your Job Search

If you’re looking to leverage your volunteer experience in your job search, there are a few additional steps you can take beyond simply listing it on your resume. Here are some tips for how to make the most of your volunteer work:

Network with Fellow Volunteers

One of the best ways to make your volunteer experience work for you in your job search is to network with other volunteers. Many of your fellow volunteers may be professionals in your industry or know people who are. By building relationships with them, you can expand your professional network and potentially find job leads.

To network effectively, be sure to attend volunteer events and functions, and make an effort to connect with other volunteers. Exchange contact information and follow up with them via email or LinkedIn after the event. Be clear about what you’re looking for and how your volunteer experience relates to your job search.

Mention Volunteer Experience During Your Interview

When you’re interviewing for a job, be sure to mention your volunteer experience. Rather than just listing it on your resume, describe it in more detail and explain how it has helped you develop skills relevant to the position you’re interviewing for. For example, if you volunteered with a nonprofit and helped organize fundraising events, you could describe how that experience developed your project management and event planning skills.

Make sure to tie your volunteer experience back to the job you’re interviewing for. This will show the interviewer that you understand the skills necessary for the position and that you are actively seeking ways to develop them.

Follow-Up and Mention Your Volunteer Experience

After the interview is over, be sure to follow-up with a thank you note. In this note, you can reiterate your interest in the position and briefly mention your volunteer experience again. This will help keep your volunteer work top-of-mind for the interviewer and show them that you are serious about incorporating it into your job search.

If you are not selected for the job, you can still keep the conversation going by mentioning your volunteer experience in your follow-up email. Thank the interviewer for their time and consideration, and reiterate your interest in the company. Mention that you would love to stay in touch and continue to learn about the organization’s efforts in the community. By doing so, you’ll maintain a positive relationship with the company and potentially open doors for future job opportunities.

Incorporating your volunteer experience into your job search can be a powerful way to demonstrate your skills and stand out from other candidates. By networking with fellow volunteers, mentioning your experience in your interview, and following up afterwards, you can make your volunteer work an integral part of your job search strategy.

Related Articles

• Follow-Up Email: How to Strike the Right Balance in 2023
• How to Update LinkedIn Profiles & Share Updates in 2023
• CV vs Resume: Key Differences and Details in 2023
• Cyber Security Analyst Resume: Examples and Tips for 2023
• Job Interview Question: How Did You Find This Job?

Rate this article

0 / 5. Reviews: 0

More from ResumeHead

Protect your data

This site uses cookies and related technologies for site operation, and analytics as described in our Privacy Policy . You may choose to consent to our use of these technologies, reject non-essential technologies, or further manage your preferences.

• Resume and Cover Letter
• Ask Amanda: How Do I Add...

Ask Amanda: How Do I Add Volunteer Experience to My Resume? (Examples)

5 min read · Updated on July 30, 2024

Each week, TopResume's career advice expert, Amanda Augustine, answers user questions like the one below from Quora and the Ask Amanda form. A certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW), Amanda has been helping professionals improve their careers for over 10 years. Have a question for Amanda? Submit it here .

Q: What's the right way to add volunteer experience to my resume?

Someone told me it's OK to add volunteer experience to my resume, especially since I've been unemployed. What's the right way to do that? — Gary H.

Volunteer experience is a great way to pad your resume when you find yourself in any of the following situations:

You recently graduated and don't have a lot of professional experience to share.

You're currently unemployed and looking to fill the employment gap on your resume while you job hunt.

You want to change careers and are looking for ways to demonstrate a skill set you weren't able to use during your regular 9-to-5 job.

What type of volunteer experience should you include on your resume?

The best volunteer experience you can add to your resume is skill-based volunteer (SBV) experience. These volunteer opportunities are considered very valuable for your resume because they allow you to donate your time — and more importantly, the professional skills employers care about — to a worthy cause. Take a look at VolunteerMatch , Idealist , Catchafire , and Points of Light's HandsOn Network to find the right volunteer opportunity for you.

However, you might not have to seek out a new charity in order to find a skill-based volunteer opportunity to boost your resume. If you're already involved in a networking group or other professional association, consider taking a more active role within your chapter. This could be anything from volunteering to manage the group's social media presence to becoming treasurer of the group, to heading up a new committee.

Where should you place volunteer experience on your resume?

There are a few different places where you can include volunteer experience on your resume – the placement will really depend on what the rest of your professional experience looks like and your current job goals.

Nine times out of 10, the best place to include your volunteer experience on your resume is within the “Professional Experience” section. This is especially helpful if you're trying to fill an employment gap on your resume or you're currently employed and trying to draw attention away from this fact.

Sample resume: How to add volunteer experience to mid- or senior-level resume

If you're about to graduate from college and you possess internship experience that is relevant to your job goals and employers will find attractive, you may be better off creating a section for “Relevant Work Experience” and then adding another section called “Volunteer and Leadership Experience” for your volunteer and other club activities.

Sample resume: How to add volunteer experience to an entry-level resume

If you're currently employed, you don't have any employment gaps to fill on your resume, and you're not trying to parlay your volunteer experience into a new career, then your relevant volunteer activities can be placed in a separate section toward the bottom of your resume, either right before or just after the “Education and Professional Development” section on your resume. This is the only instance where you don't necessarily need to include many details about your volunteer work; it's enough to simply state the organization and your role within the group. 

How do you list volunteer experience on a resume?

Write out your volunteer experience as you would any other position on your resume by including a blurb that describes your role within the organization and then calling attention to your main contributions and relevant achievements in a bulleted list.

If necessary, you can get a little creative when it comes to selecting a “Job Title” for your volunteer experience. Select something that reflects your responsibilities, while incorporating terms that prospective employers will be sure to understand. This is especially useful if your organization doesn't have an official title for the work you've taken on for the group. In the spirit of transparency, I recommend adding the term “Volunteer” at the end of whatever job title you decide to use. 

Can you add activism and protests to your resume? 

Your activism can take many forms, from volunteering at certain organizations and leading protests to aiding a particular politician's campaign, or fundraising for your place of worship. Whether you put it on your resume or not depends on what you're looking for.   

When you should add it to your resume

If your activism is an integral part of your identity and you can't imagine working for a company that doesn't share those values, then you should include your experiences on your resume. Whether it's championing racial justice issues, LGBTQ+ rights, or something else, including them on your resume will be a good test to see if the company is the right fit. 

Adding your activism experience is also a good idea if it shows off any relevant skills, like organizing, leading, community building, or fundraising. 

When you shouldn't 

If you don't want a recruiter or hiring manager using your activism experience against you in the job search, then it will be best to leave it off your resume. Also, if you are looking for a job to help you pay your bills, then you don't want a prospective employer deeming you unfit for the job because they don't agree with your beliefs. 

Instead let your resume focus on your skills and achievements that will impress. 

Need help positioning your volunteer experience on your resume? Let a TopResume pro help !

This article was updated in September 2020 by Danielle Elmers .

Recommended Reading:

How to Handle Gaps in Your Employment History

How to Bounce Back After Getting Laid Off

How to Successfully Change Careers

Related Articles:

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

From Bland to Beautiful: How We Made This Professional's Resume Shine

See how your resume stacks up.

Career Advice Newsletter

Our experts gather the best career & resume tips weekly. Delivered weekly, always free.

Thanks! Career advice is on its way.

Share this article:

Let's stay in touch.

Subscribe today to get job tips and career advice that will come in handy.

Your information is secure. Please read our privacy policy for more information.

12 Volunteer Experiences Examples for Resume-Building

Brandi Glass

• 5 min read.

Recruiters know that your volunteer experiences make you a better employee. They show you possess critical skills relevant for any role, plus that you’re a passionate person determined to contribute to your community.

So, the question isn’t: should you include your volunteer experience on your resume? It’s: where and how should you include it?

Keep reading to discover how to best present your voluntary work on your resume in order to impress recruiters and employers.

Where to Include Your Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

Most candidates should include their volunteer experience under the Career History section of their resum e. However, in some cases, it may be worth including it in the Skills section or creating a Volunteering section at the end of your resume instead.

Include it in the Career History section if:

• It’s relevant to the role you’re applying for
• You’re at the start of your career

Create a Volunteering section if:

• Neither the work nor the skills involved are relevant to your career
• It would push other important information too far down your resume

Include it in your Skills if:

• The skills are highly relevant to the role you’re applying for, but the field or position isn’t

How to Present Your Volunteer Experience on Your Resume

You want to highlight the value of your volunteer experiences while keeping the information concise. Remember, when it comes to writing a resume, less is often more . You also want to underscore how your volunteering work is relevant to your job application.

Include the name of the organization you’re volunteering with, your job title, start and end dates and key responsibilities. It should look like this:

Volunteering Organization Volunteer Job Title, Start Date – End Date

• Key responsibilities and accomplishments

Let’s break this down a little more.

Don’t just use “volunteer” as your job title. Be more specific: what was your volunteering role? The organization you volunteered with should tell you your official role, but if you didn’t have one, you could also use a phrase such as “Volunteer English Tutor” or “Graphic Designer (Volunteer).” Since many recruiters only look at job titles, this will better demonstrate the skills you used.

Start Date and End Date

You should mention the month and year, but you don’t need to specify the day you started or finished volunteering. If you’re still in this role, you can write “present” for the end date.

Responsibilities and Accomplishments

Use bullet points to maximize white space and make it easier for recruiters and potential employers to skim-read your resume. (Most recruiters spend fewer than 8 seconds reading each resume.)

In general, more relevant and/or recent roles should have more bullet points. However, a good rule of thumb is to include between one and five bullet points maximum, with most roles having no more than three points.

You don’t need to include all your responsibilities, especially the ones that are less applicable to the job application. Include only the most relevant and impressive ones. Where possible, use the exact phrasing from the job listing. This will help if the company is using an applicant tracking system to filter out resumes that don’t include the skills in the job listing.

Try to also provide evidence for your accomplishments by including metrics or other quantifiable data. This will make your application more impressive and memorable.

Volunteer Experience Resume Examples & Breakdowns

While your volunteer experience resume entry should be customized to your personal experience and the role you’re applying for, here are some common volunteer experience descriptions that you can use. Don’t forget to adapt them to your background and add important details, including the organization name and your start and end date.

• Food Bank/Soup Kitchen Volunteer Resume Description
• Organized lines of 50+ people
• Treated visitors with empathy and respect
• Hospital Volunteer Resume Description
• Restocked supplies
• Supported medical staff
• Used people skills to talk with patients and help put them at ease
• Volunteer Vaccine Administrator Resume Description
• Administered vaccines
• Explained potential side-effects of medicine
• Confirmed patient identities
• Put patients at ease and demonstrated patient aftercare
• Helpline Volunteer Resume Description
• Used communication skills and phone skills to support callers
• Analyzed risk and made judgment calls about whether to alert emergency services
• Senior Companion Volunteer Resume Description
• Provided weekly company for a senior
• Used empathy and communication skills to build a relationship with the senior
• Showed disability awareness by supporting a senior in a wheelchair
• Environmental Volunteer Resume Description
• Organized community litter picking and beach cleaning
• Promoted environmental volunteering events via social media and flyers
• Designed marketing graphics for environmental volunteering events
• Volunteer Trainer Resume Description
• Coached disadvantaged youths, resulting in a 36% increase in A–C school grades
• Motivated trainees; maintained an 88% trainee attendance rate
• Developed a curriculum and learning materials
• Volunteer Fundraiser Resume Description
• Fundraised over $12,000 in annual subscriptions
• Designed fundraising and marketing materials using Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign
• Peace Corps Volunteer Resume Description
• Provided hygiene, nutrition and HIV/Aids education
• Trained youths to be peer educators
• Created programs to support HIV-positive people
• Disaster Response Volunteer Resume Description
• Distributed medicine, blankets, food, tents and other essential products
• Helped ensure the safety of displaced people by stewarding camps
• Provided basic first aid
• Used French language to support and communicate with displaced people
• Provided an empathetic, friendly face
• Volunteer Event Steward Resume Description
• Checked ID and tickets
• Patrolled event and alerted security to issues
• Provided customer service by answering event attendees’ questions
• Controlled crowds to avoid overcrowding and safety issues
• Arts Volunteer Resume Description
• Directed an amateur theater group and coached actors on their roles
• Demonstrated people leadership by resolving interpersonal issues and motivating actors
• Organized three performances a year
• Marketed performances on social media and used sales skills to sell tickets

Leverage Your Volunteer Experience to Get Invited to Job Interviews

A well-written resume is key to job-hunting success. Not only will it land you more invites to interview, but you can use it to negotiate a higher starting salary and better work conditions. And no matter how much — or little! — experience you have, volunteer work can help you stand out from other applicants.

Make sure to fine-tune your resume so you’re highlighting the value of your past experiences, whether they were voluntary or not. You should also make sure your resume is machine-readable and professionally laid out.

Our volunteer resume templates will help you get started. They’re easy to customize to your background and come in a guaranteed machine-readable file format. What’s more, our resume builder will recommend the ideal structure based on your career history, along with recruiter-approved phrasing to describe your skill sets.

With our tools, you’ll find crafting a winning resume is easy. Plus, it takes just 10 minutes, so build your resume now.

Tips for Adding Volunteer Work on Your Resume (With Examples)

Posted on 15 jan 2024, updated on 15 jan 2024.

Understanding how to put volunteer work on a resume can transform your job application from standard to standout. It's a strategic approach to showcase your skills and dedication beyond the workplace. Whether you're a fresh graduate or a seasoned professional, adding volunteer work is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from other applicants. It speaks volumes about your character and values, providing a fuller picture of who you are as a candidate.

In the competitive job market, the goal is to get your resume notice d. Embrace the opportunity to highlight these volunteer experiences, and watch as they open doors to new and exciting career possibilities! In this guide, we offer insights on how to effectively incorporate this experience and outline the do's and don'ts to make sure your resume makes a strong impression.

How to Add Volunteer Experience to Your Resume

Integrating volunteer work into your resume requires a thoughtful approach to ensure it complements your professional experiences and skills. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to add this valuable experience:

1. Identify the Relevant Volunteer Work

Start by reviewing your volunteer experiences and identifying those most relevant to the job you're applying for. This relevance could be in terms of the skills used or developed, the industry, or the role’s similarities to your target job.

Example: If you're applying for a marketing position and you've managed social media campaigns for a non-profit, this experience is highly relevant.

Sample Resume Entry:

Volunteer Literacy Tutor, Community Center, Sep 2019 - Jun 2021Volunteer Social Media Manager, Local Animal Shelter, Jan 2020 - Dec 2020 Developed and implemented social media strategy, increasing Facebook and Instagram followers by 40%

2. Decide Where to Place It on Your Resume

Deciding the optimal place for your volunteer work on your resume is crucial. If it's closely related to your career goals, include it in the work experience section, formatted similarly to your other professional experiences. For less-related volunteer work, a separate volunteer experience section towards the end of your resume is more suitable.

If you're unsure how to include community service on your resume, considering resume writing services can be of great help. These services have expertise in resume structuring and can guide you in highlighting your volunteer work to complement your professional narrative.

Example if Related to Career Goals: Applying for a teaching position and you've volunteered as a literacy tutor

Conducted weekly one-on-one reading sessions, improving students' reading levels by an average of two grades

Example for Unrelated Volunteer Work: Volunteer work at a food bank, while applying for a tech job

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE May 2018 - Aug 2019 | Volunteer City Food Bank Coordinated food distribution to 200+ families weekly, enhancing organizational and teamwork skills

3. Format Your Volunteer Experience

Whether you're including it in the work experience section or as a separate entity, format your volunteer experience like any other job. Include the position title (adding 'Volunteer' before the title if necessary), the organization's name, the dates of your involvement, and a few bullet points describing your responsibilities and achievements.

Example: Volunteer event coordinator for a local charity

Volunteer Event Coordinator, Health Charity, Mar 2019 - Present Managed annual fundraising events, raising over $50,000 and increasing attendance by 25%

4. Highlight Your Achievements and Skills

How do you write about charity work on your resume? Rather than just listing duties, focus on what you’ve accomplished in your volunteer role. Did you organize events, raise funds, or lead a team? These achievements demonstrate your initiative and leadership skills. Use action verbs and quantify your accomplishments where possible, such as the number of event attendees or the amount of funds raised.

Example: Led a team of volunteers in a community clean-up project

Team Leader, Neighborhood Clean-Up, Jul 2019 Spearheaded a team of 15 volunteers, collecting over 500 pounds of litter, demonstrating leadership and organizational skills

5. Provide Context Where Necessary

Sometimes, a brief explanation of your volunteer work can enhance its impact. For instance, if you volunteered abroad, a sentence about the skills and cultural understanding you gained can be very insightful.

Example: Volunteered abroad to teach English

English Teacher Volunteer, Thailand, Oct 2018 - Dec 2018 Taught English to a class of 30 students, enhancing cross-cultural communication and adaptability skills

Do’s and Don’ts When Adding Volunteer Experience To Your Resume

Now that you know how to put charity work on a resume, let's focus on key do's and don'ts. These are crucial for fine-tuning your resume's volunteer section, polishing your presentation, and making your volunteer experience stand out effectively.

● DO Connect Volunteer Work to Job Relevance. Always tie any volunteer experience to the job you're applying for by emphasizing the skills and experiences gained that align with the role.

● DO Quantify Your Achievements. Whenever possible, use numbers and data to quantify your impact.

● DO Format Correctly. Follow the same format as your work experience, with clear titles, organization names, dates, and concise descriptions of your roles and achievements.

● DON’T Overload Your Resume with Irrelevant Volunteer Work. If the volunteer experience doesn’t add any value or skills to the job you're applying for, it's better to leave it out.

● DON’T Misrepresent Your Role. Honesty is crucial. Overstating your role can lead to credibility issues if cross-checked by employers.

● DON’T Include Volunteering That Conflicts with the Job's Values. Align your volunteer work with the company's culture, since incompatible volunteer experiences can raise concerns about fit. That being said, consider applying only to organizations that align with your values.

Why Should You List Volunteer Work on Your Resume?

Volunteer work isn't just a noble pursuit; it's a treasure trove of experiences that can significantly enrich your resume. When considering whether to include volunteer work on your resume, look at the benefits it offers. Volunteer experiences show potential employers that you're community-minded and possess a range of transferable skills.

For individuals with limited work experience, learning how to include community service on a resume is an opportunity to demonstrate your involvement in organizational goals. It reassures hiring managers of your practical capabilities, such as punctuality and reliability, even without an extensive formal work history.

Moreover, volunteer work can effectively bridge employment gaps, showcasing continuous engagement and skill development even during periods of formal unemployment. It's also an opportunity to highlight skills that are not evident from your paid employment. For instance, an accountant known for working with numbers might demonstrate excellent writing skills through volunteer activities, such as drafting donation thank-you letters.

The bottom line is that including volunteer work on your resume can significantly boost your chances of landing an interview by presenting a well-rounded, skill-diverse, and socially responsible profile.

Enhance Your Resume with Volunteer Experiences

Learning how to put volunteer work on your resume can be a powerful tool for showcasing your skills, values, and commitment to potential employers. By thoughtfully selecting, formatting, and tailoring your volunteer experiences, you create a resume that not only reflects your professional qualifications but also your character and societal contributions. Remember, a well-rounded resume opens doors to new opportunities and helps you stand out in a competitive job market.

For more practical resume-boosting advice, continue exploring career tips that help you navigate your professional path with confidence!

• 7 seconds: this is how long your resume has either to impress or be ignored by the recruiter
• 300+: average number of applications one corporate job opening posted online receives
• 3%: number of sent resumes that result in interviews

Transform your career and beat the odds!

Similar Articles

Posted on : 19 Jul 2024

Posted on : 09 Jul 2024

Posted on : 30 Jul 2024

Posted on : 26 Jun 2024

Press Enter to search

How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

Volunteer work can be a great addition to a resume. Here’s how to showcase your volunteering experience to give you the edge in your job search.

3 years ago   •   9 min read

Common job-seeking wisdom holds that volunteering can be a great way to gain experience in your chosen field. And it is — as long as you know how (and when) to show it on your resume.

Everything on your resume should be about showing why you’re a good fit for a job. If volunteer work strengthens your candidacy, then by all means, you should include it. If it doesn’t, it’s okay to leave it off, even if it feels relevant.

Should you include volunteer work on a resume?

The short answer is yes — volunteer work can absolutely belong on your resume. Volunteer experience shows that you have a genuine interest in a particular field or issue. It also shows initiative and the willingness to go above and beyond what’s required, which employers love. If the volunteer work is in the same industry as the one you’re applying to, even better!

If you’re a student, recent graduate, or career changer, you may not have a lot of relevant paid experience. Volunteer work gives you the opportunity to highlight your skills, whether these are common transferrable skills or a specific skill set that your paid experience doesn’t show.

Think outside the box when it comes to volunteer work. This could include working with startups and non-profits, or even unpaid internships. If it demonstrates relevant skills or experience, it belongs on your resume.

How to include volunteer experience on a resume

Here are three different ways you can include volunteer work on a resume:

In your work experience section

• Create a section for work experience at the top of your resume.
• Title the section clearly , e.g. 'Work and Volunteering Experience' or 'Professional and Volunteer Experience.'
• List all of your experience — both paid and volunteer — in chronological order, with the most recent experience first.
• List your job title as 'Volunteer', or by using the standard job title and adding (Volunteer) at the end.
• List 3-6 accomplishments in bullet point format.
• Don't worry if your volunteer experience and paid experience overlap — if you've labeled your volunteer work, employers will understand that this was something you did part-time while you were also working.

Here's an example of what that might look like when you're done:

In a separate volunteer experience section

• Create a section titled 'Volunteering Experience.'
• Include this section above your work experience section if your volunteer work is your most recent and relevant experience, or below your work experience section if it's just an additional section you want to highlight.
• List the name of the organization you volunteered for as the employer .
• List your job title as 'Volunteer [Position Name]' or simply 'Volunteer.'
• Include the dates that you volunteered. You can specify if this was part-time, but you don't need to.
• List your experience chronologically, with the most recent role at the top.
• Include 1-2 bullet accomplishments in bullet point format. If you don't have a lot of paid work experience and volunteer work makes up the bulk of your resume, you can increase that to 3-6 bullet points.

Once you're done with the above steps, here's what the volunteering section could look like on your resume:

In an additional information section

• Create a section at the bottom of your resume.
• Title the section 'Other' or 'Additional Information.'
• Create a 'Volunteering' subheading (optional).
• List your volunteer experience briefly on a single line.

An additional information section is short — here's an example of what it could look like if you have followed the above steps:

Want to see what volunteer work on your resume should look like in action? Keep scrolling for a sample resume and text-based examples you can copy and paste.

Sample volunteer resume

Here's an example of a resume of someone who has predominantly completed volunteering roles during her career.

A simple way to indicate that the roles involved volunteering is to use the word, "Volunteer," in the job titles itself.

Volunteer experience examples for your resume

Stuck on what accomplishments to list under your volunteer work? Here are a few examples.

• Founded the first ever 'Business Series' to organize finance training for 500 students.
• Organized and advertised 10+ quarterly networking events with 300+ participants in 3 cities in California.
• Introduced online platform enabling donations from city residents; secured $10,000 additional funding.
• Presented pitch to XYZ; awarded Frist Prize out of 50+ teams.
• Designed, executed, and optimized digital marketing campaign on Google AdWords; led to 20% increase in ROI.
• Created content and copy for social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) and email newsletter; assessed customer response to create targeted messaging and inform future content; social media following grew 125%+ organically.
• Generated 12,000 unique users, 30,000 page views, and 2000+ newsletter signups in 3 weeks by successfully leveraging social media advertising (Facebook and Instagram).
• Organized and conducted monthly meetings with city council executives and other community leaders to raise funds for opening schools and disabled children.
• Generated 50+ donors through cold call sales and systematic email outreach; qualified leads based on industry and location.
• Managed the launch of a new booking system to improve organization of events; system now used across university.

Related : How To Add Volunteer Experience to LinkedIn

When to include volunteer work in your resume

If you don’t have a lot of work experience.

If you’re new to the workforce , your resume may still be under one page even with all of your paid work experience and internships . In that case, including volunteer work is a good way of demonstrating your skills and work ethic . In this case, it’s best to list your volunteer experience alongside your paid work experience, rather than in a separate section, as it’s likely to make up a decent chunk of your work history.

If you don’t have enough relevant paid experience

Volunteer work can be a great way to break into a new field, especially as a career changer . It shows that you’re serious about making the move and can give you relevant experience to talk about in a cover letter or interview. If your volunteer experience is more relevant to the new industry than your professional experience, you’ll want to include it in the main body of your resume, with your most recent experience on top.

If you have gaps in your resume

Rightly or wrongly, a lot of employers see gaps of more than a few months in a resume as a red flag. If you’ve spent part of this time volunteering, it’s a good idea to include that work chronologically on your resume to show how you’ve been spending your time.

If you want to highlight your volunteer experience

If you have extensive volunteering experience with different organizations and you want to showcase that, you might want to create a separate section on your resume for volunteer work.

If you do this, you should structure your volunteer work in the same way you would any paid experience, with clear bullet points focusing on achievements rather than responsibilities . “Raised $5,000 for wildlife rehabilitation” is specific and measurable; “ responsible for fundraising activities” is too vague.

If you want to find out if your volunteer experience is structured the right way on your resume, upload it to the tool below . It’ll also let you know if your bullet points are action oriented and show quantifiable achievements.

What if your volunteering experience isn’t relevant?

Highlight transferrable skills.

There is still an argument for including volunteer experience on your resume if it isn’t strictly relevant but still fits one of the above criteria. Volunteer work can be used to demonstrate transferrable skills, so look for ones that are particularly relevant or desirable. For example:

• Working at an event might require organizational skills , time management , teamwork, and public speaking.
• If you led a team or organized an event, even better. Leadership , project management, and communication skills are always in high demand.
• If your work was more backstage, you may have experience in data analysis, budgeting, or even marketing and social media outreach.

If you have experience in data analysis, budgeting or marketing but aren’t sure how to highlight these skills or which of these skills to highlight, use the tool below to get a list of skills and keywords relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Focus on results

Just like paid work experience, any volunteer experience you include on your resume should be summarized in well-structured bullet points. These bullet points need to be action-oriented, start with strong action verbs , and, if possible, demonstrate concrete results. For example:

• Led fundraising event for [XYZ charity] and raised over [$amount] for [benefit]
• Created social media strategy for [organization] resulting in [X amount of new followers]
• Taught [subject] to [x amount of students] with [% pass rate on final exams]
• Organized a public awareness campaign for [issue] resulting in [X amount of people attending event] and coverage in [X and Y media]

For more samples of bullet points, visit Resume Bullet Points .

When you shouldn’t include volunteer experience

Just because volunteer work can be a great thing to showcase on a resume, that doesn’t mean you always need to include it. Think of your resume like a highlights reel instead of a complete biography — everything on it needs to serve a purpose.

If it isn’t doesn’t add anything to your resume

Rule number one: Everything on your resume needs to be relevant to the job you’re applying for. If your volunteering experience isn’t relevant but you really want to include it anyway, put it in a short ‘other’ section below your work experience.

If you have extensive paid experience

Paid work experience will always have more weight than volunteer work. If you already have plenty of recent work experience that’s relevant to the position you’re applying for, there’s no need to add volunteer experience on top of that. You want the hiring manager to focus on the strongest parts of your resume, which sometimes means leaving off other things that aren’t as impressive.

If the experience is controversial

Vounteering for political or religious organizations might not matter to most employers, but to some, it could make a difference. If you're applying for a paid or volunteer position in the same field — for example, to work on a political campaign or at a related nonprofit — relevant volunteer experience can work in your favor, as it shows you have a genuine dedication to the cause. On the other hand, it might not be such a good idea to emphasize your church volunteer work if you're applying to a secular organization, or your animal rights activism if you want to work at a steakhouse. When deciding whether to list volunteer work that involves religion, politics, or protesting (especially if you've ever been arrested as a result), use your best judgment and err on the side of discretion if it doesn't feel particularly relevant.

Spread the word

Resume summary examples: how to write one and samples you can use, how to list contract work on your resume: a 2024 guide, keep reading, how to show bilingualism on your resume (with examples), oops what to do if there’s a mistake on your resume, getting the basics right: resume line spacing, subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay updated with Resume Worded by signing up for our newsletter.

🎉 Awesome! Now check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription.

Please enter a valid email address

Oops! There was an error sending the email, please try later

Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.

• Create Resume
• Resume templates
• CV templates
• Resume Writing Service
• Volunteer Resume Example, Template & Writing Tips [2024]
• Resume writing /

Our world thrives on the compassion of volunteers. Whether you're donating your time to serve food to the homeless or your talents and expertise to a non-profit organization, volunteers provide a valuable service to communities across the United States. In recent years, many larger charities and non-profit organizations have asked would-be donors to submit a volunteer resume with an application.

A volunteer position has changed significantly over the past decade. In years past, if someone wanted to donate their time to an organization, they could show up to an event, put on the charity's t-shirt, and help whenever possible.

Nowadays, non-profits and community organizations need to pre-screen and qualify volunteers to ensure they are reliable and will represent their brand with ethical behavior.

Creating a resume with volunteer experience is a good idea if you're looking to volunteer your time. This is what we'll outline today. In the information below, we'll provide a detailed guide on how to write a resume for volunteer work.

Our team of professional resume writers has created two volunteer work resume examples that showcase the candidate's expertise, qualifications, compassion, and dedication to serving their communities. So – if you'd like to review a few practical volunteer resume samples with a detailed guide on creating content in each section, let's get started.

Volunteer Resume Sample

Volunteering can include remedial tasks such as collecting tickets, fundraising, community service, assisting with healthcare, signing people up for activities, or serving food. It can also require a candidate to have professional skills, such as being a construction worker, a certified professional, or having strong technical skills.

The two resume examples with volunteer work we've selected showcase what professional non-profits or community groups seek in their candidates. Let's take a closer look at two volunteer resume samples.

Volunteer Construction Worker

In recent years, many non-profit organizations focusing on providing resources for military veterans and first responders have significantly grown. Many groups build custom homes for those who have been wounded during their time of services, such as Homes for Heros, Tunnel for Towers, and others.

The volunteering resume examples below are an excellent example of how the finished project should look. It is from our mythical candidate Danny Jackson, a former US Navy Veteran with electrical and general construction expertise, hoping to volunteer for a hypothetical non-profit we're calling The Homes 4 Heros Foundation.

A professional yet laid-back or conversational tone should be used when creating a volunteer resume. It should be a one-page document with relevant employment history, a good volunteer resume description (or resume objective), relevant skills, reputable references, and any required education.

It's clear to notice that this is what Danny has done with his resume for volunteer work. The organization builds custom homes for disabled veterans who require unique enhancements to their homes to help them live a higher quality of life. His resume format is clean, easy to scan, has a relevant experience section, and flows from start to finish.

As a former Navy Veteran, who worked on advanced weapons systems and currently works as a commercial construction foreman, it's clear that Danny has the required expertise to provide valuable service to this group.

His resume includes his personal contact information, making it easier for the Homes 4 Heros Foundation to contact him directly. It continues with a well-written resume objective, highlighting his desire to join this non-profit. It outlines his qualifications, previous military experience, and dedication to supporting fellow veterans.

Further in the resume is his work history section, which supports the professional qualifications required to volunteer for this non-profit home-building company. Specifically, he has listed his current employment as a commercial construction foreman, focusing on electrical work.

He also mentions his military career, whereas a CIWS weapons system operator provided him with the technical training to become a certified electrician apprentice. However, the military experience also gives him the work ethic, team building, and problem-solving skills to help the project.

One of our professional resume writers wrote it to give you a great baseline and practical examples of the type of language you should include in the resume. Take some time to review the entire resume. When you're finished, continue reading the article. We'll discuss each section and provide tips for tackling this project later in this article.

Red Cross Volunteer Resume

Download This Resume Example

Create your professional resume now

The American Red Cross is one of the most valuable non-profit organizations. They serve communities throughout the globe during times of crisis, including wars, natural disasters, and global pandemics. However, they are also the world's most prominent collector of life-giving blood donated by compassionate people worldwide.

The people who complete blood draws are known as phlebotomists. Our volunteering candidate is Susan Smith, who currently serves as a Certified Phlebotomist for a medical office in her hometown of Thornton, Colorado. She hopes to join the American Red Cross to volunteer her time during select weekends to assist with mobile blood drives in the Greater Denver Metro area. She has written a community volunteer resume sample for us to review.

You'll need to go above and beyond with your resume to stand out among a sea of other competent volunteer applicants. Susan achieves this in the first line of her resume objective area. She has prepared this document primarily for the Red Cross office in Denver.

A phlebotomist's workday is never the same since offices range from modest solo practice to huge, high-volume hospitals. Because of this vastness, a phlebotomist's profession may vary significantly. Check-in patients, taking phone calls, performing complete venipuncture or capillary puncture blood draws, and collecting other bodily fluid samples are all part of the job.

When you read the phlebotomist's resume, you'll notice that she has included:

• A work history section (second serving as a volunteer of a mobile clinic).
• Her education.
• Three excellent references.
• Her top skills relevant to the job.

Now that you've reviewed two exceptional volunteer resume examples let's explore how to write, structure, and edit each of the primary sections included.

How to Write a Good Resume for Volunteer Work: Full Guide to Successful Volunteer Resumes

Reviewing most volunteering job postings will make it 100 percent clear how to build and structure your resume. The job description will often include the skills, relevant job experience, and education or certifications for the specific volunteer position. However, many non-profit organizations are looking for general volunteers – to complete office duties, help with warehousing, or other operational tasks.

The key is to research what your charity, community organization, or non-profit might be seeking before creating a resume for them. In many cases, if you are a specialist, such as our two hypothetical volunteering candidates above, you can fine-tune your existing professional resume to make it for a volunteer position.

Best practices for writing volunteer resumes suggest including the following primary sections.

Personal Contact Info:  Always provide your complete legal name, mailing and email address, and cell phone number. Keep it basic unless asked otherwise; there's no need to include social media connections like LinkedIn unless requested.

Professional Summary:  A volunteer's resume summary, often known as a volunteer resume objective, is a four- to a five-sentence elevator pitch. This is your first chance to make an impression.

Work History:  List out your professional experience or previous volunteering jobs. You should include job specifics as well as a few standout accomplishments.

Education:  A GED certificate or a high school diploma is required for most volunteer jobs. However, if the specialist or professional licensing you possess is requested by the organization looking for volunteers, list your highest degree in the education section. No need to add your GPA or core course study, unless it’s applicable to your position.

Skills:  Including five to seven features in the volunteer abilities resume part is essential. Many jobs recruiting firms use applicant tracking software to search for these action words, so it's best to include them in the skills portion.

References:  Choose two or three thorough references, including two professional or previous employers and one personal that can support your job search.

The most important aspects of the resume are represented by these primary sections noted above. If a future employer asks for more information on your resume, you should provide it. Including certifications such as CPR or First Aid in one section is better if that's what you need.

For this article – we will focus on the primary sections displayed in the sample resumes. The following areas below will help you build out the content for each.

Section #1 – List Your Contact Information

The first item on your resume will always be contact information. While it's more than likely that you'll fill out an official job application, the resume should be a supporting document that further supports your candidacy. However, one essential item for future employees is consistency with their applicants.

To ensure that you have the best chance of success, ensure that the contact information listed on your application matches 100 percent of your resume. For example, some people will write generic resumes for volunteer positions and submit them to every job. However, they may move or change their mobile phone number – and not update their resume.

Let's review Susan's resume for this section. You'll notice that her contact information is easy to see. This will make it easier for prospective volunteer organizations to contact you directly.

How to Format this Section

We recommend that you use a resume builder or template to format each part of your resume so that it appears polished and professional. It will guarantee that the document looks professional while ensuring that important information is easy to remember. Remember that the contact information you provided on the application should be used for the resume (including name, mailing address, address, city, state, zip code, email, and phone number).

Section #2 – Professional Summary 

A professional summary or resume overview is your best opportunity to provide a general overview of the information posted below. Consider it like a written elevator pitch, where you introduce your candidacy, explain what you want, showcase your experience and qualifications, and why you're the right person for the job.

Let's provide two different examples of writing this section.

Volunteer Resume Summary for Non-Profit Organization

This sample is from Danny's resume. He is applying for a construction volunteer position with a non-profit organization called Homes 4 Heros Foundation. You'll notice that he has written this section for this specific volunteering position.

What makes this summary different from others is that Danny frequently mentions attributes that showcase his passion for people served by the Foundation – former US Military and First Responders who require custom-built homes. It's crucial to many non-profit organizations that volunteers have a personal connection to support those they serve.

Volunteer Resume Summary for General Organizations

When you're writing a resume for an organization that doesn't serve a specific demographic, you can approach your resume summary differently.

You can see this in Susan's resume summary posted above. She focuses on her expertise as a phlebotomist – the service provided by the American Red Cross during their mobile blood drives.

The professional summary of a perfect resume should be less than 200-words. It's intended to be a short yet persuasive paragraph written in a conversational yet professional tone. You'll want to sprinkle your hard and soft skills into the section to convince the reader to learn more about you.

Section #3 – Employment History

Having the right work experience is another vital component to gaining a job interview for a volunteer position. Many employers search for candidates with the right skills and who previously served in this capacity. It's due to this fact that listing relevant employment history should be your top priority.

For a volunteer position, showcasing the skills and experience you possess that fit with the needs of the organization seeking volunteers is essential. For example, in Susan's sample resume below, you'll notice that she has listed two relevant jobs – both serving as phlebotomists. The first is her "day job," – where she completes blood draws in a medical office.

The second job listed is a previous volunteer position, working with a mobile clinic in the City of Denver. This gives the Red Cross a practical example of providing phlebotomy services in a remote environment – such as the blood drives they provide onsite.

The data you enter in your work history must be correct to the application. When choosing roles, keep track (and remember) of the dates you worked there and your job title and key responsibilities.

It's critical to choose two of your most recent relevant employment. When presenting them, do so in reverse chronological order — or from the newest to the oldest. Always include your employer's name, address, start and end dates of employment, occupation, and a few bullet points on essential duties or achievements.

Section #4 – Education

Specific educational requirements may be necessary depending on the work you're looking for. Most volunteer jobs will need a high school diploma or GED certificate. However, the education section of your volunteer resume is an opportunity to demonstrate the highest level of education you've obtained. While it's always up to the hiring manager to make that decision, having a college degree might be a tiebreaker in certain situations.

Susan has listed her Certification as a Phlebotomist in the sample resume above, which is relevant for this profession. If you have only a high school diploma, include it here. However, if you are currently enroll in college, do not list it on your resume. Instead, include this information in your cover letter, which should always be attached to each resume submission.

How to Format This Section

It's as simple as it sounds. Simply state the school's name, location, dates, and degree received. Make sure to match your application information and other completed documents to the volunteer position you're applying for.

Section #5– References

The best references are those who can testify to your previous work ethic, ability to complete tasks as assigned, and your teamwork ability. They are typically selected to maintain a professional relationship (even if they were in a previous job). This would be called a professional reference, a mentor, previous employer, or manager who speaks credibility and has years of experience in their position.

The other type of reference is a personal one – such as a family friend or personal mentor who serves in a professional career (like a banker, lawyer, or business owner). They are submitted to resumes to speak on your interpersonal skills or character. Recruiters love seeing high-profile careers as references for volunteers.

Let's go back to Danny's resume sample for an example of the type of references he's listed. You'll note that he selected the owner of the construction firm he works for – along with a former commanding officer during his time in the Navy. Since he is applying for a volunteer position with a non-profit that builds homes for military veterans who are disabled, both references are exceptional.

When listing references on a volunteer resume, please include the first and last name of your reference, their place of work, and the phrase "available upon request." Unless requested by the organization you are applying to, this will keep their contact information private. Check out some of our resume templates to see how they arrange the reference section on resumes.

Section #6 – Skills

A good volunteer will be adaptable at writing and oral communication, conflict resolution, multitasking, maintaining an upbeat demeanor, time management, attention to detail, compassion, and completed tasks as assigned. As a volunteer is typically not paid for their efforts, the candidate must choose organizations that help a community or strongly support a mission they believe in.

The skills section is more critical with volunteering positions that will focus on a specific task. Let's look at Danny's resume for the example in this case. As a former US Navy veteran and current construction foreman, he's focused on industry-specific skills such as carpentry, being an electrical apprentice, maintaining OSHA compliance (for safety), and having a solid work ethic.

The skills section is a bulleted list of your future employer's needs. It describes five to seven bullet points demonstrating where you excel in the future. When using a resume builder or template, we recommend dividing the skills into a sidebar for organization and space efficiency.

Final Points on Crafting Effective Volunteering Resumes

The ideal volunteers have the appropriate expertise, hard and soft skills, and a work ethic to follow through on tasks as required. During an interview, they'll be able to show their personality, but they must first obtain an invitation. An excellent volunteer resume submitted together with a correct application, and well-written cover letter is always a great idea.

You've arrived at the right location if your objective is to obtain a well-written, detailed, and exciting resume. We've made a simple road map to guarantee that your resume is polished, clear, and engaging. All you must do now is follow the steps outlined above. Here are a few quick reminders for those who need them.

• Make sure your volunteering job resume flows from start to finish.
• Always write your resume on a plain white background with black font.
• Edit your written content through Grammarly – or another online grammar editing tool that will save you time.
• Ensure it's well-spaced, organized, and professional.
• Finally, read it aloud a few times before you're ready to paste the content into a resume builder or template.

Finally, there is one more thing to think about. Ask a few pals to review or edit your resume afterward, especially those who are now volunteers for the organization you wish to join. Have them go through it carefully and offer any helpful insights you may have missed.

Having a second or third set of eyes review a volunteer resume before submitting it to the hiring manager is an excellent approach to ensure it's as polished as possible.

Related articles

Aviation resume example, template, skills, objective & writing guide for 2024.

For job seekers aspiring to secure a position within the dynamic field of aviation, crafting a...

Uber Driver Resume Example, Description, Skills & How to Write Tips for 2024

Crafting a standout resume is crucial for job seekers looking to drive for platforms like Uber and...

Lifeguard Resume Example, Description, Skills & How to Write Tips for 2024

Crafting a compelling lifeguard resume is a crucial step for anyone aspiring to safeguard the lives...

More than 112.872 users have already made their resume

With CV maker, you can quickly and easily create a distinctive and professional resume within 15 minutes.

• • Provided counseling and support for about 50% of the displaced persons
• • Assessed the food security situation and daily dietary intake of 100+ refugee households
• • Collaborated and coordinated a group of 10 volunteers in organizing 3 events, raising a total of $20,000

4 Volunteer Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Your volunteer resume should highlight your commitment to the causes you care for. It must reflect your passion and the skills you've acquired. Showcase the impact of your work and quantify it whenever possible. Don't forget to include any leadership roles or initiatives you've taken.

Resume Guide

What you’ll learn here, how to write a volunteer resume, volunteer resume formats, build an attention-grabbing header, coherent summary section & secret formula, objective that is straight to the point, volunteer experience focusing on action & contribution, must-have volunteer skills & strengths for a resume, education section in a volunteer resume, volunteer resume certificates worth mentioning, cohesive day of my life section offering authenticity, key takeaways, community organizer, hospital volunteer.

Do you want to gain volunteer experience? Or maybe you found something you believe in and desire to contribute to a cause?

Despite your selfless intentions, recruiters do not return the calls?

Don’t get upset!

Some positions require specific qualifications and an extraordinary approach. That’s why we are here to help you in your journey! Here you will learn to build a top-notch resume that highlights your best attributes and catches attention.

Follow this ultimate 2022 volunteer resume guide and achieve your goals!

• how to list volunteer work on your resume
• where to put related volunteer work for the best effect
• how to include volunteer experience using bullet points and prove to be perfect for the job
• how to choose between resume summary or objective
• what other sections will fit the volunteer resume, and how to build them

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

William Shakespeare

Remember this quote because it’s the basis of what we are about to discuss here.

The idea of the volunteer resume is to show how you can give away your:

Yes, you might want to volunteer to add experience to your resume when applying for college or else. And that’s okay!

However, you should take a human-centered approach and prove to the recruiters that you can indeed:

• help people be one step closer to their dreams
• contribute to a specific cause that will make the world a better place

How are you going to do it? 

Firstly, you have better tailor all resume sections to the volunteer position.

That’s a must!

Secondly, you should prove to recruiters that you could apply all you’ve learned from college or professional experience.

Focus on skills and strengths like empathy and communication that directly benefit people.

Describe how you will contribute to the cause you chose.

It’s needless to point out that self motivation is crucial. 

After all, your desire to leave your mark on someone’s life is a driving force!

Continue reading and learn what volunteer resume formats will earn you extra points!

You can use these three resume formats:

• Reverse-chronological resume
• Functional resume
• Hybrid resume

The following two factors will define your choice of a resume format:

• Years of experience
• Industry experience
• Reverse-chronological resumes are a good option for candidates with a couple of years in the niche.
• Functional resumes match professionals that change careers or job seekers. However, this format is not widely popular among recruiters
• Hybrid resumes combine the best of both worlds, as they are suitable for all types of professionals-beginners and seniors.

Pay attention to the style and layout ! Here are some resume tips:

• Utilize the 12p resume font size
• Use 10’ resume margins
• If you have under 10 years of experience-use one-page resume , otherwise- two-page resume
• Check your grammar and spelling
• Focus on the PDF format

If you want to get the interview call, you should add References and Languages !

Top resume sections:

• The Summary section introduces you as an individual, lists your qualities and skills and reveals the cause you believe in
• Your expertise is a clear sign of whether you will fit a specific volunteer position
• Skills and strengths show how you could contribute to the volunteer program
• Decent education is a bonus
• References from reputable figures also add more credibility to your resume

What recruiters want to see:

• What do you believe in? How can you make the world a better place?
• How could you put your knowledge acquired from school/college into practice?
• What are your personality traits? Does helping people give you pleasure?
• What are your goals? Do you apply to be a volunteer to add experience to your resume? Or do you have other motives?
• Are you a self-motivated person? How do you act in difficult situations? Are you capable of working in a team?

It’s unbelievable how many people build their resume header wrong.

They rush to skip the “no brainer” section and focus on the content.

However, if you do not introduce personal information and contacts, you might miss the train to success.

Here are some tips on what to include in your header to make a positive impression on recruiters:

• Try to use the same name on all your social platforms: if you put Jonathan in your resume, avoid writing “Johnny” in your LinkedIn profile
• Always write down your job title: try to add volunteer positions that are relevant to the one you are applying for
• List the phone number that you use most
• Include a professional email address: it’s preferable to contain your first and last/middle name
• Web portfolio address or LinkedIn profile that will provide evidence of your previous volunteer experience
• Accurate location: do not lie about your address because this might cause only troubles

These are two examples: one wrong and one right. Analyze them carefully and build an attention-grabbing header!

2 Volunteer resume header examples

It is scientifically proven that people always remember the first and the last sentence of each discussion, monologue, or text.

Therefore, the Summary section is worth your attention.

Your introduction should convey the feeling of confidence, self motivation and empathy.

Thus, you can describe your skills and experience and outline how they will help you contribute to your cause.

You can follow this simple but quite effective formula when building your volunteer summary section:

• Mention the years and field of experience supported with favorable adjectives
• Use quantitative data to describe your duties and responsibilities
• Add skills that you excelled in, tailored to the job description
• Include achievements, awards, or similar recognitions from authoritative institutions and people
• Finish the summary with a sentence saying what you are looking for

If you follow these steps, you can expect a return call from recruiters soon!

Take notes and be careful when writing yours!

2 Volunteer resume summary examples

The following sample is not that bad, but it’s far from impressive.

There is no quantitative data and nothing specific at all.

Such a wrong approach might cost you the job interview, so avoid:

• Mediocre sentences like starting with “I”
• Vague and general information without proven facts
• Adding skills or duties irrelevant to the job offer

The volunteer summary above is 10 out of 10! Nothing short of success! Don’t try to be “extravagant” and follow the steps we provided for you! You will be mesmerized by what simplicity might do for you!

Let’s set the difference between volunteer summary and objective:

In the summary section, you can include achievements, education, skills and an explanation of why you are the right candidate.

On the other hand, the objective is more straight to the point.

It is a brief statement that communicates your career goals: the job and the skills you want to acquire.

It’s preferable also to add your experience backed up with facts and quantitative data.

Here is a coherent example of an objective that speaks volumes:

Believe it or not, you should treat the volunteer experience just like a job!

You don’t have the right to describe irrelevant details that offer no value.

Your bullet point should show determination and self motivation.

That’s how you will prove to recruiters that you are on the right track.

To take the right approach and prove your contribution, you should:

• Describe your duties using proven facts, action verbs and numbers
• Emphasize activities and projects that you personally led and organized
• Mention what soft/hard skills you acquired and how you utilized them
• Use high-performance metrics and do not hesitate to add references or recognitions

It’s essential to follow these 4 to describe your volunteering efficiently.

Do not forget to tailor all the bullet points to the job description!

Recruiters search for candidates with relevant expertise to maximize the project outcomes.

If you lack creativity now, ask yourself questions and answer them:

What were my responsibilities? How did I excel in them?

How did I manage to cope with stress in the dynamic environment?

How did communication and empathy help me build trust in people?

Was I recognized for my contributions? Did I get positive feedback? By whom?

Follow this advice and show to recruiters admirable volunteer resume experience!

Volunteer resume experience examples

• • Provided patient education
• • Received positive feedback and praises
• • Participated in fundraisers and organized events
• • Monitored a lot of patients

One word, 8 symbols:

Unfortunately, this applicant has no idea how to list and describe their previous experience.

Thank God you ran into our volunteer guide and learned how to write it!

Prove us right and take notes from the following well-built Experience section!

• • Provided patient education sessions twice per week
• • Received 98% positive feedback from patients and was highly praised by the hospital manager
• • Participated in 3 fundraisers and organized 3 events to raise funds to support hospital’s innovative cancer treatment program
• • Monitored 60+ patients and ensured all medications were administered on time

Attention! If your volunteer experience is relevant to the position you are applying for, include it in the Experience section. Otherwise, if you mention it to fill the resume gaps, use it as a separate Volunteering section.

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

H. Jackson Brown Jr., American Author

The meaning behind this quote should be your maxim.

Yes, you should balance your soft and hard skills and tailor them to the job description.

Nevertheless, if your abilities do not correspond to giving value, they are useless.

Remember that volunteering is all about the people you help.

Then, you should offer skills that match these vital criteria.

5 Volunteer Hard Skills:

• Microsoft Office
• Physical Fitness
• Good Memory
• Foreign Languages
• Basic Computer Skills

5 Volunteer Soft Skills:

• Interpersonal Skills
• Self-Motivation
• Customer Service

The Strengths section is an amazing opportunity to stand out from the competition .

Here you could list your talents or the skills you excelled.

Then, you can back them up with examples or quantitative data.

Of course, it’s crucial to focus on strengths related to the job description and focus on positive personality traits.

If you are a skilled professional with deep expertise, there is no need to add bullet points in the Education section .

However, if you are a freshman or a youngster with little to no experience, you need to stand out.

You must show how your school/college prepares you to apply your skills in a real-life situation.

Here are 4 vital steps to follow when describing your education:

• Write down what skills you acquired and how you applied them in your experience
• Mention some high-performance metrics you achieved and back them up with numbers
• Show self motivation and positive personality traits: volunteering focuses on helping people
• Add GPA (higher than 3.5), references from your tutors, or other achievements 

Below are listed the most common volunteer certifications in the USA.

It’s easy to declare that all of them indicate self motivation.

However, try to include these certificates only if relevant to the job offer.

Thus, you increase your chances of getting hired by at least 50%.

Top volunteer certificates for your resume:

• ManageFirst
• Learn2Serve
• Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE)
• Certified Healthcare Administrative Professional (cHAP)

Time management is crucial when it comes to taking serious responsibilities.

The “Day of My Life” section is a cohesive way to prove you are an organized and dedicated candidate.

However, many applicants repeat the same mistake.

They build the diagram without including the time they would spend on volunteering.

Such action would make the whole section pointless.

Take your time, decide how much of your time you could give away on volunteering and add it to the diagram.

• Use action verbs and quantitative data to support every section of your resume, especially your experience
• Focus on positive personality traits and describe how you want to contribute to the cause you believe in
• Tailor your soft and hard skills to the volunteer position. Emphasize self motivation, communication and organization
• Add a Day of My Life section, References, or Strengths to build trust in recruiters

Volunteer resume examples

Explore additional volunteer resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

Looking to build your own Volunteer resume?

• Resume Examples

How to List Multiple Jobs at the Same Company On a Resume

3 reasons why you should differentiate fired vs laid off on your resume, how to write an international resume for a job abroad, what is the purpose of a resume, 214 unique action verbs to power up your resume, area of expertise: a smart way to curate resume experience and skills.

• Create Resume
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Preferences
• Resume Templates
• AI Resume Builder
• Resume Summary Generator
• Resume Formats
• Resume Checker
• Resume Skills
• How to Write a Resume
• Modern Resume Templates
• Simple Resume Templates
• Cover Letter Builder
• Cover Letter Examples
• Cover Letter Templates
• Cover Letter Formats
• How to Write a Cover Letter
• Resume Guides
• Cover Letter Guides
• Job Interview Guides
• Job Interview Questions
• Career Resources
• Meet our customers
• Career resources
• English (UK)
• French (FR)
• German (DE)
• Spanish (ES)
• Swedish (SE)

© 2024 . All rights reserved.

Made with love by people who care.

How to Write a Volunteer Resume [+Example for 2024]

You’ve found something you believe in.

You want to help as much as you can.

But first, you need a resume that highlights your best attributes. 

Well, allow us to help you with this resume guide for all volunteers!

• A job-winning volunteer resume example
• How to create a volunteer resume that hiring managers love
• Volunteer-specific tips and tricks to make your resume stand out

Now, before we move on, here’s a volunteer resume example, created with our very own resume builder :

Follow the steps in this guide to create a job-winning resume of your own! 

How to Format a Volunteer Resume

Here’s a fact for you:

Your resume isn’t the only one on the recruiter’s desk.

In fact, they have a TON to get through, which is why recruiters tend to skim-read as they go through the pile of resumes.

This means you need to make your information clear and concise. 

You can do this by using the best resume format for volunteer resumes. 

The most common resume format is “ reverse-chronological ”, so we’d recommend this format for your resume…

There are two other popular formats that you could try:

• Functional Resume – Choose this format if you have many skills, but don’t have any real experience. Essentially, this format is ideal for volunteers who are seeking a role they have never held
• Combination Resume – As the name suggests, a combination resume is a combination of “Functional” and “Reverse-Chronological”. As such, this format is perfect for volunteers who have both skills and experience

Once you’ve decided on the format, you need to get your resume layout right.

For a professional resume layout, here’s what we recommend:

Margins - the margins are set automatically according to recruiters in the editor.

Font - Pick a font that stands out, but not too much. 

• Do: Ubuntu, Roboto, etc.
• Don’t: Comic Sans

Resume Length - Don’t go over the 1-page limit. If you’re having trouble fitting everything into one page? You may want to view these one-page resume templates .

Use a Volunteer Resume Template

You have a number of options when it comes to resume writing tools.

Now, Word may be your first choice, but we invite you to reconsider.

You see, building your own resume in a text-editing tool can result in massive formatting issues. 

The alternative is to use a volunteering resume template by choosing from one of the templates here .

This will ensure your resume looks professional at all times. 

What to Include in a Volunteer Resume

The main sections in a volunteer resume are:

• Contact Information
• Resume Summary or Objective
• Work Experience/ Volunteer Experience

For a resume that stands out, even more, try adding these optional sections:

• Awards & Certification
• Personal Projects

Interests & Hobbies

It’s now time to go through each of those sections, and explain how to write them...

Not sure which sections to use for your resume? Check out our guide to What to Put on a Resume .

How to Correctly Write Your Contact Information

The tips in this guide will help with creating the best volunteer resume possible.

But those tips are worthless if mistakes are made in this section.

For your contact section, follow these rules:

• Title - Make this specific to the role you’re applying for
• Phone Number - Quadruple check this!
• Email Address - Make sure to use a professional email address ([email protected])
• Portfolio Link or personal website
• (Optional) Relevant Social Media - e.g.: LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, etc.
• (Optional) Location - Applying for a job abroad? Mention your location.

Stephen Johnson, Volunteer. 101-358-6095. [email protected]

Stephen Johnson, Volunteering Viking. 101-358-6095. [email protected]

How to Write a Volunteer Resume Summary or Objective

The volunteer industry is just as competitive as any other employment opportunity.

In fact, most volunteering jobs have hundreds of applicants applying to become a volunteer for the greater good. 

As such, just telling the recruiter how passionate you are won’t cut it. 

So how do you catch the recruiter’s attention and stand out?

You need to show your value straight away!

You can do this with a resume summary or objective , which are attention-grabbing paragraphs that sit at the top of your resume. 

Although the two are very similar, there are a couple of differences… 

A resume summary is a 2-4 sentence summary of your professional experiences and achievements.

Experienced and passionate volunteer with 5+ years of experience in helping various foundations with their aspirations. Notable highlights include managing an event with 2,000 attendees, scoring 99.5% positive feedback rates, and raising $67,302 revenue when leading a bake sale.]

A resume objective is a 2-4 sentence snapshot of your professional goals and aspirations.

A hard-working volunteer seeks a chance to make a difference with The National Trust. Experience includes working as a temp events volunteer during the summer term. Able to handle a variety of tasks, including greeting the public, preparing activities, and operating POS systems.

So, which option should a volunteer in your situation pick? 

All volunteers have their own specific background, but generally, resume summaries are the best option for those who have a relevant job history, whereas an objective summary is the best option for those with little to no work experience. 

How to Make Your Work Experience Stand Out

Regardless of the type of charity you apply for, they all have one thing in common…

They want to see your work experience .  

Sure, your core skills are important too, but experience always wins. Start with your most recent experience, and then work backwards. Here’s a winning work experience structure…

• Position name
• Company Name
• Dates Employed
• Responsibilities & Achievements

Event Volunteer

National Trust

01/2019 – 03/2020

• Prepared for a 2,000 person event in 8 hours – this involved setting up trails, preparing craft activities, and ensuring complete information and signage
• Provided a warm and friendly welcome at all events, which resulted in a 99.5% positive feedback score
• In charge of running the cake sale, which resulted in $8.302 revenue for the foundation

As shown above, you want to show some impressive achievements, not minor tasks.

So, instead of saying:

“greeted visitors”

“Provided a warm and friendly welcome at all events, which resulted in a 99.5% positive feedback score”

So, what’s the difference between the two?

The second statement goes into more depth about how your presence had a positive impact on the event and the foundation. This clearly shows that you’re someone who should be hired immediately. 

What if You Don’t Have Experience?

Maybe you’re a recent university graduate with no job experience?

Or maybe you have worked many jobs, but never volunteered for a charity?

Don’t worry, we have the solution.

All you need are a few core skills and a desire to learn.

And this can be shown with school projects or experiences from related jobs. 

For example, if you’ve ever worked as a customer service representative, you can talk about any crossover skills and experiences. Just like a volunteer in a public-facing role, you were friendly and dealt with various concerns. 

If you’re a recent graduate , you might want to check out our guide on how to make a student resume !

Use Action Words to Make Your Volunteer Resume POP!

Flick through a bunch of volunteering resumes, and you’ll notice one thing.

They all include these same words. 

And since you want your resume to stand out, we recommend using power words instead.

Here is a list of power words to make your achievements stand out :

• Conceptualized
• Spearheaded

How to List Your Education Correctly

Welcome to the education section!

If your experience section isn’t the best, your education is where you need to shine.

Simply list out your education entries, like this:

• Degree Type & Major
• University Name
• Years Studied
• GPA, Honours, Courses, and anything else you might want to add

B.A. Nursing Management  

University of Chicago

Courses: Anatomy and Physiology, Nursing Care, Mental Health, Sociological and Psychological Aspects of Healthcare, Approaches to Research

Before we conclude this section, here are some of the most frequent questions we get from volunteers (and their answers!):

What if I haven’t finished education?

• Whether you’re still a student, or finished school years ago, you should mention the years/courses studied so far in your life

Should I include my high school education?

• Only include your high school education if you haven’t gone on to further education

What is more important, education or experience?

• Experiences always come before education

Need more answers? Check out our guide on how to list education on a resume .

Top 10 Skills for a Volunteer Resume

When the recruiter is reviewing your resume, they want to see that you’re skilled enough to complete the work they require.  

You see, the resume reviewer will have been given a brief regarding the desired job skills. 

As such, the skills section should reflect the needs of the job.

Need some inspiration?

It’ll depend on the specific volunteering job that you’re applying for, but here are some of the most common and desirable skills:

Hard Skills for Volunteers:

• Point-of-Sale Systems
• Microsoft Office
• CPR Certified 
• Phone Desk Operation

Soft Skills for Volunteers:

• Communication
• Leadership 
• Strategic thinking

Looking for a more comprehensive list? Here’s a mega-list of 100+ must-have skills .

Other Resume Sections You Can Include on a Volunteering Resume

Now, there’s a good chance that the other candidates will have similar volunteering experiences to you.

But if this is the case, won’t your resume look the same as all the others?

Well yes. That’s why we recommend adding a few of the following sections to make your resume stand out. 

Awards & Certifications

Your volunteering work will impress the recruiter.

But don’t leave things there.

Have you completed any courses to improve your skills?

Have you ever been awarded for your duties?

Be sure to mention everything that you’re proud of. Well, only if it is relevant to the volunteering position. 

• Sales Training: Building Your Sales Career – Coursera Certificate
• Best Business Pitch Award – University of Texas
•  Learning How to Learn – Coursera Certificate
• CPR Certification

Your resume shows the assets you can offer to the foundation.

Even though being bilingual may not be an essential skill, it is another asset that your future employer can call upon.  

If this relates to you, and you have space in your resume, definitely include a languages section.

Make sure to split the languages by proficiency:

• Intermediate

The recruiter should now be interested in hiring you.

But before they do, they will want to know more about your personal side. 

As such, it can be a good idea to talk about your hobbies and interests.  

If you’re not sure which hobbies & interests to mention, you can read our guide! 

Include a Cover Letter with Your Resume

You’re a volunteer because you want to make a difference.

Resumes are great for showing your skills and experiences, but you want the foundation to know WHY you want to volunteer for them. 

Cover letters show that you want to work with THIS specific charity.

As such, a cover letter can significantly boost your chances of obtaining the position.

Here’s how to get the structure right:

And here’s what to write in each section:

Contact Details

Your personal contact information, including full name, profession, email, phone number, and location.

Hiring Manager’s Contact Information

Full name, position, location, email

Opening Paragraph

Your introduction should be strong enough to hook the hiring manager, so mention:

• The volunteering position you’re applying for
• Your experience summary and top achievements as a volunteer (or most relevant)

Once you’ve got the hiring manager hooked, you can go through the rest of your background. Some of the points you can mention here are:

• Why you want to volunteer for this specific foundation
• Anything you know about the culture
• What are your top skills and how are they relevant for the job
• If you’ve ever volunteer before

Closing Paragraph

This is where you:

• Wrap up any points you missed in the body paragraph
• Thank the hiring manager for their time
• End with a call to action. Something like, “I’d love to further discuss how my experience as an X can help the company with Y”

Formal Salutations

Use a formal closing, such as “Best regards” or “Sincerely.”

View our how-to write a cover letter guide for extra guidance.

Related Resume Examples

• No Experience Resume
• Social Worker Resume
• Internship Resume
• Office Assistant Resume
• Career Change Resume

Key Takeaways

Followed the steps in this guide? Then you’re in the best position to get that role you’re applying for.

Before we finish up, let’s quickly go through everything we’ve learned:

• Select the right formatting for your resume. Try the reverse-chronological format, and then follow the best practices in regards to the layout. Remember, keep your resume needs to look professional
• Use a resume summary or objective to immediately catch the recruiter’s attention
• For the work experience section, talk more about your achievements, instead of your daily responsibilities
• Write a compelling and convincing cover letter

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.

6 Volunteer Resume Examples for Your 2024 Job Search

Volunteers are known for their adaptability and dedication, always ready to step in where they're needed most. Similarly, your resume should mirror the versatility and commitment of a volunteer, demonstrating your ability to adapt to different roles and situations. In this guide, we'll explore X examples of volunteer resumes that effectively showcase this adaptability and dedication.

Resume Examples

Resume guidance.

• High Level Resume Tips
• Must-Have Information
• Why Resume Headlines & Titles are Important
• Writing an Exceptional Resume Summary
• How to Impress with Your Work Experience
• Top Skills & Keywords
• Go Above & Beyond with a Cover Letter
• Resume FAQs
• Related Resumes

Common Responsibilities Listed on Volunteer Resumes:

• Assist in organizing events: Volunteers may be tasked with helping to plan and execute various events. This could include setting up for the event, managing registration, and helping with clean up afterwards.
• Provide support to staff: Volunteers often assist staff members with their daily tasks. This could include administrative work, such as filing paperwork or answering phones, or more hands-on tasks, such as helping to maintain facilities.
• Fundraising: Many organizations rely on fundraising to support their work. Volunteers may be asked to help with fundraising efforts, such as organizing a charity event or helping to solicit donations.
• Community outreach: Volunteers often play a key role in reaching out to the community. This could involve representing the organization at community events, distributing informational materials, or speaking to groups about the organization's work.
• Mentoring or tutoring: If the organization works with children or young people, volunteers may be asked to provide mentoring or tutoring services. This could involve helping with homework, providing career advice, or simply being a positive role model.
• Provide specialized skills: If a volunteer has a particular skill, such as graphic design or carpentry, they may be asked to use this skill to benefit the organization. This could involve designing promotional materials or helping to maintain facilities.
• Research: Volunteers may be asked to conduct research to support the organization's work. This could involve gathering data, conducting surveys, or researching potential funding sources.
• Social media and marketing: Many organizations

You can use the examples above as a starting point to help you brainstorm tasks, accomplishments for your work experience section.

Volunteer Resume Example:

• Assisted in organizing a charity event, resulting in a 30% increase in funds raised compared to the previous year.
• Provided support to staff by managing administrative tasks, such as filing paperwork and organizing schedules, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity.
• Conducted research to identify potential funding sources, resulting in the organization securing a grant worth $10,000.
• Played a key role in community outreach by representing the organization at local events and distributing informational materials, resulting in a 20% increase in community awareness and engagement.
• Mentored and tutored children in math and science, leading to a 15% improvement in their academic performance and increased confidence.
• Utilized graphic design skills to create promotional materials for fundraising campaigns, resulting in a 25% increase in donations.
• Assisted in the planning and execution of a large-scale event, managing registration and ensuring a smooth flow of attendees, resulting in a 10% increase in event attendance compared to the previous year.
• Provided specialized skills in carpentry to help maintain facilities, resulting in a 20% reduction in maintenance costs and improved facility appearance.
• Managed social media accounts and implemented marketing strategies, resulting in a 50% increase in followers and improved online engagement.
• Event planning and organization
• Administrative support
• Research and grant writing
• Community outreach and engagement
• Mentoring and tutoring
• Graphic design
• Large-scale event management
• Carpentry and facility maintenance
• Social media management
• Marketing strategy implementation
• Fundraising
• Communication skills
• Time management
• Leadership skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Attention to detail
• Adaptability
• Initiative and self-motivation
• Empathy and understanding.

Church Volunteer Resume Example:

• Organized and executed a successful church fundraiser, raising $10,000 for a local charity and exceeding the initial fundraising goal by 25%.
• Collaborated with church staff to revamp the church's social media presence, resulting in a 50% increase in online engagement and a broader reach within the community.
• Implemented a new volunteer training program, resulting in a 20% increase in volunteer retention and improved overall volunteer satisfaction.
• Managed the setup and operation of audio/visual equipment for weekly church services, ensuring smooth and high-quality audio and visual experiences for attendees.
• Assisted in the organization and management of church records, implementing a digital filing system that improved accessibility and reduced search time by 30%.
• Participated in church outreach activities, visiting the sick and elderly, providing emotional support and companionship to those in need.
• Assisted with the setup and cleanup of church services, ensuring a welcoming and organized environment for attendees.
• Provided support to church staff in various administrative tasks, including data entry, scheduling, and correspondence, improving overall efficiency and productivity.
• Assisted with the collection and counting of donations, implementing a new system that increased accuracy and reduced processing time by 20%.
• Fundraising and financial management
• Social media management and digital marketing
• Volunteer training and management
• Audio/visual equipment operation
• Record keeping and digital filing
• Community outreach and support
• Event setup and management
• Administrative support and data entry
• Donation collection and processing
• Emotional intelligence and empathy
• Team collaboration and coordination
• Problem-solving and innovation
• Time management and organization
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Leadership and initiative
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Public speaking and presentation skills
• Conflict resolution and mediation
• Proficiency in office software (Microsoft Office, Google Suite)

Community Involvement Resume Example:

• Developed and implemented a comprehensive community engagement strategy, resulting in a 30% increase in community participation and a 25% increase in brand awareness within the target demographic.
• Established strong partnerships with local businesses and organizations, leading to a 40% increase in sponsorships and donations for community events and initiatives.
• Managed a team of 50 volunteers and implemented a volunteer recognition program, resulting in a 20% increase in volunteer retention and a 15% increase in volunteer satisfaction.
• Created and executed a successful community outreach campaign, reaching over 10,000 community members and increasing attendance at community events by 50%.
• Developed and implemented a community education program, delivering workshops and seminars to over 500 individuals and increasing knowledge and awareness of key community issues by 40%.
• Managed social media campaigns, resulting in a 50% increase in online engagement and a 20% increase in website traffic.
• Developed and managed a community survey, gathering feedback from over 1,000 community members and using the data to inform strategic decision-making and program development.
• Successfully secured grants totaling $100,000 through effective grant writing and management, enabling the organization to expand community programs and services.
• Developed and managed budgets for community involvement initiatives, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and achieving a 10% cost savings while maintaining program quality.
• Community engagement strategy development
• Partnership building
• Volunteer management
• Community outreach campaign creation and execution
• Community education program development
• Social media campaign management
• Survey development and management
• Grant writing and management
• Budget development and management
• Strategic decision-making
• Program development
• Resource allocation
• Brand awareness strategies
• Sponsorship and donation acquisition
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Digital marketing
• Event planning and management
• Leadership and team management
• Conflict resolution and negotiation skills
• Understanding of community issues and needs
• Cultural sensitivity and inclusivity
• Fundraising strategies
• Project management
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Community Volunteer Resume Example:

• Assisted with the planning and execution of a community event, resulting in a 30% increase in attendance compared to the previous year.
• Developed and implemented a community program focused on providing support to elderly community members, resulting in a 25% decrease in social isolation among participants.
• Served as a mentor to five youth in the community, helping them improve their academic performance and increase their confidence levels.
• Participated in community outreach activities, reaching out to 500 individuals and providing them with information about available resources and services.
• Helped with fundraising efforts, organizing a successful charity auction that raised $10,000 for a local nonprofit organization.
• Assisted with the maintenance of community facilities, ensuring a clean and safe environment for community members, resulting in a 15% increase in facility usage.
• Assisted with the organization of community meetings and workshops, ensuring smooth logistics and high attendee satisfaction.
• Helped to create and maintain a positive public image of the community by managing social media accounts and generating engaging content, resulting in a 20% increase in followers and engagement.
• Assisted with the development of community resources and services, conducting research and gathering data to identify gaps and propose new initiatives, resulting in the implementation of a new after-school program for at-risk youth.
• Event planning and coordination
• Program development and implementation
• Mentoring and coaching
• Community outreach
• Fundraising and resource mobilization
• Facility maintenance and management
• Meeting and workshop organization
• Social media management and content creation
• Research and data analysis
• Service and resource development
• Public speaking and communication
• Problem-solving and critical thinking
• Empathy and understanding
• Cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness
• Volunteer coordination and management
• Budgeting and financial planning.

School Volunteer Resume Example:

• Assisted teachers in the classroom by providing one-on-one support to students, resulting in a 10% improvement in their academic performance.
• Organized and set up classrooms for activities, creating an engaging and conducive learning environment for students.
• Supervised students during recess and lunch, ensuring their safety and promoting positive behavior, leading to a 20% decrease in disciplinary incidents.
• Assisted with field trips and other school activities, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for students, parents, and staff.
• Helped with library duties such as shelving books and helping students find books, contributing to a 15% increase in library usage and student reading levels.
• Assisted with office duties such as filing, copying, and data entry, improving administrative efficiency by 25% and reducing backlog.
• Tutored students in specific subjects, resulting in a 15% improvement in their grades and academic confidence.
• Assisted with after-school programs, providing support and guidance to students in extracurricular activities, leading to a 10% increase in student participation and engagement.
• Helped with fundraising activities, contributing to a 20% increase in funds raised for school programs and resources.
• Classroom management
• One-on-one student support
• Academic tutoring
• Organizational skills
• Supervision and safety awareness
• Library management
• Data entry proficiency
• After-school program support
• Fundraising skills
• Positive reinforcement techniques
• Ability to engage and motivate students
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work in a team
• Patience and empathy
• Knowledge of child development and psychology
• Time management skills
• Flexibility and adaptability.

Student Volunteer Resume Example:

• Assisted with the organization of student events, resulting in a 30% increase in attendance and a 25% increase in funds raised for the organization.
• Developed educational materials for student programs, leading to a 15% improvement in student engagement and understanding of the content.
• Coordinated student activities and events, ensuring smooth execution and high satisfaction rates among participants.
• Recruited new volunteers for the organization, resulting in a 40% increase in volunteer participation and support for various initiatives.
• Assisted with the development of student mentorship programs, leading to a 20% increase in student satisfaction and successful mentor-mentee matches.
• Coordinated student service projects, resulting in the completion of 10 impactful projects and a positive impact on the local community.
• Assisted with the development of student leadership initiatives, resulting in the establishment of a student leadership program and a 50% increase in student leadership opportunities.
• Organized student workshops and seminars, attracting over 100 participants and receiving positive feedback on the quality of the content and delivery.
• Developed student advocacy initiatives, leading to increased awareness and support for important causes among the student body.
• Volunteer recruitment and management
• Educational material creation
• Student engagement and advocacy
• Leadership development
• Workshop and seminar organization
• Community service coordination
• Mentorship program development
• Problem-solving and decision-making
• Ability to work with diverse groups
• Conflict resolution and negotiation
• Budgeting and financial management.

High Level Resume Tips for Volunteers:

Must-have information for a volunteer resume:.

Here are the essential sections that should exist in an Volunteer resume:

• Contact Information
• Resume Headline
• Resume Summary or Objective
• Work Experience & Achievements
• Skills & Competencies

Additionally, if you're eager to make an impression and gain an edge over other Volunteer candidates, you may want to consider adding in these sections:

• Certifications/Training

Let's start with resume headlines.

Why Resume Headlines & Titles are Important for Volunteers:

Volunteer resume headline examples:, strong headlines.

• Dedicated Volunteer with 5+ years of experience in community outreach and event coordination, passionate about making a positive impact in the lives of others.
• Results-oriented Volunteer Leader with a proven track record of successfully managing and motivating teams of volunteers to achieve fundraising goals for non-profit organizations.
• Compassionate Volunteer with expertise in providing support and assistance to individuals in need, recognized for exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Why these are strong:

• These resume headlines for Volunteers are strong because they highlight key qualities and experiences that are highly relevant to the role. The first headline emphasizes the candidate's dedication and passion for community service, while the second headline showcases their leadership skills and ability to achieve tangible results. The third headline highlights the candidate's compassionate nature and their ability to provide support and create a positive environment, which are important attributes for volunteers.

Weak Headlines

• Dedicated Volunteer with Experience in Community Outreach
• Passionate Volunteer Committed to Making a Difference
• Skilled Volunteer with Strong Communication and Organizational Abilities

Why these are weak:

• These resume headlines need improvement for Volunteers as they lack specificity and fail to highlight the unique skills, experiences, or accomplishments that the candidates possess. The first headline mentions experience in community outreach but doesn't provide any details about the impact made or specific projects undertaken. The second headline emphasizes passion and commitment but doesn't showcase any specific volunteer roles or achievements. The third headline mentions skills but lacks context or examples of how those skills were utilized in a volunteer capacity.

Writing an Exceptional Volunteer Resume Summary:

Resume summaries are crucial for Volunteers as they provide a concise yet impactful way to showcase their skills, experience, and unique value proposition. A well-crafted summary can immediately capture the attention of hiring managers, setting the tone for the rest of the resume and positioning the candidate as an ideal fit for volunteer positions.

For Volunteers specifically, an effective resume summary is one that highlights their passion for making a difference, their commitment to serving others, and their ability to contribute to the mission of the organization.

Key points that Volunteers should convey in a resume summary include:

Passion for Service: Clearly express your passion for volunteering and your desire to make a positive impact in the community. Highlight any previous volunteer experiences or personal initiatives that demonstrate your dedication to serving others.

Relevant Skills and Experience: Mention any specific skills or experiences that are relevant to the volunteer role you are applying for. This could include skills such as communication, organization, leadership, or specific knowledge related to the cause or organization you are interested in.

Adaptability and Flexibility: Volunteer work often requires individuals to be adaptable and flexible in various situations. Emphasize your ability to work well in diverse environments, collaborate with different teams, and handle unexpected challenges with a positive attitude.

Commitment and Reliability: Volunteers are relied upon to fulfill their commitments and be dependable. Highlight your track record of reliability and your ability to consistently meet deadlines and fulfill responsibilities.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills: Volunteering often involves interacting with diverse groups of people. Showcase your ability to communicate effectively, build relationships, and work collaboratively with team members, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders.

Initiative and Problem-Solving Abilities: Demonstrate your ability to take initiative and proactively identify and solve problems. Highlight any instances where you have gone above and beyond to contribute to the success of a volunteer project or organization.

Tailor your resume summary to align closely with the specific volunteer role you are applying for. Remember, your resume summary will be one of the first things that a potential organization will see about you and your commitment to volunteering.

By crafting a compelling resume summary that showcases your passion, skills, and dedication, you can make a strong impression on hiring managers and increase your chances of securing meaningful volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Resume Summary Examples:

Strong summaries.

Dedicated and compassionate Volunteer with 5 years of experience in community outreach programs, providing support to underprivileged individuals. Skilled in organizing and coordinating events, managing volunteers, and delivering impactful services that have positively impacted the lives of over 500 individuals in need.

Detail-oriented Volunteer Coordinator with a proven track record of successfully managing and overseeing volunteer programs for non-profit organizations. Experienced in recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers, resulting in a 30% increase in volunteer retention and a more efficient and effective program.

Highly motivated Volunteer Teacher with a passion for education and a strong background in tutoring and mentoring. Skilled in developing engaging lesson plans, fostering a positive learning environment, and tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs of students. Recognized for improving academic performance and confidence levels of students, resulting in a 25% increase in test scores.

• These resume summaries are strong for Volunteers as they highlight the candidates' relevant experience, skills, and impact in their respective roles. The first summary showcases the candidate's dedication to community outreach and their ability to positively impact the lives of individuals in need. The second summary demonstrates the candidate's expertise in volunteer program management and their success in increasing volunteer retention. Lastly, the third summary emphasizes the candidate's passion for education and their ability to make a measurable difference in the academic performance of students. These summaries effectively communicate the value and potential of the candidates as Volunteers.

Weak Summaries

• Dedicated volunteer with experience in various community service projects, seeking opportunities to make a positive impact and contribute to the betterment of society.
• Enthusiastic volunteer with a passion for helping others and a track record of organizing successful fundraising events, looking to utilize my skills and experience to support a nonprofit organization in achieving its mission.
• Compassionate volunteer with strong interpersonal skills and a background in mentoring and tutoring, eager to continue making a difference in the lives of individuals in need.
• These resume summaries need improvement for Volunteers as they lack specific details about the candidate's accomplishments, skills, and the impact they have made in their volunteer roles. The summaries are too general and do not effectively highlight the unique value that the candidates can bring to potential volunteer opportunities. Adding specific examples of successful projects, quantifiable results, or specific skills and expertise would make these summaries more compelling to hiring managers.

Resume Objective Examples for Volunteers:

Strong objectives.

Compassionate and dedicated individual with a strong desire to make a positive impact in the community, seeking a Volunteer position to contribute my time and skills to support the needs of underserved populations and promote social change.

Detail-oriented and organized individual with excellent communication skills, seeking a Volunteer position to assist in event planning and coordination, utilizing my ability to multitask and work effectively in a team environment to ensure successful execution of community outreach initiatives.

Enthusiastic and adaptable individual with a passion for environmental conservation, seeking a Volunteer position to contribute my time and efforts towards sustainability projects, leveraging my knowledge of eco-friendly practices and willingness to learn and grow within a conservation-focused organization.

• These resume objectives are strong for up and coming Volunteers because they showcase the candidates' passion, relevant skills, and desire to make a positive impact. The first objective highlights the candidate's compassion and dedication, which are important qualities for a Volunteer. The second objective emphasizes the candidate's organizational and communication skills, demonstrating their ability to contribute effectively in a team setting. Lastly, the third objective showcases the candidate's enthusiasm and knowledge in a specific area (environmental conservation), making them a promising fit for volunteer opportunities in that field.

Weak Objectives

• Seeking a volunteer position where I can contribute my time and skills to make a positive impact in the community.
• Aspiring volunteer with a passion for environmental conservation, looking to gain hands-on experience and contribute to sustainability initiatives.
• Recent graduate with a background in social work and a strong desire to support marginalized communities through volunteer work.
• These resume objectives need improvement for up and coming Volunteers because they lack specificity and fail to highlight the unique value or skills the candidates possess. The first objective is generic and doesn't provide any information about the candidate's specific interests or areas of expertise. The second objective mentions a passion for environmental conservation, but it doesn't mention any specific skills or experiences that would make the candidate stand out. The third objective, although it mentions a background in social work, doesn't elaborate on the candidate's specific skills or any particular area of volunteer work they are interested in, which would make their profile more appealing to potential organizations.

Write a More Targeted Resume with AI

Speed up your resume creation process with the resume builder . generate tailored resume summaries in seconds., how to impress with your volunteer work experience:, best practices for your work experience section:.

• Highlight the specific organizations or causes you volunteered for, emphasizing the relevance to the position you are applying for.
• Describe the tasks and responsibilities you undertook as a volunteer, showcasing your ability to take initiative and work independently.
• Quantify your impact by including the number of hours you volunteered, the number of people you served, or the amount of money you helped raise.
• Showcase your adaptability and flexibility by mentioning any diverse roles or projects you took on as a volunteer.
• Demonstrate your ability to collaborate and work as part of a team by describing any group projects or partnerships you were involved in.
• Highlight any leadership roles or responsibilities you held as a volunteer, such as leading a team or organizing events.
• Include any training or certifications you obtained as a volunteer, especially if they are relevant to the position you are applying for.
• Share any positive feedback or testimonials you received from the organizations or individuals you volunteered with.
• Use action verbs and specific examples to convey your skills and accomplishments, such as "organized," "managed," or "implemented."
• Tailor your language and terminology to match the needs and expectations of the organizations or industries you are applying to.

Example Work Experiences for Volunteers:

Strong experiences.

Coordinated and led a team of 20 volunteers to organize a community clean-up event, resulting in the removal of over 500 pounds of trash and the beautification of the neighborhood.

Developed and implemented a training program for new volunteers, resulting in a 30% increase in volunteer retention and improved overall volunteer satisfaction.

Collaborated with local businesses to secure donations and sponsorships for a fundraising event, raising over $10,000 for a nonprofit organization.

Assisted in the planning and execution of a summer camp for underprivileged children, providing them with educational and recreational activities, resulting in improved self-confidence and academic performance.

Volunteered at a local food bank, sorting and distributing food to families in need, serving over 500 individuals per week and ensuring their access to nutritious meals.

Provided emotional support and companionship to elderly residents at a nursing home, organizing engaging activities and fostering a sense of community, resulting in improved mental well-being and reduced feelings of loneliness.

• These work experiences are strong because they demonstrate the volunteer's ability to lead and coordinate teams, develop and implement programs, and collaborate with external stakeholders. The quantifiable impact achieved in each experience showcases the volunteer's dedication, initiative, and ability to make a positive difference in the community.

Weak Experiences

Assisted in organizing and coordinating fundraising events, including soliciting donations and managing event logistics.

Provided support to program participants by offering guidance and assistance with daily activities.

Collaborated with team members to develop and implement strategies for volunteer recruitment and retention.

Assisted with data entry and administrative tasks, ensuring accurate and up-to-date records.

Participated in community outreach initiatives, promoting the organization's mission and services.

Supported the coordination of volunteer schedules and assignments, ensuring smooth operations.

• Contributed to the development of social media content and campaigns, increasing online engagement.
• Assisted in the planning and execution of community service projects, fostering positive relationships with partner organizations.
• Provided direct assistance to clients, offering emotional support and resources to meet their needs.
• These work experiences are weak because they lack specific details, quantifiable results, and strong action verbs. They provide generic descriptions of tasks performed without showcasing the impact of the individual's work or the benefits brought to the organization. To improve these bullet points, the candidate should focus on incorporating specific examples, measurable outcomes, and more powerful action verbs to highlight their contributions and the positive outcomes achieved through their volunteer work.

Top Skills & Keywords for Volunteer Resumes:

Top hard & soft skills for volunteers, hard skills.

• Fundraising and donor management
• Grant writing and proposal development
• Data entry and database management
• Research and report writing
• Marketing and promotional skills
• Budgeting and financial management
• Technical skills (e.g., proficiency in Microsoft Office, graphic design software, website development)

Soft Skills

• Communication and Interpersonal Skills
• Teamwork and Collaboration
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
• Time Management and Organization
• Empathy and Compassion
• Leadership and Initiative
• Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity Awareness
• Attention to Detail and Accuracy
• Self-Motivation and Proactivity
• Conflict Resolution and Mediation
• Active Listening and Feedback Incorporation

Go Above & Beyond with a Volunteer Cover Letter

Volunteer cover letter example: (based on resume).

As a Volunteer, you understand the importance of making a positive impact and going the extra mile to contribute to a cause you believe in. Just like your dedication to volunteering, submitting a cover letter along with your resume can make a significant difference in your application and increase your chances of securing an interview. A cover letter is an extension of your resume, allowing you to showcase your passion for volunteering and personalize your application to stand out from the competition. Crafting a compelling cover letter doesn't have to be a daunting task, and the benefits far outweigh the effort required.

Here are some compelling reasons for Volunteers to submit a cover letter:

Personalize your application: A cover letter gives you the opportunity to express your genuine interest in the organization and the specific volunteer role you are applying for. It allows you to tailor your application to the organization's mission and values, demonstrating your commitment and enthusiasm.

Highlight your relevant experience: While your resume provides a summary of your skills and experiences, a cover letter allows you to delve deeper into your volunteer experience and highlight the specific skills and qualities that make you a great fit for the role. You can showcase your previous volunteer work, any relevant training or certifications, and how these experiences have prepared you for the position.

Demonstrate your understanding of the organization's needs: A cover letter enables you to communicate your understanding of the organization's goals and needs. You can explain how your skills and experiences align with their mission and how you plan to contribute to their cause. This shows that you have taken the time to research and understand the organization, making you a more attractive candidate.

Share impactful stories: Your cover letter provides an opportunity to share specific stories or achievements from your volunteer experiences that couldn't be accommodated in your resume. You can highlight the positive impact you have made, the challenges you have overcome, and the lessons you have learned. Sharing these stories helps the hiring manager understand your dedication and the value you can bring to the organization.

Showcase your communication skills: Effective communication is essential for volunteers, as it allows you to connect with the organization, fellow volunteers, and the community you serve. A cover letter allows you to demonstrate your writing skills, attention to detail, and ability to articulate your thoughts and ideas. This showcases your ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with others.

Stand out from other applicants: While some volunteers may choose not to submit a cover letter, taking the extra step to include one sets you apart from the competition. It shows your commitment, professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond. By submitting a cover letter, you demonstrate that you are serious about the volunteer opportunity and are willing to invest the time and effort to make a strong impression.

In summary, pairing your resume with a cover letter as a Volunteer can personalize your application, highlight your relevant experience, demonstrate your understanding of the organization's needs, share impactful stories, showcase your communication skills, and differentiate yourself from other applicants. By taking the time to craft a compelling cover letter, you significantly increase your chances of securing an interview and making a lasting impression on the organization.

Resume FAQs for Volunteers:

How long should i make my volunteer resume.

A Volunteer resume should ideally be one page long. This length is considered appropriate for most resumes, including those of Volunteers. Here's why: 1. Concise and focused: A one-page resume allows you to present your most relevant and impactful information concisely. Volunteers typically have limited professional experience, so it's crucial to highlight the most relevant skills, qualifications, and volunteer experiences that demonstrate your suitability for the role. 2. Easy to read and scan: Recruiters and organizations often receive numerous resumes, so they appreciate a resume that is easy to read and scan quickly. A one-page resume ensures that your key information is easily accessible and doesn't get lost in lengthy paragraphs or unnecessary details. 3. Time-efficient: By keeping your resume to one page, you demonstrate your ability to prioritize and communicate effectively. It shows that you can present your qualifications and experiences succinctly, which is a valuable

What is the best way to format a Volunteer resume?

When it comes to formatting a Volunteer resume, it's important to keep it clear, concise, and well-organized. Here are some key tips to consider: 1. Start with a strong header: Begin your resume with your name, contact information, and a professional email address. Make sure it's easily visible at the top of the page. 2. Write a compelling summary or objective statement: This section should briefly highlight your passion for volunteering, relevant skills, and the specific causes or organizations you have worked with. Tailor it to the volunteer role you're applying for. 3. Emphasize your volunteer experience: Since volunteering is the main focus, create a dedicated section to showcase your experience. Include the name of the organization, your role, the duration of your service, and a concise description of your responsibilities and accomplishments. 4. Highlight transferable skills: Even if your volunteer experience might not

Which Volunteer skills are most important to highlight in a resume?

When it comes to highlighting volunteer skills on a resume, it's essential to focus on those that are relevant and demonstrate your abilities and experiences in a volunteer setting. Here are some important volunteer skills to consider emphasizing: 1. Communication: Effective communication skills are crucial for volunteers as they often interact with diverse groups of people. Highlight your ability to listen actively, express ideas clearly, and adapt your communication style to different individuals or situations. 2. Teamwork: Volunteering often involves collaborating with other volunteers, staff members, or community members. Showcase your ability to work well in a team, contribute ideas, and support others to achieve common goals. 3. Leadership: If you have taken on leadership roles within your volunteer work, such as coordinating events or leading a team, emphasize your leadership skills. This includes demonstrating your ability to motivate others, make decisions, and take initiative. 4. Problem-solving: Volunteers often encounter challenges or unexpected situations. Highlight your problem-solving skills by showcasing instances where you successfully resolved issues, adapted to changing circumstances, or implemented creative solutions. 5. Organization and time management: Volunteers often juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities. Demonstrate your ability to prioritize, manage your time effectively, and stay organized to ensure tasks are completed efficiently. 6

How should you write a resume if you have no experience as a Volunteer?

When writing a resume with no prior volunteer experience, it's important to focus on highlighting your skills, qualities, and any relevant experiences that can demonstrate your potential as a volunteer. Here are some steps to help you create an effective resume: 1. Start with a strong objective or summary statement: Begin your resume with a concise statement that highlights your enthusiasm, motivation, and commitment to volunteering. Emphasize your willingness to learn and contribute to the cause you're interested in. 2. Showcase transferable skills: Even if you haven't volunteered before, you likely possess skills that can be valuable in a volunteer role. These skills can include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, organization, leadership, or any other relevant abilities. Provide examples of how you've utilized these skills in other areas of your life, such as school projects, extracurricular activities, or part-time jobs. 3. Highlight relevant experiences: While you may not have volunteer-specific experience, you can still include other experiences that demonstrate your commitment

Compare Your Volunteer Resume to a Job Description:

• Identify opportunities to further tailor your resume to the Volunteer job
• Improve your keyword usage to align your experience and skills with the position
• Uncover and address potential gaps in your resume that may be important to the hiring manager

Related Resumes for Volunteers:

More resume guidance:.

Volunteer Resume Examples & Writing Guide

On the lookout for a foot in the door to your first full-time job?  A position as a Volunteer is an excellent place to start! Volunteering roles give you the opportunity to gain working experience, which will help to secure a permanent job later on. Often these volunteer roles can also turn into permanent positions too.

You want to ensure that your resume stands out from the rest by being both informative and entertaining to read without overwhelming the recruiter or hiring manager with irrelevant information.

How you create a resume into an interview-winning document, we will explain to you in detail below with our: How to make a Volunteer Resume Guideline

What you can read in this article

Volunteer Resume Examples

Or download these resume examples in PDF at the bottom of this page for free

Volunteer Resume Writing Guide

Resume sections.

1. Contact Information : Name, Address, Phone, Email. Be sure to include alternative contact channels as well, such as your Linkedin profile or Facebook URL details. On the subject of email address, create a professional one on Gmail or use your university student email address.

2. Career Objective : View this as the introduction to your resume and include 1-3 sentences giving a broad overview of your background, the industry sectors of interest. You should be specific and state which role you are applying to.

3. Qualifications Summary : Provide accurate details about the certifications and qualifications you have completed with the institution, qualification name, and dates. Don’t forget to include the qualifications you are currently pursuing.

4. Relevant Experience : Clearly indicate your previous volunteering jobs, part-time gigs, official and unofficial vocation employment history. Use brief sentences with bullet points to list your most important daily activities under each role you have had.

5. Other Employment Experience : If you are permanently employed in a full-time position, volunteering may be a temporary or part-time venture for you once a week, a few times during the month or seasonal for instance at Christmas time. In this case, you may add your career history for the last 10 years as you would when applying for a permanent role.

6. Skills Summary/Key Skills : Incorporates keywords from the job posting and your specific skill set. This adds much-needed credibility to your resume.

7. Education/Licenses/Certifications/Relevant Coursework/Training : As you would typically have no formal working experience which requires licensing, certification and so forth you can perhaps provide courses you have done while completing your degree. Examples include computer courses, bookkeeping courses, social media mastery or any self-taught training via online course platforms like Udemy.

What to Highlight in a Volunteer Resume

As you will probably be busy completing your undergraduate Bachelor’s degree and may be tempted to list only your theoretical knowledge, there are a few essential details employers and recruiters need to know about you as to ensure that you are the right fit for their team. You may even be a recent High School graduate taking a volunteering gap year or a seasoned professional on a sabbatical (the glamorous term for taking an extended break from permanent employment)

Volunteering is a very dynamic field. It is difficult to identify and categorize all different types of volunteering activities but here is a list to get you started The first aspect to highlight is the types of Volunteering you have already done:

Traditional Volunteering : Historically the most common form of volunteering where you work at a local NGO . These projects may be as short as a couple of hours or more long term up to a period of 18 months

Gap Year Volunteering : Often conducted in a foreign country or another state these gap year roles are usually taken up by recent high school graduates or university students to gain valuable career experience for a period of 12 months before joining the formal working sector

Voluntourism : A fantastic way to merge tourism and volunteering and get immersed in local cultures while at the same time giving back and making a difference in the community. Forums on platforms like Lonely Planet or The Voluntourist are great information hubs to use.

Online Volunteering : An excellent idea to assist others and make an impact, but from the comfort of your laptop at home. You can volunteer for different organizations anywhere around the world without having to leave your hometown. The opportunities are endless including article writing, blogging, coaching or being a virtual assistant. Visit websites like onlinevolunteering.org for available opportunities and guidelines.

Once you have categorized all your Volunteerships, you need to indicate the industry where these experiences were gained in for instance: Fundraising, Environmental, Youth, Elderly, Homeless, Disabled, Research, Refugees or Trustee Administration to name but a few.

Next, employers want to see your casual experience where you may have assisted at the farmers market part-time, help to organize the annual county Christmas event or being a tutor for mathematics during your high school years. The key here is information and lots of it. You need to show prospective hiring managers what you have done with your time during high school and university apart from studying (and partying).

Make sure to include the following details

• The locations you are available to work in and whether you are willing to travel or relocate temporarily
• Special skills like your activities on social media with your YouTube channel if you are applying for a marketing Volunteer role or the fact that you are familiar with Sage accounting when you seek a Volunteer role in finance
• Written references can do wonders for your credibility so don’t forget to add them
• Your GPA score is important as well
• Remember to add your computer literacy, for example, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, VisualStudio, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, Oracle
• Any other languages you are familiar with even if it is just a basic competency will also be of interest, especially for opportunities abroad

The Volunteer Career Objective

Some organizations receive thousands of Volunteer applications each year. Your resume needs to stand out amongst the applications. Keep your career objective concise and to the point. Add the most important information first to capture their attention while they’re quickly skimming your resume.

Start your career objective with a little detail about your personality. Then mention the degree that you are currently completing and finish off with the reason why you are interested in the advertised Volunteer role. Very important to note: you need to customize your career objective for every role you apply to by using the buzzwords listed in the job description. Your career objective should not be a one size fits all paragraph. For instance, if the job you are applying emphasizes an energetic personality or detail orientated work ethic use those phrases in your resume if you have that type of skill. The more your resume resonates with the job description of keywords, the better fit you will seem.

Perhaps add a line that showcases any outstanding qualities that will add value to the company. A hiring manager would be interested to know if you have “strong time management skills, creative problem-solving abilities and if you can ‘’think on your feet in times of crises.

Job Descriptions, Responsibilities and Duties Examples

An employer would expect to see details regarding your main tasks and duties completed during previous Volunteering roles. As there are hundreds of different Volunteer options available in every industry sector imaginable, we have given a few examples below to get you started:

A Receptionist/Day Chair Volunteer may:

• Answer phones, direct calls and take messages
• Meet and greet guests and accompany them to appointment boardrooms
• Answer questions about the agency and distribute application forms
• Print activity lists every morning and distribute to relevant parties and satellite
• Open emails and forward to correct individuals
• Enter donor information into the database.
• Proofread official correspondence before bulk emailing to clients

An Environmental Volunteer may:

• Assist with revegetation projects on the farm collecting seeds and assisting in the plant nursery sowing seeds, pricking out seedlings and propagating cuttings
• Document and code all samples onto spreadsheets
• Monitor wildlife and bird activity by conducting animal headcounts
• Organize accommodation and travel arrangement for visiting botanical specialists
• Photograph plant species and add them to survey lists
• Send weekly reports to participating research universities
• Assist in the removal of weeds and invasive plant species
• Keep track of research projects and activities

A Politics Volunteer may:

• Distribute promotional campaign material to the public
• Make phone calls to residents to explain party manifest and provide information about upcoming rallies
• Collect signatures for the campaign by walking around in public areas
• Submit collected data along with original documents to the volunteer coordinator every week
• Submit questions or information requests from the public about the campaign for response by campaign manager
• Track phone banking history, including locations, events, materials distributed, and signatures collected
• Maintain voter database
• Send out emails and messages on social media platforms regarding the campaign activities

An IT Volunteer may:

• Oversee the cyber facility in the absence of the manager
• Answer phone calls and take messages
• Make bookings for school groups
• Assist users with internet usage
• Troubleshoot on networking issues
• Do general office work
• Open and lock-up of the center
• Register new users and create usernames and passcodes for them

A General Office Volunteer may:

• Answer phone inquiries, direct calls and take messages
• Schedule travel arrangements of senior management
• Post and receive mail, courier packages, and registered letters
• Taking minutes during daily meetings and distribute via email to participants
• Update and maintain databases and filing systems
• Run office errands when needed
• Assist in printing, photocopying, and binding of documents for presentations
• Prepare and organize meeting rooms
• Handle food and beverage orders and deliveries for company events

A Healthcare Volunteer may:

• Direct patients from Emergency and Front Desks to specific medical departments
• Accompany families to surgical waiting rooms
• Create and distribute visitor passes
• Answer phone and respond to inquiries at the Front Desk
• Assist physicians with logistical tasks including restocking supplies, pulling up radiology images and preparing patient files
• Organize emergency patients in order of priority
• Follow up on outstanding patient accounts
• Accompany medical personnel during hospital rounds
• Show families into the family waiting room during patient surgeries

Highlight Your Accomplishments

You may be tempted to copy and paste the list of duties you performed as detailed in your Volunteer job descriptions or part-time and vocational employment duties in the accomplishment section of your Volunteer Resume. The drawback to doing this, though, is that you won’t stand out from the other applicants with similar experience. Your goal is to think about what sets you apart, what you are most proud of, or what you accomplished in your previous roles, and communicate these through action-packed statements that are compelling.

Flat, Simple Duty:

• Update client database

Accomplishment Statement (Improved):

• Update database of 5000 clients using MS Access and categorize data by client demographics

Quantifying Your Resume

When writing your resume, if you can answer the questions, “ How often? ” or “ How long ?” You should include those numbers. For instance:

• How often did you engage in volunteering activities?
• What is the average duration of your volunteering roles?
• What did you achieve in a typical workweek?

–  Was part of a team of Volunteers at the communications office for the Florida County Healthcare Association for three years during the summer holiday period. Instrumental in organizing the weekly Q&A session between management and members of the association, and handled all email correspondence preceding and following these events.

–  Receiving, handling and distributing aid supplies to villages in Africa to help poverty-stricken communities to get food, clothing and clean water. Accompany aid doctors to outpatient clinics twice a week to deliver medical supplies.

Your Volunteer Education Section

The education section forms an integral part of your resume. In short, just indicate What, Where and When regarding your qualifications, certifications or industry licenses obtained. The name of your qualification, institution, and date of completion is more than sufficient. Unless you are a graduate with limited working experience, there is no need to include major subjects or course curriculum topics.

Remember to mention current qualifications you are in the process of completing. Regarding courses and certifications, discretion and relevance must be considered. An art course in India does not really carry weight if you are applying for a financial accountant role at an agriculture company in the Mid-West.

Completed High School and Post School Education should be listed as follows:

Start with commencement date and completion date for diplomas, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. For courses, you can just list the date of completion. Next comes the full name of the qualification, then the full name of the institution and then the City or abbreviated State name. List your high school diploma details similarly, but only include this when you have less than five years of working experience.

Here are some examples of a Volunteer Resume with more than five years’ experience:

2012-2013 Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL Certification), Teachaway Institute, Online

2016-2018 Bachelor Degree in Political Sciences, University of Ohio, OH

If you have less than five years experience, you may also add your majors, minors, GPA scores and accolades, and honors awards

2016-2018 Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, University of Ohio, OH GPA: 3.8 Majors: Business Management, Marketing Management Minors: Communications, Accounting, Economics Accolades: Deans Honours List

2014 – Ridgefield High School, High School Diploma Ridgefield, NJ

2015 – Certificate in Microsoft Office, Udemy Online  

What to Write in a Volunteer Resume Skills Section

Although the volunteering field requires specific technical skills, employers look for other skills, called soft skills. These are the main types of skills that indicate to your fit as a potential employee who will add value, has adequate knowledge, sufficient experience and will be easy to manage. Incorporate these into your summary, or profile, and your accomplishment statements.  

Technical Skills Examples

Educational Attainment: A university degree is usually not required to become a Volunteer Technical Aptitude: Volunteers these days need to be digitally savvy so be sure to include all the IT programs you can work with. Furthermore, any project management applications, calendar apps and collaboration apps (Slack, Asana) that you have worked with before is a plus in this environment.  

Soft Skill Examples

• Social Orientation
• Team Player
• Hardworking
• Communication
• Independent
• Stress Tolerance
• Multitasking
• Enthusiastic
• Accountable
• Deadline Driven
• Collaborative
• Cooperative
• Willingness to learn

Qualifications/Certifications associated with Volunteers

High School Diploma, Associates Degree, Bachelor’s Degree. Professional qualifications like Doctor, Attorney, Teacher, Engineer.

Action Verbs for your Volunteer Resume

Professional information of Volunteers

Sectors : Various Career Type : Functional, Clerical, Administrative, Professional Person type : Worker, Helper, Assistant Education levels : High School Diploma and upwards Salary indication : Mostly unpaid. Sometimes monthly stipends are provided to cover expenses. Accommodation, flights, and food can also be provided as part of the volunteer contract. Labor market : Dependent or role and industry Organizations : Various, Unlimited

Download Volunteer Resume Examples in PDF

Nothing Found

• Resume Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
• Resume Examples Nurse Student Internship Teacher Accountant View all
• Resume Builder
• Cover Letter Templates Simple Professional Modern Creative View all
• Cover Letter Examples Nursing Administrative Assistant Internship Graduate Teacher View all
• Cover Letter Builder
• Resume Examples

Volunteer resume examples & templates

You may think that volunteering shouldn’t require a resume, after all, you are offering free work. The truth is that volunteering jobs can be just as difficult to get as paid work. That’s why you need a volunteer resume that stands out from the crowd.

Whether you are volunteering as a sideline or because you hope it will lead to permanent employment, you have to think like a job-hunter. That means making the best case you can for YOU. Organizations that use volunteers want to ensure you are committed to the work you are offering to provide. 

Using Resume.io and its powerful tools for job seekers is a great way to get going. We offer resume guides and resume examples for 300+ professions. That means that no matter what area you want to volunteer in, you will have guidance to get you there. We back up our guides with an easy-to-use resume builder, so let us help you get where you want to go.

This guide, along with the corresponding volunteer resume example, will cover the following topics:

• What does a volunteer do?
• How to write a volunteer resume (tips and tricks)
• The best format for a volunteer resume
• Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education, skills)
• Professional resume layout and design hints.

What does a volunteer do? 

Volunteers can do anything within an organization. Sometimes volunteers work only on special events, but in other cases they perform vital tasks and make a commitment to either work on a longer-term special project or on regular, daily work.

Many nonprofits use volunteers to supplement their paid workforce so that more resources go to the cause for which they labor. That means you have a chance to broaden your skill set while working on a cause you are passionate about. 

There are 1.54 million non-profits in the United States. In 2017, the last year for which statistics are available, 64.4 million Americans, or about 25% of the population, gave their time. That’s up from 61.8 million in 2008, according to Statistica . 

The pandemic seems to have increased volunteering efforts. LinkedIn data shows that in 2020, members added 110,000 volunteer experiences to their profiles. That’s about 2.5 times the monthly average in 2017. 

Millennials are most likely to volunteer and women volunteer at higher rates than men, according to the U.S. Labor Bureau . 

If you are wondering whether volunteers are worth the training time to nonprofits, the answer is yes. The Independent Sector values volunteer hours at $28.54.

Because volunteers may be doing any type of work in any industry, you may find inspiration in any number of our resume examples. How to choose volunteer opportunities

Deciding where to volunteer can be as challenging as deciding on a career path. Here are some basic questions to ask yourself that can help you guide your decision and how you craft your resume:

• What am I passionate about?
• Do I want to gain new skills?
• Do I want to network?
• Do I want to bolster my resume?
• Do I want to fill a gap while I look for full-time paid employment?
• What skills or knowledge can I offer?
• How much time can I commit to?

How to find volunteer opportunities

If you aren’t sure how to go about finding volunteer opportunities, you can start with VolunteerMatch , a volunteer aggregator that will send you listings based on the criteria you set, or Volunteer.gov , in which you can search for jobs in the U.S. government in places such as national parks. 

You can also look at specific organizations that are typically in need of volunteers. They include:

• Animal shelters
• Food pantries
• Homeless shelters
• Tutoring centers

Of course, you may also decide what you want to do and where you want to work and then contact either the volunteer coordinator or the human resources department and offer your services unsolicited.

How to write a volunteer resume

Take as much care with your volunteer resume as you would if you were applying for your dream job . The first step is understanding exactly what sections comprise a resume. Your document should include the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Onboarding volunteers takes time and effort, so volunteer coordinators and hiring managers may handle this process in the same way they handle hiring full-time employees. In fact, the Fundraising Authority recommends three times of training for volunteers: basic non-profit training, organization-specific training, and job-specific training. Before investing that time, organizations want to make sure you are the right person for the job. 

How do you show that? Do your research! Find out what the organization needs. Investigate their style. Are they casual or formal? Do they use a lot of volunteers or will you be one of a few? What is their mission and how do you fit into it? Then, target your resume to the nonprofit or other organization mimicking their style and values.

A successful volunteer resume lets the hiring manager know that you understand the organization and its goals AND explains why you want to help out by giving your time. 

Another hurdle: The Applicant Tracking System

Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATS, are software programs that scan, sort and assess resumes for human resources departments. There are dozens of these designed specifically for non-profits. The organizations you apply to are likely to use one of these systems to narrow the range of candidates to a manageable few.

There’s no guaranteed method of leaping this hurdle, but there are ways to improve your chances. This is where your research will help you. Review the listing, if there is one, or the nonprofit's website looking for the volunteer job requirements. Organically incorporate as many of the same nouns, verbs and modifiers in your resume text as possible. Make sure you use your own language and context. You want the text of your volunteer resume to flow naturally and to have your voice.

Choosing the best resume format for volunteering

A typical resume for a person whose career has taken a mostly linear path, we recommend a reverse chronological order resume format . That means that when you compile your employment history section, you start with your most recent position and move backwards in time.

This may work for you in your volunteer resume, however, if you are looking to take on new skills or are just starting out and want to use the volunteer opportunity as a stepping stone, you should consider a hybrid format. If you’re looking to make a lateral move, check out our other resume examples such as the career change resume sample. 

A functional resume format is another option. Although this type of format is usually employed by specialists and technical professionals, it may suit your needs as a volunteer who wants to stretch but has the skills to do the job.

Resume summary example: Your value and passion

Your resume summary is your big chance to show off your passion and explain why you want to volunteer at the particular organization you are targeting. It is within your profile that you answer the questions Why do you care? and What can you do to help us? Don’t be afraid to say that you have a personal connection to, for instance, cancer care, and that is what drives your desire to help.

Offer your vision for how you fit into the organization, give examples that highlight your skills and convince the volunteer coordinator that you are the right person for the job. Don’t make the assumption that nonprofits are desperate for volunteers and will take anyway. The truth is that while volunteers are a valuable asset for organizations, you still need to prove that you will stick it out and bring value to the team. 

Offer a personal story about why the cause is close to your heart.

Give a generic explanation about the value of volunteering.

Your goal here is to get hiring managers excited about your potential to help the organization. Balance your enthusiasm by clearly stating that you understand that you are applying for a job that comes with responsibility. You can find a volunteer resume example summary below.

Dedicated and enthusiastic Volunteer, hoping to utilize my most valuable skills to achieve goals. A creative thinker and complex problem-solver, bringing forth a commitment to others and the greater good.

Employment history resume sample: Proof of commitment

A volunteer resume sample needs to show the same dedication to the career as your career-oriented resume. You should approach your employment history section in the same way for both. Make a list of all your jobs and the dates you were employed. Include your titles and brainstorm your job responsibilities -- no need to go back more than 10 or 15 years. This phase is simply a reminder for you.

Then, think of your key achievements at each position. Review the volunteer listing and decide which accomplishments best fit the job you seek now. 

The CAR system for explaining your achievements makes writing your resume bullet points easier. Here’s how it works:

• Describe your Challenge
• Tell what Action you took
• Detail your Results.

Be as specific as possible. Use data and dollar amounts whenever possible.

If you are looking to start your career by getting volunteer experience , you may want to beef up your education section and move it above your employment history section.

You can find a volunteer employment history resume sample below.

Volunteer, Children's Corner, Concord  March 2021 - Present

• Served as a caring and considerate volunteer in one of the busiest children's centers in New Hampshire.
• Followed instructions and adhered to company policies.
• Worked well independently and also with others.
• Strived to make children feel welcomed, safe, and motivated.
• Modeled leadership skills and independent thinking.    

Craft Fair Volunteer, Concord Community Council, Concord  June 2019 - December 2019 

• Assisted with the unloading and set-up of craft fair goods.
• Distributed fair handbooks and materials to vendors and customers.
• Provided guests with information and answered any questions to the best of my ability.
• Assisted with the clean-up and disassembly of booths.

Resume skills example: What do you bring to the table?

Hiring managers are busy people, and volunteers may not be their first priority. Your resume skills section gives them the chance to see at a glance if your abilities match what they need. That means again reviewing the volunteer listing and matching your skills to the job.

Quite often, volunteers are looking to gain new skills or to simply get job experience. Hiring managers know this. So what can you do if you are in that situation? Play up your soft skills on your resume. These are the qualities you need to be a good overall employee. They include time management, communication, and organization.

Emotional Intelligence

Another area you can play up is your emotional intelligence. If you are targeting non-profits for your volunteer work, you may be dealing with sensitive issues, so the ability to handle your emotions and those of others can elevate your candidacy.

Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, breaks emotional intelligence into five categories:

• Self-awareness: Understanding your strengths and weaknesses
• Self-regulation: Keeping calm under pressure and expressing your emotions appropriately
• Motivation: Setting clear goals and following through
• Empathy: Recognizing how other’s feel
• Social skills: Functioning within different group settings.

Consider adding one or two of these to your skills section.

You will find a skills section volunteer resume sample below.

• Fast Learner
• Ability to Work in a Team
• Effective Time Management
• Computer Skills
• Communication Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Adaptability

Volunteer resume education example

Your education could be the key to netting the perfect volunteer job. Perhaps you have a skill you haven’t used in your career or a hobby that you earned credits in. Include those in your education section.

Especially if you are new to the job market or trying to enhance basic skills, you may consider listing specific courses you have taken that are relevant to the volunteer position you seek. If you are an experienced worker, you may simply list your education here. 

No need to include your GPA unless you have just graduated and it is stellar. You may also omit your high school diploma if you have a master’s degree or higher.

Other items to call attention to are any awards or accolades you have received or any certificates for coursework or seminars that pertain to your prospective volunteer work.

Below is an education section resume sample you may adapt for formatting.

High School Diploma, Concord High School, Concord  September 2018 - Present Abbott- Downing School, Concord  September 2014 - May 2018

Resume layout and design: Your visual image

The idea behind your volunteer resume is to get the interview, and this guide is all about helping you do so. That means addressing the way your resume looks. First impressions matter, so make a good one with these helpful hints for designing your resume.

Think easy-to-read. While you want to capture attention, your real goal is to get your document read. Keep your margins at one inch and use a clear, legible font. Leave ample white space.

Straddle the line between eye-catching and glaring. Minimize the use of color and avoid graphics and images. Even visual artists should err on the side of conservatism since your goal is for hiring managers to read your text. If you are in a design field, take a look at our illustrator resume example or our graphic designer resume example for ideas. Offer a portfolio of your work along with your resume to show off your talents.

The key components of your resume are your contact information and your most recent job and title. This is where hiring managers look first, so make sure these items are easy to find.

Finally, make sure your resume text and formatting are free of typos and errors. Using an online builder tool such as the one from resume.io and one of our resume templates will smooth the path to a great volunteer opportunity.

Key takeaways for a volunteer resume

• Think of your volunteer resume the same way you would a resume for a paying job: You have to prove you’re the right person for the work.
• When you volunteer, you are making a commitment, so consider what you want to do and where your passion lies before you apply.
• Targeting your volunteer resume for each position is the best way to make sure your application is seen by a person.
• Use our online resume maker to make your life easier and the job application process faster!

Beautiful ready-to-use resume templates

7 Application Support Analyst Resume Examples for 2024

Creating a strong resume is key for any application support analyst. This article provides real resume examples and strategic advice on skills and keywords to include. Learn how to highlight your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and experience with software. Follow our guidelines to boost your job prospects in this critical IT role.

• 01 Sep 2024 - 5 new sections, including 'Where to list your education', added
• 01 Sep 2024 - 5 new resume templates, including Transitioning to Application Support Analyst from Customer Service, added
• 30 Aug 2024 - Article published

  Next update scheduled for 09 Sep 2024

Here's what we see in the best resumes for application support analysts.

Show Impact With Numbers : The best resumes show impact using numbers like reducing customer support issues by 40% , cutting response times by 30% , increasing uptime by 10% , or handling 50 tickets per week .

Include Relevant Skills : Include skills on your resume that you have and are mentioned on the job description. Some popular ones are SQL , Java , SAP , JIRA , and data analysis . But don't include all of them, choose the ones you have and are mentioned in the JD.

Show Technical Proficiency : Using phrases like bug fixing , code review , or system troubleshooting shows you have the technical skills for the job.

use this maybe to have a resume upload button widget 1: yellow Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. If your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 1 day, go to a lower altitude if you can. Try to go around 300 to 1,000 metres lower.

widget 2: red / but not serious Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. If your symptoms get worse or do not improve after 1 day, go to a lower altitude if you can. Try to go around 300 to 1,000 metres lower.

helpful blue / but not serious Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include. Here's a short quick tip / warning for people to include.

Application Support Analyst Resume Sample

Find out how good your resume is.

ummm here it is

Get your resume scored

Want to know if your resume stands out for application support analyst roles? Our resume scoring tool gives you a clear picture of where you stand. It checks your resume against key criteria that recruiters in IT support look for.

Upload your resume now. You'll get a free, unbiased assessment that shows your strengths and areas for improvement. This feedback helps you make your resume stronger for your next job application.

Where to list your education

As you prepare your resume for an application support analyst role, think about where your education section will go. If you are fresh out of school or have recently completed relevant coursework, such as a degree in computer science or information technology, this should come first on your resume. Highlight this education upfront to immediately show your qualification for the technical aspects of the job.

If you have been in the workforce for a while and have practical experience supporting software applications, then your work experience should take precedence. Place your education section after your professional experience, since your hands-on skills will be most relevant for solving real-world issues. In either case, always ensure the highest degree or most relevant certification stands out to align with the needs of an application support analyst.

Highlight technical proficiencies

As an application support analyst, make sure to list the software and tools you are proficient in. Mention specific systems you've worked with like SQL, Linux, or SaaS platforms.

Including your technical certifications can also strengthen your resume. Certifications show that you have validated skills in specific technologies relevant to the job.

Junior Application Support Analyst Resume Sample

Ideal resume length.

Your resume as an application support analyst should be concise. If you have less than 10 years of relevant experience, aim to keep it to one page. This helps you stay on point and shows you can organize information well. Focus on recent work and key skills that match the job you want. For those more experienced, up to two pages is acceptable. This gives you space to detail your breadth of knowledge and key projects.

Remember, a shorter resume does not mean you're less skilled. It shows you value the hiring manager's time by highlighting what matters most. Ensure your most important experiences and skills are on the first page, as it gets the most attention. Keep your resume clean and readable with standard fonts and margins. Focus on clarity over cramming in too much detail.

Senior Application Support Analyst Resume Sample

Show problem-solving skills.

Employers in this field look for strong problem-solving skills. Give examples of how you identified and resolved issues in past projects.

Use bullet points to mention successful troubleshooting or support tasks you've handled. This shows your practical experience and capability to manage complex applications.

Application Support Analyst specialized in Financial Systems Resume Sample

Transitioning to application support analyst from customer service resume sample.

•   Supply Chain Analyst Resume Examples
•   Business System Analyst Resume Examples
•   Logistics Analyst Resume Examples
•   Systems Analyst Resume Examples
•   Salesforce Business Analyst Resume Examples
•   Cyber Security Analyst Resume Examples
•   Financial Data Analyst Resume Examples
•   Investment Banking Analyst Resume Examples

Quick links

Application support analyst, resume sample #1, resume sample #2, resume sample #3, junior application support analyst, resume sample #4, senior application support analyst, resume sample #5, application support analyst specialized in financial systems, resume sample #6, transitioning to application support analyst from customer service, resume sample #7, additional resources, questions get in touch.