Volunteer Resume

Per the National Center for Charitable Statistics, around 25% of US adults volunteer each year. The large amount of people giving their time is great for the community, but so much competition can make finding the perfect volunteer position difficult for you.

However, you can make your search for a volunteer job that matches your skill set easier. All you have to do is highlight your charitable experience on a volunteer resume.

Here are three tips to help you optimize your volunteer work on a resume:

1. Use proper resume formatting

Even though volunteer work is unpaid, you need to provide a professional resume, formatted just like the one you’d use for paid positions.

In case you’ve forgotten what a formal resume should include, here’s a refresher on the five resume sections every pro resume should have:

A. Contact information section:

In your resume header, list your name, address, email address, phone number, and any relevant online profiles (e.g., your writing portfolio, LinkedIn profile, or volunteering blog).

B. Introduction section:

Underneath your header, write a 2–3 sentence resume objective that details your qualifications and interest in the volunteer opportunity. Include your years of experience, and explain why your skills and goals make you an ideal candidate.

C. Experience section:

In the work experience section, offer bulleted lists of key achievements from current and past jobs. Tailor the information to the values and requirements of the organization to which you’re applying. Prioritize volunteer experience, but if you don’t have any, feel free to include relevant paid experience.

D. Education section:

Many volunteer positions require at least some education, so list the highest level of education you’ve completed, whether you have a GED or a doctorate. You can use your resume’s education section to highlight any relevant courses you’ve taken.

E. Skills section:

A robust skills section helps you rise above other candidates. The formatting for a skills section is straightforward: choose the right skills for your resume and include a bulleted list of any certifications, languages, and other hard skills you can use in your target volunteer position.

2. Emphasize your volunteer skills

Many nonprofit organizations receive more applications than they have time to review. Some nonprofits even use applicant tracking software (ATS) to pick candidates. Therefore, you should include terms that ATS algorithms are programmed to recognize.

Volunteer recruiters (or the ATS they’ve commissioned) are looking for both hard and soft skills that prove you fit their requirements. Here are some skills to consider mentioning on your volunteer resume:

• Organizational skills
• Empathy
• Reliability
• Communication skills
• Self-motivation
• Problem-solving skills
• Technical skills
• Language skills
• Basic medical certifications (CPR, ACLS, lifeguard certification)
• Driver’s license
• Microsoft Office
• Google Drive

3. Highlight your passion for service

Nonprofit hiring managers want to see your skills on your volunteering resume, but you must also highlight your passion for service. So, while you do need to include hard numbers from your volunteer experience that prove your accomplishments, also focus on intangibles that show your passion.

The best spot on your volunteer resume to describe your love for serving in your community is at the top of the page in a resume objective.

Here’s an example from the above volunteer resume sample:

Volunteer with 4+ years of experience serving various organizations in my local area. Passion for community service has led me to help thousands of locals in need. Confident that my qualifications and desire to serve will contribute to [Organization Name].

You can reinforce the passion you outline in your objective in the rest of your resume sections. For example, add any proof of you taking initiative as a volunteer in your work experience section, like the following points do:

• Organize several team-bonding activities annually, achieving 95% participation
• Raised over $30,000 through various fundraising events, including car washes, bake sales, and raffles