How should you highlight volunteer experience on a resume?

Volunteer experience is a valuable addition to any resume. Usually, job seekers place their volunteer experience toward the end of the resume, after mentioning their skills, education, and work experience. However, you can get more attention from recruiters if you place your volunteer experience elsewhere on the resume.

Where you place your volunteer experience on the resume is your choice

There is no rule saying that you must mention your volunteer experience at the end of the resume. Depending on your unique situation, you can choose to give more prominence to your volunteer jobs on the resume. When arranging the content of your resume, it is wise to mention the most important information first. Your skills, education, and work experience that are related to the job should be placed toward the top. However, if your volunteer experience is more related to the job at hand than your work experience, such as in the case of a career shift, you should mention your volunteer jobs first.

Usually, your volunteer jobs go toward the end of the resume

When writing a resume, the rule of thumb is to include the following sections in the shown order:

• Resume headline
• Contact information
• Resume summary
• Key skills
• Work experience
• Education
• Volunteer work
• Additional resume sections – Hobbies and Interests, Projects, Publications, Awards, Certifications, Languages, etc.

One question many job seekers have is, “Why should I mention my volunteer experience last?” It is because recruiters generally value paid work experience and education over volunteer experience. When your paid work experience and education are related to the job you are applying for, you can mention them before your volunteer experience.

What if your volunteer work is important?

Let’s say that you are considering a career transition into a new industry. You have less paid work experience related to the new job. Your educational qualifications are also slightly irrelevant to the scope of the new field. In such cases, you should mention your volunteer work front and center on your resume, while also highlighting transferable skills. This will ensure that the hiring manager sees your relevant working experience first on the resume.

Who should give prominence to volunteer work over paid work on a resume?

If you are writing a high school resume, you will likely have less work experience to talk about on your resume. In such a case, it is wise to bring out your skills and experience through your volunteer jobs. Volunteer jobs also have prominence on recent college graduate resumes. If you are a college student applying for your first job, you should consider giving more priority to your volunteer jobs when creating a resume. If you are shifting careers into a different industry, you should emphasize volunteer experience that demonstrates related skills and expertise.

Why should you mention volunteer work on a resume?

Even if you have a ton of paid work experience related to the job you are applying for, mentioning volunteer experience on your resume has multiple benefits for your job search. Adding volunteer jobs to your resume:

• Shows employers that you have related work experience
• Highlights your transferable skills
• Emphasizes your passion for the industry
• Brings out your desire to give back to the community
• Demonstrates your work ethic
• Reflects your capacity to take on additional responsibility