Should you include volunteer work in your CV?

Should you include volunteer and community work in your CV? Can it make it a difference to the eyes of the recruiter? 

At Interview Lab our answer is: YES!

But you have to list it RIGHT.

What does RIGHT mean? It depends. 

Let’s have a look at some examples . . .

You have little paid work experience. 

You are applying for a Communication Specialist position. And you have been doing community work at the local Caritas. 

“Distributed clothes to the poors and helped in some other projects at the local Caritas for 1 year

This community work does not seem to be related to the Communication Specialist job you are targeting. Hence including it in the Work Experience section of your CV may not be the best option. You can however list it in the Other Experiences or Volunteer Work one. In fact, this shows that you have some valuable qualities. Namely, a service attitude, taking initiative, and make things happen. Moreover, many organizations look positively to people who contribute to the local community. And it can reflect well on the firm.

Managed the local Caritas’ communication on their website and on social media for 1 year. Distributed clothes to the poor, dealing with people who were asking for more and sometimes screaming at me, always finding the right words to calm them and make them happy.”

Now the text for your CV becomes relevant to the job you are applying for. This is because it showcases that you have been developing and practicing some skills and competences that align well with those of the job you are after. Hence you can list it just like a job in the Work Experience section to plump it up. The fact that is was not remunerated is not key. You’ve been told that you need experience to get that job? Well, this proves that you wanted to get that experience. And that you have acquired some.

“Volunteer Communication Specialist at Caritas (Zurich, 2018 – 2019).

  • Managed Caritas’ communication on their website and on social media.
  • Distributed clothes to the poor, dealing with people who were asking for more and sometimes screaming at me, always finding the right words to calm them and make them happy.”

This looks even better. By adding a title that captures the essence of your role, and describing in bullet point form what you’ve been doing, now the text looks like any other job.

“Volunteer Communication Specialist at Caritas (Zurich, 2018 – 2019).

  • Managed Caritas’ communication on their website and on social media, doubling posts and page likes . . .”

In the example above, the last part of the sentence makes the difference. By quantifing your accomplishments, you show that you tracked your work. Or that you – or your direct superior – measured it. This gives more credibility to what you are writing.

You have a reasonably long paid work experience. 

You are applying for a Senior Project Manager position. And you dedicate some of your free time to community work at the local Church. 

Assembling and delivering care packages for individuals and families in need at the local church.”

This activity is not related to your Project Management work. Thus, you won’t list it under Work Experience. In addition, you do not need to. You already have a rich work history.  But it can be worth reporting it under Other Experiences. In fact, it shows some valuable qualities such as strong ethics, being a team player, interpersonal skills, self-motivation and customer service.

“Assembling and delivering care packages for individuals and families in need at the local church, liaising with 8 suppliers and coordinating 15 volunteers to ensure content for the packages was timely available and packages delivered.”

As in the case of the person with little paid work experience, this is a way to improve the listing on your CV. By quantifying the contribution you made to your local church, you show how impactful and relevant it is. And again, it highlights how you use your competences and skill-set both at work and beyond it, in your life.

You have a gap in your work history due to a period of unemployment.

You are applying for an Accountant position. And you dedicate some of your free time to community work at a foundation for orphans.

“Dedicated 8 hours/week during a period of 3 years to support children do their homework, praising and encouraging them in order to increase their confidence in completing their work on their own. For each child, created a Call List of 3 classmates to call in case they forget an assignment”

This voluntary work conveys how – even during the time you were not working – you were proactive. It also shows that you were resilient, and you remained busy. Besides, this demonstrates integrity, respect, ability to work and communicate with different people, and many more qualities. All qualities that most hiring manager and companies consider as valuable.

“Volunteer Accountant at Angel Guardian Foundation (Geneva, 2018 – 2020).

  • Quickly learnt new accounting and finance systems, and prepared annual statutory financial statements and tax returns. 
  • Proposed procedural and reporting measures to ensure greater transparency of income and expenditure.
  • . . .”

As in the case of the person with little paid work experience, this is a way to showcase how your skills are transferable. And what you are capable of in your next role.

So, do you include volunteer and community work in your CV?

We hope that the examples used to illustrate the benefits of including your volunteer and community work in your CV reasonate with you. While you do good for your community, you can as well do good for your career. A win-win opportunity not to be missed.