Volunteer - is such a column needed in the resume

Volunteering, as a phenomenon, looks extremely positive and especially attractive in the resume of those who are just starting their professional path. After all, participation in social activities may indicate the presence of organizational skills, minimal work experience, formed social capital, as well as an understanding of the principles of teamwork and the importance of social responsibility.

Difficulties arise only in that the gained experience is advantageously described in the resume. To do this, you need to show some flexibility, resourcefulness and take advantage of useful techniques:

    Volunteer experience can and should be indicated if the work was carried out in an adjacent field to the selected vacancy. Such activity is equivalent to professional experience and does not have a role on what conditions experience was gained.
    Omit the term “volunteer” to describe your volunteer position if you are predicting an employer reaction to it. So the employer may not have suspicions that the work was carried out for free and only with the aim of gaining experience.
    Briefly describe successful projects during your volunteer activities. The description should be brief, reflect the essence of the work done and its effectiveness. Well, if there is an opportunity to reinforce the described facts and concrete results.
    Quality is always better than quantity. If you have a very wide experience in public work, you should not indicate each of them. Indicate the most relevant for a specific vacancy or the most successful.
    Carefully cover participation in political activities if you do not know for sure the employer's attitude to a particular political force or ideology. In this case, it is better to focus on the acquired skills, and not on upholding a specific position.
    It is better not to mention the experience of the volunteer if the attitude to the activity was formal and it is impossible to reliably verify this experience, receive recommendations from the curator or mentor of the project.

For Western recruiters, the experience of social activity is particularly significant. About whether Ukrainian employers inherit this trend, Work.ua was interested in the HR manager of the first multi-channel retailer in Ukraine COMFY Natalia Shabas:

“We are constantly recruiting staff in connection with the opening of new stores and the development of an online sales channel. For such vacancies as a sales consultant, call-center operator, job applicants often have no experience. However, this is not a key indicator of selection.

We appreciate the willingness to help people, the desire to be useful, communication skills, the desire to do more than required. The experience of volunteer work allows the recruiter to clarify the necessary issues and help in making decisions. ”


Ukrainian recruiters confirm that successfully presented experience and skills gained through volunteering will be an undoubted advantage among all resumes. But be prepared to predict and prepare answers to clarifying questions of a recruiter based on your work experience. And remember that the experience of a social activist should only help, but not in any way distract from future professional activities.

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