Showing Volunteer Experience Could Put You Over the Top

You might have a great resume and lots of relevant experience, but something may still be missing from your resume: volunteer work. Not only does volunteering for a nonprofit organization or charity help you give back to the community, but it also has far-reaching implications for improving your chances at ideal positions in the job market.

Staying Positive

Perhaps one of the best things about volunteering is the feelings of goodwill that you engender, not only from those you are helping but from inside yourself. Volunteering helps you stay positive. It can keep your mind off the stresses of a job search. If you're passionate about any cause, whether it is feeding the hungry, caring for animals, bettering the environment or simply visiting the elderly, you can harness those passions and turn them into something good. And doing those activities looks great on a resume. Show an employer how much you care about things outside yourself when you devote time and energy to good causes. Your volunteer work signals to employers that you are an engaged and dedicated person, and someone they want on their team.

Expanding Connections

Dedicate a section on your resume to your volunteer work. Highlight the experiences you've gained through your efforts, such as leadership skills or organizational skills. Your work with the charity or nonprofit might involve being in charge of a certain project or working closely with a team. Perhaps your volunteer work involves strengthening the skills you already have and can provide measurable results of those skills. Employers like to see how you have utilized your skills in real-world applications, and volunteering provides you with the perfect opportunity to try out some of those skills.

Adding New Experiences

The people you meet when you volunteer can also help you build your network. If there is a particular company or type of industry where you want to work, find out if any of the top people in the field or at the business volunteer their time with a specific organization. This can be a great way to meet people who have similar interests and start building relationships. Even if you can't find out this information, your volunteer work can still be beneficial because you never know who you may meet or whose eye you might catch. As you start to build those relationships, let the people in your network know you are searching for a job. Perhaps someone you meet while you are volunteering can tell you about job opportunities in his company or serve as a reference.

When you are searching for job opportunities, filling in your time with volunteer work can be the ideal way to stay motivated, meet others, gain new skills and use the skills you have. When you are vying for that dream job, you want your resume to stand out more than the candidate's next to you. Volunteering shows your commitment and passion, and this is exactly what employers want to see in your work performance.

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