Volunteer Resume No One Talks About (Example + Writing Tips)

Why do I need a volunteer resume when I am generously donating my time and other skills without payback? I can go to an NGO's office and start moving their lawn since I know how to do that work.

Yeah, you can start the lawn work but not how you mentioned above. Volunteer work is now a highly organized sector since corporate companies have social responsibilities towards society. Hence, these organizations hire professionals for a volunteer role.

Whether you are willing to donate your time and skills permanently or for a short time you will still need a volunteer resume. Without a resume, you won't be able to appear for the job interview.

This article will answer your questions about volunteering jobs meanwhile read the table of contents.

• Introduction
• Volunteers and a volunteer opportunity
• Who is a volunteer and what volunteers do
• Volunteer work job descriptions
• Volunteer role
• Responsibilities in a volunteer position
• Key requirements for volunteer positions
• Volunteer resume example
• Top 6 elements in a volunteering resume
• Cover letter for volunteering resumes
• Frequently asked questions

Who is a Volunteer and what Volunteers do?

A person who denotes his or her time towards a volunteer work beneficial to an individual or an organization without expecting any kind of returns is a volunteer. A volunteer job responsibility includes performing task assigned by a volunteer coordinator, manager, supervisor or an incharge.

Additionally, the nature of work may be environment preservation, tree plantation, water conservation or helping elderly citizens but not limited to the same. Volunteer opportunities may extend depending on the type of the work the organization has undertaken.

With this in mind, here is a sample volunteer job description.

Volunteer Work Job Description

Needless to say, what does a volunteer job description include? You have a work history, education section, volunteer roles, responsibilities, and relevant skills.

A volunteer willingly spares time and energy for a task that is for the good of a community or a single entity. These tasks can be physically and mentally challenging occasionally requiring special training in certain cases.

With that, this is the volunteer job description with key requirements necessary to qualify for a volunteer position.

Volunteer Role

Need a volunteer to assist our volunteer coordinators in community work and services. You will work under a coordinator who will assign tasks and demand progress reports. You will be responsible to maintain the dignity, values, and professionalism of the volunteer opportunities assigned to you.

You will be expected to complete the work on time and report the same to a volunteer coordinator.

Responsibilities in a Volunteer Position

• Report to the on-duty task manager upon arrival and receive the assigned work.
• Punch your daily work in the service program designed by the organizations.
• Update the status of the pending work and give reasons why you couldn't complete the same.
• Coordinate with other team members to finish the job if required and mention your ID in their work log.
• Manage the list of tools, stationery, and equipment needed to complete a work.
• Generate reports and send them to the admin department for further processing.
• Recommend changes where ever applicable using the feedback form with your ID.

Key Requirements for Volunteer Position

• Being a valued team member and exhibiting related characteristics.
• Complete formal training before fieldwork.
• Must have skills of exceptional level in time management.
• Accountable and devoted towards the job.
• Professional, focused, and willing to work.

After learning about opportunities, job descriptions, a volunteer role, and responsibilities in a volunteer position along with requirements we will go through volunteer resume examples.

Volunteer Resume Example

A dream job whether it is in the engineering segment of job application for a paid work as a volunteer - a job winning resume is mandatory. If you are struggling to write your own resume then the following volunteer resume sample can act as a resume template.

It contains a summary example, hard and soft skills summarization, work experience section, and impressive achievements like education section and certificates. Take your time, read carefully and use it.

Top 6 Elements in a Volunteering Resume

Volunteer resume writing is easier then expected and we have the above-mentioned volunteer resume sample as an evidence. A hiring manager looks for essential and vital information in volunteer resumes.

For instance, resume summary, skills section, job experience, education section, and additional details like certificates. Hence, if these critical details are missing hiring managers will make your resume stand somewhere else.

Following are the details to create professional volunteer resumes.

Contact Details

Job seekers need a professional resume layout to impress hiring managers and the resume example you read above is the best demonstration how you can win a job.

However, apart from a best resume format you also need proper guidelines to write a volunteer resume. Undoubtedly our volunteer resume sample is the best source to help you but to make the topic more easy to understand here are two examples to make your resume stand out from the competition.

Right

Dean Hutchinson

Social Worker

Tulsa, Oklahoma

+1 918-425-8428

deanhutchinson@teleworm.us

Wrong

Dean Hutchinson

1281 Hornor Avenue

Tulsa, OK 74126

+1 918-425-8428

Birthday February 21, 1984

Age 39 years old

Zodiac Pisces

deanhutchinson@teleworm.us

connectpowerllc.com

Height 5' 10" (178 centimetres)

Weight 191.4 pounds (87.0 kilograms)

Blood type O+

Summary

Just like a professional email address is necessary in the header resume sections in the same way a resume summary must have a balanced combination of volunteer experience, relevant skills, and achievements from previous jobs.

The following examples will bifurcate two separately written resume summary with different style. Refer to them below.

Right

A dedicated individual having a diploma in social work and volunteer experience of more than six years working with NGOs committed towards noble causes like environment preservation, water conservation, and tree plantation. Skilled in ecosystem fragmentation and wildlife restoration. Honestly seeking to be a part of your ecosystem conservation volunteer work.

Wrong

I am a recent graduate in social work having paid experience working with NGOs. I have hard skills like ecosystem fragmentation and wildlife restoration from past jobs. I am seeking paid positions in volunteer work.

Skills Section

The skills section in this resume template has replaced the employment history section. Normally, the employment history immediately falls after the resume summary and that too in a wider detailed style.

However, this resume format is not the reverse chronological but a functional resume format. Therefore, hard and soft skills are written exclusively. Refer to the examples below.

Right

Administrative Tasks

• Performed field inspections in the national park and gathered valuable data on flora, fauna, and wildlife for other organizations.
• Sending reports and converting raw data into digital formats for further processing.
• Generated reports of unpaid work done by other candidates according to the standard policies and regulations.

Community Service

• Arranged seminars on healthy lifestyles for age groups from 18 to 45.
• Supervised a funding program for water conservation and drinking water in the African regions.
• Collaborated with corporate donors to install solar energy plants in faraway locations.

Social Service

• Submitted the data to the program coordinators mentioning key achievements.
• Helped intern volunteers with training, necessary supplies, and data to perform tasks and gain experience.

Wrong

Transferable Skills

• Performed field inspections in the national park.
• Gathered valuable data on flora, fauna, and wildlife.
• Sending reports and converting raw data into digital formats.
• Generated reports of work done by the team.
• Arranged seminars on healthy lifestyles.
• Supervised a funding program for water conservation.
• Collaborated with corporate donors to install solar energy plants.
• Submitted the data to the program coordinators.
• Helped intern volunteers with training and necessary supplies.

Work history

Since we are writing our volunteer resume in a functional format skills are the center of attraction instead of the employment history. Although work experience is an eternal part of a resume immaterial of a job profile yet functional format allow job seekers to sync the job experience and highlight the skills.

Highlighting skills doesn't mean you must skip writing the work experience section. Following examples shows how to write unpaid and paid experience in your volunteer resume.

Right

Oklahoma National Park

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Social service

2019-2020

Wrong

Oklahoma Community Service Center

2018-2019

Education

Describing academic details in a volunteer resume is a no-brainer. Hiring managers need to confirm that all resume sections are written in a proper format. Refer to the examples below.

Right

Oklahoma University

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Year of Completion 2018

High School Diploma - Social Work

Wrong

Oklahoma University

2018

Recently graduated - Social Work

Certificates

Certificates, language, books, blog, website, publications, etc. comes under the additional details of a volunteer resume or a generic professional resume. In this volunteer resume example we have included only certificates for reference.

Below mentioned are examples of details a job seeker can include to impress hiring managers.

Right

• Professional Data Entry Operator
• Wildlife Volunteer Experience Certificate

Wrong

• Data operator work experience and volunteer experience certificate

The six important sections in a resume ends here and we hope that you have had good idea about writing them all by yourself.

Cover Letter for Volunteering Resumes

It is necessary that you understand - a cover letter differs variably from a resume. It has no repetitions from the resume content because after all impressions matter in front of hiring managers.

Moreover, there's no additional advantage to write details in cover letters that is already present in the resume. For example, introducing new skills in cover letters.

This might sound hectic but we have samples of cover letters to study and write one for yourself. To browse cover letters click the link.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are volunteering resumes different?

No they are similar to professional resumes written for an engineering or a desk job. The only thing that differs is the format and the outline of a resume. For example, a senior candidate's resume will differ from an intern or a junior applicant.

Which template is the best to write a resume?

Templates are outlines designed keeping in mind the hiring requirements. They save time and helps your resume pass the initial screening done using an application tracking system. All in all, a template is super beneficial and everyone must use it to create a professional resume for themselves.