How to List Board Membership on Resume: Best Practices Explained

This guide will explain the best practices few tips for listing corporate directors and board of director's memberships on your resume, with examples and actionable tips.

How to List Board Memberships on Resume

Board memberships demonstrate:

Leadership and Governance Skills: Serving on a top organization or corporate governance board position highlights your own skills and ability to make strategic decisions and contribute to organizational success.

Credibility and Expertise: It shows you are trusted by peers and organizations" demonstrate expertise in your field.

Commitment to Community or Industry: Being involved or your own company or serving on a professional associations or board of directors often reflects a dedication to being involved in advancing a cause or industry.

By including board memberships, you differentiate yourself from other candidates. These roles can emphasize qualities like vision, strategy, and networking—skills that are essential for many leadership and industry-specific roles. For more leadership-focused roles, such as those outlined in this Director’s Resume Guide, board memberships can be a key highlight.

Where to Include Board Memberships on Your Resume

The placement of board position and committee memberships depends on their position relevance key responsibilities specific to the position, job application and specific skills used due to the job:

Dedicated Section: Create a separate section, titled “Board Memberships” or “Leadership Roles” for high-level roles serving on a board.

Experience Section: Integrate them within your professional development experience if they or relevant soft skills were a significant part of your education section or own career journey.

Volunteer Work: If name of the organization roles you served were unpaid or community-focused, include them under “Volunteer Work.”

Tailoring the Placement

For candidates with extensive professional experience, a dedicated section helps focus attention. Meanwhile, newer professionals might integrate board roles into their experience or volunteer sections to showcase leadership skills to potential employers. For specialized roles like project management, check out this Project Manager Resume Example to see effective structuring.

How to Format Board Memberships

A clear, concise format ensures readability and impact. Include:

1. Organization Name
2. Your Role (e.g., Chairperson, Member, Treasurer)
3. Dates of Service
4. Key Contributions or Achievements
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Example 1: Dedicated Section

Example 2: Integrated in Experience Section

Example 3: Volunteer Section

Dos and Don’ts of Listing Board Memberships

Dos

• Highlight Achievements: Focus on measurable outcomes like increased revenue, improved processes, or expanded reach.


• Use Action-Oriented Language: Begin with strong verbs like “led,” “developed,” or “increased.”


• Ensure Relevance: Only list memberships that add value to your targeted role.


• Customize Details: Tailor each entry to reflect the skills and qualifications relevant to the job you’re applying for.


• Highlight Leadership Roles: Emphasize positions like Chair, Vice-Chair, or Committee Head to show decision-making authority.


• Showcase Strategic Impact: Demonstrate how your role contributed to the organization’s strategic direction or long-term success.


• Use Numbers and Metrics: Quantify your achievements, such as increasing donations by 20% or reducing costs by 15%.


• Be Concise: Include only the most significant board experiences that align with your professional goals and the role you're applying for.


• Include Relevant Committees: Mention any key committees you served on (audit, governance, fundraising) and highlight your contributions.


• Demonstrate Cross-Industry Expertise: If applicable, show how your experience spans across different sectors (nonprofit, public, private) to showcase your versatility.

Don’ts

• List Every Membership: Avoid listing irrelevant or minor roles that don’t add value.


• Overload with Details: Keep descriptions concise and impactful; avoid long, detailed explanations.


• Use Inconsistent Formatting: Maintain uniformity in structure and style across all entries for a clean, professional look.


• Ignore Keywords: Don’t forget to include relevant terms like “board member,” “governance,” or “strategic direction” to ensure ATS compatibility.


• Use Jargon: Avoid industry-specific terminology that may confuse non-specialist hiring managers.


• Include Personal or Family Boards: Do not list boards related to personal or family matters unless they’re professionally relevant.


• Overstate Your Role: Be truthful about your involvement and avoid embellishing your contributions.


• List Short-Term or Inactive Roles: Avoid including roles where you had minimal involvement, or which didn’t result in significant outcomes.


• Duplicate Information: Don’t repeat the same achievements or responsibilities across different sections of your resume.


• Ignore Conflict of Interest: Be transparent about any potential conflicts of interest, especially if they’re relevant to the position you're applying for.
  

Examples of Effective Board Membership Listings

For a Leadership Position:

For a Community-Focused Role:

For a Corporate Role:

Tips for Optimizing Your Resume for ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems)

Use Keywords: Incorporate terms like “leadership,” “board member,” and “governance.”

Keep It Relevant: Tailor your resume to the company and job description, emphasizing board roles relevant experience that align with the position.

Be Concise: Ensure the document is easy to scan, with clear sections and bullet points.

Leverage Metrics: Highlight measurable results, such as percentage increases or financial achievements.

Use Standard Headings: Stick to common headings like “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills” to help ATS easily categorize your information.

Avoid Graphics and Images: ATS can’t read images, charts, or non-text elements, so keep your resume text based.

Optimize for Job Titles: Use job titles that match the ones used in the next job application posting to improve ATS compatibility.

Use Simple Fonts: Choose standard fonts like Arial or Times New Roman, as fancy fonts can confuse ATS.

Incorporate Relevant Certifications: Include certifications or qualifications that are relevant to the job to improve your chances of passing through the ATS.

Test Your Resume: Use an online ATS resume checker to see how well your resume performs with automated systems before submitting it.

Conclusion

Including board memberships on your resume is a powerful way to demonstrate your leadership skills, expertise, and community involvement. By using how to list board membership on your resume and carefully selecting and formatting your three new board members and roles, you can create a compelling narrative that sets you apart from other candidates.

Use these best practices on how to list and add board membership and board member accomplishments on resume to refine your resume and showcase your unique qualifications to potential employers.

Remember, your resume is not just a resume with a list of experiences—it’s a story of your professional life and journey. Make every detail count. By using relevant skills and incorporating board memberships showcase leadership positions in strategically your resume, you highlight your ability to lead, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to any organization.