How to write a captivating community volunteer resume?
In pursuit of a community volunteer position, you are about to offer essential help to people in need, connect with the community, and definitely acquire new skills you may not be able to learn in any other job.
Whether you want to participate in an environmental or humanitarian activity, there might be a high volume of volunteers applying for the same job. And let’s be honest, there are only as many vacancies as the organization’s resources allow.
That’s why you need to pay extra attention to how you present your experience and skills necessary for carrying out this job.
Keep on reading and learn how to craft a staggering community volunteer resume so that you can start doing some good.
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1. Spruce up your community volunteer resume format
Volunteering can be about many things — meeting new people, gaining a sense of purpose, building community or learning new skills, among other aspects. It even makes you more employable.
In order to pave the way for these opportunities, you will first need to make your resume appealing to a hiring manager, and you will certainly want to start with a great resume format.
Whether you opt for a more creative template or a traditional one, there are certain formatting rules you can’t ignore if you want to make the right impression.
- Opt for a two-column layout, and distribute individual resume sections in a balanced way whilst keeping your page count low.
- Remember to include the following sections:
- Contact Details
- Professional Profile
- Work Experience
- Education
- Soft and Hard Skills
- Additional sections such as Certifications, Projects, Courses, Language Skills, Interests, etc.
- Avoid stylish fonts that may distract one from the content, and use a classic typeface, such as Cambria, Garamond or Calibri.
- Employ white space between individual segments.
- Make your headings bigger.
Choose your preferred template and make your resume shine.
2. Write an awe-inspiring professional summary for your community volunteer CV
A great professional summary will speak loudly about what you have to offer to the organization in question. These 3-5 lines should clearly reflect that you are the right candidate for the community volunteer position.
How to make it happen?
- Use impactful language.
- State how many years of experience you’ve had in a relevant position.
- Highlight your greatest accomplishments, linking them with keywords from the job posting.
- Present your greatest skills for volunteering.
Underperforming community volunteer professional summary example
Community Volunteer engaging in various volunteering activities. Made donations on a continual basis. Currently seeking a position of a Community Volunteer in a non-profit organization to utilize my volunteering skills.
Corrected community volunteer professional summary example
Enthusiastic and dependable Community Volunteer with 3+ years of experience engaging in various volunteering activities including youth education, building shelters, assisting elderly people through community development programs. Made donations to the Hearts & Minds program on a continual basis. Currently seeking a position of a Community Volunteer in a reputed non-profit organization to utilize my exceptional commitment, communication and compassion skills.
3. Put the right skills on your community volunteer resume
A specific volunteering activity will require a particular set of soft and hard skills. That’s why it is very important that you read the job posting in question carefully.
Look for the skills needed for the position. Write down the competencies that you possess, and compare them with the list from the job ad.
Any matching skills? Great! These should be featured right at the top of your list.
The following soft and hard skills may help you compile an effective skill-set for your community volunteer resume.
The best soft skills for community volunteering to put on your CV
- Commitment
- Outstanding communication
- Motivation
- Problem solving
- Decision making
- Open-mindedness
- Compassion
- Leadership
- Social perceptiveness
- Organizational skills
- Strong work ethic
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Flexibility
Effective hard skills for your community volunteer resume
- Marketing skills
- Administrative skills
- Volunteer management tool: VolunteerHub
- Scheduling
- MS Office Suite
- Adobe Photoshop
4. The best way to list your community volunteer work experience
When it comes to describing your volunteer work history, make sure you provide a relevant and effective account of your most recent roles.
In order to jump ahead of other candidates, you may want to pay extra attention to the following tips:
- Provide a reverse-chronological account of your work experiences, starting with the most recent position.
- Focus on your achievements rather than on daily duties and responsibilities.
- Quantify your accomplishments whenever it applies.
- Customize your work experience section to a specific job posting. Remember that your past accomplishments should be relevant to the position you are applying for.
Community volunteer work experience section example
Hearts & Minds, Austin, Texas
Community Volunteer
2017 – 2021
- Developed and managed relationships with the local authorities to create an understanding of their role and position in helping young people to gain experience of the workplace.
- Mentored a team of 12 volunteers on time management and prioritizing.
- Skillfully planned and delivered 10+ workshops with local government teams to catalyze the use of the company's services.
- Coordinated communications to the business leader community.
- Helped to deliver marketing initiatives defined with the Marketing team to keep the stakeholder groups engaged and growing.
5. Include academic achievements in your education section
Listing education might seem like a walk in the park — your college, degree, years in school, done.
However, what if you could make it more appealing by adding volunteering activities, academic achievements, areas of interest or relevant coursework? You’d certainly go for it.
Here’s how to effectively list education in your community volunteer resume
Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
Bachelor of Science in Sociology
2011-2014
- Volunteering activities: Community centers (Arts and music), Sports (Youth groups)
- The 2010 Academic Excellence Award winner
- Areas of interest: Social Change, Sociology of Development
6. Add suitable additional sections to your community volunteer CV
Teamwork, communication, project planning or problem solving are just a few of the competencies you need to equip yourself with in order to fulfill your daily responsibilities as a community volunteer.
All these (and more) skills can be reflected in your additional activities, such as accomplishments, language skills or interests.
Beef up your resume with the right extra segments:
- Interests
- Awards
- Volunteering activities
- Conferences
- Certifications
- Computer science projects
- Accomplishments
- Language Skills
Here’s how to list additional sections in your resume
Accomplishments
- Regional Volunteer of the Month, Reach Volunteering, May 2019
Language Skills
- English — Fluent, TOEFL Certificate
- Italian — B2 Certificate
- German — A2 Certificate