How To List Volunteer Work on Your Resume (With Example)

Should You Include Volunteer Work on Your Resume?

Volunteer work can strengthen a resume when it demonstrates skills or achievements relevant to the position. It is especially useful when you:

• Have limited professional experience
• Are a student or recent graduate
• Are returning to work after a career break
• Are changing careers or industries
• Have relevant nonprofit experience
• Developed leadership skills through volunteering
• Want to demonstrate long-term community involvement
• Need additional evidence of a required skill

Employers are generally more interested in what you accomplished than whether the work was paid. A volunteer position involving project management, customer service or fundraising may provide valuable evidence of your abilities.

However, volunteer experience should not replace recent, relevant employment when space is limited. Include it when it improves the employer’s understanding of your qualifications.

Where To Put Volunteer Work on a Resume

There are three common places to include volunteer experience.

In your work experience section

Place volunteer work under Work Experience or Professional Experience when it is closely related to the position you want.

Use the same format as you would for paid employment:

• Organization name
• Location, if relevant
• Volunteer title
• Dates
• Achievement-focused bullet points

Clearly use “Volunteer” in the title so that employers understand the nature of the position.

For example:

Community Food Network
Volunteer Operations Coordinator | March 2024–Present

In a separate volunteer experience section

Create a section titled Volunteer Experience or Community Involvement when the work is valuable but less directly connected to the target position.

This approach works well for experienced candidates who want to include community activities without mixing them with paid employment.

In your skills or additional information section

You can use a short entry when the experience needs little explanation:

Volunteer Experience: Event Coordinator, City Youth Center, 2023–Present

This format saves space but provides less evidence of your results.

How To List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

1. Review the job description

Identify the responsibilities, skills and qualifications emphasized by the employer. Look for areas where your volunteer experience provides relevant evidence.

Useful keywords may include:

• Project management
• Customer service
• Event coordination
• Training
• Fundraising
• Public speaking
• Data entry
• Social media
• Budget management
• Team leadership

Do not copy keywords without context. Connect each one to an action you performed.

2. Choose your most relevant experience

You do not need to include every organization you have supported. Prioritize recent and relevant positions that strengthen your application.

For example, volunteer bookkeeping is more useful for an accounting position than occasional participation in an unrelated community event.

3. Use a professional title

Choose a title that accurately describes your responsibilities:

• Volunteer Tutor
• Volunteer Event Coordinator
• Community Outreach Volunteer
• Volunteer Social Media Manager
• Volunteer Shift Supervisor
• Fundraising Committee Member
• Volunteer Web Designer

Avoid inflating the role. Your title should be clear without implying responsibilities you did not have.

4. Include the organization and dates

List the organization’s name and the period during which you volunteered. You can use month and year or year only, depending on the format used elsewhere in the resume.

If you are still volunteering, use “Present” as the end date.

5. Describe actions and achievements

Begin each bullet point with a strong action verb. Explain what you did, how you did it and what resulted.

Useful action verbs include:

• Coordinated
• Created
• Trained
• Organized
• Raised
• Recruited
• Managed
• Supported
• Delivered
• Improved
• Developed
• Facilitated

6. Quantify your impact

Numbers make the scope of your work easier to understand. You might include:

• Number of volunteers trained
• Funds raised
• Event attendance
• Hours contributed
• People served
• Content engagement
• Reduction in costs
• Number of projects completed

Only use figures you can explain accurately during an interview.

7. Tailor the description

Adjust the emphasis for each application. The same volunteer position may demonstrate different skills depending on the target role.

For a marketing position, emphasize campaigns and audience growth. For an operations position, focus on scheduling, processes and coordination.

Volunteer Experience Examples

Example for a candidate with limited work experience

Neighborhood Food Alliance
Volunteer Shift Coordinator | January 2025–Present

• Coordinate weekly schedules for 25 volunteers across three distribution shifts
• Train new volunteers on inventory, safety and customer service procedures
• Reorganized the product check-in process, reducing average waiting time by 18%
• Maintain accurate distribution records for approximately 400 households per month

Example for a marketing position

Green City Initiative
Volunteer Social Media Coordinator | June 2024–Present

• Create and schedule educational content across three social media platforms
• Increased average monthly engagement by 32% through campaign testing and audience analysis
• Designed promotional materials for four community events attended by more than 1,200 residents
• Coordinate content approvals with program managers and external partners

Example for a project management position

Regional Literacy Foundation
Volunteer Program Lead | September 2023–December 2025

• Managed a six-month reading program involving 40 volunteers and eight community schools
• Created project timelines, training materials and weekly progress reports
• Coordinated communication among school administrators, volunteers and nonprofit leadership
• Delivered the program within its approved budget and served 310 students

Example of an abbreviated volunteer section

Volunteer Experience

• Habitat Restoration Volunteer, Riverland Conservation Group | 2024–Present
• Career Mentor, Young Professionals Network | 2023–Present
• Event Volunteer, Community Health Foundation | 2022–2024

Resume Example With Volunteer Work

Jordan Lee
Austin, Texas
jordan.lee@example.com | 555-013-2486
linkedin.com/in/jordanlee

Professional Summary

Organized marketing coordinator with experience supporting digital campaigns, community events and social media programs. Skilled in content planning, performance reporting and cross-functional communication.

Skills

Content planning, social media management, campaign reporting, event coordination, email marketing, Canva, Google Analytics and Microsoft Excel

Professional Experience

BrightWave Retail
Marketing Assistant | August 2024–Present

• Coordinate weekly promotional content for email and social media campaigns
• Prepare campaign reports using engagement, traffic and conversion data
• Maintain the marketing calendar and communicate deadlines to internal stakeholders
• Assist with customer research and competitor monitoring

Volunteer Experience

Austin Community Arts Council
Volunteer Marketing Coordinator | February 2023–July 2024

• Developed social media campaigns for six community events with combined attendance of 2,500 people
• Increased email newsletter subscriptions by 24% through event sign-up campaigns
• Created branded graphics, event descriptions and partner communication materials
• Coordinated a team of eight volunteers responsible for on-site promotion

Education

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing
Central Texas University | May 2024

Tips for Describing Volunteer Experience

Focus on results rather than motivation

Supporting an important cause may be personally meaningful, but employers also want evidence of your abilities. Describe the work and its impact.

Use the same formatting as other sections

Keep titles, dates, bullet points and spacing consistent throughout the resume.

Avoid describing routine participation as leadership

Attending events is different from planning or managing them. Use language that accurately reflects your contribution.

Explain unfamiliar organizations briefly

If the organization’s purpose is not obvious, include a short description:

HopeWorks, a nonprofit providing employment support to adults with disabilities

Remove unnecessary personal details

You generally do not need to disclose religious, political, health-related or other sensitive information unless you decide it supports your application.

Prioritize relevance over volume

One well-described volunteer position is usually more valuable than a long list without context.

Placing relevant volunteering with professional experience and using a separate section for less-related activities.

When To Leave Volunteer Work Off Your Resume

Consider removing an experience when:

• It is outdated and no longer relevant
• It adds no useful skills or achievements
• Your resume already contains stronger professional experience
• It creates unnecessary duplication
• You cannot explain your responsibilities clearly
• Including it makes the resume longer than necessary

A resume is a selective marketing document, not a complete record of everything you have done.

Turn Your Experience Into a Professional Presentation With Dokie

Volunteer projects can also provide useful material for portfolios, interviews and professional-development presentations. Dokie is an AI presentation maker that transforms documents, URLs, research and notes into structured, business-ready slides.

You can apply a custom template, edit the generated content and export an editable PowerPoint file. Dokie can help turn volunteer achievements, project results and career experience into polished portfolio presentations or interview materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does volunteer work count as work experience?

Volunteer work can count as relevant experience when it demonstrates skills and responsibilities connected to the position. Clearly identify it as unpaid or volunteer work.

How far back should volunteer experience go?

Prioritize recent experience from approximately the last 10 years unless an older position is especially relevant or represents a significant achievement.

Should I include the number of volunteer hours?

Include hours when they demonstrate substantial commitment or are requested by the employer. Otherwise, dates and achievements are generally more useful.

Can volunteer work explain a resume gap?

Yes. Ongoing volunteer work can demonstrate that you remained active and developed useful skills, but you do not need to use it to justify every employment gap.