How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume [+ Examples]

Should you include volunteer work on your resume?

Yes. In general, volunteer experience is worth including on your resume.

Think about it — whether in a workplace or just helping out, you use skills to accomplish a task. That’s exactly what employers care about. It’s fine if you weren’t paid for it!

A survey by LinkedIn found that 41% of employers consider volunteer work equally as valuable as paid work experience when evaluating candidates.

Listing volunteer work is especially important if you fall into one of these categories:

• You’re an entry-level candidate.
• You have no work experience to add to your resume.
• You’re a student who hasn’t held a job.
• You have significant career gaps on your resume.
• You’d consider yourself a career changer.

You don’t need to fit into one of the groups above to talk about your volunteering experience, though. Anyone with relevant experience should consider it alongside other sections you put on your resume.

While volunteer experiences are generally welcome, there are a couple of situations where you’d rather leave it off.

Don’t include your volunteer work experience if it fits the following:

• Your experience isn’t relevant. If the volunteer work you’ve done doesn’t align with the job you’re applying for, it might not be worth including. For instance, if you’re applying for a role in finance but your volunteer experience is all in animal care, this mismatch could distract rather than enhance your application.
• Your experience was long ago. Consider omitting volunteer experiences that are outdated, especially if they are more than 10-15 years old. Old experiences may not reflect your current skills and abilities.
• You need space for other sections. If you did relevant coursework, you could give more space to your education section. Perhaps you have a lot of recent work experience, so your job history should take center stage.

Now, let’s talk about the best ways to showcase these experiences effectively.

How to list volunteer experience on your resume

Listing volunteer work on your resume is simple — it should look like your work experience.

This means your volunteer experience should always include:

• Volunteering positions: Clearly state your role or the position you held.
• Organization name: Include the name of the organization or group where you volunteered.
• City and state: Mention the location where you volunteered.
• Dates of volunteering: Provide the timeframe of your volunteer engagement, including the start and end dates.
• Bullet points calling out achievements: List your key responsibilities, achievements and any notable contributions you made during your volunteer work, using bullet points for easy readability.

Let’s see what this looks like in practice.

Example of a volunteer work section

See our resume formatting guide for more tips and examples of how to format your resume.

Next, we’ll show you where you should place your volunteer experience.

Where to add volunteer experience on your resume

Deciding where to place volunteer experience on your resume can affect how this information is perceived by potential employers.

There are two ways you can add volunteer experience to your resume:

• In the work experience section: This is a good choice when the volunteer work is major and relevant to your career goals. Including it in your work experience section can demonstrate a continuous and relevant work history, especially if the skills or role closely align with your professional experiences.
• In a separate section with its own header: Opt for this when your volunteer experience wasn’t long-term or substantial or doesn’t necessarily connect directly to your career goals. This approach allows you to highlight these experiences without confusing them with your professional work history.

Let’s look at how each of these options would look on your resume.

Work experience section — example

Dedicated section — example

OK, let’s wrap up by answering a few common questions.