Volunteer position on resume?

straymo

I've been unemployed since January. I understand the longer I am unemployed the harder it can be for employers to look at me. I have been volunteering since being laid off. Can I add this position on my resume. There are a lot of "employable" skills used while I volunteer. I just want it to reflect what I am currently doing.

MarcyLT

Absolutely! I'd list it just like you'd list any other job on your resume, but be sure to call out somehow the fact that you're volunteering so that it doesn't look like you're "job hopping" - maybe put in parentheses behind the title (temporary volunteer position) or something to that effect.

I think companies, overall, will appreciate the fact that you are using your time effectively. When I was looking for a job and interviewed with my current CEO, he asked me to tell him about my "typical day" even though I was unemployed. He later told me the fact that I was volunteering, getting up and starting my day, and making the most of my time showed him my work ethic.

straymo

Thanks. This helps. I would go nuts if I didn't have somewhere to go and make a difference.

kit+kat

Exactly what Marcy said. Volunteer works always looks good, especially if you are making use of employable skills.

BlackDiamond3201

I always put my volunteer work on my resume. Just because it was volunteer work, it does not make the skills you have learned less meaningful.