Resume? Done. Application? Complete. SEEK and LinkedIn profile is updated, and you have double check the job description…. but there is one last question. Where does your volunteer experience fit into all of this? How can you leverage your volunteering experience to show your skills in a way hirers will understand and help you land the role you want?
Research performed by SEEK has discovered valuable insights that can help convert a candidate’s volunteer experience into real skills, experience, and values for a role in a workplace.
Volunteer experience is valued experience
One of the key elements of any job interview or application is the “Experience” section. Traditionally, the less work experience that a person has, the less hirers know about their qualities, and more resources may need to be expended (training them up, the potential for making mistakes).
However, the research showed that there is a positive hiring attitude toward volunteering, with 75% of hiring staff agreeing volunteer experience is an advantage in a job interview. This means that hiring managers don’t just consider paid experience to be the only valid route into a job. Your volunteer experience also counts. Volunteering can help develop transferable skills, which hiring managers rank as the highest selection criteria for career change and entry level workers.
Hiring managers are looking to add value to their workplace, and the research found that they prioritise three main selection criteria: cultural fit, professional capabilities, and soft skills. Hiring managers also value what volunteering shows: a caring nature and a willingness to help, as well as a focus on good culture, determination, and commitment.
Key Points:
Volunteering is a great way to start to build transferable skills, while gaining soft skills
Hiring managers look for candidates with a combination of cultural fit, professional capabilities, and soft skills
Frame your volunteer experience in an easy-to-understand way.
How to speak about your volunteer experience
To make the most of your volunteer experience, its important to convey your learnings in a way that clearly shows their value, while also directly addressing the job description and application criteria. If we can’t see how, it will help or support your application, it isn’t as impactful.
You can speak about:
What was gained through volunteering and how these skills apply to the job
Why you decided to volunteer, to help hirers understand more about you as a person
How long you volunteered for, which can demonstrate your commitment
You can always speak to your volunteer experience during an interview, and on your resume, your volunteer experience should be clear and succinct. You can reference it in your covering letter but keep it after paid work. Keep your description short, informative, and relevant.
Key Points:
Framing your volunteer experience in the relevant context of the role you’re applying for is an important part of your job application
You need to communicate the value of your volunteering, so that the hiring manager can recognise how you can fit into their workplace
Successfully articulating your volunteer experience is a great way to put your best foot forward with 82% of hiring managers agreeing that volunteering can be a credible way to get real-work experience.