Service in Your Career Journey
Service in Your Career Journey
Integrating service experiences into your professional journey can enrich your skill set, expand your network, and open doors to new opportunities. Some individuals have dedicated themselves to volunteering for years, while others are just beginning their journey in giving back to their communities.
Showing service on your resume can be a compelling illustration of personal values, social/ethical conviction and broad effectiveness as a contributor.
Professionals are generally advised to include such activities strategically, when they corroborate or reinforce the career narrative that already runs through the resume. A professional with a career in development, for example, would certainly do well to include her volunteer experience organizing and delivering a charity function
Undergraduate students commonly include clubs, extracurricular activities and volunteering on their resumes to supplement what may naturally be a limited collection of work experience. Such activities also confirm that they are well-rounded, involved, or they took leadership roles.
Graduate students can include research and work as a teaching assistant/graduate teaching fellow, service to a department or field, or elected position in an organization like the Association of Women in Science. Most commonly, the experiences and roles are shown in a list that includes the role/title, the name of the organization or cause, and sometimes the year of involvement under a heading called Leadership and Service category on their resumes. They can include service as professional experiences, denoting "Volunteer", as needed, after the role/title. For instance, while assisting with a charity fundraiser, individuals might have devised a pre- or post-event survey to evaluate its effectiveness. They could have incorporated extensive data while crafting a curriculum for an after-school program, or applied their technical expertise in delivering a specific service.
Example:
Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator. 2018 - 2021
Diabetes Foundation, City, State
Led planning, direction, and execution of special events, ensuring seamless implementation and maximizing fundraising outcomes.
Prepared and managed budgets (income and expenses) and work plans, including timelines and deliverables, resulting in the successful completion of fundraising events, programs, and activities.
Maintained accurate and comprehensive records and files for all fundraising events, programs, and activities, regularly reviewing their status with the Executive Director to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
Volunteering can significantly enhance skill sets or broaden existing ones through involvement in specific projects. A robust Community Involvement resume section should emphasize the capacity to devise and execute impactful engagement strategies, evidenced by community participation, brand visibility, and sponsorships. It could be strategically used to add work experience, display additional skills, and leadership.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Gandhi.
Related:
If you need help including your Service experience in your resume, please reach out. We can work together. Let’s get started!
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