How to List Volunteer Work Experience on a Resume in 2025 (with Examples)

1) Gaining extra experience‍

If you lack paid work experience, volunteer experience could be a great way to make up for it.

For example, unlike paid jobs, it's easier to advance to higher positions with more responsibilities as a volunteer.

As a result, this can provide you with a tremendous amount of experience and transferable skills to improve your actual career.

2) Showcasing your character

Having a strong background in volunteering can indicate your strength of character to employers.

Not only does it showcase your work ethic but it also indicates a passion and care for your local community.

This is something that can be very admired by local businesses!

3) Boosting an employers interest

Listing your volunteer experience can give employers a better sense of your interests and passions.

In turn, this can boost the employer’s interest in your background and story, pushing them to invite you to an interview. 

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What is considered volunteer work?

Volunteer experience consists of any unpaid work you completed outside of work for internships or apprenticeships. 

There's many different types of volunteer work that you can take part in.

Some commonly seen examples are:

Community Service

‍This type of volunteer work helps to uplift and support the community.

Examples include helping with a community garden, cleaning up highways, or aiding in natural conservation. 

Volunteer Freelancing

If you're a freelancer, doing free work for a nonprofit or startup can classify as volunteer work.

This can help you to both build a portfolio and grow your professional experience.

Sports and Events

Most sporting events use the help of volunteers to help manage stadiums and to direct visitors during games.

Other major events that utilize volunteers include concerts, music festivals, conferences, and fairs and can help you build skills in community organizing and leadership.

Social Work

Social work in volunteering pertains to work that helps the people in the community.

This can include women’s empowerment groups, child mentor programs, and community development. 

Healthcare

Community clinics and other free or low-cost health resources rely on the help of volunteers.

This goes for both human healthcare and animal healthcare! Many doctors and veterinarians offer volunteer programs. 

Where should I list my volunteer experience on my resume?

There are two main locations to list volunteer experience on a resume:

1) Create a dedicated volunteer experience section

This section will be separate from your work experience section. Depending on the type of resume format you use, your volunteer experience can vary in size and how much space it takes up. 

2) Your work experience section

If you do not have enough work or volunteer experience to fill an entire section, then you should add the volunteer work to your work experience section.

Volunteer roles where you held leadership positions are especially good to include. 

No matter where you list your volunteer experience, you should also keep in mind relevancy and timeliness.

This means how recent the volunteer experience occurred and how it relates to the job you are applying for. 

For instance, you may currently hold a position on a budgetary board for a local nonprofit. If you are applying for a job in business administration, this volunteer work could be relevant and interesting to the hiring manager. 

Need more advice on where to list sections and information on your resume? Take a look at our guide on How to Organize Your Resume with Resume Layout Examples. 

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What is a resume volunteer experience section?

A volunteer experience section on your resume is a section dedicated to listing and describing your unpaid work. 

This dedicated volunteer work section can be a great addition to your resume. It can provide further insight into you as a person and stand as a testament to your work ethic. 

When creating a volunteer experience section, it is best to think of it similarly to your work experience section.

Each entry should include:

• Your position title (e.g. volunteer, crew member, committee member, etc.)
• Your dates of involvement 
• Short descriptions of your responsibilities and accomplishments

You never want to be overly vague in your work experience section. The goal should be to draw clear connections between your skills and your volunteer work. 

When should I put volunteer experience in its own section?

There are two main scenarios in which you should place volunteer experience in its own section:

1. When you have several examples of both work and volunteer experience
2. When you have only volunteer experience

If you only have some work experience and some volunteer experience, we recommend creating a combined work experience section. This will include both your paid and unpaid work, all under the umbrella of “work.”

Remember, you never want to include paid work experience in a section titled "Volunteering Experience".

What resume format is best if I only have volunteer experience?

If you are creating a resume with limited work experience, you might wonder how you would place greater emphasis on your volunteer experience. 

The most standard resume format used by job applicants is the Reverse-Chronological resume.

This type of resume places the main focus on your work experience. It examines your most recent job example and works backward from there. 

However, there are actually two other formats you can consider using as well:

• The Functional Resume: Functional resumes take the focus off of work experience and shift it onto skills and unpaid work. This format is ideal for students and recent grads without much paid experience. It also suits workers returning from a gap in their employment. 
• The Hybrid Resume: A Hybrid resume will combine elements of both the Reverse-Chronological and Functional resumes. This is often suited for job applicants who have some work experience or older gaps in their employment. 

Both the Functional and Hybrid formats may be more useful to you if all you have is voluntary, unpaid experience. These formats will allow you to focus on the experience you gained and the skills you developed through your volunteer work. 

Are you feeling lost on how to format your resume as a whole? Check out our guide on How to Choose the Correct Resume Format (with Examples)!

How do I list my volunteer experience on my resume?

To include volunteer experience on your resume, you must first decide where you will be listing it.

Let’s recap what we have learned so far:

• You should include volunteer work in your work experience section if you do not have enough of either to fill a whole section.
• You should include volunteer work in a separate section if you have enough examples to do so.
• You should include descriptions and timeframes along with your volunteer positions. This gives employers a greater amount of context.

Now, let’s go over your formatting options:

Format Option 1: Including Volunteer Work in Your Work Experience Section

• Incorrect:

Work Experience

Volunteer Coordinator, Humane Society

January 2018 - Present

• Helped make the schedule
• Contacted volunteers for last-minute shifts
• Recruited new help

Office Assistant, Johnson & Johnson

September 2017 – May 2021

1. Ordered office supplies weekly
2. Managed staff schedules and travel itineraries 
3. Created weekly expenditure spreadsheets

Why It’s Wrong: When listing volunteer work in your work experience section, you want to tie in those experiences to your skills and qualifications. Be as specific as possible! Additionally, prioritize relevant work experience first if the work and volunteer experience happened in the same general period. 

• Correct:

Work Experience

Office Assistant, Johnson & Johnson

September 2017 – May 2021

• Ordered office supplies weekly
• Managed staff schedules and travel itineraries 
• Created weekly expenditure spreadsheets

Volunteer Coordinator, Humane Society

January 2018 - Present

• Assisted in creating the weekly volunteer schedule
• Contacted volunteers directly for emergency shift coverage
• Recruited and onboarded new volunteers

In this corrected example, the paid work experience is prioritized first. The bullet points for the volunteer position are much more specific and showcase the applicant’s administrative abilities. 

Format Option 2: Creating a Dedicated Volunteer Experience Section

• Incorrect 

Volunteer Experience

• Volunteer Coordinator at the Habitat for Humanity
• Monthly River Cleanup Crew

Why It’s Wrong: When writing a volunteer experience section, you should still provide context around your positions. Even if you provide less detail than you would in your work experience section, the employer should easily understand why you are including the information. 

• Correct:

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer Coordinator, Habitat for Humanity

June 2016 – Present 

• Created weekly and monthly volunteer schedules
• Planned events to recruit new volunteers
• Partnered with local businesses to source free supplies

River Cleanup Crew Member, River Cleanup Nonprofit

June 2019 – June 2021

• Participated in once-a-year cleanup efforts as a crew member
• Removed roughly 200 lbs. of trash from local rivers each year
• Helped set up and take down supply tents for volunteers

When Should I Include Volunteer Experience on My Resume?

If you are debating whether or not to include volunteer experience on your resume, consider the following factors:

• You Lack Experience: If you have not held many paid positions or lack relevant job experience, volunteer work can be a great way to make up for it. Experience is experience whether you were paid for your time or not. Plus, you can make connections that can serve as references later on!
• You Held a Leadership Position: Any time you hold a position of power or leadership in a volunteer organization, this is worth noting on your resume. It shows you are willing to take on responsibilities and work purely for the love of the work. 
• You Have Relevant Accomplishments: You can accomplish many things when you volunteer. Maybe you boosted sales of an annual bake sale or helped to optimize a volunteer schedule. These accomplishments are ideal to include on your resume. 

Want to know more about creating a resume when you have little to no experience? Read our guide on How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience (with Examples). 

When Should I Omit Volunteer Experience from My Resume?

There are some instances when you should opt-out of including volunteer experience on your resume. 

This includes when:

• You Have Enough Work Experience: If you have enough previous work experience with impressive qualifications and accomplishments, you may need to leave off volunteer work. This will allow you more space to expand upon your previous jobs and positions. 
• The Volunteer Work is Not Relevant: Some volunteer work will be highly relevant to a job while other work will not be. Taking a mental measurement of its relevancy and how it will translate to the employer is key. 
• The Volunteer Work is Very Old: You should focus on volunteer work you have completed within the past 5 years. Anything older than that will not be of much interest to employers. 

Final Takeaways

Even if you were not paid or given a professional role, volunteer work provides great experience that can enhance both your technical and interpersonal skills. 

Remember these 5 key takeaways for including volunteer work on your resume:

1. Including volunteer work on your resume can help you stand out by showcasing your work ethic and passions. 
2. You can use volunteer opportunities as a way to build out your resume when you lack work experience. 
3. When listing your volunteer experiences you should provide your position title, dates of involvement, and responsibilities or accomplishments. Providing detail helps to inform the employer why you chose to include the experience. 
4. Always find ways to relate your volunteer work back to transferable skills. By doing so, you will emphasize how your volunteer experience prepared you for your career. 
5. Avoid including volunteer experience that is drastically irrelevant or occurred more than five years ago. 

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