Audit CV Writing: Our Advice For Auditors When Writing A CV
In this guide Audit CV Writing we’ll share our advice for auditors preparing for their next career move. Read on... Read more...
In this guide we’ll cover how to include volunteering on CVs. We’ll also explore how to write a strong overall volunteer CV for when you’re pursuing a new volunteering opportunity.
According to statistics from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, approximately 12m people in England take part in formal volunteering at least once during 12 months.
When writing your CV, there are several situations where adding volunteer work could be a differentiator in your application. And this guide will also cover how to write a CV specifically for when you’re applying to volunteer roles too.
The role and responsibilities of a volunteer can be broad and varied, great for those looking to enjoy wide-ranging career experiences and build up a diverse skill set. Let’s explore how to write a great volunteer CV.
When you’re applying for a new job, there are lots of reasons why you might want to include some previous volunteer experience on the CV.
They include:
Now that’s covered, where should your volunteering experience go on the CV?
Here are the different ways to include your previous volunteering work on a CV:
Now let’s look at some general CV dos and don’ts.
For a full overview and our general tips, here’s how to write a CV – our comprehensive guide.
Including a skills section on your CV is one way to clearly show the organisation that you have the qualities they’re looking for. Or if you prefer, work your hard and soft skills into your personal statement, work history section and so on.
Some of your skills will be more useful for a particular role than others, so think about which ones are most relevant and prioritise these.
In most cases, it helps to provide evidence of your skills and achievements. Sometimes it’s tricky to find facts or figures to back up your achievements as a volunteer, but do your best.
These achievements will stand out more in context. To explain your best facts and figures, use the STAR method – make sure you’ve covered the situation, task, action and result.
If you want to give a long or complex STAR example and don’t have enough space on your CV, add it to your cover letter. Even if a prospective employer doesn’t ask for one, providing a cover letter can make you stand out by converting more of your personality and passion for the opportunity than a CV can.
[Name] – [Address] – [Phone number] – [Email address]
Personal Statement
Use a few lines to promote who you are, what you can offer and your career aims, showing how you stand out and what makes you unique. Here’s an example first sentence:
Passionate fundraiser with 5 years of experience raising money for good causes in my local community.
Key Skills
Include your best skills on your CV, either in a section like this or worked in naturally elsewhere:
Career History / Volunteering Experience
This section will vary depending on whether you’re applying for a volunteering role, or for a paid job but want to also include some previous volunteer experience. You could have one CV section called something like Career History and include your volunteering experience within it, or if you’re only describing volunteer work here, call it Volunteering Experience or similar. Alternatively, you could have two separate sections – your (paid) Career History and your Volunteering Experience. Again, it depends on your specific circumstances.
Either way, list your previous roles and organisations, in reverse chronological order, including the dates. Then, add bullet points to describe your most relevant achievements and responsibilities – for example:
[Role, organisation] [Dates]
Qualifications and Education
Start by listing any relevant qualifications, then your education details:
Interests
This section is optional if you’re short of space. Any interests you include should ideally strengthen your overall application in some way.
Coaching my son’s town U7s football team on Sundays throughout the season.
References available on request
No matter your career stage, volunteer work is always well worth considering if you can spare the time.
Not only can it provide a purposeful working experience, you could also leave a lasting social impact.
If you’re a student with limited or no prior work experience, volunteering is a great way to build up your CV. In addition, here are some of the best jobs for students.
And if you need some support, we offer a CV writing service – for volunteer roles, or those wanting help showcasing their previous volunteer experience in general. Please get in touch to find out how we can help!
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