Yes, you can put volunteer work for employment history on your resume. If you have little or no paid work experience, including volunteer work on your resume helps the hiring manager better assess you as a candidate. However, you should only include volunteer work that’s relevant to your target job.
When you put volunteer work in your employment history section, format it like regular work experience and include:
- The organization’s name
- Your volunteer position title
- The dates you volunteered (Month, Year – Month, Year)
- A bulleted list of relevant accomplishments
Here’s an example of how to put volunteer work in a resume’s employment history section:
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES, CA
Volunteer, June 2016 – August 2018
-
- Scheduled the entire volunteer staff for the Children’s Orthopaedic Center
- Accumulated over 1,000 volunteer hours helping patients to/from hospital appointments, reading to patients, and performing administrative tasks
- Trained 100+ volunteers in reading to children and assisting in playrooms/at bedsides
- Raised over $30,000 through various fundraising events, including car washes, bake sales, and raffles
