What Smart Companies Know about Candidates that Have Volunteer Work on their Resume

In the wake of Giving Tuesday, I wanted to share some thoughts about volunteer and charity work. First of all: Giving Tuesday was overwhelming this year, wasn't it? More than any other year, my social media channels were full of people campaigning for many worthy causes. It's hard to look at the world - see so much need, want to help, but only have limited resources to give. One option is to shut off, hunker down, and focus on things within your comfort zone. But another option is to pick something - anything - and chip away however you're able. While I hope to one day be a person with lots of money to donate (truly), I've realized that in the first half of my career - my time is what I can donate that will go the farthest. It's of course easier now during my break from employment, but I definitely juggled volunteer work plus full time work for many years before my current time-out - and always found it to be rewarding.

This is not an article about how selfless I am - to the contrary: volunteer work has helped bolster me as a professional (the networking benefits alone are incredible). It's also not even an article about me, specifically. The examples I'll share are mine, of course - but the point I'd like to make is centered around why volunteer work on a resume should be weighted very heavily in the screening process.

See, on the surface, it seems that the reason for a person to list volunteer work on a resume or LinkedIn profile is simply to get "good person" cred - and/or show they are just a well-rounded human being. (Like having extra-cirriculars to add to a college application.) Maybe every now and then, an applicant will get lucky because the cause itself they align with will get some attention if the hiring manager happens to also have a connection to that cause. But smart companies - and smart hiring managers - are able to discern much more: there are some solid, tangible skills people get from volunteer work that translate directly to the workplace. Allow me to highlight...

Time Management & Prioritization

I'll start with the most obvious: it takes incredible time management to carve out time for volunteer work, on top of a 40/40+ hour work week and any semblance of a personal life (- the trophies going out, of course, to parents who find the time to volunteer). So many of us "don't have enough time" in life, but also are somehow caught up on our favorite television programs (self included, no judging here) - my point being that we have time for what we make time for. With how "extra" volunteer work is amongst the many real ways we all need to spend our time to survive, it's notable that the people pulling it off are skilled at time management and prioritization. Heck, probably project management, too.

Adaptability to Change - and Role Flexibility

How many companies pride themselves in having a culture of everyone pitching in, no one saying "That's not my job," and talk about the need to wear many hats? Lots, right? In fact the biggest hot button word these days is "change." For good reason: smart companies who know that the need to evolve is what guarantees long term success put the word "change" in their values and mission statements, and there are even salaried roles dedicated to change management. Well, let me tell you - people who volunteer are accustomed to wearing many hats and being quick on their feet. At one event, you might have to sell raffle tickets, at another you might have to set-up a silent auction, at another you might have to make phone calls or send cold-call type emails. Someone doesn't show up? You jump to do their job instead of the one you'd signed up for. At the monthly meetings I run for the Associate Board I'm on, I have people volunteer to research facts on homelessness and share them out to the group - that's both research skills and presentation skills. The list goes on. Volunteers are adaptable, team-oriented, open, and hardworking.

Communication & Social Skills

The adaptability component especially manifests itself in communication and ability to "hang" in different social dynamics. Talking to strangers is very common in volunteer work - and at many different levels, in many different formats. Examples from my personal experience: emailing and calls between meetings to get buy-in on the meeting agendas, divide up the work that needs to be done, sort out any conflict (remotely!), disagreements or accountability discussions, sometimes text, and then lots of in-person meetings and events. This all includes so many different communication styles and preferences. Sometimes I'm working with young professionals, sometimes c-suite level folks on the Board of Directors, and sometimes staff of the organization - all with many different needs and styles. I have to learn who needs reminders, who doesn't - and try many formats and approaches to get it right with each. And those are just MY examples - I'm sure many people reading have others. (Feel free to share in the comments!)

Sales & Marketing Skills

If fundraising is at all in the description of a charity's mission (- and when isn't it?), sales and marketing skills are developed in the volunteers supporting the charity. Sometimes it's direct asking for donations (via email, calls, social media, etc) - sometimes it's getting people to attend an event, knowing that once they're there they'll spend money that goes towards the cause. In either scenario, you have to figure out why what you're asking with matter to EACH person you talk to as an individual. If you can't appeal to others in a very tailored way, there's no chance of getting their time or their money. You have to prove value - and you have to be tenacious and creative.

Leadership & Influence Skills

Finally, if someone is in a leadership role with their volunteer work - pay extra attention. Because different than in the corporate world, no one actually HAS to listen to a leader in volunteer work. They're all volunteers! In the corporate world, your boss can give you a bad review, deny you a raise or promotion, or even fire you. In the volunteer world, having a leadership title gives you some courtesy, of course - but you don't wield much actual power. The people you're managing can say "no" much more easily to your requests, or they can say "yes" but then flake-out without repercussion. Don't get me wrong: volunteers are very committed and dependable (in fact, sometimes more so than an employee, because their heart may be more committed to their volunteer work since it's a choice) - but of course are human, and get busy and overextended. When that happens, the volunteer commitments usually are the first to go, because they have to be. And leaders amongst volunteer organizations are the ones handling that fall-out. It takes true leadership (as opposed to positional power) to motivate, influence, and engage when leading volunteers.

~~~~

Now then, all of the above is not automatically a given for every person that claims to do volunteer work. Besides the fact that my experience could be different than others, there's still the option - like any resume item - for someone to lie or expand on the truth. Which is where the interviewer's skills come into play. My point is: we should be talking about it. Rarely do I get asked about my volunteer experience in interviews - and you bet I have it listed prominently both on my resume and on LinkedIn. If an equivalent internship were listed, we'd be talking about that, wouldn't we? Companies that embrace change - that realize that differences and fresh perspectives are not only healthy but necessary - would surely want to embrace other sources of transferable skills. If you are in a position to build these questions into your hiring process: do it. If you are an applicant, advocate for yourself and bring up this experience even if they don't ask about it. Wise companies will give it the value it's due.

Chime in on the conversation. What skills would you add to my list above?