WRITING A RESUME
By Amy Spiegel, CTO
When searching for a job, the first step is to list all of those jobs which you can do and have done. Even if you are a high school student who has just graduated, a homemaker who is looking to work outside the home or a retired executive thinking about being a consultant, you have a work history which may include both volunteer work and paid employment. This week’s blog will focus on volunteer work.
Developing Your Work History-Part 1: Volunteerism
Volunteerism
Volunteer work is very important for your resume or the longer curriculum vitae (c.v.). Volunteerism provides work experience in a specific field and also shows community spirit and leadership-both very important to employers. Volunteering can teach you the skills needed for many jobs as well such as general clerical or budgeting and accounting (if you volunteer to manage a major fundraiser or are a homemaker volunteering to help a local Girl Scout troop to sell Girl Scout cookies at the local store) as well as creating a network of people who can assist you with information about available jobs.
Summer internships are a way for students to earn credit for school as well as build their resumes. A summer internship is generally volunteer work at a site specific to a topic being studied or a degree being taught at school. Summer internships allow anthropology students to work at museums, political science students to work at a legislative office, journalism students to work at a newspaper and more. Employers specifically look for summer internships for those students who do not have much experience in the field.
Volunteerism can also assist you with finding employment at a specific site. If there is a particular place which interests you and you wish to find out what it is like to work at that site, then volunteer for a job there! True, volunteering does not pay anything and there are no benefits such as health insurance but an employer who sees a hard-working volunteer may be more willing to create a place for that volunteer in that business or to refer that volunteer to a business which is hiring. A hard-working volunteer can ask supervisors to write letters of recommendation for applications or be used as a reference-both necessary for employment at the paid level.
What volunteer jobs have you done? Post a reply and let me know what you have volunteered to do and I can help you understand what skills you can use on your resume!
