How to List Volunteer Work on a Resume
If the volunteer work relates to the job, list it in Experience like a paid role, with "Volunteer" in the title. If it does not, give it a Volunteer Experience section below your work history. Either way, show the role, organization, city, dates and one to three bullets with results.
- Related: in Experience
- Unrelated: own section
- Mark it unpaid
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A separate Volunteer Experience section
Volunteer Experience
Adult Reading Tutor, Oak Street Literacy Center, Raleigh, NC | Sep 2022 – Present
• Tutor 3 adult learners a week for the GED; 2 passed the language arts test in 2024
Adoption Event Volunteer, Crabtree Creek Animal Rescue, Raleigh, NC | Mar 2021 – Aug 2022
• Ran monthly adoption days that placed 140 dogs and cats over 18 months
Each role has a real title, not just "Volunteer", and a bullet or two, because this section sits below the paid jobs.
Related volunteer work inside Experience
Experience
Volunteer Treasurer, Eastside Community Food Pantry, Raleigh, NC | Jan 2023 – Present
• Keep the books for a $180,000 annual budget in QuickBooks Online
• Prepare the annual Form 990-EZ with the pantry's outside CPA
Accounts Payable Clerk, Brightline Medical Supply, Raleigh, NC | Jun 2021 – Present
• Process about 600 vendor invoices a month across 3 company entities
The same person applying for a nonprofit accounting job: the treasurer role is the closest match, so it sits with her paid work, labeled as volunteer.
Little paid experience: volunteer roles lead
Experience
Patient Escort Volunteer, Lakeview Medical Center, Fresno, CA | Jun 2024 – Present
• Transport about 12 patients per 4-hour shift by wheelchair between units and discharge
• Logged 220 hours; trained 4 new volunteers on wheelchair safety and patient privacy
For a student applying for a hospital transport job, this is the most relevant experience on the page, so it goes first under Experience.
Rules for listing volunteer work
- Related to the job: put it in Experience. Unrelated: a separate section after your paid work.
- Give it the same details as a job: role, organization, city and state, start and end month and year.
- Use a real role title; inside Experience, keep the word Volunteer in it.
- Favor roles you kept up over months.
- Write one to three bullets with numbers: hours, people served, money raised or managed.
Common mistakes with volunteer work
A title that just says "Volunteer"
Name what you did: "Adoption Event Volunteer", "Volunteer Treasurer". The title is what a reader skims first.
Listing unpaid work so it looks like a paid job
Keep "Volunteer" in the title. The work counts either way, and being clear about what was paid and unpaid from the start avoids awkward questions later.
Duties with no results
"Helped at adoption events" becomes "Ran monthly adoption days that placed 140 dogs and cats over 18 months."
Frequently asked questions
Does volunteer work count as work experience?+
Yes, when it is relevant to the job. It can go in your Experience section next to paid jobs, as long as the title makes clear it was unpaid.
Is unrelated volunteer work worth listing?+
Usually, if it is ongoing and you have room. Sinclair College's career center notes that employers tend to view volunteer work favorably even outside your field. Keep it short: one bullet per role.
What should I call the section?+
"Volunteer Experience" is the most common, and "Community Experience" works too. UC Santa Barbara's career center suggests any heading that ends in "Experience". Use one heading for all the unpaid roles that are not in your main Experience section.
Should I list volunteer work for a religious or political group?+
That is your call. It can reveal beliefs that may bias a reader, which is why the University of Houston's Bauer career center suggests thinking twice. If the role is relevant to the job, describe the work itself (treasurer, event lead) and list it.
Sources
- University of Houston Bauer Rockwell Career Center: How to list volunteer work on your resume · read 2026-11-14
- UC Davis Career Center: Resume, CV and Cover Letter Guide · read 2026-11-14
- Alcorn State University Career Services: How to include volunteer work on your resume · read 2026-11-14
- UC Santa Barbara Career Services: Build Sections · read 2026-11-14
- Sinclair College: Resume Basics · read 2026-11-14
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