If there is one sure fire way to make an employer sit up and pay attention, it is reading the word "VOLUNTEER" on your resume.
Tell YOUR Volunteer story!
What ROLE do you have in your Volunteer work?
Tell YOUR story step by step and include what OTHERS think about you in your role.
For EXAMPLE here is Joshua’s story.
- So what Volunteer work do you do Joshua? I have been involved in working bees for the tennis club.
- What do you DO? Clean up.
- But, what is YOUR role. I hitch the trailer to Dad’s car, because we usually take it with us for weeds and stuff.
- Then what? We chuck the shovels, whipper-snipper, weed spray and lawn mower in the trailer.
- How do you do that? The shovel and whipper-snipper are OK just on the floor, but we tie down the mower so it doesn’t move. So I have to grab the rope from the hook in the garage and tie it down.
- Then what? We go to the tennis club and meet up with others, we unload the trailer and talk to the others about what each of us will do.
- Then what? I usually whipper snip around the fence line, then grab a rake and rake it up and chuck the weeds in the trailer.
- How does the snipper work? It is fuel operated so I have to fill it up. It has a pull cord. I have to wear safety glasses.
- Then what? I will rake for Dad who is mowing. Sometimes we have a mower with a catcher, so I just empty it into the trailer. I might spray weeds too, depending on how many helpers there are.
- Then what? It depends, we might tidy up around the club rooms and do odd jobs. I had to change a light bulb one day, and clean the toilets sometimes.
- Then what? We cover the grass and weeds with a tarp and drive out to Bob’s place and dump it in his back paddock. We go back and pick up the equipment, then we go home.
- What do the other workers think of your work? I guess they would say that I do things without complaining, and that I don’t like to sit still and do nothing.
So…
Here is what Josh can say in his resume…
TELL your OWN story about….
- Working Bees (eg Tennis Club)
- Fund Raising (selling raffle tickets)
- Junior Fire Brigade
- Member of a committee (eg SRC)
- Canteen (Football Club / School)
- Garden Club
- Peer Helper
- Moira Shire Junior Councillor
- Community Event / Usher / Ticket Seller / Setting up / Packing up etc.
- eg. ANZAC, Australia Day, Youth Programs, Skate Park, Relay for Life, Local Ag Show, Clean Up Oz Day, Shire/Council Events, Tractor Pull, Theatre Group etc.
Don’t have a story to tell? Next time you have the opportunity to Volunteer, go for it!
An employer can tell…
…from your Volunteering efforts quite a few things about you. This could include:
- You think of others before yourself
- You are community minded
- You care for the environment
- You can manage your time to help others.
