Feature of the Month

If your work experience is limited or if you want to change career paths, volunteer experience may be the key to a successful job search.

Volunteer experience, particularly when it is pertinent to your desired job, is an excellent way to make you a more attractive job applicant. Volunteerism also provides opportunities to learn new skills, gain real-life experience, explore career fields, network, and gain self-confidence. People who are involved in volunteering are viewed by most corporations as being good citizens.

Jobwerx.com suggests the following examples of volunteer activities which provide real-life experiences and networking opportunities:

• Real Estate and Construction Careers: Habitat for Humanity and other housing organizations
• Sports and Entertainment: Make-A-Wish Foundation
• Media, Government Agencies and Legal Professions: Political Campaigns. In today's era of highly litigious political campaigns, lawyers make up a big portion of a political campaign's volunteer staff. This also provides a good opportunity for legal assistants and paralegals to spend time with successful attorneys. Media and advertising are also a big part of political campaigns.
• Legal Professions: Legal Assistance centers - such as those for non-English speaking people
• Human Resources: Job training and career resource centers
• Media/Communications: Media organizations such as those that focus on bringing awareness to certain issues

The following two volunteer opportunity websites make it easy for your skills to be matched with suitable local, state or national volunteer needs.

• The State of Illinois’ Volunteerism & Community Service site provides links to Illinois volunteer centers and volunteer opportunities throughout Illinois and the United States.
• Volunteer Match: Where Volunteering Begins provides zip code activated lists of volunteer opportunities in your area.

Properly marketing your volunteer experiences is an important component of attracting the attention of potential employers and landing the job you want. If your resume is thin, it is acceptable to feature pertinent volunteer experience in the job experience section. If you have had ample job experiences, volunteer activities should probably appear in the activities section of your resume.

The following sites offer advice on how to best market your volunteer experience on resumes and how to use those experiences to help you find desired employment:

• Monster Career Advice

• Resume Writing Services & Resume Tips Resource Center

• Women’s Web