Is your community spirit haunting your CV?
There’s no doubt that volunteering for charities or work experience is a worthwhile exercise and experience for all parties. It’s a great thing to put on your CV. It shows work ethic, community spirit, team work and that you’re a person who cares.
So why would it stop you getting a job? Well, it shouldn’t. Why would anyone be so mean as to discriminate against you because you help out your community?
Because they can see you’re not in “paid work”. They may not see the value in your volunteer work, especially as more and more work programmes have pushed people into this work area. It does still need to be on your CV. However, if it’s your only work at time of application – do you need to label it as voluntary? Now, we’re not advocating fictious CVs, but if you do a full day’s/week’s work for a charity – does it matter to anyone else if you get paid or not?
List it as you would any other area of work. Highlight your duties and responsibilities. Let’s face it, the charity relies on you turning up, just as much as an employer would.
Don’t allow the interviewer to see the volunteer status as “not a real job”. It’s still work, you just don’t get paid for it.
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