Absolutely! Volunteer experience can be as valuable as paid work in learning new skills. Be sure to include the same information on your resume for your volunteer accomplishments as your paid work experience. Consider including a statement about the scope of responsibility of the role, and especially detail the accomplishments and results you were able to obtain. Did you organize and implement a fundraiser? How much money did you raise? Did you lead a diverse team in cleaning up a neighborhood park or in planting a community garden? These types of experiences can be used to demonstrate your skills and your understanding of your impact and involvement.

Volunteer experience can also build relationships and provide a way to do informal networking with people you may not have had a chance to meet otherwise, making it a useful part of a job search strategy.

The Career Change resume shows one example of how you might include volunteer experience on your resume.