My experience working with job seekers who have volunteer experience is very diverse including elementary PTA events coordination, hospice, food distribution, shelter coordination, counseling, grants writing, business development and consultation, agency management and association activities...to name a few.

While many job seekers gain excellent work experience as volunteers - stating Volunteer or the name of the agencies where experience was gained - is often not impressive. In most instances, job seekers can market this experience at a much higher level by labeling the skills they've developed. Let's look at Sandy's background as a Volunteer for her university's marketing association and as a coordinator for a non-profit center serving hot meals to the homeless. Take a look at the way Sandy had originally described this experience below. Then read the after example. Which one does a better job of effectively promoting Sandy for a Management Trainee position for a marketing organization?

The other big mistake people make when describing their volunteer background is to use general descriptions that lack numbers or specifics. Compare the before and after examples below. Which is most impressive?

	Worked with students and academic staff to coordinate and manage annual association and marketing events.
	....or
	Managed marketing events with up to 2,000 in attendance which required coordinating registration, topics and speakers with 12 committee members including the Marketing Association President and Dean of Business Administration program.

As these examples illustrate, volunteer experience can be an extremely valuable part of your resume, but you must make sure that you use relevant titles, skill headings and descriptions that match the jobs you want.

$9,000 Salary Increase
The first resume workshop in this site shows how Fran's after resume resulted in a $9,000 salary increase. Fran wanted a $33,000 Corporate Customer Representative job but her resume created an image of her being at a $20,000 to 24,000 salary level -- that's $9,000 to $13,000 beneath her goal.

What Level Does Your Resume Market You At?
If you are curious to see what level your resume is marketing you at … then be sure to read and use the graphing techniques in my first workshop. By graphing the job titles used in Fran's resume it's easy to see why her resume failed … and once you understand this … you will understand why the majority of resumes fail. You'll then understand how to analyze your job titles and see if you are better off using them or replacing them with skill headings that market you more effectively.

Most People Have Job Titles that Weaken Their Image
I estimate that at least 85% of all job seekers have job titles unrelated to their current career goals … and that they are much better off using skill headings rather than job titles to land higher salaries and double and triple their interview rates.

For example, Fran had been a Directory Operator but in most people's minds that doesn't sound like she's at the level of a Corporate Customer Representative making $33,000 … that's because most people don't view directory operators as providing true customer service. Most people say that Directory Operator sounds like someone making only $20,000. However, by using the 12 Questions in my Proven Resumes Series, Fran wrote a new description of her duties as a Directory Operator that described her being selected out of 100 Directory Operators to provide specialized Customer Service to the Governor's Office and Political Dignitaries in the Washington State Capitol … now that information begins to change our image of Fran doesn't it? That makes her sound much more like someone being able to command $33,000.

Which sounds like a better match for the $33,000 Corporate Customer Service Representative goal… her old job title of Directory Operator … or a skill heading like Customer Service Representative to State of Washington Account. In Fran's actual resume we used the heading of Customer Service Representative but you can see how you can play with skill headings to control and elevate your image … this is one strategy I explain in detail with examples throughout my book, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries, and one of the strongest things I can offer you as a resume writer … just in case you don't have the time or patience to write your own.

Going from 0% to 100% Interview Rate
By using skill headings that matched her goal, Fran went from a 0% interview rate to a 100% interview rate -- meaning none of her prior resumes had landed an interview but her new resume landed an interview for each position she applied for.

Click here to learn other ways we improved Fran's resume and landed her a job paying $9,000 more click here to read my first set of resume workshops! If you've entered my site via this page, be sure to go to my main website's home page for an overview of more than 60 Free Resume & Job Search Workshops that include tons of Resume Tips for 45 Career Fields, Job Search, Electronic Resume, Cover Letter, Interviewing, Networking and Confidence Building strategies.

The testimonials throughout my site describe salary increases ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 and more. Here's one of my most recent ones:

In Summary
If you need additional help identifying and describing your volunteer experience and labeling it with strong skill headings, you may want to consider purchasing my booklet series, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Increase Salaries. It will take you through the steps that Sandy and I followed to create the skill headings and statements shown above.

This booklet series is targeted for job seekers with a salary range of up to $100,000+ and provides over 2,000 skills, skill headings and sample sentences for over 40 career fields and a transferable skills list that is very helpful in categorizing and describing volunteer experience. It also provides extensive resume examples and worksheets to help you identify your skills and market them to match the jobs you want. For a complete description click on the link below.

Or, hire Melissa Pontow to write your resume.  Melissa has been trained extensively by Regina Pontow, author and owner of this website.  Melissa has been writing resumes online since 1997.  Please click here to review Melissa's resume writing services, or qualifications listed in Melissa's resume. 

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