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Making the Most of Voluntary Work
Volunteering is work experience with the added advantage that it
demonstrates initiative and commitment, and in addition can give focus
and direction to career planning and job seeking. It can provide the
experiences and demonstrate the skills that employers seek, and in a
survey almost 100% of student volunteers felt that such activities had
added value to their personal and professional development.
At UCN comments from student volunteers:
‘It gave me responsibility and the chance to interact with new people’
Psychology student
‘Volunteering has given me a realistic insight into an organization I hope
to work with’
Criminology student
‘’The best part of volunteering has been working in such a diverse
team….and being able to debate and share opinions’
Sociology student
‘I feel I have benefited in self-esteem, self-confidence and timemanagement’
Health Studies student
Keeping a record of your developing responsibilities and skills, and
reflecting on your feelings about situations and challenges you experience,
will provide an invaluable resource for future self-awareness and selfpresentation.
Take a moment to think back to a month ago
 Can you remember all the different activities you have been
involved in since then?
 Can you remember how you felt about those experiences, and
perhaps what you might do differently another time?
You also need to practice articulating what and how you have learnt
during your voluntary activities to use for example at interviews, and the
attached materials will help you to do that.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO - YEAR 1
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Translating Your Skills
It’s not so much what you do, but how you approach it and the qualities
and skills you develop as a result. Try analysing the benefits of your
voluntary experiences by drawing a mind map. Identify the skills required,
and how you went about your task to achieve an effective result. You will
then have some positive statements to include alongside the experience in
your CV or on an application form.
Start by identifying each volunteering activity …then describe the specific
skills you used…then use adverbs to specify HOW you achieved that task
Skills might include:
interpersonal skills, written communication, negotiation,
questioning/listening, delegating, training, leadership, budgeting, drafting,
problem-solving, decision-making, using initiative, crisis management,
networking, teamwork, adaptability, persuasion, organizing, planning………
Adverbs describing how you took action might include:
thoughtfully, diplomatically, responsibly, proactively, clearly,
professionally, thoroughly, realistically, appropriately, calmly, sensitively,
efficiently, reliably, competently, confidently, sympathetically, tactfully,
successfully………
Look at the following sheet of pointers to help you convert your
experiences into convincing statements which describe your qualities and
attitudes. Lists of positive verbs and adjectives to help you create a
positive CV are available from the Careers Information Centre.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO - YEAR 1
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Translating your Experiences & Achievements
into CV ‘language’
You can’t expect the reader to guess what you have achieved – get to the
point. Try writing ‘So what?...’ against every item on your draft CV.
Is it relevant? Is it appropriate? Is it interesting?
If it demonstrates nothing then re-word it or omit it.
Notice how the voluntary experiences below are translated into CV
‘speak’. To guide you, action verbs, skills and evidence are printed in bold.
It’s no good just reporting what you have done or listing what skills you
have – you need to provide the evidence.
ACTIVITY I was treasurer of the Student Community Action committee
SO WHAT?
SKILLS As treasurer for the Student Community Action committee, I
developed skills in budget management and record keeping. SO WHAT?
EVIDENCE My role as treasurer for student community action involved
setting and managing the committee’s annual budget of £25, 000 by
negotiating with the members. I needed to be well-organised in order to
keep accurate records.
ACTIVITY I was an HIV/AIDS volunteer for four years SO WHAT?
SKILLS As an HIV/AIDS helpline volunteer, I acquired skills in listening,
empathy, and communication SO WHAT?
EVIDENCE My demanding position as a HIV helpline supervisor required
a high level of empathy and tact in dealing with very distressed callers
and in supporting the other volunteers. Telephone befriending over the
phone intensely developed strong listening and oral communication
skills.
ACTIVITY I helped in a youth club SO WHAT?
SKILLS Through being a voluntary youth club project leader I dealt with
difficult situations SO WHAT?
EVIDENCE As voluntary team leader at a youth club, I was entrusted
with the safety of the children when the parents left. I learnt how to resolve
conflicts through mediation. I also needed to adopt a professional
approach to troubleshooting by frequently liaising with and actively
listening to the other team members.
Using the above model try to ‘So What?’ your own paid and voluntary
experiences by asking yourself: So what did I do?
So what have I
achieved?
So what have I gained?
So what can I offer?
Taken from ‘The Art of Crazy Paving’, www.studentvolunteering.org.uk
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO - YEAR 1