What to write on LinkedIn when you’re a volunteer, but want recruiters to take this work seriously.

I have a bit of a conundrum about how to answer this.

Sometimes I see that people have “volunteer” or “pro-bono” in their job title on LinkedIn. But while they may not be paid, the work they are doing is anything but what the job title implies.

This is important to talk about, why?

Well if you put these words in your job title, they do stand out as the random reader scans down the page – looking something like this.

 

When I read the word “volunteer” here, I do wonder whether this person is being too self-effacing when they write this.

The value this person is contributing should not be put in the same work category as someone who picks up rubbish once a year for Clean Up Australia Day.

The way you position your experience, tends to be the exact same way people perceive it.

So if you’re doing senior style work for an organisation, my recommendation is that you write about it in the same way as you write about your paid work.

Think of it like it is a serious project.

Many of us do a lot of work that is unpaid, yet this work is taking us towards something we want to do.

So working without being paid might be your investment in a relationship, an experiment to gain new skills, a way of building a network, or helping others for the intrinsic reward of doing so.

When people volunteer, often they are bringing all of their experience, talents and drive to help organisations they are passionate about.

So when should you specifically say “this is volunteer work” I am doing?

I don’t think there is a black and white answer.

Perhaps leave the word “volunteer” or “pro-bono” out of your job title on LinkedIn if your volunteer gig is similar to what you want to do full time, or if it is in a sector you’re targeting for a new opportunity. Instead you could put your functional title and (if appropriate) the result you hope to achieve with your work.

You can reference the fact it is volunteer in the description about the job instead. That way the reader focuses more on your accountabilities and value rather than negating the experience as it was unpaid.

See the difference if you write something like this?

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