Tell me about your volunteer experience.
Volunteer work is often a pathway to employment. In fact, in a study conducted by The Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency discovered that the job seekers who volunteered boosted their chance of gaining a job offer by 27%.
As a Youth Worker, your volunteer experience can be equally crucial to your work experience and education. Share your volunteer history, including your responsibilities and the focus of the organizations with which you have volunteered.
Talk about how you have made an impact and what you learned from the experiences. Share what motivates you to give back to others, and give the interviewer a solid idea that you have a passion for volunteering.
"As a teen, I volunteered for a co-op. A shelter and safe-space for women and children who escaped domestic violence situations. I watched the kids while the women attended group therapy sessions. Later, and served food to the homeless, then later worked at a suicide prevention hotline. Eventually, I served on a few sub-committees over the years. This led to me joining the board of directors of a local non-profit focused on working with the homeless, and combatting issues surrounding COVID-19."
"A lot of my related work experience stemmed from my volunteer work. My parents used to go to youth correctional facilities where they would play music for the inmates and celebrate holidays with them. I would go with them and mentor the youth. This led to me being a camp counselor in highschool and college. In my adulthood, I took part in some overseas projects. While living in Spain, I delivered medical care to the under-privileged, and I volunteered at a cancer clinic. That led to me volunteering at an end-of-life emotional support center, where I comforted patients as they passed."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I have had multiple volunteer experiences. I volunteered at my church's Sunday school. I volunteered at a community center focused on at-risk youth, giving them a place to hangout that was safe, with positive role models present. I volunteered at the local food pantry and a cat cafe that housed and adopted out homeless cats.
Rachelle's Feedback
Great work! Volunteer work is highly favored by most hiring authorities. Be sure to also express why volunteering is important to you.
