Marketing Your Volunteer Experience

Before and During Your Volunteer Trip

You probably know by now that volunteering abroad often costs about as much as taking a vacation. The plane ticket alone can burn a sizeable hole in your pocket—so you might need help with fundraising.

Start a blog. WordPress is one of the most popular platforms out there; it’s easy to use, and best of all, it’s interactive. Write about where you’re going, what you want to do, and why. Blogging gives a face to the fundraiser as well as updates about progress before and during service.

If you need help with fundraising, sign up with KickStarter or a similar group. It’s an easy way for people to donate, and it allows you to give updates and track your fundraising goals.

To connect with like-minded individuals and potential funders, create Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. You’ll find people who support your cause, and as an added bonus, you might find volunteer alumni from your service organization. These people can be part of your network long after you complete the trip.

Depending on where you go, you might have an Internet connection that allows you to give periodic updates about the project’s progress. If you can, take pictures and videos; make friends with locals and other volunteers, and talk to your network at home about their role in the program as well. Not only will this cement your relationship with your funders and followers, but you also might inspire prospective volunteers looking for firsthand accounts of international service.

After Your Volunteer Trip

So let’s talk about utilizing your volunteer experience to land a job. Since my area of expertise lies with long-term volunteers, this section is geared more toward career breakers, gap year travelers, and other volunteers who’ve just returned home and are in the job search.

Returned volunteers tend to seek each other out. They want to know how a program progresses—whether they’re alumni from your particular organization, or even if they’ve worked in your host country or region. Connect with other international volunteers and learn from them. And remember: networking isn’t a bad thing. It’s not schmoozing; it’s a way to build personal and professional relationships.

Take advantage of as many events and get-togethers as you can. For example, groups like Idealist.org host career fairs nationwide, with presenters recruiting individuals with work content skills gleaned from experience like international volunteering. Master a 30-second “elevator pitch” about your work and volunteer experience; give an overview of where you worked, project examples, and your role in them.

Network within the volunteer industry.

As much as I hate buzzwords (low hanging fruit! Synergy!), some can be incredibly useful. Words and phrases like “continuous learning,” “self confidence,” “responsibility,” and “objectivity” can go a long way in describing your volunteer project and the skills you built because of it. For example, you may have gained a greater understanding of objectivity from a program with several interested parties including the volunteer, the locals, and the host group.

Depending on how long you traveled for and what projects you helped with, consider placing your volunteer trip in the professional experience section of your résumé. This works particularly well if you assisted with any administrative activity, such as fundraising or grant proposal writing.

In interviews and cover letters, utilize the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. What did your volunteer organization aim to address? What goals were put in place to address this issue? What did you do to help, and what were the results? This might even pertain to an ongoing project, particularly if you assisted on a short-term volunteer program; but focus on quantifiable results as best as you can.