Writing Resumes That Include Volunteer Experience

You need to have job experience to get job experience...the age-old struggle of a career change. Consider the following to overcome a lack of experience in your target field: 1. Freelance work. This isn't ALWAYS applicable to every job field, but it's applicable to many, with a little creative thinking. Whether it’s consulting, training, or creating a website, find ways to work in your target field, even on a freelance basis. Keep track of your measurable successes, as freelancing can be a valuable addition to your resume. 2. Similar but different from #1: volunteer work. Once, when I was applying for a veteran service role coming from the higher education space, I was legitimately told that I was, "a great candidate, but didn't have enough experience with the military community." Being a military spouse wasn't enough experience, I suppose. 🙃😆 So, I volunteered! I volunteered for a veteran service nonprofit, and I put that experience right at the top of my resume, with my accomplishments listed in STAR format. (Situation, Task, Action, Result). It's not just about doing these things—how you present them on your resume and in conversations makes all the difference. Take your freelancing or volunteering seriously and showcase your contributions in a way that aligns with the job you’re aiming for. Example: Marketing Coordinator (Volunteer) 2023 - Current - Launched a targeted social media campaign, increasing fundraiser attendance by 50% and donations by 35%. - Implemented a monthly newsletter, leading to a 25% rise in volunteer sign-ups within three months. - Partnered with local media, resulting in three featured articles and a 40% increase in public awareness.

I often hear new data analysts complain that to get hired, you need experience, but you can't get that experience without first being hired. This mindset fails to recognize and leverage the value of the skills you already possess... Marketers often use 'loss leaders' (selling high-demand goods at lower than market value) to break into new markets. You need to do the same with your data skills to gain the key experience required to compete effectively in the job market. Recognize that ALL organizations are in need of skilled data analysts, whether they know it or not. I have a friend who runs a very successful business advising nonprofit organizations on funding strategies. In talking with her, I found out she was struggling with manually processing a lot of really dirty data to expand her mailing list. I offered to ingest the data into Power Query and clean it for her. She was overjoyed and asked if she could take me to lunch as thanks. Think about how this could play on a resume: “Provided consultation services on data quality and cleaning issues to the founder of XYZ firm, which provides strategic support to nonprofit organizations.” Is this legit? Absolutely - it reflects the services I provided, and the fact that she is a friend and paid me in sandwiches rather than cash is no one's business but mine. Do you have friends in business who could use your data services? Treat that as a legitimate consulting opportunity, even providing them with a written project plan prior to commencing work. Agree to 'payment' in advance and let them know that you are treating this seriously as a business arrangement. Similarly, look for opportunities to provide your data services to organizations you volunteer with. For example, my church was conducting a comprehensive strategic planning exercise for a major capital campaign to upgrade its facilities and had collected extensive qualitative and quantitative data through focus groups and surveys. I volunteered my skills to clean and analyze that data. Here's how that could look on a resume: “Performed data analysis of focus group and survey data to support the development of strategic priorities within a multimillion-dollar capital campaign.” With permission, I could probably even share the analysis with prospective employers and certainly get a recommendation from the project leader. Opportunities to provide your high-value skills to people and organizations that need them are literally all around you. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal here is to reduce a hiring manager's uncertainty about your ability to do the job they're advertising. That uncertainty centers around your technical ability, communication skills, stakeholder management, etc. - all things you can easily demonstrate with the types of projects I've mentioned above. So, rather than focusing on the experience you don't have, focus on the high-value asset you're sitting right on top of - your own data skills. #career #dataanalyst