How to Add Volunteer Experience on LinkedIn: 4 Easy Steps
TL;DR: Adding volunteer experience to LinkedIn takes less than 5 minutes. Go to your profile, click "Add profile section," select "Volunteer experience," fill in the details, and save. The real value is in writing descriptions that show impact, not just listing the organization. This section can fill employment gaps, demonstrate skills, and create genuine connection with recruiters and prospects.
Most people treat the volunteer experience section on LinkedIn as optional. Something to fill in if you happen to have it, but not worth thinking about too hard.
That's a mistake.
Volunteer experience does something your paid work history can't: it shows who you are beyond your job. It signals values, initiative, and the kind of person you are when no one's paying you to show up. For recruiters, hiring managers, and potential clients, that matters more than most people realize.
Here's how to add it properly, and more importantly, how to make it count.
Top 4 Reasons You Should Add Volunteer Experience to LinkedIn
1. Build Credibility
LinkedIn's own research has found that 41% of hiring managers consider volunteer work equally as valuable as paid work experience. That's not a small number.
Volunteer experience builds credibility in a specific way: it shows you do what you say you care about. Anyone can list "leadership" as a skill. Someone who led a team of 20 volunteers for a nonprofit fundraiser has demonstrated it.
For B2B professionals, credibility matters beyond job applications. Potential clients and partners look at your LinkedIn profile before deciding whether to take a meeting. A profile that shows community involvement and values alignment creates a stronger first impression than one that's purely transactional.
2. Show Off Your Skills
Many volunteer roles involve real, transferable skills that belong on your professional profile. Project management, fundraising, communications, leadership, technical work, financial oversight — these are legitimate experiences regardless of whether you were paid.
If you led a team of volunteers, managed a budget for a nonprofit, built a website for a community organization, or ran communications for a charity event, those are skills worth showing. Don't leave them off your profile just because you weren't compensated.
3. Network Expansion
Volunteer work puts you in contact with people you'd never meet through your professional network alone. Board members, executives, community leaders, and professionals from completely different industries often volunteer together.
These connections can be genuinely valuable. A board member you met while volunteering might become a client, a reference, or a door-opener to an opportunity you'd never have found otherwise. LinkedIn is where those connections live. Make sure your volunteer work is visible so people can see the full picture of who you are.
4. Do Good, Look Good
There's a simple truth here: people want to work with people they like and respect. Volunteer work gives a glimpse into your values and what you care about beyond your career.
Shared causes create connection. If a recruiter or potential client sees you volunteer for a cause they care about, it creates an immediate point of common ground that a list of job titles never could.
Info: LinkedIn profiles with volunteer experience get 6x more profile views than those without, according to LinkedIn's own data. The section is worth filling in.
How to Add Volunteer Work in LinkedIn — 4 Easy Steps
1. Click "Add Profile Section"
Log in to LinkedIn and go to your profile. Below your intro section (name, headline, photo), you'll see a button that says "Add profile section." Click it.
A dropdown menu will appear with several categories: Core, Recommended, and Additional. Volunteer experience is under the "Additional" category.
2. Pick "Volunteer Experience"
In the dropdown, scroll to "Additional" and click "Add volunteer experience." A form will open where you can enter the details of your volunteer role.
3. Fill in the Details
The form has several fields:
- Organization: The name of the nonprofit, charity, community group, or cause
- Role: Your title or function (e.g., "Volunteer Coordinator," "Board Member," "Fundraising Lead")
- Cause: LinkedIn lets you select from a list of causes (education, environment, health, poverty, etc.)
- Start date and end date: Include dates, or check "I currently volunteer here" if ongoing
- Description: This is where most people underinvest — more on this below
For the description, write 2-4 sentences that explain what the organization does, what your specific role involved, and any notable outcomes or achievements. Specificity matters. "Helped raise $45,000 for local food bank through annual gala event" is far more compelling than "Assisted with fundraising."
4. Tap "Save"
Click Save when you're done. The volunteer experience section will appear on your profile, typically below your experience section.
That's it. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
Reorder or Remove Volunteer Experience on LinkedIn
How to Reorder Volunteer Experience on LinkedIn
If you have multiple volunteer entries and want to change their order, go to your profile and click the pencil icon next to the Volunteer Experience section. You'll see a drag handle (six dots) next to each entry. Click and drag to reorder them.
Put your most impressive or most recent volunteer experience at the top. Recruiters and profile visitors typically read top to bottom, so lead with your strongest entry.
How to Remove Volunteer Experience on LinkedIn
To remove a volunteer entry, go to your profile, click the pencil icon next to the Volunteer Experience section, then click the pencil icon next to the specific entry you want to remove. At the bottom of the edit form, you'll see a "Delete volunteer experience" option. Click it and confirm.
Volunteer Experience LinkedIn Examples
Meet Dina Calakovic
Dina is a marketing manager who volunteers as a communications lead for a local environmental nonprofit. Her LinkedIn entry reads:
"Communications Lead, Green Future Alliance (2022–present). Manage all external communications for a 500-member environmental advocacy organization, including monthly newsletter (2,400 subscribers), social media channels, and press releases. Helped grow newsletter open rate from 18% to 34% over 18 months."
This entry demonstrates real marketing skills, shows initiative, and includes specific metrics. It's more impressive than many paid job descriptions.
Meet Renee Cohen
Renee is a finance professional who serves on the board of a youth mentorship nonprofit. Her entry reads:
"Board Treasurer, Youth Forward Foundation (2020–present). Oversee financial operations for a $1.2M annual budget nonprofit serving 300+ at-risk youth in the Chicago area. Lead annual audit process, manage relationships with three institutional funders, and chair the finance committee."
This entry shows financial leadership at a meaningful scale. For a finance professional, it's a powerful addition to a profile.
How to Add the Perfect Volunteer Experience on LinkedIn
The difference between a forgettable volunteer entry and a compelling one comes down to specificity and impact. Here are two templates to guide you.
2 Ready-to-Use Templates
Template 1: Skills-Focused Entry
Template:
"[Role], [Organization] ([Start Year]–[End Year or present]). [1-2 sentences describing the organization and its mission]. [2-3 sentences describing your specific responsibilities and the skills you used]. [1 sentence with a specific outcome or achievement if available]."
Example:
"Volunteer Web Developer, Literacy First Foundation (2021–2023). Literacy First provides free reading tutoring to adults in underserved communities across three counties. Rebuilt the organization's website from scratch using WordPress, improving mobile load time by 60% and increasing online donation conversions by 40%. Also trained two staff members to manage content updates independently."
Template 2: Leadership-Focused Entry
Template:
"[Role], [Organization] ([Start Year]–[End Year or present]). [Brief description of the organization]. Led [specific team or initiative] responsible for [key function]. [Specific achievement or outcome that demonstrates impact]."
Example:
"Volunteer Event Coordinator, Habitat for Humanity — Greater Boston Chapter (2019–2022). Habitat for Humanity builds affordable housing for low-income families through volunteer labor. Led a team of 25 volunteers for the annual fundraising gala, managing venue logistics, vendor relationships, and day-of operations. The 2021 event raised $78,000, a 22% increase over the prior year."
Note: Don't fabricate numbers or exaggerate your role. If you don't have specific metrics, describe the scope of your work instead: "Managed communications for an organization with 500+ members" is honest and still compelling.
How to Get Relevant Volunteering Experience on LinkedIn: Top 3 Tips
If your profile is missing this section because you genuinely haven't volunteered, that's worth thinking about — not just for LinkedIn, but for your own life.
1. Define Your Passion
The best volunteer work is the kind you'd do even if no one was watching. Start by asking yourself what causes you genuinely care about. Education, environment, health, poverty, arts, community development — there's no wrong answer.
When your volunteer work aligns with something you actually care about, it shows. The description you write will be more specific, more enthusiastic, and more compelling than something you did just to fill a profile section.
2. Search Smart
Once you know what you care about, find organizations that need what you can offer. Nonprofits constantly need people with marketing, finance, legal, technical, and operational expertise. Your professional skills are valuable to organizations that can't afford to hire for them.
Search for volunteer opportunities on VolunteerMatch, Idealist, or LinkedIn's own volunteer marketplace. Filter by cause and by the type of skills needed. Look for roles that will give you real responsibility, not just envelope-stuffing.
3. Connect with Purpose
Volunteer work is also a networking opportunity. When you join a nonprofit board or volunteer committee, you're working alongside people who care about the same things you do. Those relationships can be genuinely valuable professionally.
Be intentional about the organizations you join. A board seat at a well-regarded nonprofit puts you in contact with community leaders, executives, and professionals you'd never meet otherwise. The work matters, and so do the connections.
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