Why this experience is worth adding to your resume
For students, graduates, and candidates without significant professional experience, internships, volunteering, and student organizations can demonstrate practical skills, responsibility, and the ability to work in real-world conditions to an employer. NACE defines an internship as a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting.
According to the NACE Job Outlook 2026, employers consider internships at their own organization or in a relevant industry as the most influential factor when choosing between two equally qualified candidates. The same report notes that work experience, leadership roles, and extracurricular activities are ranked higher than a 3.0+ GPA among factors influencing a candidate's selection.
Volunteering and participation in student organizations can also be appropriate on a resume, especially if the candidate is still studying, lacks extensive work experience, or can demonstrate through these activities skills required for the vacancy. The Harvard FAS/Mignone Center for Career Success describes extracurricular activities as a way to show skills like teamwork, leadership, and time management, provided these activities are presented relevantly to the role.
What counts as experience
Experience on a resume is not limited to paid work. The University of Pennsylvania Career Services explicitly advises including everything relevant: work as an employee, intern, volunteer, researcher, or team member.
You can add the following to your resume:
internships at a company, agency, laboratory, startup, or non-profit organization;
volunteer projects, if they involved specific tasks, responsibilities, or results;
student government, clubs, professional societies, and event organizing teams;
academic, research, or team projects, if they are related to the vacancy;
part-time work, freelancing, personal projects, or other activities that demonstrate necessary skills.
Harvard FAS also notes that for candidates without formal work experience, relevant items may include academic projects, coursework, volunteering, campus involvement, part-time jobs, self-directed learning, and independent projects.
Where to add internships
Internships should most often be added to an "Experience," "Relevant Experience," or "Professional Experience" section. If an internship is directly related to the vacancy, it should be placed above less relevant work, even if that other work was paid.
Indeed notes in an article about resumes for internships that the experience section in a student resume can include not only previous work but also student organizations, volunteering, and other relevant experience where the candidate had duties and performed them effectively.
The entry format can look like this:
Marketing Intern
Company Name, Kyiv
June 2025 – August 2025
Following this, add 2–4 points with actions and results:
Prepared 12 social media posts based on the team's content plan.
Collected and structured a database of 150 potential partners for an email campaign.
Analyzed 20 competitor pages and prepared a short report with recommendations for the team.
Helped update a client presentation, reducing it from 35 to 18 slides.
Where to add volunteering
Volunteering can be added to the main experience section if it is relevant to the vacancy or replaces a lack of professional experience. Indeed advises adding volunteer work to professional experience if a candidate has little or no professional experience.
If volunteering is not directly related to the vacancy but demonstrates responsibility, organizational skills, or communication, it can be placed in a separate "Volunteer Experience" section. Indeed also notes that volunteer experience can be included in a professional experience, skills, or separate volunteering section.
Example:
Volunteer Coordinator
Charity Initiative, Lviv
March 2024 – September 2024
Coordinated 18 volunteers during a relief supply drive for displaced persons.
Maintained a database of applications and helped process over 300 requests.
Communicated with partners regarding logistics and delivery schedules for aid.
Prepared short instructions for new volunteers to speed up their onboarding.
Where to add student organizations
Student organizations are better added not as "hobbies" but as experience, if the candidate had a role, tasks, or a measurable contribution. Harvard FAS suggests placing extracurricular activities in an "Experience" or "Relevant Experience" section if they are directly related to work, for example through leadership roles, technical clubs, or volunteering in the field of your future profession.
Example:
Event Manager, Student Business Club
University Name
September 2023 – May 2025
Organized 6 meetings with guest speakers for economics students.
Coordinated registration, communication with speakers, and venue preparation.
Increased average event attendance from 35 to 70 participants.
Prepared email templates and a checklist for future club organizers.
How to write the description: not "what was," but "what I did"
A weak description simply states the role. A strong description shows action, scale, and result. The University of Pennsylvania Career Services advises describing each experience by what the candidate did and what they achieved, using action verbs, avoiding phrasing like "assisted," "worked with," "helped," "responsible for," and adding quantitative details where possible.
Poor:
Volunteered at events.
Helped a student organization.
Responsible for social media.
Did an internship in the marketing department.
Better:
Coordinated registration for 120 participants at a student conference.
Prepared 8 Instagram posts and gathered ideas for the monthly content plan.
Updated a contact database of 200 records for future email marketing.
Conducted an initial analysis of 15 competitors and identified 5 content formats for testing.
What should be in every point
It is best to structure every point in your experience using simple logic:
action;
object of action;
scale or context;
result, if applicable.
For example:
"Organized a series of 4 career meetings for students of the department, engaging 3 partner companies."
In this sentence, there is an action - "organized," an object - "a series of career meetings," scale - "4 meetings," and a result or context - "3 partner companies."
Berkeley Career Engagement suggests analyzing the job description, tailoring your resume for each position, focusing on results, and quantifying achievements whenever possible.
How to adapt experience for a vacancy
The same experience can be described differently depending on the vacancy. Harvard FAS notes in a resume guide that a resume should be tailored to the type of position, and the experience should reflect the skills, impact, and value important to a specific employer.
If a candidate is applying for marketing, it is worth highlighting content, communication, analytics, advertising, and audience engagement in the volunteering section.
If a candidate is applying for project management, it is better to show coordination of people, deadlines, planning, risks, and documentation.
If a candidate is applying for a developer role, it is worth describing technical projects, tools, the stack, GitHub, team development, deployment, or automation.
If a candidate is applying for HR or recruiting, communication with participants, organizing events, volunteer onboarding, database management, and process coordination will be relevant.
How to describe an internship without significant results
Not every internship has major metrics. In such a case, you can describe the type of tasks, tools, workload, and how the candidate interacted with the team.
Examples:
Prepared drafts of email letters for internal team communication.
Updated data in CRM and verified the accuracy of contact information.
Participated in weekly team meetings and recorded tasks after discussions.
Tested website pages before publication and reported errors found to developers.
The main thing is not to exaggerate. If there is no confirmation of a specific result, it is better to describe the actual actions rather than making up impact.
How to describe volunteering without "pathos"
Volunteering on a resume does not need to be presented as general kindness or an "active life stance." It should be described just as specifically as a job: role, tasks, scale, tools, result.
Poor:
Actively helped people.
Participated in charity.
Volunteered in various projects.
Better:
Processed requests from participants of a charity program via Google Sheets.
Coordinated a shift schedule for 10 volunteers.
Communicated with donors and updated aid delivery statuses.
Prepared a 2-page instruction manual for new volunteers.
Indeed notes that volunteering can be especially relevant on a resume if a candidate has little professional experience or if the volunteer work is related to skills needed for the vacancy.
How to describe a student organization if it's not a job
A student organization should be described through the role, not just membership. If a candidate was simply a participant without a specific contribution, one line is enough. If a candidate organized events, managed a team, handled communication, or launched initiatives, this can be described as full-fledged experience.
Poor:
Member of a student club.
Participant in a student organization.
Participated in university events.
Better:
Coordinated a team of 5 students to organize a career event.
Prepared a communication plan to promote the event among students.
Managed the club's Instagram page and published 2–3 posts per week.
Negotiated participation in open lectures with 4 speakers.
Indeed recommends including job titles, duration of participation, and specifics regarding involvement for student or extracurricular activities, if the candidate had a significant role in the club or organization.
Which verbs to use
For describing experience, it is better to use active verbs:
organized;
coordinated;
prepared;
analyzed;
created;
launched;
updated;
conducted;
configured;
researched;
collected;
structured;
tested;
optimized;
presented;
documented.
The University of Pennsylvania Career Services advises using strong action verbs and short phrases instead of passive phrasing.
What not to write
Avoid writing general phrases without proof:
responsible;
communicative;
stress-resistant;
active;
quick learner;
team player;
leadership skills;
multitasking.
The University of Pennsylvania Career Services advises not just listing soft skills in a skills section, but showing them through descriptions of experience.
Instead of "communicative," it is better to write: "Communicated with 25 event participants regarding registration, scheduling, and organizational issues."
Instead of "leadership skills," it is better to write: "Coordinated a team of 6 volunteers during the preparation of a charity event."
Instead of "multitasking," it is better to write: "Simultaneously managed a participant list, speaker communication, and material preparation for the event."
How many points to write
For a single internship or volunteer role, 2–5 points are usually sufficient. For less relevant experience, 1–2 points or one line is enough. Harvard FAS suggests choosing 2–4 most relevant extracurricular activities rather than adding everything one after another.
If the experience is very relevant to the vacancy, it can be described in more detail. If it is old, irrelevant, or duplicates other points, it is better to shorten it.
When it is better not to add such experience
Volunteering or student activities do not necessarily have to be added if they are unrelated to the vacancy, were a long time ago, or distract from stronger professional experience. Indeed notes that volunteer experience can be omitted if a candidate has a lot of relevant paid experience or if the volunteering was over 10 years ago.
Extracurricular activities should also be gradually removed from a resume as more relevant professional experience appears. Indeed notes that such activities are most appropriate for students and recent graduates, especially when there is no other relevant experience.
Examples of ready-made formulations
Marketing Internship
Prepared 10 product descriptions for the website in accordance with the brand's tone of voice.
Collected a database of 80 potential partners for email communication.
Analyzed ad creatives of 12 competitors and identified formats for testing.
Updated the content plan in Notion and synchronized task statuses with the team.
HR Internship
Conducted initial candidate searches on LinkedIn based on specified criteria.
Updated the candidate database and recorded communication statuses.
Prepared message templates for initial contact with candidates.
Helped coordinate the interview schedule between candidates and the hiring manager.
Volunteering
Coordinated a shift schedule for a team of 12 volunteers.
Processed over 200 requests in Google Sheets and updated completion statuses.
Communicated with partners regarding aid delivery logistics.
Prepared a short instruction manual for new volunteers.
Student Organization
Organized 5 educational events for students of the department.
Negotiated with speakers, prepared announcements, and coordinated registration.
Managed the organization's social media page and published regular updates.
Gathered participant feedback and prepared a list of improvements for future events.
Conclusion
Internships, volunteering, and student organizations should be described not as an "extra activity," but as evidence of specific skills. Entries that include a role, organization, dates, active verbs, scope of work, and results work best. For students and candidates without significant experience, this can be the foundation of a resume, not a secondary block. According to NACE, internships remain one of the strongest factors that help a candidate stand out among other applicants with similar qualifications.