The University of Alabama’s community service website notes the Center for Sustainable Service and Volunteerism as a segue for students to engage in meaningful service and to see measurable change.

Many students have some level of community service experience during their college years. However, some students may not understand how this experience benefits their future.

“It shows employers you took initiative to help a group of people or a cause,” said Tiffany Goodin, the manager of educational programming at the UA Career Center. “It can also reflect leadership or other transferable skills you may have obtained, depending on your level of involvement and how you describe your experience.”

Community service can teach students things they might not learn elsewhere. They can learn critical thinking in the real world, problem solving, complete resolution, tangible skills and creation.

Courtney Chapman Thomas, director of community service, said community service is something that helps people stand out.

“Companies, graduation schools and people around the world are looking for people that look outside themselves [who aren’t] just bottom line people,” Thomas said. “Companies want to know there is something bigger that people feel connected to their community, that they feel the obligation to other people.”

Thomas said community service is also something graduate schools really look at. As many people apply for grad school everyday, community service will make candidates stand out. The CSSV has a circular transcript, and they value date service hours. They also give students a tool for when they go to apply for school or a job. Students can have the circular transcript to prove the role they played in service, community engagement 
and leadership.

Goodin said the kind of service that will look best on a resume is the kind students care the most about and the kind from which they have the best experiences to share. She said to try not to focus too much on the name or prestige of the organization, but rather consider which experiences could be discussed with an employer.

“It will always shine through if you’re discussing something you truly care about versus something you did just because you needed some volunteer work,” she said. “If all your experiences are equally meaningful, try to list the most details for those that are relevant to your intended job field and/or the most recent.”

For example, if someone served food one Saturday at a local soup kitchen, they could simply list the name of the organization and the date on their resume. This will alert the reader the applicant helped others on their own time, she said.

However, if someone actually organized the event, recruited volunteers and oversaw logistics, they may choose to highlight more of those details by listing bullet points to describe their role.

Both Thomas and Goodin said international and domestic community service will benefit students’ resumes, but students need to consider the situation and what they are looking for to determine what they should show.