POSTED ON February 06, 2009 BY Shilpi Misra

You Complete Me: How Volunteering Improves Your College Application

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Normally I would tell you to not judge a book by its cover, but today I have to throw that out the window. Because it’s all about the presentation when starting your service and getting credit for it.

Although many of the opportunities that we list on our calendar are weekly, monthly, and annual commitments, the reality is that you will soon find it to be an activity that you must keep up with, and therefore treat as a job. I know what you’re thinking: “CPC, hold your horses, this is not supposed to be a job. I’m not getting paid, so don’t make this way too stressful.”

Youth may be fleeting, but volunteer coordinators are intent on keeping their annual rotation of newbies. Nevertheless, you must remember that these programs are taking a huge risk on letting you train and work in such an important area.

When selecting from the crème de le crème of volunteers, it’s really not the rigorous process you may think it is. Many of the normal organizations want to know everything about you from the general to the particular – everything from your GPA to the activities and hobbies you do outside of school (and usually prior work experience). Essentially with this part of the application, you want to demonstrate any responsible bone you’ve got.

So…three weeks go by…and…

Hooray, you’ve got your dream volunteer job!

How did the interview go?

How is it working out for you? Tell us about it! We’d love to promote what you’re doing!

If you’re having more fun than you could hope for, great! And if not, maybe we can get back on VolunteerMatch and find something more suitable. But just between you and me, if you’ve got those 25 hours of community service under your belt, take those hours and celebrate!

Ultimately, you would like your coordinator to acknowledge your ability to set an example for others, working politely and respectively, motivating coworkers, and delegating when necessary.

If you didn’t like your outreach program or maybe the program had a stricter guideline than expected, try looking on the resources I’ve listed in previous articles or a few more below:

Volunteer Matching Services

Search for volunteer opportunities or sign up to receive e-mail notifications when volunteer opportunities in the areas you are interested in become available. Most of these are national listings with opportunities in every interest area you can imagine.

Get that credit!

Let’s go back to the beginning when all you needed was a little spark to ignite that flame. Look how far you’ve come! At the beginning of the process, the community service accolade was just your incentive, and not the actual work – or at least I figure that to be for 98.2% of you. Getting out into the community allows students to accept responsibility and it exhibits the utmost flexibility and creativity.

So when placing this on your college apps, think about how some of your achievements may not have happened within the confines of your school. For example, if you worked on a major fundraiser for your local shelter, you can describe your project and the skills it developed. Don’t be shy about highlighting accomplishments on your resume.

Also ask your immediate boss and the volunteer coordinator for two separate letters of recommendation. Why? These give the administrator looking over your resume an honest and more complete profile.

Each of the resources that I have listed will allow you to get great feedback and enormous accolades. Basically, your file should be boss and should look as followed:

  • Shows initiative
  • Displays intelligence, good judgment, confidence
  • Accepts responsibilities
  • Exhibits perseverance, ingenuity when solving problems
  • Seeks opportunities and overcomes obstacles
  • Delegates, trains and shares the responsibility and the credit
  • Demonstrates selflessness and consideration of others
  • Sees potential in others
  • Skilled in dealing with people and their needs

You don’t have to achieve every skill above, but make sure you mention everything you achieved in your application essay.

Good luck volunteering, and good luck with those apps!

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