Whatever you volunteer once a year or every week, it is important to take a moment to keep a record of your hours and responsibilities so you can boost your resume or yourself during an interview. There is nothing worse that attempting to recall what you did at a small event months ago or everything that you did for an organization during a long term position.
Physically or Electronically
One of the easiest ways to keep track is to simply open up a notebook and start writing. Of course, you can just as easily start a word document or spreadsheet. I would suggest having a google spreadsheet/doc since they automatically backup and save your document and you can easily access it on other devices.
Some details or sections that you should include are:
Dates, name of the organization, total hours, role/title, responsibilities, what you accomplished, what you learned, note any challenges (very useful for future interviews), and maybe a written appraisal if you can.
SFU Programs
Majority of my academic career was spent on SFU Surrey campus so I naturally joined the SFU Surrey Student Ambassador Program. In addition to apply to positions and keeping track of my involvement, I was encouraged to volunteer more by receiving certificates praising my accomplishments, getting SFU swag, and invited for free appreciation lunches during my time in this program.
Also check out MyInvolvement for Burnaby campus.
SFU also started doing Volunteer galas recently in order to celebrate their students’ dedication and support to their clubs and programs with an amazing buffet (seriously good food). Make sure someone in SFU knows what you are doing on your free nights so you can in on all the goodies and networking opportunities they have to offer.
If you don’t have one already, get a LinkedIn. A resume can be very limiting but your LinkedIn can act as your CV where you can enter in your whole volunteer career if you wish.
