Adding volunteer work to your Facebook profile can be a great way to share what causes you care about with your friends and community. Highlighting volunteer work on your profile allows you to share accomplishments, rally support for organizations you believe in, and inspire others to get involved.
Should I add volunteer work to my Facebook profile?
Here are some key benefits of adding volunteer work to your Facebook profile:
- Showcases causes and organizations you care about – Adding volunteer experience highlights what issues or groups you actively support.
- Inspires others to get involved – Sharing your involvement may prompt friends to volunteer or donate to a cause.
- Connects you with like-minded people – Friends, family or new acquaintances may reach out after seeing you’re involved with an organization they also support.
- Provides a history of your involvement – Chronicling your volunteer work creates a record of the experiences and roles you’ve held.
- Offers recognition – Highlighting your volunteer work allows the organizations you’ve supported to recognize your contributions.
- Could help career prospects – Some employers look at volunteer work on social media to evaluate prospective hires.
Of course, you should only share as much as you feel comfortable with. But overall, adding volunteer experience can be a great way to use your profile to make a positive impact.
How do I add volunteer work to my profile?
It’s easy to highlight your volunteer work right on your Facebook profile. Here are step-by-step instructions:
Via the Work and Education Section
The Work and Education section of your profile is designed to highlight your professional and academic history, but you can also use it to showcase volunteer positions. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile page and click “Edit Profile” in the upper right.
- In the left column, click “Work and Education.”
- Click the “+” icon to add a new position.
- Select “Volunteer Work” for the position type.
- Enter details like:
- Organization name
- Position title
- Location
- Date range
- Description of your responsibilities and accomplishments
- Click “Save” to add your volunteer work entry.
This adds your volunteer work to the main Work and Education section of your profile, alongside any paid jobs or education.
Via Life Events
Important milestones in your volunteer service can also be showcased as Life Events:
- Go to your profile page and click “Edit Profile.”
- In the left column, click “Life Events.”
- Click the “+” icon to add a new life event.
- Select the type of life event from the menu:
- “Volunteer Work” for starting a new position
- “Achievement” for notable accomplishments
- “Cause” for getting involved with a particular organization or issue
- Fill in details like:
- Organization/cause name
- Your role or achievement
- Date it occurred
- Location
- Photos
- Description of the experience or milestone
- Click “Save” to add the life event.
The life event will be highlighted and shared in your profile’s timeline.
Via a New Post
You can also share about your volunteer work in a status update:
- Go to your profile page and click in the “What’s on your mind?” box at the top.
- Write about the volunteer work you want to highlight. You could share:
- Starting a new volunteer position
- A notable project or achievement from volunteering
- A story or reflection on how volunteering has affected you
- An upcoming volunteer event you want others to join
- A milestone reached by an organization you’ve volunteered with
- A call to support a cause you care about
- Add any relevant photos, videos or articles.
- Click “Post” to share the update on your profile.
The post will display prominently on your timeline so friends can immediately see your volunteer activity.
What details should I include?
However you choose to add your volunteer work, aim to provide helpful context and highlights. Here are some details to consider including:
- Name of the organization
- Your position title and responsibilities
- Time frame you volunteered
- Key projects and accomplishments
- Skills you developed or used
- Causes supported or populations helped
- Testimonials about your work
- Fun memories and meaningful moments
- Photos from events or of you volunteering
Giving an overview of what you did, your impact and what you gained will help paint a fuller picture of your volunteer work for your network.
Should I link to the organization?
If the organization you volunteer with has a Facebook page or external website, consider linking to it. This gives your friends quick access to learn more. Ways to link include:
- Adding the organization’s Facebook page in the Work and Education entry’s details
- Including the organization’s external website URL in a Life Event or status update
- Tagging the organization’s Facebook page in a post
Linking to the organization helps increase visibility and spread awareness about their mission. But make sure you have permission if sharing sensitive details about the organization.
How can I customize how my volunteer work displays?
You can customize how volunteer work positions appear when you add them in your Work and Education section. Just click into the position and adjust options like:
- Visibility: Choose who can see the entry (Public, Friends, Only Me, etc).
- Featured Position: Pin the entry to the top of your Work and Education section.
- Promote as a Life Event: Also adds the entry to your profile’s Life Events timeline.
- Notify Friends: Send an announcement when you add the position.
You can also click the pencil icon in any Work and Education entry to edit or remove it later.
Should I add volunteering to the About section?
Your profile’s About section is a great place to summarize your volunteer work too. You could include highlights like:
- Causes you care about
- Organizations you support
- Key initiatives you’ve participated in
- Roles you’ve held
- Personal goals related to community impact
This gives a quick overview of your service for visitors to your profile. Just click “Add profile detail” in the About section to select what type of information you want to highlight.
Can I showcase my volunteer work on my resume?
You can also include your Facebook volunteer work on your professional resume. Here are some tips:
- Add a “Volunteer Experience” section to your resume with your positions.
- Concisely summarize your responsibilities, skills used, achievements and impact.
- Quantify achievements when possible – like number of events run or funds raised.
- Add context on the organization’s mission and community served.
- Highlight relevant transferable skills developed, like project management, event planning, leadership, etc.
Including substantive Facebook volunteer work on your resume can demonstrate valuable experience to employers. Just focus on accomplishments relevant to the job.
Are there any pitfalls to be aware of?
Adding volunteer work is generally a great way to use Facebook. But be thoughtful in what you share. Consider privacy, professionalism and representing organizations accurately:
- Privacy: Be mindful of sharing organizational or client information without permission.
- Professionalism: Present yourself positively by highlighting achievements over venting frustrations.
- Accuracy: Portray the organization’s mission and your responsibilities accurately.
- Ask Permission: If ever in doubt, get the organization’s blessing to share information.
As long as you share thoughtfully, highlighting your volunteer service can have a wonderful impact.
Can I export my Facebook volunteer history?
To have a record of your Facebook volunteer history, you can download an archive of your profile data. Here’s how:
- Click the down arrow at the top right of Facebook and select “Settings”.
- On the left side, click “Your Facebook information”.
- Select “Download your information”.
- Deselect all categories except “Posts”.
- Select date range if you only want certain years.
- Click “Create file”. Facebook will compile your data.
- Once ready, you’ll get a notification to download your archive. This can take a few minutes to many hours depending on how much data is gathered.
- Open the downloaded zip file to see your Facebook memories and posts, including volunteer work.
Scanning your Facebook archive can be a nice nostalgia trip and supply records of past volunteer service.
Conclusion
Adding volunteer work is a great way to enrich your Facebook profile. Highlighting the organizations and causes you care about expresses your values to your community. And sharing your volunteer experiences can inspire others to contribute their time and talents towards meaningful work too.