I LOVED doing my volunteer experiences in college. I included it on my resume during the first couple years afterward but it was not the most prominent thing on there. It was only relevant for 1 job: a year long volunteer program, but that’s it. Then it faded off my resume as I added more work experiences. The experience are now something I can talk about in my current career that supplements my experiences. I believe we did good work in the short term but that is true that there is so much more to do.
Volunteers can help change the world one good deed at a time. Come to New Zealand (or any other country you fill in the blank) and be a part of the solution! Volunteers work for free and in fact they pay for the opportunity and the reward is directly proportional to their intent to benefit you fellow human being..
Let's be very honest here. This is just a comments section. The vast majority of volunteers are people who are seriously seeking to improve their CV. I'm an MBA from a US university. Volunteering activities really differentiate your CV from a crowd of similar CVs. Another thing is that you craft your brand and story around your prior experiences - and volunteering allows you to build a brand that really stands apart - keep in mind that nothing matters once you have a letter of acceptance. You can choose any career stream of your choice. If these volunteers just wanted to have a positive impact, they would just send money. Voluntourism is a way to feel good and differentiate your CV - with the latter being the primary motivator. And it works.
