LinkedIn Adds "Volunteer Experience & Causes" Field to Profile

 
LinkedIn Adds “Volunteer Experience & Causes” Field to Profile
 
New research from LinkedIn shows that nearly one out of every four hiring managers in
Canada agree they have hired a candidate because of their volunteer work experience
 
Toronto, ON. September 7, 2011LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), the world's largest professional network with more than 120 million members worldwide and more than 4 million members in Canada, today announced that members can now add a “Volunteer Experience & Causes” field to their LinkedIn Profile. The company also released data that reinforces volunteer work is a key piece of your professional identity.
 
In the new “Volunteer Experience & Causes” field, LinkedIn members can add volunteer positions, causes they care about, and organizations they support. LinkedIn members can now list Big Brothers Big Sisters, DonorsChoose.org, Habitat for Humanity International, or any other organization they support on their LinkedIn Profile.
 
LinkedIn surveyed over 1,200 professionals in Canada and found that 84 percent of these professionals have personally had experience volunteering, but only 60 percent of professionals include their volunteer experience on their resume.
 
“Including volunteer work and your personal causes on your LinkedIn profile offers future employers a broadened perspective of you as an employee,” said Phyllis Reardon, President and Life Coach at CoachPhyllis.com. “It can expose a whole new area of your skills, knowledge and values, which enhances your opportunities for employment. It creates a more layered view of you as a person – a person with varied skills and interests who is connected to the community.”
 
In fact, 46 percent of the Canadian professionals that LinkedIn surveyed stated that when they are evaluating candidates, they consider volunteer work equally as valuable as paid work experience. Twenty-four percent of the hiring managers surveyed agree they have made a hiring decision based on a candidate’s volunteer work experience.
 
To add the “Volunteer Experience & Causes” field to your LinkedIn Profile:
  • After logging in, click “Profile” at the top of LinkedIn.
  • Click the “Add Sections” hyperlink.
  • Select “Volunteer Experience & Causes.”
  • Click the “Add to Profile” button and then fill out the applicable fields.
 
View a screenshot of the new “Volunteer Experience & Causes” field and get more details on the impact volunteering can have on your career on the LinkedIn Blog: http://lnkd.in/profile-volunteer-field.