The Resume Booster That Only 30% of People Use

Polishing your resume and LinkedIn profile may be part of what you do when searching for a new job. But if you are only covering your professional and educational experience in these snapshots of your work history, you may be missing out.

At least that’s what a new survey found. The Deloitte Impact Survey, released on Thursday, found 82% of those who influence hiring decisions said they are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteer experience — but only one in three resumes in the United States cite volunteer work.

The survey polled more than 2,500 respondents in 13 major metropolitan areas in the U.S., targeting those who are currently employed and either have hiring influence or are directly in charge of hiring. A large majority of respondents (92%) felt volunteering expands a candidate’s skill sets while 86% said putting volunteer time on a resume ultimately makes a candidate more competitive.

“Despite volunteering’s well-documented benefits in the workplace … the survey results seem to indicate that there may be a disconnect between employees and businesses about volunteering’s role in the workplace,” Doug Marshall, director of corporate citizenship at Deloitte Services LP, said in a press release.

Preparing for a Job Search

If you’re searching for a job and don’t list your volunteer work on your resume, you may want to consider doing so. It’s also a good idea to check your credit report, as some employers check a version as part of their application process. (You can get your annual credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.)

Though employers don’t check credit scores, it’s a good idea to monitor those, too. A sudden change, such as a drastic drop in your scores, could signal a problem like identity theft. You can view two of your credit scores, updated every 14 days, for free on Credit.com.