Volunteer Experiences - Which Ones to Highlight?

[k.semmer]

I'm hoping someone can help point me in the right direction on my situation regarding volunteer experiences:


I currently volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House near Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago checking families in/out of the house, giving tours, and helping with fundraising efforts on a biweekly basis (last 2 years). I also have volunteered for the Glass Slipper Project for the last 8 years.

However, my primary volunteer activity- the one I've poured my heart and soul into- is serving as the recruitment adviser of another chapter of my collegiate sorority. In one year of service thus far, I've managed to completely revamp their intake program, and have the statistical results to back it up (it is purely a numbers game after all). I also won an award at our Regional Conference this year for my efforts in improving this particular college's recruitment process. This experience highlights my organizational, mentorship, teamwork, and problem solving skills.


As my application "story" is centered around my passion for using creative problem solving techniques to implement new processes and foster change throughout the workplace and my community, I can definitely highlight this sorority consulting experience. However, my fear is that admissions committees will view this activity as a continuation of my college years and perhaps signal immaturity. I can also choose to play up the other two activities I've described, but my level of involvement is nowhere near as deep as the recruitment consultant experience.



Other background FYI: Caucasian female; 25 years old; attended Northwestern for undergrad- earning a 3.5 GPA; GMAT 660 (44Q, 37V); works for AdAge's "Agency of the Decade" in the media/marketing/brand management field.

[mbamission]

Hi K.Semmer,

Thanks for writing in and providing this level of detail. It is great that you have so many out-of-office options to write about in your application, but I see your concern that dedicating yourself to volunteering with your sorority may be seen as an extension of college.

I think this experience is definitely a legitimate part of your profile and can be discussed in your application. I recommend you point out the results you mentioned above to show that there was a concrete impact to your work. I like how you treat this work as if you were a pro-bono consultant - you were asked to look at a problem, you can describe the steps you took and the results you obtained. This approach should diminish your fear of sounding immature. You may also want to weave in your other volunteer experience to show that your non-work passions are varied.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (14 individual school titles)

Visit the mbaMission Blog

Follow mbaMission on Twitter