Volunteer efforts are more than just an opportunity to give back — it’s a powerful way to build valuable skills that can boost your career. As a Kappa Delta alumna, the leadership roles you’ve held in KD have equipped you with a wealth of experience. But are you showcasing that on LinkedIn? Whether you volunteered with your local alumnae chapter, advised a collegiate chapter or served at the national level, your Kappa Delta experience deserves to shine.  

Whether you’re actively seeking new opportunities or simply want to showcase your leadership journey, adding volunteer experiences to LinkedIn is a great way to make sure they shine. And who knows, your story could inspire others to see the value in service and leadership! 

Here’s how you can effectively translate your volunteer experience to your LinkedIn profile, helping you stand out while celebrating the impressive contributions you’ve made to both your profession and Kappa Delta. 

Why Volunteer Experience Matters on LinkedIn 

Kappa Delta offers countless opportunities for personal growth and skill development. Through leadership roles, you may have built expertise in project management, strategic planning, event coordination and mentorship — skills transferable to any professional field. Highlighting this experience on LinkedIn not only gives you the chance to showcase your well-rounded capabilities but also signals to potential employers and peers that you’re committed to making an impact, both professionally and within your community.

Steps to Effectively Translate Volunteer Experience

1. Crafting a Strong Headline and Summary

Your LinkedIn headline and summary are prime real estate for showcasing both your professional career and the leadership roles you’ve taken on in Kappa Delta. Since you may be balancing a full-time job with volunteer work, your headline can reflect both your career expertise and the value you’ve brought to Kappa Delta. For example, “Marketing Director | Nonprofit Leader | Strategic Planner” highlights your professional role alongside your volunteer contributions. 

In your summary, weave your professional background with your volunteer leadership, demonstrating how the skills you’ve gained through Kappa Delta complement your career. For instance, you might discuss how serving on a National Leadership Team or advising a collegiate chapter has sharpened your strategic planning skills, enhanced your ability to mentor or strengthened your leadership approach, all of which you bring to your day-to-day professional life. 

2. Adding Kappa Delta Leadership Roles to Experience

Your Kappa Delta leadership roles should be treated as important professional experience! Just like you would for any job, include your volunteer leadership positions in the Experience section. This allows you to showcase how you manage responsibilities beyond your career, and how the skills you’ve developed in Kappa Delta add value to your professional expertise. 

Here are some tips you can use for each role in your Experience section: 

• Title: Use titles like “chapter advisor” or “chapter accounting specialist” to clearly reflect your leadership position. 
• Organization: List Kappa Delta Sorority. 
• Dates: Include the dates of your service. 
• Accomplishments: Highlight key achievements such as “Led a team of 15 volunteers” or “Organized philanthropy events raising over $10,000.” Quantifying your impact helps emphasize your leadership in a concrete way. 

3. Incorporating Skills and Endorsements

Volunteering doesn’t just benefit the organization; it also sharpens your professional skills. Make sure to add relevant skills to the skills section on your LinkedIn profile — skills like leadership, strategic planning, event management or mentoring — that reflect your Kappa Delta work. You can search skills from a LinkedIn list in the skills section! These skills likely overlap with those you use in your full-time job, reinforcing your expertise. Ask your sisters or colleagues to endorse you for these skills, adding credibility to your profile. 

4. Highlighting Volunteer Experience in Other Sections

LinkedIn has a dedicated section for volunteer experience where you can also showcase your Kappa Delta roles. For example, you might write about how you helped increase chapter engagement or mentored younger members through challenging situations. By incorporating your volunteer work into multiple sections of your LinkedIn profile, you’re able to give a fuller picture of your capabilities and experience. 

By translating your volunteer work in your LinkedIn profile, you’re not just building a strong professional profile — you’re celebrating the amazing work you’ve done to build confidence and inspire action in our sisterhood. This is one of the many perks of being a Kappa Delta alumna: your volunteer experience can help you stand out in the professional world. 

P.S. Have you joined the Kappa Delta Network group on LinkedIn? 

Joining the Kappa Delta Network group on LinkedIn can expand your professional network or connect with someone in a similar role. With more than 23,000 Kappa Deltas in the group, you never know who might provide insights or referrals that could help you land your next big opportunity.