Volunteer counted as experience?

[secondattempt]

Hi fellow nurses. I'm currently volunteering at a Post Acute Recovery Unit and a Pre-OP unit.....hopefullly i'll be circulating real soon too.

My question is. The management took me in as a VOLUNTEER. they got all my info, copies of my certificates, licenses and even took my TB/ X-ray and physical.

I'm practically hired working but with NO PAY.

.......my question is. If i put in my application my experience as such.......willl the HR department ACCEPT my experience? or will they somehow TRACK my SSN and see if i got PAY from this company (which im not cuz im a volunteer) and thus be denied cuz they might think im a fraud.

Any volunteers in my shoes????? who are hoping to use the volunteeer as a stepping stone experience to get into a hospital job..

please anyone.

[secondattempt]

bump = )

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I am assuming you are in the US? If not, this answer may not be valid.

Sorry - but I think you have already answered your own question. Work experience needs to be 'paid' as an employee. Experience is one of the criteria that is used to determine starting pay, so the HR folks are very hard nosed about this. However, I would urge you to list your volunteer activities on your resume and make sure that you inform potential employers. You seem to be very motivated - the type of employee that every manager wants!

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Is volunteer work experience? Yes and no.

It is not paid, so many facilities would not consider it as work experience. You HR department may or may not accept it as work experience--you need to ask them.

However, volunteer experience does help learn skills that while might not be work experience per se, can still be assets in your job hunt. It's a great way to network. Also, as one interviewer pointed out to me when she saw mine, it shows a lot of initiative: I wasn't waiting around for a job to fall into my lap after graduation, but instead went out where I could use my nursing skills.

I'd be honest and list it as "volunteer" or "unpaid" on the resume. It's not so much from tracking your SSN that they could find out what you didn't get paid, as it is them giving this place a call to verify your information and asking "did Secondattempt work there?" Because if you're a volunteer, you won't be listed as an employee and if the HR rep answering the phone doesn't know you volunteer, they may say "No" :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with the others. Volunteer experience is not the same as "work experience" and you should never imply anything on your resume or in an application that is not strictly true. If you get caught trying to "stretch" your qualifications, that could easily eliminate you from any serious consideration for employment later.

However ... volunteer experience is still valuable experience and should be included on your resume, in an application, etc. Just be sure to list it honestly as volunteer work. If it is relevant to a job you are seeking, be sure to describe the volunteer experience a bit to show how it taught you things that would be useful on the job.