You’ve probably thought a lot about the benefits of Girl Scouts for your troop and experienced their growth firsthand. But have you thought about the skills and abilities you’ve gained and developed as a troop leader? Being a troop leader is an experience that can, and should, be put on your resume to showcase your talents!
Recruiters and employers love to see volunteer experience and community involvement on resumes, so you shouldn’t shy away from including them. You could include them on your resume as simple bullet points, or you could expand on them like you would with a paid professional position. Start by writing up a list of skills and tasks needed to lead your troop and troop meetings—we’ve included our favorites below if you need some inspiration. Some might come to mind right away, like planning your meeting activities, group management skills, and helping resolve conflict. Don’t forget those specific skills you may use, like outdoor or STEM experience. Have you considered other skills that don’t come to mind right away? Troop leaders create welcoming environments, facilitate educational opportunities and reflection, and model healthy behaviors to youth. When you think outside of the box, you’ll find that you’ve developed many transferable skills as a troop leader!
Let’s talk a bit more about those transferable skills. Transferrable skills are skills that you can take from one position to another. An important part of using your volunteer position to gain professional opportunities is figuring out how to translate those transferable skills. Below are some of the top transferable skills an employer looks for in a candidate that troop leaders demonstrate in their volunteer experience!
- Problem-Solving—not only are troop leaders experienced problem-solvers, but you help Girl Scouts flex their problem-solving skills too!
- Leadership—you are a leadership role model for your troop, showing them what compassionate leadership looks like!
- Adaptability—ike when you plan an activity for the whole troop, but only two show up and you have to change your plan on the fly
- Teamwork—like working with other adult volunteers and bonus- you facilitate teamwork development with youth!
- Communication—you communicate with a variety of populations, like family members, youth of varying ages, and members of your community
- Listening—how you use active listening skills to get to the real issue of a conflict or get to know a Girl Scout better
- Management—when you guide other volunteers on how to lead safe and fun activities or field trips
- Creativity—like when you modify a badge activity or add an outdoor component you know the troop will love
- Project Management—like when you plan a troop meeting from activity plans, supplies, snacks, and getting helpers, and make sure everything comes together in time
- Relationship Building—like the relationships you build with your Girl Scouts, their families, and the relationships you build with community experts and local businesses
There are definitely skills we’re missing—what would you add to your list of transferable skills?
Are you feeling inspired to update your resume, but still unsure how to start? Check out some of our example description points below!
- Coordinated logistics for troop meetings, including meeting location, time, educational activities, and adult supervision
- Supervised other troop volunteers during troop meetings and field trips to ensure the safety of Girl Scouts
- Facilitated a variety of educational and reflection activities for Girl Scouts that developed their leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork skills
- Communicated effectively with a variety of populations, including youth, families, volunteers, and partners within the community
- Created a welcoming, safe, and affirming environment for youth and families with a variety of identities and backgrounds
- Empowered Girl Scouts to be future leaders, improve their communities, and to be lifelong learners
Wow, we see how busy you’ve been! How about letting GSRV do the planning and facilitation of your next troop event? We have a full slate of programs to join. Just register your troop and let us do the rest. You deserve a break!
Sydney Tuttle – Sydney is a Leader Engagement Coordinator at Girl Scout River Valleys, focusing on training and supporting troop leaders. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Minnesota— Twin Cities. In her free time, Sydney enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her friends. She can talk your ear off about her two cats, Korra and Mabel!
