Volunteering and skills is an initiative launched in 2009 by the students network ANIMAFAC in order to help students to identify and assess the skills gained during a volunteering period and to prepare for their professional insertion. The main pillar of this portfolio of competences is the accompanying process of students in the stepbystep identification and valorisation of their competences acquired through their experiences within associations. The portfolio developed by ANIMAFAC works as a selfassessment tool and four main transversal skills were identified:
- Communication
- Administration
- Team management and
- Interpersonal skills and project management.
The initiative is based on a progressive methodology and provides key advice on how to present a volunteering experience on a resume or during a job interview (EUCISLLL, 2013). ANIMAFAC also proposes tutoring sessions for volunteers consisting of group work sessions followed by an exchange with human resources professionals who give them further advice for their resume and for preparing a job interview. As a result, these sessions helped volunteers to value their voluntary engagement and improve their selfesteem. In responding to the test ‘Volunteering and Skills’ (11 questions), people can identify the skills they have acquired. A list of skills is not enough though; it is still necessary to know how to exploit it. The ‘Valuing skills’ link gives them a set of tips on how to present these skills on a resume or during a job interview.