Short stints of volunteering - when to leave it off a resume?

Rigid Designator

I'm having a bit of a hard time deciding whether or not I should include a brief period of volunteering on my resume.

Context: I volunteered with a legal advice centre for up to ~3 months (I have yet to work out the exact dates). The organisation has a training course for their volunteers to complete before they do solo work with clients. The course is meant to take many months to complete, and I didn't finish it before I left. Much of my experience at the organisation was spent shadowing trained volunteers and sitting in on cases. I stopped volunteering when it became clear I didn't have enough time to commit (1 full day per week + training), given my paid job and my LSAT studies. I left on good terms and was told they would have loved for me to stay. I was officially counted as a volunteer for this time period, but only as a trainee.

Question: Do I include this on a resume?

Arguments against:
- I never practised as a qualified volunteer.
- ~3 months is not a very long time. I worry it shows a lack of commitment and might be seen as resume padding.

Arguments for:
- I had a genuine reason for stopping volunteering (more hours at work, time management etc.)
- I learned important lessons about myself and my local area. I could go in to more detail on this point but would rather not (anonymity).

Just need as many 2nd opinions as I can with this one. I don't want to include anything which would make me seem like a flake, or make me seem like I'm struggling to pad a resume.

calcal101

I would include it. Don't devote a ton of real estate to it on the page, but a line describing the nature of the work/the community that the organization supports could be good.

I've seen people list charity 5ks and one day volunteer events on resumes--THAT is padding. I wouldn't worry about this, and it definitely doesn't scream lack of commitment. Just my 2 cents

Rigid Designator

@cal270 said:
I would include it. Don't devote a ton of real estate to it on the page, but a line describing the nature of the work/the community that the organization supports could be good.

I've seen people list charity 5ks and one day volunteer events on resumes--THAT is padding. I wouldn't worry about this, and it definitely doesn't scream lack of commitment. Just my 2 cents

Thanks for the input! When you compare it to the cases you mention, I do suppose mine doesn't come off so bad.

Alex

I would also vote to include it as well. There are no hard and fast rules about including volunteer work on your resume. Also, 3 months of volunteer work is a perfectly acceptable amount of time to feel comfortable including on your resume.