Many years ago I recall recruiting for a paid vacancy and in those days, rejection letters were sent to all applicants. While time consuming, at least the candidate knew that their application had been received even if perhaps no interest by the employer.
I also recall carrying out a voluntary role for a special education centre. I contacted the charity, had a brief chat and off I started. I gave up 7 hours weekly to help within an IT learning centre for the disabled. I believe that I contributed positively and I also gained skills and personal satisfaction from the opportunity.
Recently I have wanted to volunteer again and while I appreciate that things change, applying for the voluntary roles in the same manner that you would do so for a paid role appears to be taking it to far.
In my experience, I contacted a charity by email. While I would not expect a reply in a week, I was passing the premises and popped in. When chatting, it certainly appeared I could help them and they certainly needed a particularly skillset that I felt confident that I could help with. They apologised that they had not acknowledged my initial email. After completing a requested application form that took time, I emailed the form and never heard again. As a few months has now gone by, I do not expect to hear or gain an interview.
As to why I did not hear back, I guess I will never know. However, if I did hear now, I am not sure that I would still wish to be considered. When volunteering, are you not giving a gift of your time? While checks and suitability need to be taken into account, surely treating the recruitment process in the same manner as paid work is a mistake? Surely I am not the only person to perhaps lose interest in volunteering for a company as they have not responded in a timely manner. Even a “no thank you” would be appreciated.
In the same way that recruiters will assess applicants and applications, it appears to get forgotten that the applicants are also assessing. Will I feel valued? If they take this long responding, what will they be like if I need any assistance when working for them? etc.
I currently have a few hours spare to give on Sunday mornings, maybe also an evening. The ideal role being remote work and perhaps IT/website/blogging related. Appreciating that the time available may not suit all charities, you would hope that some have some administration or suitable work that would help them.
Hopefully my story is rare as I am sure that I could competently help a charity. And for those recruiting volunteers, acknowledge applications. Surely if you open an email, you can send an acknowledgement template even if the message is no thank you. The applicant can at least move on and find a charity that does want the support.
If you know of any charities looking for volunteers that perhaps need remote help, please do comment below. Ideally I am looking to help a charity in healthcare/cancer support. A charity based in the Midlands would also be ideal.
Please comment below.
