Selecting volunteers

A thorough screening of applications will help you select the most qualified volunteers and thus ensure satisfactory results. Use the following steps to help you with your selection:

Confirm receipt of applications

Once your volunteering opportunity is published, it will be listed on the Opportunity Search page. Applications are sent to your organization’s account on the Online Volunteering service website. Upon submission of their application, candidates receive an automatic acknowledgment message which you can edit according to your needs.

Review applications

Candidates’ applications contain a description of their motivation, experience, skills and availability. To further assess the candidates’ profiles, you may wish to ask them additional questions and test their skills. For instance for a translation assignment, you could ask candidates to translate a short paragraph before deciding whether or not to involve them in your project.

Enter into dialogue

Discuss with your potential online volunteers your expectations of the assignment. There is room for negotiation between both parties before any final commitment to the online collaboration is made. Encourage the candidates to ask any questions they may have and, where necessary, provide them with further information on the assignment, your organization, time lines and the kind of support you will provide.

Communicate your decision

Respond to your candidates quickly, otherwise they may lose interest and apply for other organizations’opportunities. Even if you decide not to work with some of the candidates, let them know they have not been selected because it can be very frustrating to apply for an opportunity and never receive a response from the organization. The automated message functionality will help you minimize the time you spend in responding to candidates.