The process

When you apply for an opportunity the form will go either to the organisation who posted it on the website (often a local Volunteer Centre) or the organisation providing the opportunity. Their details will be sent through to you by email and they will contact you.

Number of enquiries/applications

Don't send too many enquiries or applications at one time. You might find more than one that interests you, but two or three is probably enough.

Selection

Some opportunities are open to everyone who applies. Others require specific skills or experience. Sometimes organisations will take applications from a number of people before selecting a volunteer, so it is possible that you will be disappointed. However, with more than 65,000 opportunities in the database there's always others to apply for.

Interviews

Informal roles are unlikely to require you to attend an interview. However, if you are applying for a role with more responsibility you will probably need to be interviewed and provide references.

CRB checks

If you are going to be working with children or vulnerable people you will usually need to be checked by the Criminal Records' Bureau (CRB). The organisation where you are volunteering will organise this as part of their recruitment process, but it will take some time, so it?s worth applying several weeks before you want to start volunteering.

Training

Some volunteering roles require specific training and in some cases this can be quite extensive. For example, if you are applying for a helpline opportunity you are likely to need to attend many hours of assessed training before you start volunteering.

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