Tips for picking a volunteering role
Everyone can volunteer. What is important is finding a volunteering role that suits your skills and abilities. Through I-VOL you can see the wide range of volunteer opportunities that exist both locally and nationally. Opportunities can range from community welfare, special needs assistance and youth work to adult education, advocacy, fundraising and everything in between.
Consider your interests, time and skills when looking for a volunteering role and choose a role that you will enjoy. I-VOL is the national volunteering database in Ireland and you can use it to search the roles you prefer according to specific criteria. The I-VOL search engine works on searches by Location.
To help you narrow your search, you can also select your preferred activity (the type of volunteering role you’re looking for), the category of role that interests you nd your availability.
It is important that you take time to read the role description first before making the decision to apply. A common mistake is that people apply for roles after only reading the title and are not fully sure of what the role entails, what tasks, time and commitments are required.
If you are not sure how to apply online, what roles will suit you or how to narrow down your options, you can contact your local Volunteer Centre us to discuss it further. The Volunteer Centre staff will be happy to provide assistance or just point you in the right direction.
Avoid sending too many volunteering opportunity applications at one time. You might find more than one volunteering opportunity that interests you, but two or three volunteer opportunities is probably enough to apply for in one go. Some opportunities are open to everyone who applies. Others require specific skills or experience. However, with thousands more opportunities on I-VOL, there’s always others to apply for. We limit volunteers to choosing 3 roles at any one time – so choose wisely!
Volunteer Centres are there to assist you by phone/email/face to face if you have any queries or need assistance. They will also follow up with you by phone/email in the months following your registration to check if you were successful in finding a suitable volunteer opportunity or need any further assistance.
