Screening and Selection: Pre-Screening

Screening and Selection – How Do You Know You’ve Got the Right Person?

Did you know?

Did you know you can say "no" to a potential volunteer? Sometimes we feel like we have to find a role for someone because they are willing to give their time. However, they may not be the right fit for your organization or the role that is available and that's okay. Be kind, but firm in telling them no and why (you don't have to share all the reasons). Reference your policies and procedures if needed and see if you can refer them somewhere else if appropriate.

As you go through your screening and selection process, you are trying to figure out if a person is a good fit for a specific volunteer role, as well as a good representative for your organization.

Sometimes, it is easier to think of selecting a volunteer in the same way you would select an employee. Ask yourself, what would you look for in an employee? What would make you choose, or not, a person who has applied for a job? What kind of information do you need to make a decision?

Keeping this in mind, it’s important for you to have different strategies in place to get to know a potential volunteer. Where in your process can you find out different pieces of information and how can that build on previous information? How do you get to know them?

In this section we will cover:

Pre-screening
Application Forms
Interviews
References
Police and Other Information Checks

Pre-screening – did you know that screening starts before the actual interview?

First contact – this can happen in many ways – an email, online, phone call, group info session, or in person.
Self-screening – to save time, ensure you have enough information to give to potential volunteers at first contact so they can understand the roles you are wanting to fill and decide if it’s a match for them or not.

Feedback from the Field

What to look for in the pre-screen:

Interest
Why they want to volunteer
Connection with the volunteer role (job description)
Ability to commit to the time required
Willingness to meet
Language used - how do they talk about why they want to volunteer?
Body language when speaking (if in person)
Gut feeling - if you are thinking something isn't quite right, explore things further to figure out why

“We created two Wufoo forms (free online) and linked them to our website along with a description of what to expect as a volunteer. One form is for tutors and one for child minders. These forms include a job description, qualities, time commitment, expectation, etc. This allows potential volunteers to decide if this is an opportunity they wish to pursue or not. If they submit an application, we phone them. Then they come in for 7.5 hours of training (if they want to be a tutor), then we meet with them again before pairing them with a [learner]. You need to get a pretty good handle on your volunteers before pairing. You want it to be a positive experience for both the volunteer and the student/child. You don’t want surprises.” – CALP Practitioner