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Charity Shop Volunteering
Hey guys, I'm a 3rd-year undergrad student about to graduate this summer. At the moment, I have no work experience at all to put on my CV hence I am planning to volunteer at various charity shops in my local area.
My questions are:
1. Can I pick which days I will be available? I will simultaneously be working at multiple charity shops every week hence I don't want to have any clashes in my schedule.
2. How does a volunteer leave the job? Let's say after a month, I want to stop volunteering at that charity shop, do I just tell the manager and walk off?
3. I am planning to make my first job as a customer assistant at a local supermarket (Tescos, Sainsbury's, ASDA etc.). Will they consider this volunteer work somewhat valuable? Especially when I don't have any paid work experience on my CV.
4. Lastly, will the interviewer/employer ask why I volunteered to multiple charity shops i.e. Why do I keep switching companies (Oxfam, local hospice, cancer research etc.)? Is it bad?
Thanks in advance, I'm trying to gather as many skills possible to help me progress in my adulthood lol
My questions are:
1. Can I pick which days I will be available? I will simultaneously be working at multiple charity shops every week hence I don't want to have any clashes in my schedule.
2. How does a volunteer leave the job? Let's say after a month, I want to stop volunteering at that charity shop, do I just tell the manager and walk off?
3. I am planning to make my first job as a customer assistant at a local supermarket (Tescos, Sainsbury's, ASDA etc.). Will they consider this volunteer work somewhat valuable? Especially when I don't have any paid work experience on my CV.
4. Lastly, will the interviewer/employer ask why I volunteered to multiple charity shops i.e. Why do I keep switching companies (Oxfam, local hospice, cancer research etc.)? Is it bad?
Thanks in advance, I'm trying to gather as many skills possible to help me progress in my adulthood lol
Hello, volunteering is a great, selfless thing to do 
1. That will be up to the charity you are volunteering for, so its best to talk to them as some will be pretty flexible, and some may only need people for certain times or certain days
2. Im not sure about 2 as ive never volunteered myself, so hopefully someone else can answer for me
3. Yes, this will be valuable on your CV for customer assistant positions! It shows you have excellent communication and people skills, and shows you are capable of handling several responsibilities
4. As long as you can justify it, im sure it wont really matter, i dont think it would be deemed ‘bad’ by any means
1. That will be up to the charity you are volunteering for, so its best to talk to them as some will be pretty flexible, and some may only need people for certain times or certain days
2. Im not sure about 2 as ive never volunteered myself, so hopefully someone else can answer for me
3. Yes, this will be valuable on your CV for customer assistant positions! It shows you have excellent communication and people skills, and shows you are capable of handling several responsibilities
4. As long as you can justify it, im sure it wont really matter, i dont think it would be deemed ‘bad’ by any means
2. You're a volunteer so there's no notice period; you can just inform your manager and finish, though it's fair to give a bit of a heads-up, so the charity can organise cover as required.
1 and 4. Why are you looking at doing multiple shops? Why not find out what responsibilities and training are available to volunteers at each charity, pick one and stick with it? With more hours you could get a range of experiences, including more customer-facing duties.
Happy to chat more, as I work for a charity, we have shops, and we love and need volunteers!
1 and 4. Why are you looking at doing multiple shops? Why not find out what responsibilities and training are available to volunteers at each charity, pick one and stick with it? With more hours you could get a range of experiences, including more customer-facing duties.
Happy to chat more, as I work for a charity, we have shops, and we love and need volunteers!
Original post by Surnia
2. You're a volunteer so there's no notice period; you can just inform your manager and finish, though it's fair to give a bit of a heads-up, so the charity can organise cover as required.
1 and 4. Why are you looking at doing multiple shops? Why not find out what responsibilities and training are available to volunteers at each charity, pick one and stick with it? With more hours you could get a range of experiences, including more customer-facing duties.
Happy to chat more, as I work for a charity, we have shops, and we love and need volunteers!
1 and 4. Why are you looking at doing multiple shops? Why not find out what responsibilities and training are available to volunteers at each charity, pick one and stick with it? With more hours you could get a range of experiences, including more customer-facing duties.
Happy to chat more, as I work for a charity, we have shops, and we love and need volunteers!
I'm looking at doing multiple shops because I believe there is a cap for how many days or hrs a volunteer can work per week and to help me 'extend' my CV. I thought working at different environments could help me learn new skills and show that I can adapt and be a quick learner.
Thanks for the reply! Pretty much covered my queries.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by Darklight811
I'm looking at doing multiple shops because I believe there is a cap for how many days or hrs a volunteer can work per week and to help me 'extend' my CV. I thought working at different environments could help me learn new skills and show that I can adapt and be a quick learner.
Thanks for the reply! Pretty much covered my queries.
Thanks for the reply! Pretty much covered my queries.
Though it might be different elsewhere, I spent Summer 2021 volunteering pretty much full time at a charity shop, 9-6, for most of each week. I think they were a bit confused but there was nothing stopping me taking those hours.
Original post by Darklight811
I'm looking at doing multiple shops because I believe there is a cap for how many days or hrs a volunteer can work per week and to help me 'extend' my CV. I thought working at different environments could help me learn new skills and show that I can adapt and be a quick learner.
Thanks for the reply! Pretty much covered my queries.
Thanks for the reply! Pretty much covered my queries.
Never heard of a cap. I got involved with my charity initially by volunteering and was helping 8am-4pm, 5 days a week (and moved into full-time paid employment with the same organisation). It will all depend on how many volunteers an organisation has, their capabilities and their availability.
From my experience, typical roles in a charity shop can include accepting and sorting donations (like bric-a-brac, clothes and shoes, books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl), safety-checking electrical items, research and pricing, online retail, stock control, dressing the shop, working on the till. You should get training for those, plus the necessaries like health and safety, manual handling etc. I would say you won't progress as quickly if you swap between too many shops, as they'll have their own way of doing things and you'll need to be there to learn that; consistency will show you as more committed, though covering a couple of shops may be manageable. That said, ask around and see what is in offer now, how you could progress into other roles and the likely timescales involved.
Original post by username4477526
Hey guys, I'm a 3rd-year undergrad student about to graduate this summer. At the moment, I have no work experience at all to put on my CV hence I am planning to volunteer at various charity shops in my local area.
My questions are:
1. Can I pick which days I will be available? I will simultaneously be working at multiple charity shops every week hence I don't want to have any clashes in my schedule.
2. How does a volunteer leave the job? Let's say after a month, I want to stop volunteering at that charity shop, do I just tell the manager and walk off?
3. I am planning to make my first job as a customer assistant at a local supermarket (Tescos, Sainsbury's, ASDA etc.). Will they consider this volunteer work somewhat valuable? Especially when I don't have any paid work experience on my CV.
4. Lastly, will the interviewer/employer ask why I volunteered to multiple charity shops i.e. Why do I keep switching companies (Oxfam, local hospice, cancer research etc.)? Is it bad?
Thanks in advance, I'm trying to gather as many skills possible to help me progress in my adulthood lol
My questions are:
1. Can I pick which days I will be available? I will simultaneously be working at multiple charity shops every week hence I don't want to have any clashes in my schedule.
2. How does a volunteer leave the job? Let's say after a month, I want to stop volunteering at that charity shop, do I just tell the manager and walk off?
3. I am planning to make my first job as a customer assistant at a local supermarket (Tescos, Sainsbury's, ASDA etc.). Will they consider this volunteer work somewhat valuable? Especially when I don't have any paid work experience on my CV.
4. Lastly, will the interviewer/employer ask why I volunteered to multiple charity shops i.e. Why do I keep switching companies (Oxfam, local hospice, cancer research etc.)? Is it bad?
Thanks in advance, I'm trying to gather as many skills possible to help me progress in my adulthood lol
hi, the is a charity shop called ( Wesley community furniture) they are looking volunteers. you can put that kin your cv, you learn lots of things and gain work experience. also they provide reference
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- Volunteering and things to write on applications
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