Generating applications for your opportunity

• Review your listing
• Ask volunteers to apply
• Spread the word

Review your listing

You may want to start by revisiting your listing. Could it be made more appealing with a few tweaks?

• Is the summary engaging? This is what will appear in search results so it’s your chance to grab the attention of your potential volunteer. Try to include key elements of the opportunity and how it will help your cause.
• Is the description easy to read? Is it well formatted?
• Is your “ask” too much? If your role requires lots of hours a week or there is too much responsibility, you may scare off potential volunteers. Can you break the role up into two or more roles?
• If you are very strict about what you need from a volunteer, it may be more difficult to find the right match. In your role description, be clear about what your “must haves” and “nice to haves” are.

More advice can be found in our guides How to recruit a volunteer with skills and Trustee Recruitment Cycle: Advertise.

How to edit your role

If you need to edit your role, go to your Dashboard, and under Manage Opportunities, find the role, and click the edit button. When you save, your changes will be published immediately. If you need to extend your deadline, you can do that here too.

Ask volunteers to apply

Search for volunteers who you think may be suitable and message them to suggest they apply for your role. Just use the “Contact” button on their profile. Try to tailor your message to the individual so they are more likely to reply.

Spread the word

Share your role amongst your own networks. Post it on your Twitter and Facebook feeds. Add it to your newsletter. Ask your followers to share it amongst their own networks. These people have shown they are vested in your cause already, so use them!

You can share the role using the social media buttons on the Reach site. Any potential candidates will be directed back to the listing where they can apply as a guest, or register a profile and apply.