Volunteering Work

Kosmiche

Kosmiche

Kosmiche

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Joined
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North Wales
I'm currently doing volunteering work in a office and I'd like to ask something.

Usually I'm pretty ireverrent and don't have a different way of speaking to people in positions of importance. This is a issue because at work I think I have been a bit of a plonker when talking to the boss and being a bit cheeky.

My thoughts are that I'm a volunteer so I should just be completely relaxed and not worry about things. But also I would like to extend my volunteering at this place when I'm done but I don't know if the boss likes me in all honesty.

Here's a example of the kind of thing I'm talking about, I'd like to know if I'm being cheeky or if this is acceptable.

I was given a task of sorting some papers but I got lost in my thoughts and messed up the order so he had to sort it out. He told me next time I came in he had successfully sorted them I told him "How long did it take you?" instead of apologising. I had previously apologised however.

Is having this kind of conversation with a workplace boss acceptable or should I reign it in a bit and start giving a **** a bit more?

Thanks :o
 
Eames said:
They offered it to me and suggested it could lead to a job.
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Do you really need an answer to your op?

Whether you are getting paid or not, you have accepted the position and should act in a professional manner regardless.

The fact that it may lead to a job makes it doubly important.
 
Eames said:
They offered it to me and suggested it could lead to a job.
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It won't.

a) Your attitude is terrible. Anyone looking for a job needs to act like a professional - cheeky comments are only acceptable if your boss likes them and you aren't mumping up the job.
b) You're already doing it for free. Why would they start paying you?
 
PapaLazaru said:
Do you really need an answer to your op?

Whether you are getting paid or not, you have accepted the position and should act in a professional manner regardless.

The fact that it may lead to a job makes it doubly important.
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Exactly this.

If you can't do the job 'correctly' whilst just volunteering, what chances have you got of securing a job with them.
 
Eames said:
Ok, is the way I acted unprofessional or is that acceptable?
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Making a mess of the task because you weren't paying attention was unprofessional. So was joking about it unless it was water under the bridge and you were pretty damn sure that the boss was going to laugh. You created extra work for them and they probably think that you don't care.

Really, work experience is about showing potential employers that you can behave like a competent professional. Being entirely relaxed about how you deal with people and tasks is doing the opposite.

If you want to work at this office, I'd apologise again to your boss on Monday morning and tell them that you're still learning and have realised that your behaviour was inappropriate.
 
Unpaid... work? Hmm. Work > 0, pay = 0. Wait... You work for nothing?

No, I'm just not getting it :p

Is this actually common practice these days to land a job? Work for free?
 
It's hard for anyone to give any judgement as we weren't there. The only way you can judge if you over-stepped the mark is by gauging his reaction.

Good on you for showing that you are willing to volunteer in the hope of getting a paid job. I'm not sure I could do it. Your boss should be grateful that you bother to come in, any work you do for him is a bonus, and it doesn't matter if you made a mistake as these things happen, don't beat yourself up about it. Just learn from your mistake and move on.
 
sounds like he's been pushed on to the good ole mandatory work activity from the jobcentre.

work for free for 4 weeks with promises of experience and possible jobs. yeah i did it for 4 week at the sally army. 4 weeks of hauling furniture around, i learned loads lol

theres no job their as when your times up they will replace you with someone else for free. best thing to do is keep your head down, do the work and if you can find a job before your times up. but dont expect any sort of paying job out of this if it is MWA.
 
FoxEye said:
Unpaid... work? Hmm. Work > 0, pay = 0. Wait... You work for nothing?

No, I'm just not getting it :p

Is this actually common practice these days to land a job? Work for free?
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Slavery, but slaves did get fed. Doing that, you don't. Confusing.:confused:

Would never work for free unless it was for a charity organisation of some sort. Sod helping to line someone wealthy back pocket for nothing.
 
Eames said:
I'm currently doing volunteering work in a office and I'd like to ask something.

Usually I'm pretty ireverrent and don't have a different way of speaking to people in positions of importance. This is a issue because at work I think I have been a bit of a plonker when talking to the boss and being a bit cheeky.

My thoughts are that I'm a volunteer so I should just be completely relaxed and not worry about things. But also I would like to extend my volunteering at this place when I'm done but I don't know if the boss likes me in all honesty.

Here's a example of the kind of thing I'm talking about, I'd like to know if I'm being cheeky or if this is acceptable.

I was given a task of sorting some papers but I got lost in my thoughts and messed up the order so he had to sort it out. He told me next time I came in he had successfully sorted them I told him "How long did it take you?" instead of apologising. I had previously apologised however.

Is having this kind of conversation with a workplace boss acceptable or should I reign it in a bit and start giving a **** a bit more?

Thanks :o
Click to expand...

If you were volunteering out of the goodness of your heart, then you have no need to worry about how you conduct yourself.

However your situation requires a certain amount of tact; sadly, it is lost for several reasons i'd wager.

Firstly, you've already burnt your bridges;
Secondly, these sorts of 'roles' don't amount to anything - you'll be let off after 4 weeks and another job-seeker will occupy the role... and so it continues for a long time;
Thirdly, you clearly aren't enthused by it, so you must reflect on what you enjoy, what qualifications/experience you have and where you are going to target your sights.
 
RedvGreen said:
If you were volunteering out of the goodness of your heart, then you have no need to worry about how you conduct yourself.

However your situation requires a certain amount of tact; sadly, it is lost for several reasons i'd wager.

Firstly, you've already burnt your bridges;
Secondly, these sorts of 'roles' don't amount to anything - you'll be let off after 4 weeks and another job-seeker will occupy the role... and so it continues for a long time;
Thirdly, you clearly aren't enthused by it, so you must reflect on what you enjoy, what qualifications/experience you have and where you are going to target your sights.
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This,

It won't go anywhere OP, they get you in for 4 weeks to do some free work for them and then the next batch are shipped in. It's like a conveyor belt.
 
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