Making the Most of a Volunteer Position

Your volunteer experience will play an important role in convincing future employers that you’ve got the skills they’re looking for. To make sure it has the greatest impact, remember to:

• Set clear and realistic goals for your volunteer experiences. Are you trying to meet specific career exploration, skills development, or networking goals? Keep these in mind throughout the search.
• Conduct your search in the same way you would a paid position – refer to the Finding Jobs & Employment guide for tips and strategies.
• Be prompt and professional at all times. You never know how the people you meet in your volunteer job could help you later on, maybe even leading to a full-time job!

Criminal reference checks (CRC) are required for some volunteer jobs. To obtain one, visit the police headquarters located at 40 College Street. Remember to bring ID, including your birth certificate, citizenship card, and social insurance number card. The cost is between $25 and $30 and it will be mailed to you within two weeks. Your CRC will not be considered official if it is photocopied, so order as many originals as you need.

Volunteer Listings

Once you have a sense of what you are looking for in a volunteer experience, your next step should be to explore the listings. Here are some of the most popular sites for postings:

National

The Career Centre lists volunteer opportunities in our job postings database.

"Did you know, we list approximately 12,000 volunteer opportunities annually?"

Volunteer Centre of Toronto offers volunteer postings, resources, workshops and more. You can search the website by activity, type of organization, postal code or keyword.

Charity Village provides volunteer postings, plus profiles of organizations involved in the charitable and not-for-profit sector. Postings are searchable by geographic area.

Planet Friendly offers volunteer opportunities in a variety of industries all across North America, including many in Toronto.

Volunteerism in Canada includes a directory of organizations as well as general information on volunteering.

International

The International Student Centre (ISC) has a wide variety of resources for students interested in volunteer opportunities outside Canada. The staff in the Work & Study Abroad Resource Centre can help in locating international volunteer opportunities and other relevant travel information.

Global Volunteer Network is a great site for those searching for international volunteer, educational, and community aid projects. It includes opportunities in developing countries in the fields of teaching, environmental, health, and more.

International Volunteer Programs Association is an alliance of nonprofit, non-governmental organizations that are involved in international volunteer and internship exchanges. Searchable by country, type of work, and duration of placement.

Volunteer Abroad Programs features directories of programs and general international volunteer information.

Finding Hidden Opportunities

While looking at listed volunteer opportunities, remember that up to 80% of opportunities are never listed! You can uncover many more by approaching organizations directly to inquire about availability.

Start by consulting our extensive collection of company directories in the Career Resource Library. Two of the most popular directories for students seeking volunteer opportunities are:

The Blue Book: Directory of Community Services in Metro Toronto lists organizations in the community services industry THAT are frequently open to accepting volunteers, and in many cases, depend on them to keep their services running.

Associations Canada lists professional associations that can be a great source of information on organizations and trends in a field of interest, and an excellent way to make contacts through various events or directories. Accessible in print, or online through the main U of T Library e-Resources.