Questions to Ask Before Volunteering - Obligation

Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things you will do. You will receive as much for giving your time as the ones that benefit from your hard work. Volunteering will also be a frustrating experience if you do not consider the answers to a few questions before you commit your time and energy. One of these questions is "Do you know what your true obligation will be?"

It has been my experience that the one that will be doing the volunteer work must estimate the amount of time required. In almost every situation where I have considered a volunteer position in the past, I was told it would take considerably less time than what I felt was needed to do a quality job.

They may be concerned that you will be scared off if you knew how many hours it would really take. Maybe they don’t have the skills required to assess the amount of time it would actually take. It may also be that they are stating what someone else told them and the estimate was not based on the current tasks and circumstances.

Regardless of what you are told about the amount of time it will take and the skills that will be required, be sure you learn enough about the expectations of the job to make your own informed decision. By doing this, you will know if you will be able to give your volunteering responsibilities the attention they deserve while also considering the other important priorities in your life. If you believe the commitment will be considerably more than you can bear, find another volunteer opportunity that will be a better match for you. Once you participate in positive volunteer experiences over time, you will find ways to dedicate more time to volunteer.