Recruitment Tips for a Mentoring Program

Recruiting individuals to serve as volunteer team members is an exciting component of a mentoring program.

Develop a plan of action before the actual recruiting takes place. Keep in mind that the attitude and commitment by salaried individuals for having volunteers on the team will frequently determine whether a program is successful. Volunteer team members have personnel rights, responsibilities, expectations, and benefits. It is important to clarify these factors so there aren't misunderstandings after volunteers are recruited.

Components of a Recruitment Plan

• Define the purpose and outcomes for involving volunteers as team members.

• Assess the attitude of salaried individuals for involvement of volunteers—enthusiastic staff generate enthusiastic volunteers!

• Consider specific needs of the program when developing job descriptions for volunteers.

• Decide the number of volunteers necessary to meet the defined needs, list personal skills necessary for carrying out responsibilities, and clarify specific targeted audiences for recruitment. Consider age, gender, geographic location, and diverse audiences not represented in your organization.

• Analyze current volunteer audiences and find out where they are recruited from.

• List benefits for volunteers involved in a program—personal satisfaction, the ability to help others, community involvement, a safe working environment, learning new skills through training, serving as a positive role model for others, meeting new people, and opportunities to experience fun in a social recreational setting. Highlight these items in recruitment efforts.

• Clarify costs to volunteers such as time (to carry out the job responsibilities), and money (transportation fees, dues, or parking charges, etc.). Share this information with recruited volunteers.

• Design recruitment materials describing the background of an organization. Consider the type size and color of paper for ease of reading. Use clear, concise language, and include illustrations showing various volunteers working in your organization.

• Develop a trained speakers' bureau involving current volunteers for recruiting and informing a community about your agency.

• Conduct a needs assessment to determine what perception the public presently has of your organization. This directly affects recruiting efforts.

• Define who your agency's neighbors are within the community. People like to assist local neighbors.

• Think of ways to thank volunteers based on their personal motivations for volunteering.

• Remind yourself that it's a "compliment" for individuals to be recruited to serve as your volunteer.

• Plan for and build a career ladder of experiences and successes for volunteers. They need to grow, develop, and have personal challenges.

Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are necessary to define the purpose for recruiting specific targeted volunteers and to measure if the intended outcome for the job was met.

Use clear, concise language to describe what needs to be done to carry out the assignment. Consider personality traits and specific personal skills needed. Define audiences the volunteer will be working with (e.g., youth). Specify what training and orientation will be provided by the agency, costs to the volunteer, time blocks needed to fulfill the assignment, and evaluation procedures for the work assignment, location of volunteer job, and information about the agency seeking the volunteer.

Define benefits and perks for the recruited individual.

Characteristics of a Successful Volunteer Recruiter

• An enthusiastic and positive attitude about the job

• Knowledge of community and neighborhood organizations

• Ability to network

• A sincere interest in people, and respect for others. Remember to call people by their first name—it's music to their ears

• Is a good listener

• Cares about what you do

• Uses concise nontechnical language

• Follows up personal contacts with thank-you letters

• Follows through on personal commitments

• Learns to "walk in the other person's shoes"

• Reads nonverbal language signals from other individuals

• Persistently recruits the best person for the job to be done

Potential Markets for Recruiting of Volunteers

• Target an intended audience with the skills and interests needed to fill the job; a recruiter wants the best people for the job, not just large numbers of individuals.

• Put an article in newsletters this audience reads, including corporate publications.

• Place posters on bulletin boards read by the intended audience such as at health fitness centers.

• Use specific mailing lists to fit your recruitment needs.

• Develop business cards with recruitment messages on them.

• Utilize the "volunteers needed" column in neighborhood newspapers.

• Put ads in school sports program booklets.

• Develop a trained speakers' bureau.

• Have "Thank you" coffee parties for active volunteers and ask them to invite their friends.

• Utilize "call in" radio programs and localized neighborhood media.

Improving Communication Skills for Recruitment Planning

• Define the purpose, the best method, and intended outcome for a communications plan of action.

• Clarify ideas with other individuals.

• Outline personal actions needed to support the verbal communication messages.

• Reflect on other people's verbal and nonverbal messages to you.

• Be aware that the personal tone of voice conveys many messages.

• Practice empathy with other individuals.

Targeted Audience Characteristics

In order to effectively match volunteers to specific organizations, it is important to understand the general characteristics of potential volunteer groups being recruited.

Family Volunteer Units

A current trend is for a family unit to volunteer together. The job needs to emphasize skills that can be taught and experienced intergenerationally among family members. These situations should be designed around short-term opportunities that offer challenging and interesting assignments for various age levels within a family unit.

Corporate Volunteerism

Frequently teams of volunteers from businesses and firms with the same program emphasis will come together for a short-term assignment where visibility for their company can be seen. Teams may wear shirts or hats with their company logo on them. Capture their work through pictures.

Factory Shift Workers

These individuals are able to give volunteer time at hours when other individuals are unavailable. Remember recruitment efforts will need to occur during times when they are working.

Individuals Born Between 1946 and 1964—"The Baby Boomers"

These people tend to be self-motivated, nonstop workers who desire to excel at the highest level in order to gain self-recognition. They frequently work with other people and have many personal contacts throughout communities. A value is often placed on traditional family rules. In many cases, work-related activities are the central focus of their lives.

Individuals Born Between 1965 and 1983—"The Busters"

These people tend to place a high level of emphasis on personal benefits. They often challenge existing rules and seek reasons for "why" something is being done. For many, life's meaning is derived from personal interests and not through work. Frequent job and career changes occur in many of their lives. They may want others to entertain them through media methods such as movies and television.

Individuals Born Prior to 1926—"The Seniors"

This is a growing population base in the United States. Considerations need to be given to transportation, safety, physical accessibility in buildings, lighting, and short-time commitments. These people tend to value the importance of volunteering in a community and are members of several community organizations. They often want to feel they make a difference in someone's life.

Additional Resources

The Invisible Generation. George Barna

The Volunteer Recruitment Book. Susan Ellis

From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Volunteer Program Success. Susan Ellis

Older Volunteers: A Guide to Research and Practice. Lucy Fischer and Kay Schafer

Managing Volunteer Diversity: A Rainbow of Opportunities. Sue Vineyard and Steve McCurley.

Funding: from ESUSDA through the Minnesota Extension Service Youth Issues Education Program.

Sheryl Nefstead Associate Professor Center for 4-H Youth Development

Scott Nefstead Research Assistant Center for 4-H Youth Development

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