Volunteer user guide Volunteering Hub Welcome to our Volunteering Hub! The aim of this Hub is to connect students to volunteering opportunities that contribute to their personal development/career aspirations and make a difference to people s lives. It supports CV building for employability, encouraging long term thinking for post-university life or for those who just want to try new things. In this how to guide: 1. Getting started (pp. 2-3) 2. Set up your profile (pp. 4-5) 3. Search & apply for opportunities (pp. 6-8) 4. Overview of your Profile (p. 9) 5. How to update your Volunteering Log record your activities/roles, hours and skills (pp. 10-12) 6. View & download your skills record (p. 13) Email volunteering@eusa.co.uk with any questions. 1
1. Getting started 1. Go to www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/volunteering 3. Select Volunteer 2. Select I m a Student 4. Select Volunteering Hub 2
NB: At this point you will be taken to the Volunteering Hub. You can search for volunteering positions here (Skip to Section 3, p6 for details on this). If you haven t already registered and logged in, once you have found an opportunity you are interested in applying for, you will be asked to log in and register. 3
2. Set up your Profile 1. To create your Profile, log in to your Student Account using EASE 2. Once you have logged in you will have the option to create your profile by selecting either of the Profile buttons. 4
3. Fill in the details on the Profile page NB: By creating a profile, you will receive weekly emails of new opportunities that match your preferences. 6. You will now be able to apply for opportunities via the Volunteering Opportunities tab. 4. Enter what type and length of activities you are interested in, your Availability, your Contact Information and agree to the Volunteering Terms and Conditions. 5. Click Create Profile 5
3. Search and apply for opportunities 1. Log in, then select Volunteer on the volunteering webpage, select Search for a Volunteering Opportunity 3. Use the tick boxes to filter opportunities by Type of Activity, Opportunity Length or Availability. 2. Select Volunteering Hub NB: The page will refresh each time you tick/untick a new box. You will need to wait until the results have updated to continue filtering. (We are hoping to improve this service in the future.) 6
4. Alternatively, use the search bar to search for keywords. To make this process quicker, use the All button to tick all options if you are fully flexible with activities or the None button to untick all options. You can also use the Reset button to reset your options or Save to profile to save these options on to your profile page. 5. Once you have found an opportunity you want to apply for, click the Click here for full details and to apply button. 7
6. At this point you will be provided with full details about the opportunity. If you wish to proceed, click I would like to apply please put me in touch with the provider. Your details will then be sent to the provider. NB: Once you have applied, you will receive an email to confirm your application. The organisation will be in touch with you within 5 working days. It is important that you let the Students Association (volunteering@eusa.ed.ac.uk) know if you do not receive a response within this time period. 8
4. Overview of your Profile 1. Log in, then in the Volunteering Opportunities section of the volunteering webpage, select Profile. Please note that you will not be able to see this option unless you are signed in. NB: Your profile can be edited as your activities progress. This will support CV building for employability, encouraging long term thinking for post-university. Please note that your profile runs to the academic year and will be reset on 1 st September resetting hours and training log to zero. However, you can still see your previous years hours and activities log by downloading your skills record. Your profile lets you see a record of: The number of hours you have logged through your volunteering log Progress on an award you are doing (if an award scheme is registered on the Hub) Opportunities you have applied for and whether you have been accepted or not for them Employability skills you have gained through your volunteering activity Training you have attended (if training events have been registered on the Hub 9
5. How to update your Volunteering Log: record your activities, hours and skills You can add volunteering activities/roles that you are doing or have done so that you have a record of them. They do not have to be roles that you are doing through the online volunteering hub they can be any volunteering role. Log in, then in the Volunteering Opportunities section of the volunteering webpage, select Log your hours. Please note that you will not be able to see this option unless you are signed in. 1. To add an activity/role, click Add volunteering role. A pop-up box will appear. Add details of: a. Your Activity/Role title and Description b. Organisation/Group name and Contact email of the organisation you volunteer for c. Select the dates you were doing the role. If your role is ongoing, don t enter an End date Click Add to add to save it to your log 10
2. Record your skills and hours: a. Click on the button with the title of your activity/role on it. This will prompt two buttons to appear: Add skill and Log hours b. To add skills you have developed, click on the Add skill button. A pop up box will appear. Select your skill from the drop-down boxes titled Category and Skill c. Write how you have developed your skill in the box titled Your example then click Add to save it to your log. d. To add the number of hours you have volunteered, click on the Log hours button. A pop up box will appear. e. In the Activity description, write the title of the activity/role you have been doing and select the number of hours then click Add to save it to your log. 11
Add different activities under your role by logging hours for them. For example, if your volunteer role is an Event Organiser you may want to log hours for organising the event as one activity and log the event itself as another activity. 4. Edit your skills record in the Volunteering Log 3. Editing the activity/role: a. Edit the skill record b. Delete the skill record a. Edit the activity/role description b. Delete the activity/role 12
6. View and download your Skills Record 1. Log in, then in the Volunteering Opportunities section of the volunteering webpage, select Skills Record. Please note that you will not be able to see this option unless you are signed in. 3. Select which format you would like to download your record in: PDF or Word doc. 2. Select the activities/role and skills you would like to include on your Skills Record by ticking the relevant boxes then click Save changes at the bottom of the page 13