For references required to do volunteering, what questions do they ask your referees?

[letsjustgosomewhere]

I want to ask a couple of people I worked with on one occasion to be my referees for volunteering. They can probably confirm I’m calm, friendly, polite, punctual and interested in doing the volunteering work and why. Are there any specific questions the volunteering places or charity shops ask your referees?

Thanks so much for the answers. I’ve been worried I can’t find suitable referees.

Will totally depend on each individual charity.
There is no blanket form or set of questions which goes across all volunteering opportunities.

Yes I know but do you have ideas of what some types of volunteering places ask?

I think you have it generally covered in your first post. They will probably ask do you think letsjustgo would be suitable for the role and ask about your personal qualities. Good luck.

I think they asked how they knew me (as in what capacity) and what qualities they thought I would bring to the role.

Thanks for sharing. What qualities would they look for to be suitable for the role?

What kind of qualities would make you suitable for a role?

That depends entirely on the role you are volunteering for. Charity shop may want someone good with money. A museum may want someone with a specific qualification and interest.

I've done several of these for friends and their older children.

Questions I have answered include:
How long have you known the applicant
In what capacity do you know them (family/friend/employer)
Do you see the applicant as trustworthy?
What do you think applicant would bring to the role?
Do you have any concerns about their suitability for the role?
Has the applicant ever been bankrupt?Please tell us anything you know about the applicant’s conduct, reliability or health that might make them unsuitable for a job with x organisation

Etc etc.

@letsjustgosomewhere

What kind of qualities would make you suitable for a role?

That depends what the role is.

I feel like you’re overthinking this OP. Being a reference for someone doesn’t involve taking some kind of difficult test: they’ll just ask simple things like ‘do you know this person/how do you know this person?’.

As long as the people you’ve chosen are happy to be contacted then you can leave it up to them now.

Good luck with the position.

I don’t think my referees have a problem but I only worked with them one time so I’m not sure if they would know me well enough is why I may appear that I’m overthinking this. I’m also new to volunteering and haven’t done it before.

They can confirm what my character is like and they’ve never had issues with me and can reiterate anything I tell them about why I want to do the role, just not sure if they would be asked questions about my suitability for the role that they wouldn’t know. This is why I’m asking people on this thread so I can get an idea and see if it’s possible for this to work with my chosen referees. Unfortunately, I don’t have anyone else I could ask to be a referee.

@letsjustgosomewhere

What kind of qualities would make you suitable for a role?

Charities have lost a lot of older volunteers recently, because they just haven't felt safe outside their bubbles, so they'll find a rôle for pretty much anyone. I volunteer at my local hospice. I do admin, because it's what I'm good at. Some volunteers do more basic office tasks, some work on reception, some garden, some clean, some iron. In the shops we have everything from tidying and taking money to people who are experts in, say, old books, who come in once a week to make sure we're not pricing a rare first edition at 50p.

They're looking for someone reliable who'll turn up when they say they will and do what they're asked to the best of their ability. Once they've figured out what you're good at they'll fit the tasks around you.

Thank for sharing these questions. They don’t seem too bad.

That sounds good. Were those the only questions that the charity shops asked referees?