Volunteer Recruitment Best Practices
Over the years, we’ve seen CBOs successfully recruit student volunteers using key strategies. To help you improve your recruitment efforts, we have included some recruitment concepts for your review. We are happy to assist you in developing the recruiting strategies that will work best for your organization.
How To Best Recruit Student Volunteers from the JHU Health Professional Schools
Build a presence.
Use our Annual Community Involvement Fair (held in September) and on-campus presentations to share information about your organization. Unsuccessful recruiting stems from a lack of information. Students from all three schools gather on the East Baltimore campus in September to seek volunteer, internship, federal work-study, and other community involvement opportunities. Give us a call if you wish to hold an on-campus presentation.
Disseminate information.
Post internships, federal work-study, special projects, and volunteer opportunities on our Hopkins Engage online platform. Students, faculty, and staff from the three Schools use Hopkins Engage to identify potential community involvement experiences. Email SOURCE@jhu.edu for assistance with Hopkins Engage. In addition to HE, we send out our SOURCE Weekly Service Scoop, which includes thousands of subscribers who are interested in community outreach opportunities. Our Weekly Service Scoop is sent out on Tuesdays only. Remember to send your information to us in time so that it can be included in our Tuesday postings (deadline is Monday afternoon by 3 pm for all Tuesday postings).
Create meaningful involvement opportunities.
When thinking about available involvement opportunities with your CBO, keep our specific student population in mind. Focus on their interest in the field of public and community health. Remember that our students have already earned bachelor’s degrees. Many of our students already have real world professional experience. Our students are highly skilled and are among the top scholars in the world, with our schools consistently ranking at the top of U.S. News and World Report. This means that our students will most likely have little interest in solely performing clerical duties. While our office recognizes that this work is both needed and important, we encourage you to think outside of the box when recruiting our students to work with your organization. Remember that our students can offer a more professional level skill set to your CBO.
Develop job descriptions.
Providing students with a job description for available opportunities with your CBO will help them understand how they can help fulfill your organization's needs. Equipped with this understanding, they will have a stronger sense of purpose, and will see the meaning behind such work. You should think of the job description that you develop for students as the equivalent of the course syllabus that they receive from their professor. It should summarize the project goals and explain how the student is expected to help fulfill them. Suggested items to include in your job descriptions are: Your CBO name, mission statement, student’s role, detailed description of the project, training and orientation requirements, time requirements, and location/travel information.
Send frequent updates.
We recognize that CBOs have new projects, events, and opportunities all the time. We’ll keep your typical volunteer opportunities posted at all times, but we can also add your latest and greatest projects to our lists. In addition to your updates on volunteer positions, remember to forward any changes in contact information including names, addresses, phone numbers, web site, and email addresses to our center (SOURCE@jhu.edu).
Best times of the year to recruit.
Each summer and fall, our Schools host separate orientations for their incoming classes. By the start of July, BSPH welcomes all of their new MPH students. In early August, SOM welcomes their new class of first year medical students. At the end of August and beginning of September, the other incoming classes in BSPH and SON come to campus for orientation. Be sure that your most up-to-date information is on file with our center. Through our experience, we have learned that the best time for us to capture the interest of our students is during orientation. Additionally, we host several one-time service projects in the community during the warmer months (fall and spring). Commit to hosting a group of students for a service project during a SOURCE Tri-School Day of Service.
Work with student groups.
Our Schools have over 40 student groups that meet for seminars, panel discussions, and information sessions. Participating in one of these events will go a long way in marketing your organization. Additionally, many of our student groups are interested in participating in group service projects. The sizes of our student groups vary from small groups (approximately five students) to large groups (75 to 100 students). Keep us informed. Let us know when you have upcoming group service project opportunities and the maximum number of students that you can accommodate.
Build relationships.
SOURCE aspires to maintain functional relationships with all of our affiliates, but the relationship must be reciprocal in order to succeed. This includes keeping the program abreast of current volunteer coordinators, contact information, emails, as well as volunteer and special event needs. Updates and other information can be sent via the center’s electronic mail to SOURCE@jhu.edu. Feel free to give us a call at 410-955-3880 with any questions about our schools, programs, and students. Schedule a site visit with our staff. It helps us learn more about YOU and YOUR organization when we come for a site visit.
Why Students Remain Committed vs. Lose Interest
The following information has been adapted from the Louisiana State University Center for Academic Success Service-Learning Manual for Community Partners
| Why Students Remain Committed | Why Students Lose Interest |
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