Making Inferences – Practice 4

How to Succeed as a Volunteer So You Want to be a Volunteer? Many high school students like to take part in volunteer activities. Some of the perks of volunteerism include gaining useful experiences, making good friends, and building relationships with others. Perhaps best of all, volunteering gives you a chance to step outside of yourself and your own circumstances and do something to help others. Volunteering can help you gain skills necessary for any future path in life. Treat your volunteer job as something that requires the same commitment, timeliness, and professionalism as any paid work that you might do. Step 1: Finding a Good Fit If you have a particular passion, it makes sense to look for an opportunity in that area. However, the actual work you do may or may not connect directly to your personal interests. For example, you may love animals, but the local shelter needs people to create flyers for an upcoming fundraiser. You might not end up working directly with the animals. Step 2: The Interview Most organizations interview potential volunteers. After all, the organization wants to be sure that you are a good fit for the work they have. Read about interview strategies and tips, in addition to correct interview attire, and etiquette. Also practice answering common interview questions. Even if you know that once “hired” as a volunteer you will be wearing jeans and a T-shirt every day, you aren’t “hired” yet. As a candidate, you need to present a neat and clean appearance and create a good first impression. You can never go wrong by being “overly” professional. Step 3: The Work You Do Just like in any job, there will likely be parts of your assigned work you find very interesting and enjoyable and parts that you do not. Some organizations might have you “work up” from basic jobs to those with more responsibility. Remember, you want to support the organization with the work that they need you to do. Timeliness, attention to detail, and a professional attitude will prove you are ready for better opportunities. At the same time, just like in a real job, there is room for negotiation. For instance, if you would like some phone experience and you have only been doing paperwork for awhile, ask for a meeting with your supervisor and highlight how your goals will benefit the organization. Be diplomatic, proactive, and ready to compromise. Step 4: What You Take Away Hopefully your volunteer experience will be a positive one and allow you to learn some new skills. At the very least, you will gain experience and useful contacts to include on future college or work applications.

1.       What inference(s) can you make about the author’s attitude towards volunteering?

·         The author believes that volunteering can be a positive experience for the volunteer and for the place where he or she is volunteering, if a few guidelines are followed. The author believes volunteering is similar to applying for and working at a job and gives advice based on this belief.

2.       What support can you offer from the passage for the inference(s) above?

·         The author begins the passage by listing the benefits of volunteering. The rest of the passage is about guidelines a volunteer should follow to get the most out of the experience.

3.       Which inferences can be supported by the text? (Make an X next to each supported inference).

	Colleges usually don’t accept applicants who have no volunteer experiences.
O	Volunteer work may not perfectly match your interests.
	It can be difficult to get a volunteer opportunity.
	The biggest expense of becoming a volunteer is having professional clothes to wear to the interview.
O	A candidate’s performance during an interview for a volunteer position is important.

4.       Choose any two inferences from the chart above and explain why each is either supported or unsupported by the text.

·         Colleges usually don’t accept applicants who have no volunteer
experience. Although it is common knowledge that many colleges expect their applicants to have completed volunteer work, the text does not state or infer this information. The text only states that volunteer work may give a volunteer skills and/or knowledge that could be helpful in the future. Also, one’s future may involve a wide range of activities, not just college.

·         Volunteer work may not perfectly match your interests. This is a valid inference. In several sections, the text warns volunteers that the work they might expect to do is not the work they may be doing. In Step 1, the text states, “For instance, you may love animals but the local shelter needs people to create flyers for an upcoming fundraiser. You might not end up working directly with the animals.” In Step 3, the text again reminds the reader that volunteer work may not exactly match one’s interests and gives advice on how to improve one’s volunteer time. Last, in Step 4, the writer seems to console the reader with a minimum expectation that even if a volunteer experience is not exactly what one would want, at least the volunteer will leave with some experience and contacts to put on future work and college applications.

·         It can be difficult to get a volunteer opportunity. Although the purpose of the text is to give advice on how to get a volunteer position and the text suggests that some effort is required, the writer does not imply that getting a volunteer position is difficult.

·         The biggest expense of becoming a volunteer is having professional
clothes to wear to the interview. The writer does not discuss wearing professional attire in terms of an expense. The writer does not suggest that potential volunteers spend any money at all in order to look professional. Either the writer assumes that anyone reading this text will already have professional attire or assumes that the expense of getting professional clothing is not a large enough expense to discuss or give advice on.

·         A candidate’s performance during an interview for a volunteer position
is important. ‘The candidate’s performance during the interview for a volunteer position is important’ is a valid inference based on the information in the text. The text explains that organizations take time to interview potential volunteers to find the right person for the job. The impression that is made during the interview will determine whether the candidate is accepted to become part of the volunteer work force or not. The text discusses proper attire and etiquette in addition to practice with common interview questions. Being prepared for the interview will help to make a good impression and may lead to a position.