How competitive are volunteering places?

[CiaranH]

Hi all,

I was just wondering how competitive volunteering positions are at the festival? I'm specifically talking about volunteering places with Oxfam, although it would also be nice to know what it's like in general. Is it a matter of first come, first served with registering interest for positions? Just to note, I've never volunteered with Oxfam before (in or out of the festival).

If I don't buy tickets and attend, I'll be interested in volunteering for 2020 (I know I'm very early lol).

Thanks for the help.

[balti-pie]

Get all your registering done with Oxfam ahead of time, and when the places go up - early Feb, I think - get off work and you should get a place within 15 mins or so. I can’t really compare it to ticket day cos I’ve only volunteered once (this year!) but it wasn’t too tricky. 

I’m gonna give it some serious thought as to bother to go for tickets next year or just volunteer, cos it is a very good deal - camping just outside gate b, parking in the field next door, EPO band so you can use staff bars (Tow & Hitch by Pangea is bloody great), free parking, get in on Tuesday, showers, food vouchers, all that good stuff. However it is bloody hard work, 3x 8hr shifts on your feet is really knackering and you WILL miss stuff you want to see. Plus you’ll need to rest up, I can’t stress that enough - it’s impossible to work shifts, bosh it up and also rest enough. Not enough hours in the day! 

 

Summary: volunteering is great but don’t expect an easy time! 

[incident]

Oxfam do run a priority scheme, which makes it a lot easier to get a place (not technically guaranteed, but extremely likely) - work any 2 events with them this year and you get priority for 2020. Though last I heard they're now fully recruited for most festivals and so it's basically WOMAD, Boomtown, Reading, and Leeds left as options.

[dondo]

For the recycling crew it's pretty tough. If you've done it before (and completed all your shifts obviously) then you are guaranteed a spot. Any spaces after that are through recommendations of people who have worked there previously. This is going direct with the festival I think if you do it via a charity then there maybe more opportunities for 1st timers

[CiaranH]

Alright, thanks a lot for the responses!

[JohnEW52]

WaterAid used to be very competitive for places but that has eased a bit as the total number of places has increased to over 650 this year. But it is still a detailed process and is not first come, first served. You need to complete a detailed application and demonstrate some sympathy and enthusiasm for the charity’s work - ideally having done something for them in advance of applying.

The process starts in January and you hear whether you have a place in late March. If you get in yo7 then need to do a couple of hours of online training and attend a 2 hour training session at a venue round the country.

As a first timer you are most likely to end up in the Loo Crew or in a Recycling Team (not the same as the main Recycling Crew - you do shifts during the day at various bars around the site.

[dondo]

19 hours ago, JohnEW52 said:

WaterAid used to be very competitive for places but that has eased a bit as the total number of places has increased to over 650 this year. But it is still a detailed process and is not first come, first served. You need to complete a detailed application and demonstrate some sympathy and enthusiasm for the charity’s work - ideally having done something for them in advance of applying.

The process starts in January and you hear whether you have a place in late March. If you get in yo7 then need to do a couple of hours of online training and attend a 2 hour training session at a venue round the country.

As a first timer you are most likely to end up in the Loo Crew or in a Recycling Team (not the same as the main Recycling Crew - you do shifts during the day at various bars around the site.

I bumped into my neighbour who was doing WaterAid (randomly as didn't know he was working there).  He got his place as he works for one of the water companies and they have ties to it.  But niche I appreciate as  not everyone works for a water company

[JohnEW52]

WaterAid was set up by employees in the water industry in 1981. I worked in the industry and have been involved since 1982. Back then obviously links were very close but gradually WaterAid has grown and now the water industry link, which is still there, is less important.

Certainly  if you work in the water industry it makes it easier to get a volunteering place but I doubt that there were more than 10-20% of the 650 volunteers from there this year.

The prize for the most committed WaterAid volunteers must go to a group who did a relay cycle from Fort William, some 550 miles in three days.

[Crazyfool01]

I believe you have to mud wrestle for places  

[Rufus Gwertigan]

When I worked Info you have to be a member of the Mid Somerset branch of CND. I think they have changed it to recruit from the national CND membership. I noticed some of the lock ups where run by CND groups. The one in Pennards was the Greater Manchester branch. 

[jimbarkanoodle]

The only time I done volunteering was at Boomtown, because its pretty much impossible to break into and I was very skint that year due to just coming home from travelling. Luckily I got away with not doing much at all, nipping off for a couple of hours to get amongst it, before going back to my post for a bit until a supervisor done the rounds. It was fortunate that the people I was on shift with were not grasses and if any questions were asked, saying you'd gone to the toilet was perfectly feasible to any suspicious manager type. The hardest thing about it was trying to act like I wasn't completely fucked!

Im wondering what the similarities are between my experience at Boomtown and volunteering at Glastonbury? Can you get away with doing one for a bit during your shift and going to see the acts you came to see? Or are the managers proper on it and play by the rules? I have always suspected Oxfam supervisors are like that, but what about other companies? I reckon I could probably get away with taking the piss a bit with WaterAid.

[funkychick2007]

Dont wish to sound like a nag but if you are going to volunteer then you should really throw yourself into it fully or let someone else have the oppurtunity!

[Mark E. Spliff]

On 8/23/2019 at 9:43 AM, jimbarkanoodle said:

The only time I done volunteering was at Boomtown, because its pretty much impossible to break into and I was very skint that year due to just coming home from travelling. Luckily I got away with not doing much at all, nipping off for a couple of hours to get amongst it, before going back to my post for a bit until a supervisor done the rounds. It was fortunate that the people I was on shift with were not grasses and if any questions were asked, saying you'd gone to the toilet was perfectly feasible to any suspicious manager type. The hardest thing about it was trying to act like I wasn't completely fucked!

Im wondering what the similarities are between my experience at Boomtown and volunteering at Glastonbury? Can you get away with doing one for a bit during your shift and going to see the acts you came to see? Or are the managers proper on it and play by the rules? I have always suspected Oxfam supervisors are like that, but what about other companies? I reckon I could probably get away with taking the piss a bit with WaterAid.

You're very good.  There's a pattern though - you always throw in little 'asides' which aren't really necessary to your point, but are always guaranteed to provoke outrage.  Here, you're telling us how messed up and absent you were when you were supposed to be doing some type of work, but the classic one was declaring you'd always take £20 from a found wallet before handing it in.

That said, I much prefer someone skilfully throwing the cat amongst the pigeons rather than the forum descending into a circle-w*nk of regulars laughing at in-jokes.  That's forum death.

[jimbarkanoodle]

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:34 PM, Mark E. Spliff said:

You're very good.  There's a pattern though - you always throw in little 'asides' which aren't really necessary to your point, but are always guaranteed to provoke outrage.  Here, you're telling us how messed up and absent you were when you were supposed to be doing some type of work, but the classic one was declaring you'd always take £20 from a found wallet before handing it in.

That said, I much prefer someone skilfully throwing the cat amongst the pigeons rather than the forum descending into a circle-w*nk of regulars laughing at in-jokes.  That's forum death.

I still and always will stand by the theory that if you find something such as a wallet stuffed with cash, you are more than entitled to a finders fee, providing you hand it in of course. No doubt the individual would far prefer to see their wallet again minus £20 rather than minus £300. Its the circle of life really, you find something and don't keep it, you deserve to be compensated as a reward for your conscience telling you to do the right thing and return it.  

Im glad you seem entertained by my story of volunteering at Boomtown. I was hoping for some answers to my questions in the replies, but hopefully they will come as we have ages to Glastonbury.

[eFestivals]

4 minutes ago, jimbarkanoodle said:

you are more than entitled to a finders fee

you are not entitled to steal.

you are entitled to request a fee from the person you return it to.

They are different things.

[Mark E. Spliff]

25 minutes ago, jimbarkanoodle said:

I was hoping for some answers to my questions in the replies, but hopefully they will come as we have ages to Glastonbury.

There are only a limited number of volunteer roles which you're going to get a crack at through a public forum, and all of those have already been discussed on here ad-nauseum.  They're all luck-of-the-draw as to whether you get decent work/shifts/supervisors and how much you can get away with.  If you do get caught out, the worst that's going to happen is you lose a deposit of approx. £250.

I've read the full spectrum of people's experiences on here and that's about as precise an answer as anyone can give you without a crystal ball.

Re. taking £20 note from wallets etc., you may well be telling the truth, but it still meets my definition of trolling as you're needlessly mentioning something which you know is guaranteed a reaction.  As I say, I don't mind this as it livens up the forum - I occasionally do the same.  But it does also make you a legitimate target for me to brag at about my new Glastonbury work...  I've had a pretty good Glastonbury volunteering role for many years, for which recruitment was via word-of-mouth - you needed to know someone.  I'd been pretty happy with it, but a couple of years ago I landed a job at another festival through a bit of accidental networking.  I'm pretty sure most people would rate this as their dream festival job - everyone tends to hang around when they're not on shift because working is so much better than being out and about with the punters.  I've now done it at a few festivals, but last month I had it confirmed that I was on the team for Glastonbury.  I thought you'd want to be the first to know.

[blutarsky]

1 hour ago, Mark E. Spliff said:

There are only a limited number of volunteer roles which you're going to get a crack at through a public forum, and all of those have already been discussed on here ad-nauseum.  They're all luck-of-the-draw as to whether you get decent work/shifts/supervisors and how much you can get away with.  If you do get caught out, the worst that's going to happen is you lose a deposit of approx. £250.

I've read the full spectrum of people's experiences on here and that's about as precise an answer as anyone can give you without a crystal ball.

Re. taking £20 note from wallets etc., you may well be telling the truth, but it still meets my definition of trolling as you're needlessly mentioning something which you know is guaranteed a reaction.  As I say, I don't mind this as it livens up the forum - I occasionally do the same.  But it does also make you a legitimate target for me to brag at about my new Glastonbury work...  I've had a pretty good Glastonbury volunteering role for many years, for which recruitment was via word-of-mouth - you needed to know someone.  I'd been pretty happy with it, but a couple of years ago I landed a job at another festival through a bit of accidental networking.  I'm pretty sure most people would rate this as their dream festival job - everyone tends to hang around when they're not on shift because working is so much better than being out and about with the punters.  I've now done it at a few festivals, but last month I had it confirmed that I was on the team for Glastonbury.  I thought you'd want to be the first to know.

What's your gig? 

[Mark E. Spliff]

47 minutes ago, blutarsky said:

What's your gig? 

Its a backstage job, but I'm being very vague so (a) I don't break my online anonymity and (b) I don't irritate the company I'm volunteering with. Over the past couple of festivals, they've been ridiculously tight-lipped about seemingly innocuous info so I reckon that would be a good way of me getting kicked off the team.  It's still volunteering, and you have to do shifts throughout the festival, so probably not everyone's cup of tea, regardless of how hyped I am for it.

[blutarsky]

19 minutes ago, Mark E. Spliff said:

Its a backstage job, but I'm being very vague so (a) I don't break my online anonymity and (b) I don't irritate the company I'm volunteering with. Over the past couple of festivals, they've been ridiculously tight-lipped about seemingly innocuous info so I reckon that would be a good way of me getting kicked off the team.  It's still volunteering, and you have to do shifts throughout the festival, so probably not everyone's cup of tea, regardless of how hyped I am for it.

Sounds like a good gig for you to be so aware of not wanting to sabotage it, enjoy!

I'm torn on volunteering. I worked this year and it didn't allow me to enjoy the festival in the same way as previous years, plus I was way more wiped out post-festival from burning the candle at both ends (16 hours sleep in 5 days and 32 hours of working Thurs-Sun). 

My day to day work means it's very difficult for me to be at Glastonbury anyway, so ideally I would always arrive Thursday and leave Sunday evening, but this year working meant I had to be on site Wednesday to Monday. Working/volunteering manes you have to be there for a longer period, so the only way I should do it is by getting a ticket. Being there for less time matters less if all your time is spent doing what you want to do. 

But if I don't get a ticket, I'm sure I'll be scrambling for work/volunteer positions. 

[Mark E. Spliff]

2 hours ago, blutarsky said:

My day to day work means it's very difficult for me to be at Glastonbury anyway, so ideally I would always arrive Thursday and leave Sunday evening, but this year working meant I had to be on site Wednesday to Monday. Working/volunteering manes you have to be there for a longer period, so the only way I should do it is by getting a ticket. Being there for less time matters less if all your time is spent doing what you want to do. 

If your time is tight then yep: volunteering is always going to be the last-ditch option.  In my previous role, everyone used to arrive on the Tuesday, and in my new role, even though we don't have anything to do until the main stages open, we'll still be expected to be there by the Monday.  I don't mind using my time off for festivals, and my favourite days are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so I'm happy with that.  Maybe wristbanding with Festaff would be a good option for you as most staff presumably don't need to get there more than a day before the first punters arrive and the bulk of the work would be finished by the time the main stages open.  All I know is now's the time to start digging around to prepare your escape plan, to try and beat the rush come October and April...

[Lycra]

11 hours ago, jimbarkanoodle said:

I still and always will stand by the theory that if you find something such as a wallet stuffed with cash, you are more than entitled to a finders fee, providing you hand it in of course. No doubt the individual would far prefer to see their wallet again minus £20 rather than minus £300.

The law is quite clear on this. It's theft all day long.

[gratefulbread]

Are there any volunteering options where you can sign up and work shifts with your significant other? 

[funkychick2007]

Many will try their best to do it this way if your are working for the same charity/organisation! 

[March Hare]

11 hours ago, gratefulbread said:

Are there any volunteering options where you can sign up and work shifts with your significant other? 

Only ever volunteered with Oxfam but they link mine and my nephews shifts. There is section on your profile to provide the relevant details.  This was for times, not locations.  Could be posted to different places.

[amfy]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:24 AM, gratefulbread said:

Are there any volunteering options where you can sign up and work shifts with your significant other? 

When signing up for Oxfam you need the name and date of birth of the people you want to work with. If it is just 2 of you you are quite likely to get the same locations as well as the same shift pattern, but if they can’t put you in the same place (which is usually when trying to link larger groups but could happen with just a couple), they will at least ensure that you get your time off at the same time.

Ensure you have the name your shift partner registered with e.g. know if they have put themselves down as Mike or Michael - they will not link you if you get this wrong.

Sometimes you may be given exactly the same shifts as someone you want to be linked with, but something changes in terms of demand (e.g. secret sets or a particular act being unexpectedly popular) & then one of you might be pulled across to another area during your shift, but as I say, once you link with someone else’s application, your time off will always be at the same time.