No longer required as a volunteer

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I am a volunteer at a charity in the administration office. It is quite boring and I am given tasks far below what I am capable of doing. I'm not stupid like people treat me. If I know what to do I will do it really really well.

Yesterday a new volunteer started to do to exactly the same job as me, she is younger than me with less work experience and unlike me she is not a graduate, I even had to show her how to switch the computer on by pressing the button on the tower. I made sure other people knew we had a new volunteer too. Today I was told there is not enough work for me any more but yesterday the new volunteer was given a big project to take charge of.

I wanted to leave anyway but did not expect to be told to leave. I try not to make mistakes but sometimes I miss small details. All I can think of is that I am so quiet as I even stay extra time to correct mistake I make. I tried not to seem bored but it's hard when you are left out of everything.

But why take on this new volunteer if there is really no work to do? The email was written very nicely but I wanted to know if there was a problem with me and politely asked but was given the answer that here was just no more work to do and that was all. I was told I might like to work in one of their charity shops which I defiantly would not. Everyone has been really nice all the time I have been there.

I am wondering how I will ever find paid work when I can't even give myself away for free.

Unlike the movies, in real life, employers never tell people why they're being let go. In my case, their response was, "I'm not a good fit." Sigh. You can't win 'em all but it'd sure be nice to win a few.

I have had that before.

The weirdest reason I was ever given for no longer being required was for getting on with my work and not talking to anyone.

The rough thing is that to move forward, you need someone to be honest with you. But because their lawyers tell them to keep their mouths shut, no one will be.

Do you have friends or family who might be able to give you an honest assessment of how you might be perceived in a work place, and what changes you might make to increase your employment value?

Also, look around to see if anyone anywhere near you is doing job assessments or job counseling for people with ASD. I see such a huge need for that, and someone somewhere must be seeing it and actually trying to fill it. If not today, maybe in the near future. Keep your eyes open.

[quote="elsing" I was told I might like to work in one of their charity shops which I defiantly would not.[/quote]

so why are you not taking up the charity shop assignment
maybe they thought you are a fit there.

whenever i am asked to do menial task at work i always say yes
i even do my juniors work so that they are happy
i am a thorough people pleaser at work
there is never a no from my mouth

thats how you can cover up for your other lackings..

Ok that is a weird one for sure.

See if you can work within another department in that charity, or find another one. It's not unlikely they'll need more volunteers somewhere.

Ohh dear mother of Dyonisis. I have been fired and had the whole "not a good fit" reason cited more times than I can count. This thread rings true to me in so many ways.

If you volunteered with the goal of gaining transferable work experience, then hopefully they at least return your calls when you ask them whether they received any reference-check calls. I find such calls to former employers / volunteer supervisors do not occur unless one is offered a job.

If volunteering out of altruism, then that's what happens in the capitalist system: the donor of labor is seen as a fool by their glad-handing overlords and summarily discarded when it becomes tiresome for the <del>slave</del> volunteer drivers to be in the same room with their committed volunteer(s); they pine for new (metaphorical) blood to drain! Contrary to folk wisdom, volunteerism is the least likely means of securing a job. It's just another capitalist ploy to acquire cheap or free labor.

Rubbish. You always learn something through volunteering and just because one doesn't succeed at finding a job doesn't mean the volunteering was useless.

I find it strange that they would give your work to a new volunteer, then get rid of you. Given the low half-life of volunteers (most are actively looking for work and will dump the voluntary position as soon as they find something) it would seem prudent to keep you on for a while.

How many hours a week are you volunteering for, would it be possible to reduce these if there is less work to do?

The most useful things I ever wrought from volunteering are as follows:
1) An ultimately value-less "Certificate of Volunteerism and Student Leadership" (just a piece of paper even though I've played it up on my resume the past few years);
2) A box of old-school Christmas ornaments and blank audio cassette tapes from a volunteer center's spring cleaning; and
3) An up-close peek at what rich lakefront people do on their day off, at least while hosting parties for volunteers. The networking there didn't go too well, however, which ultimately limits the networking value of volunteering to the individual significantly having AS, as opposed to someone such as you who flaunts a significantly majority NT score.

The certificate is not just a 'piece of paper'. It will have helped your job applications, just there could be other reasons you didn't get it not related to your experience (eg they found someone else, they found someone who has less qualifications and experience but has contacts with the company, etc). Besides, what about the work you've actually done in volunteering? You must have learnt something from the experience that will help you regardless of whether you get a certificate or even mention it at all in your resume! It's not about the certificate itself, it's the journey that's gotten you towards getting the certificate that counts and only when you haven't learnt anything at all from the experience (which I doubt) then the certificate just becomes a 'piece of paper'.

My big problem was getting into volunteer positions which actually involved responsibility. Therefore, the jobs counting towards the certificate were busy work such as cleaning local park trails, reading to rowdy children who were bused in, and stuffing envelopes with some nature center's newsletter. I'm open to suggestions as to what skills others might have learned by doing those things -- which might have been lost on me, in which case I need to pretend I learned whatever I was supposed to by doing those apparently mundane chores (those being the most prestigious volunteer positions I could secure after much effort and scrounging).

Reading to children - shows communication skills as you need to engage them in the story you're reading. You mentioned they're 'rowdy', did you have any problems dealing with them? If so then you're got even more to talk about - you could mention how you've dealt with it.

Cleaning trails and stuffing envelopes - could show organisation skills. Did you have a certain way of doing it? If you were told how to do it then it shows you can follow instructions. If you had some discretion then it shows you can use your judgment. Another skill you could mention is the ability to get things done.

Other skills you might have learnt by virtue of being a volunteer (or any kind of work) is commitment, willingness to work for a cause, willingness to learn, etc.

It should be noted that my list is just a guide and isn't exhaustive - they could well be more skills you're learnt. Just think about what you've done, what skills you had to apply in order to get the work done, and what decisions you had to make etc.

Wow! I appreciate your constructive tenacity, Wrong Way. If I saw a "rep" button, then I would definitely add to your reputation bar.

There's really nothing which can change my game now, but helpful responses such as yours show there is human decency remaining in this world aside from the mass of insincere people who say, "Good luck!" and hide.