Assessment stage
We assess your technical skills and key personal qualities (or volunteer dimensions) that have been found to be crucial in successful volunteering experiences.
VSO employs various assessment tools in order to select volunteers who are suited to the majority of situations they are likely to meet in a placement. At the pre-departure phase, volunteer assessment runs from first contact to the time you board the plane. This will involve all the people who would be affected once you have accepted a placement. These include you, your family, friends, and colleagues; VSO Bahaginan, our program offices and their partner organizations.
Assessment is divided into the following key stages:
Preliminary assessment
A volunteer and program advisor (VPA) makes a preliminary assessment of your qualifications and experience as indicated on your application form. It is important to provide comprehensive, complete and accurate data on your application.
Telephone interview
If you are successful in the preliminary assessment, a VPA will contact you for a preliminary phone interview, which runs for 20–30 minutes. The interview aims to build on the information you provided on your application, and to assess your proficiency in the English language. This is also the time for you to ask further questions about VSO. Based on the interview, the VPA decides if you will be invited to an assessment day.
Assessment day
If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to attend a one-day assessment day (AD) in a venue nearest to your location (Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao or Manila). During AD, you will be assessed on your key personal qualities (or volunteer dimensions). You will be required to submit professional and personal references, medical certification, police clearance and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance prior to or during the AD. If you have a partner you will also asked to complete a partner’s checklist.
Medical stage
If you are successful at the assessment day, you will need to undergo medical clearance to confirm that you are physically and mentally fit to undertake a placement and to verify the information on your medical certificate. At this stage we identify any appropriate placements for volunteers whose choice of assignments is limited by their health status.
