Verify Recruitment launches 'Volunteer With Verify'

Volunteer Ireland and The Wheel to benefit from the initiative which

aims to assist unemployed professionals and Irish Charities

30 September, 2011, Dublin, Ireland: The European Union has declared 2011 the 'European Year of Volunteering' and with so many people out of work, and donations to charities reduced, there is no better time to offer your help and expertise to these organisations. In keeping with this spirit Irish firm Verify Recruitment have launched 'Volunteer With Verify' an initiative aimed at finding experienced professionals willing to provide their skills and expertise to charities.

Verify Recruitment is working with two major Irish Not-for-profit organisations, The Wheel and Volunteer Ireland, as part of the 'Volunteer With Verify' programme. The aim is to source experienced professionals who are willing to volunteer their expert skills to work on these organisations frequent special one off projects.  These are highly skilled professionals whom the charities would not otherwise be able to afford to hire, and for those volunteers who are in between jobs it is a way for them to apply their skills and remain productive whilst they are searching for full-time paid employment.

Cathal Grogan, Managing Director of Verify Recruitment, says: "Volunteer With Verify will source much needed expertise for charities that have specific and unique projects that require specialist skills.  We have always advised our candidates to volunteer their skills in order to keep them busy and up to date in their chosen field. There is often a reluctance in companies with regard to hiring people who have been out of work for an extended period of time, so the initiative also provides an answer to that awkward question in an interview: "what have you been doing since your last role?" as potential employers will see that candidates have been applying their skills productively in a volunteer capacity. And as a recruitment company, we are in a unique position to match the skills of candidates to the volunteer projects, and ensure that the experience is beneficial to all concerned."

Verify Recruitment is liaising with Irish charities to assess their needs and then approaching its candidates that have the relevant skills required. They have already sourced volunteers to help Volunteer Ireland and The Wheel with major projects such as event management and marketing, HR support, Project Management and implementing new technology changes.

Yvonne McKenna CEO Volunteer Ireland stated: ""Volunteer Ireland represents a network of local Volunteer Centres who work every day connecting potential volunteers and non-profit organisations so we are very aware both of the value of volunteering and the needs of the community and voluntary sector. Helping charities and voluntary organisations gain access to highly skilled volunteers will be of great value to the sector and we warmly welcome and support the Volunteer With Verify initiative. Indeed, we have benefited it from it ourselves already - Verify have introduced us to some very experienced and highly skilled volunteers for complex projects currently underway".

The benefits of volunteering to jobs-seekers are as follows:

• Verify Recruitment strongly believes volunteering helps with candidates' self-esteem, maintains their confidence and gives them a sense of having contributed to their community.
• Volunteering shows potential employers that the candidate has remained motivated and has been using their time wisely; it is always easier for a candidate to get a job it they already have a job
• The volunteer positions are specialised in the candidates' fields of expertise e.g. technology or business management, so they are keeping their skills sharp and keeping up to date with changing work practices.
• The benefits of keeping to a routine cannot be underestimated; whilst it is physically and mentally much healthier for job seekers, doing so keeps the candidates motivated and does not allow them to get into a rut, which can easily happen.
• A volunteer position helps the job seeker demonstrate their skills to potential employers and showcases them to a wider network, such as the charity itself or the organisations that the charity is working with, or to the people that are involved in charities, whom are often retired professionals with extensive contacts.

Grogan adds: "there is an interesting psychology attached to volunteering, people do not naturally volunteer, especially when asked as a group, but when they are approached directly on an individual basis they rarely say no. With the obvious benefits to candidates we do not believe we will have any problem finding volunteers for the positions that are available."

For more information please contact Simon Palmer of Republic Public Relations on: +353 (0) 1282 2504; email: simon@republicpr.ie; or Twitter @simonprepublic

Notes to Editors

Verify Recruitment was set up in Dublin in May 2009. The company recruits experienced professionals for Irish blue chip companies, specialising in the IT sector and senior project roles. Uniquely it uses a panel of experts to assess and vet its candidates on behalf of its clients.

Set up by Cathal Grogan, he has 20 years experience in the IT industry, and has held senior positions in Program & Project Management, Product Management, Management Consulting, and Change Management in local and multi-national organisations, within Enterprise Software, Financial Services, Contact Centre and Automotive industries.

The Wheel is a national support and representative body for community, voluntary and charitable organisations. It provides a wide range of information and support services, advice and training to individuals and organisations involved in community and voluntary activity. It is also a representative organisation promoting both its 900 members' and the wider sector's interests - www.wheel.ie.

Volunteer Ireland was formed via the merger of Volunteer Centres Ireland and Volunteering Ireland have now merged to create a single national volunteering organisation for Ireland. The services and supports for volunteering previously offered by two organisations will now be delivered by one: from the Ireland InVOLved Awards to the National Day of Volunteering.
The focus of Volunteer Ireland will be to create an enabling more volunteering by developing an ethos of volunteerism across all sectors of society and to be an independent and legitimate voice for volunteering. Working with our local Volunteer Centres, organisations and network, Volunteer Ireland aims to be a powerful advocate for volunteering in Ireland - www.volunteer.ie.

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