Community Service?

Rarefied

Rarefied

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
860
Display Name
Broke Engineer
Hello all!

I'm applying for something, one of the things they ask to list is the amount of community service hours in recent years. I volunteer 2 hours of my time every Sunday at my church as I'm their "Tech Guy". I monitor/control mics & sound, along with controlling the presentations on the projector. I completely volunteer for this, I was never asked to do it, I volunteered to help out.

Do you think I could list this as community service? I'm hesitant because I started this almost 3 years ago so I could roughly put down over 200+ hours(would be more except for the occasional Sunday where I've had to do something else, so this estimate would be conservative.) I guess I'm just concerned they'll think I'm exaggerating. What do you guys think?
 
Depends on who's asking.

Sometimes volunteer hours can only be considered if they benefit the community at large, without regard to religious affiliation. Sometimes it doesn't matter.

For example, if you volunteer time to mow and trim shrubs at your church you might not be able to count it. OTOH, if you go with your church group to spruce up the local public park, you could count that.

IMHO, if there's no guidance or direction provided, count the hours and don't worry about it.
 
I recommend including it in the application. I don't know what criteria for community service would exclude it. If that is what you give your time to, they should want to see it as part of the application/interview. It will help them gain a better understanding for who you are. Whether or not that improves your chance at getting the job is quite different.
 
Unless you're trying to work off a misdemeanor, I wouldn't even bother.
 
I think it counts, unless they specifically tell you religious service does not count. I would phrase it as "100 hrs in last 12 months" or something like that.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Unless you're trying to work off a misdemeanor, I wouldn't even bother.
Click to expand...

Norman said:
Yep. Around here community service usually means what the court ordered as penance.
Click to expand...

The purpose of them asking about community service is to see whether your willing to help others for no intended benefit, and to see what type of person you are.
 
Matthew K said:
The purpose of them asking about community service is to see whether your willing to help others for no intended benefit,
Click to expand...

Depends on the nature of your application. In my industry, as a paid consultant, that is not a marketable attribute.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Depends on the nature of your application. In my industry, as a paid consultant, that is not a marketable attribute.
Click to expand...
I'd agree it does depend on the nature of the application. In this case it isn't for a paid job.
 
If you were not playing tech guy in your church on Sunday, would you still be there? If the answer is yes, are you really contributing time that you would have otherwise spent elsewhere? I'd say that it does not qualify as community service.
 
SkyDog58 said:
If you were not playing tech guy in your church on Sunday, would you still be there? If the answer is yes, are you really contributing time that you would have otherwise spent elsewhere? I'd say that it does not qualify as community service.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be at church the same number of hours if I wasn't doing what I do. As I have to be there before and after the service to do various things. So in your view, at a minimum I'd be volunteering around an hour each Sunday instead of two.
 
When my son was in high school, he volunteered as a sound tech at church and also at a community theatre. His school required a certain number of hours of community service for graduation. They applied a limit to the number of church hours he was allowed count toward the requirement, but not the number of hours outside the church.
 
If I voluntarily decide to go for a long road bike ride through my community, and by doing so utilize roads, lanes and pathways that are intended for cyclists, am I performing community service since I am putting the infrastructure to use, thereby validating community expenditures?
 
That is actually a secret question to see if you are a member of the illuminati or not. When someone asks you "how many hours of community service" the correct answer is scomlutitaren imaculata, repeat twice and then extend your left hand facing rearwards. You are welcome
 
Half Fast said:
When my son was in high school, he volunteered as a sound tech at church and also at a community theatre. His school required a certain number of hours of community service for graduation. They applied a limit to the number of church hours he was allowed count toward the requirement, but not the number of hours outside the church.
Click to expand...

Well isn't that special? That's not even a veiled form of discrimination right there. Just blatant.
 
denverpilot said:
Well isn't that special? That's not even a veiled form of discrimination right there. Just blatant.
Click to expand...
He didn't say what kind of church though. There are some parts of the country where it is better not to say if you are a ........... To a ............. And vise versa. Just sayin.
 
Around "this" part of the country people use "efforts" at a certain church as a "secret code" to hiring managers of the same church to help keep members of that church employed.

Like tends to hire like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top