Overview

The link opens that opportunity's page, where you can read the details before committing to anything.

What happens when you press the button depends on two things: whether you are already approved for the opportunity, and how the organization chose to handle new applicants. Both are covered below.

1. Which button will I see?

One of two, and it tells you where you stand:

• Apply or Register, if you are not approved for this opportunity yet.
• Reserve shifts, if the organization has already assigned you to it. In that case you skip the application entirely and can go straight to picking shifts.

2. What happens after I press Apply?

That is up to the organization, and there are a few possibilities:

• A form opens. The most common. Fill it in and submit.
• Your request goes straight through with no form, and waits for someone to approve it.
• You are approved immediately, with no form and no waiting.

If a form opens, the organization wrote the questions, so fill in everything they have asked for. A half-finished application is the most common reason people wait longer than they expected.

3. The form has a Shifts section. What does that do?

It lets you pick shifts as part of your application, so you are not applying and then coming back later to schedule yourself.

Two things to know about it:

• Those shifts are not confirmed until you are approved for the opportunity itself.
• Even once you are approved, if the organization has Instant Book switched off, your shift choices arrive as requests that still need their approval. You can see anything still pending on your schedule.

4. I want to sign up on behalf of a group. What do I do?

It depends whether the organization has enabled group reservations on that shift.

If they have, you can reserve for your group and give the guest details in one go. The steps are in How to make a group reservation as a volunteer.

If they have not, tell them how many people you are bringing. This matters more than it sounds: a normal reservation takes one spot, however many people you turn up with, so unless they know your numbers the shift will look emptier than it really is.

5. How do I know my application went through?

It shows as Pending on your homepage and on your My Opportunities page.

You will be notified when it is approved, by email or by app notification if you have the mobile app. If you have not got the app yet, see How do I download the mobile app?

6. I am approved. What now?

Your homepage asks What are you looking to do today? and offers three actions:

• Reserve shifts
• Claim hours
• View my shifts

You can also open the organization's own portal from your homepage, which is where their resources and anything else they have shared with you live.

Summary

• The link opens the opportunity's page. Read it before pressing anything.
• Apply or Register means you are not approved yet. Reserve shifts means you already are.
• What follows Apply is the organization's choice: a form, a plain request, or instant approval.
• Shifts picked on a form are not confirmed until you are approved, and may still need approval after that.
• For a group, use a group reservation if offered, and otherwise tell the organization your numbers.
• A submitted application shows as Pending on your homepage.

Where to go next

• How do I submit an application form?
• I've been assigned to an opportunity. How do I reserve a shift?
• How to make a group reservation as a volunteer