Volunteerism: Can It Provide Insights For Employee Selection?

A review of the social sciences literature suggests prospective employees involved in volunteer activities may have personal attributes desired by employers. For example, studies have found that when compared to nonvolunteers, volunteers are significantly more socially responsible, agreeable, extraverted, and emotionally stable. To examine this issue further, this study examined the relationship between volunteers and motivation, work ethic and company and job satisfaction. Results support hypothesized relationships between volunteerism and work ethic and between volunteerism and work motivation. These findings suggest that employers’ inquiry regarding applicants’ volunteer activities may provide insight into values, individual differences and behaviors desired by employers.