10 Traits of a Successful Volunteer Abroad

Ask our in-country coordinators who the best volunteers were last year and they never start with qualifications. They talk about the person who turned up on time every day in Arusha, the one who learned twenty words of Nepali before the first week was out, the pair who ran the kindergarten singing session when the teacher was off sick. Since 2007 more than 25,000 people have volunteered with us in 23 countries, and the ones who get the most out of it, and give the most, share a recognizable set of habits.

None of them are rare talents. Most are decisions you make before you leave home.

1. You are reliable

This is the trait every placement asks for first. A school in Ghana plans its week around the volunteer who said they would take the reading group at 9am. A turtle hatchery in Sri Lanka rosters night patrols on the assumption that you will be there. Reliability sounds dull, and it is exactly what makes you useful. If you can commit to a consistent schedule for the length of your stay, you are already ahead of most.

2. You take direction from local staff

The teachers, nurses, conservation rangers and care workers you join have been doing this work for years and will be doing it long after you fly home. Successful volunteers understand that they are there to support an existing team, not to redesign it. That means asking how things are done before suggesting how they could be done differently, and accepting a task that feels small when it is what the team needs that day.

3. You are flexible when plans change

Plans change constantly: a public holiday nobody mentioned, a school closed for exams, a clinic short of supplies, a bus that does not come. Volunteers who treat this as part of the experience settle in quickly. Volunteers who need a fixed timetable to feel comfortable tend to struggle, particularly in the first week. Build in the expectation that at least one thing each day will not go as described.

4. You are curious about the place, not just the project

The people who describe their placement as life-changing are usually the ones who were interested in everything around it too: the food, the language, how a household runs, why the school day is structured the way it is. Curiosity earns you goodwill faster than anything else, and it turns a two-week placement into an education. Learning basic greetings in the local language, before you arrive, is the single highest-return preparation you can do.

5. You manage your own energy

Heat, unfamiliar food, early starts and constant social contact are tiring in a way that is hard to predict. Good volunteers notice when they are running low and take an early night rather than pushing through and getting ill or short-tempered in front of children. Looking after yourself is not selfish; it is what keeps you useful for the whole placement rather than just the first half.

6. You are honest about what you can and cannot do

If you have never taught before, say so, and the teacher will pair you with a class where you can assist rather than lead. If you are a nursing student, be clear about your scope so the hospital staff know what to hand you. Overstating your experience puts local staff in an awkward position and can put people at risk in healthcare placements. Understating it wastes what you could offer.

7. You show up for the unglamorous work

Every placement has jobs that do not make it into anyone’s photos: washing up after the feeding program, sorting donated books, counting turtle eggs at 2am, cleaning enclosures. Volunteers who do these without being asked are remembered, and are usually the ones offered more responsibility later in their stay.

8. You respect the rules, especially around children

Placements that involve children have safeguarding rules for good reasons: no unsupervised time with individual children, no photographs without permission, no gifts to one child that the others do not get. Every childcare and special needs placement we run requires a clean criminal background check before you join. Successful volunteers see these rules as protection for the children rather than as red tape.

9. You keep a sense of proportion

You will not end poverty, fix a school or save a species in three weeks, and the volunteers who arrive expecting to often leave disappointed. What you can do is add real capacity to an organization that has asked for it, for the time you are there, and go home with a far better understanding of the issue than any article can give you. That is a worthwhile thing to do, and it is enough.

10. You stay in touch afterwards

Some of our longest-running placements have been kept going by former volunteers who went home and fundraised, sent equipment, or came back the following year. The placement does not end when the flight leaves. Volunteers who keep the relationship going, even in small ways, are the ones our partners ask about by name.

A quick self-check

• Can I commit to a consistent daily schedule for the whole placement?
• Am I comfortable being told what to do by someone younger, or less formally qualified, than me?
• How do I react when a plan collapses at short notice?
• Have I learned any of the local language yet?
• Am I clear, and honest, about my actual skill level?
• Would I be happy doing the least interesting job on the list?

If most of those are a yes, you will be fine. If a few are a no, they are all things you can work on before departure, and knowing them now is the point.

Where to start

Browse volunteer programs by cause or by country. If you have no experience at all, read can you volunteer abroad with no experience first, and for what you will take home, see the skills you gain from volunteering abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need qualifications to volunteer abroad?

For most placements, no. Teaching, childcare, community and conservation programs accept volunteers with no formal background and ask for reliability, patience and initiative instead. Healthcare placements are the exception: they are matched to your level of training, from pre-medical students to qualified professionals.

What is the most important quality in a volunteer?

Reliability. Local staff plan their week around the volunteers they have, so turning up consistently for the whole placement matters more than any single skill.

Is there an age limit?

Most programs accept volunteers from 18, and there are dedicated programs for high school students and for older volunteers. Several of our most-praised volunteers have been in their sixties and seventies.

Do I need a background check?

Yes for any placement involving children or vulnerable adults. You arrange and pay for the check yourself before departure, and a provider that does not ask for one should be a warning sign.

Written by

Luni

Luni Chhochoon writes for Volunteering Solutions, a certified B Corporation, covering volunteer abroad programs, destinations and tips for traveling with purpose.

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