I went on Idealist.org today looking for a volunteer manager. They list a total number of entries in each category as if to boast their success, but I beg to differ and argue that volume is their downfall. There are way too many listings entered without a preset, uniform standard that orients people to the similarities and differences between entries. I could not find anything and was tempted to list my request instead of doing a manual search, but found that many people have resorted to that method without success, resulting in even more entries sitting around on the server adding more work to people combing through search results.
Not sure why they do not use a Google-powered search engine, but only strings of keywords can be used - they do not accommodate syntax for advanced search (for example, cannot use " " to signify that you only want search terms in this exact format).
In the end, I came back empty-handed and frustrated. If you know a volunteer manager, please let me know.
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Sorry to hear that you had a frustrating experience with our site! We actually are in the process of completely redeveloping it; when it's relaunched, it will have a much more responsive search system. Were you looking for a volunteer opportunity, a volunteer manager, or an opportunity to volunteer as a volunteer manager? Shoot me an email with details to erinb@idealist.org and I'd be happy to help. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteErin
Erin Barnhart
Director, Volunteerism Initiatives
Idealist.org
erinb@idealist.org