The Rise of the Volunteer Freelance Gigs

In case anyone missed this, we’re in a bit of a tight labor market. Too many workers, not enough work. Unfortunately, that means there is also an equally disturbing increase in job listings aimed at freelance writers that are abominable at best.

But there’s an uptick in yet another disturbing facet of the “get writing help for nothing” crowd. Volunteer positions.

Mind you, there are plenty of legitimate volunteer organizations out there. If you have spare time and the desire to help out, that’s great. But what I’m seeing is volunteer positions for nonprofits  I’ve never heard of, or organizations sounding like nonprofits, but may not be true nonprofits. Or the more blatant offense — companies that are simply out for free work, feeding off your desperation.

Thanks to Gabriella for pointing out one particularly disturbing gig. The organization lists itself as a nonprofit news organization. The information I dug up on this nonprofit says that they publish things that tend to leave out facts if those facts would hurt their bias. That in itself disqualifies them in my book. But their latest job posting puts that final nail in the coffin. Here are some excerpts:

…. we’re looking for volunteers — skilled volunteers. Yes, we’re a nonprofit that wasn’t funded by a zillionaire… Yes, we have a tiny budget right now and simply don’t have the ability to pay many people very much.

But we promise you this: If you do an excellent job, over time we’ll find a way to compensate you as we’re able….

Not that old chestnut again. This ad has everything we’ve come to find in a low-paying gig, which those low-paying gigs are looking pretty attractive right now, aren’t they?

But if you’re just itching to work for them, here are the duties:

Responsibilities

• Manage the editorial team to ensure news production happens on time, accurately, and to the best of our editorial ability

• Analyze our current editorial processes, identify weaknesses, and build systems to help the newsroom run more smoothly

• Define complicated tasks, set deadlines, and delegate work while keeping our “big picture” in mind

• Collaborate with the Marketing/Branding, Creative, and Operations departments on consistent messaging throughout the organization

So you’re basically running the newsroom. You’re shoring up their operations, working with every team to strengthen the organization, and you’re getting zero pay from it. Zero. They’ve told you that up front.

Let’s not forget the requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher

• Proven experience in management and operation of complex editorial structures and processes

• The ability to define and delegate tasks, and motivate others

• Strong organizational and communication skills

• The ability to self-direct and manage others working remotely

• The patience to monitor multiple individuals, projects, and processes

There you go. You have to be a pro with a degree. You have to have experience. You have to be a manager.

And for your skill level, you get this:

Perks

• Channel your passion in a stimulating environment

• Learn the nuts and bolts of nonprofit operations in an up-and-coming organization

• Develop new skills and gain valuable experience that can enhance your professional trajectory

• Do amazing work on a flexible, part-time basis

• Have fun while you make a difference

Wow. So you, pro manager, can channel that passion into a stimulating, non-paying job.

“Up-and-coming organization” — isn’t that usually a euphemism for low pay? Well, now it’s one for no pay, too.

Oh, and you get to “enhance” your “professional trajectory” which apparently means you can learn a hard lesson in why it’s a bad idea to take a volunteer job that sucks up all your time for no pay.

Have fun while you make a difference — what difference? Who is benefitting from this nonprofit other than the people getting paid?

Then there are the expectations. Oh yes, there are expectations (let’s just call them requirements):

You will work remotely and on your own schedule. We also ask for a minimum commitment of 10-15 hours a week (Though doing more is not discouraged!).

Yea, I bet it’s not.

Here’s why this job bugs me:

This isn’t much of a nonprofit. It’s a news organization. I’m not exactly sure what grants it nonprofit status, but damn if this doesn’t look, sound, and feel like a publishing group. If a publisher can set themselves up as a nonprofit, what’s to stop other companies from doing the same? There’s no pay, but you’re expected to be the main cog in the wheel that keeps this place running. You have to bust your hump for no compensation so that someone somewhere benefits, though we’re not really sure who that is at the moment.

If you’re thinking of volunteering, please vet your volunteer organization to make sure they’re serving a population you’re interested in helping. If you’re looking for work or any kind of stepping stone, please be paid for it. Here’s one option:

Remote Content Producer (Written) at HelpDocs

As a Content Producer (Written) on the Customer Education team you’ll be working closely with the company founders to write long-form blog posts, guides, website copy, and other educational content for our users.

• Write 1500+ word story-based blog posts about your experiences, customer support, startups, and remote life
• Identify and act on opportunities to do partner marketing (e.g. guest posts, etc.)
• Write research-driven guides and other long-form educational content to educate our users
• Update our website copy to optimize for SEO and readability
• Design and improve customer onboarding sequences
• Keep our help documentation up to date in response to customer queries and new features
• Create content for social media (including sourcing interesting articles to share)

Perks

• ~ 28 paid vacation days per year. Take the time you need to be healthy and happy. We’re not counting—this is honor based.
• One fully-paid team retreat. We’ll go somewhere nice for a week and HelpDocs’ll pick up all your expenses.
• $300/m healthcare stipend toward private health insurance
• 12 weeks fully paid parental leave
• $70/m towards a gym membership or other fitness activities
• $2k equipment allowance given every 3 years.

Pay

The range for this role is $54-65k per year. We don’t pay on location. We have bands based on experience. You’ll be retained as a full-time consultant and responsible for your own taxes.