Tips & Tricks for EVS applicants

There are already projects looking for new EVS volunteers from next autumn on and Public Achievement is also planning to open the volunteer recruitment process soon, so we thought it might be a good idea to give you some advice for your EVS application, if you’re interested in working as an EVS volunteer. We’ve already wrote something about the program and the process itself on the WIMPS website but apart from that there are some other things that might be good to know.

1.  Start as early as possible with looking for a project! It might take some time until you’re successful with you’re applications and a lot of organisations start their recruitment several months before the start of the EVS project itself, because there are certain deadlines they have to meet. Of course there are also last minute calls for volunteers but then you can’t be too picky anymore, so if you know that you want to do EVS – just start!

2.  Focus on the project, not on the country! Of course everybody has preferences and interests for certain countries but you should keep in mind that the project is what you’ll be doing most of your time and if it’s not interesting at all for you this will influence your EVS experience in a bad way. So try to be open and apply for projects you like in several countries, you can find nice people everywhere!

3.  Write a specific motivation letter! There’s no point in writing a general motivation letter and sending it to every organisation you can find – people there will notice it and in most cases it doesn’t make a good impression. Of course it’s more work to adapt every motivation letter to every project but there are always paragraphs (e.g. about your skills and experience) you can use for every single one and in the end the organisation wants to be sure that you really want to work for them, so take some time for it, it’s worth it!

If you decided to make a great email campaign anyway, put all your addresses into the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) instead of the CC field, so that organisations won’t get an email with lots of other addresses to which you wrote “I particularly like your project. This is what I always wanted to do in my life”.

4.  Take some time for your letter of motivation and include your experience, skills, motivation, hopes, goals and what you can contribute to the project. Use the Europass form for your CV. 

When all CVs are similar it’s easier to look through them and find all items. Moreover you can make it online and keep it on your account whenever you need it.

5.  Don’t be shy to ask what your Skype interview will be about.

Sometimes it is hard to understand how it is to be on the other side – to speak a foreign language and have only a 15-minute chance to look smart and pleasant. It is hard to remember all necessary vocabulary very quickly and about everything they can ask you. And stay positive if you’re not successful at first, you’ll get more and more practice with every application.