Gen’s Tips: Volunteering For Your First Convention

Hey Gen, you might ask, I’m going to be volunteering at my first convention ever, do you have any advice?

Here are my tips:

-Most cons will let you attend for free or refund your badge if you volunteer a certain number of hours for them. If you want to volunteer at a con, go to the staff office and ask the staffers there about it.

-Write down your volunteer schedule and keep it with you. If the back of your badge is blank, write your schedule there.

-Be professional. Most of your hours will probably be badging, which can get really boring. Try not to nap, be on your phone, or play games while badging. It makes the con staff look bad.

-If a congoer comes to you with an issue because they think you are a staffer, don’t worry. Stay calm and just try to direct them to an actual staffer nearby, or to the staff office area.

-If you sign up for volunteer hours, SHOW UP FOR YOUR HOURS. Please. The staff are depending on you to do your job and to be where you need to be so that their con can run smoothly. It’s really frustrating to staff if volunteers don’t show up to their shifts and they have to stretch to cover it.

-Have fun, stay hydrated, take showers, enjoy the fact that you are attending for a lower price than most other people there.

Disclaimer: Gen is not a professional advice person in any way, and can only give tips based on their own experiences.