Volunteer Diaries: Dominic Ler
We speak to Dominic, a Year 4 SMU student and volunteer web designer who shares his experiences and insights gained through his volunteering with Social Innovation Park (SIP)
Dominic’s Story
Challenging— is the first word that came to Dominic’s mind when we asked him to describe the project in one word.
Armed with a background in Information Systems (IS) from his Polytechnic days, Dominic took up the project to design SIP’s website at university. The project involved him designing the website based on the needs of SIP and required basic programming knowledge, such as Python, HTML and CSS.
Despite his IS background, he explains that the journey was not as smooth sailing as one would expect:
“It’s not the building [of] websites that is challenging. It’s the timelines, the constantly changing requirements and the rush [to deliver].”
He further explains that at times, he has had to push out updates on tight deadlines to meet the needs of the various stakeholders which SIP serves.
Many, Many Revisions
Dominic also explains that one of the key obstacles he has had to overcome was the need to refine the website he had created constantly. He explains that even though expectations of the final product were set at the start, circumstances and expectations often changed along the way even though the project requirements stayed constant.
The solution? Dedicating more time and effort to making the changes. Ultimately, his website went through several rounds of refinement before it was finally completed. Despite this, Dominic humbly reminds us that this isn’t out of the norm. In real life, one would certainly expect projects to stretch a little bit longer than expected because of the need to make refinements to the final product.
Embarking on His Volunteering Journey
Dominic tells us that one of the main reasons he chose to embark on this project was due to his familiarity with the job scope.
“What I was looking for was the job scope that matches up with what I have done before and what I am more familiar with. [Signing up] for a project whereby you’re required to do something that you’re not very familiar with will end up wasting a lot of time…”
Despite his familiarity with the job scope, Dominic says that it was still a beneficial learning experience for him. Since he had not really utilised the programming skills needed since his first year in Polytechnic, he had gotten slightly rusty when it came down to the parts of the project that required specific technical knowledge.
He proudly tells us that after working on the project for a couple of weeks, he was a lot more comfortable with his work and would even be confident if others asked him to assist with website design.
Advice for Others
Lastly, Dominic also shares with us 3 tips that would benefit those who are new to volunteering, or are on the fence about joining a volunteering project:
- Always add a buffer
One of the most important things that Dominic emphasised throughout our chat is that one should find out the amount of your time you are expected to contribute per session, and allocate a little bit more of your personal time as a buffer in case any urgent concerns pop up. In his own words:
“If they say it’s 4 hours a week, you [should] add a buffer, make it like 5–6 hours per week. You never know, sometimes things can go wrong…”
2. Be patient
Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to volunteering. Dominic tells us that his technology-based volunteering role tends to attract the perception that he could magically perform any IT-related task, despite the presence of many limitations. Having to then explain his position to individuals holding such perceptions, or those who were not as IT savvy was indeed a challenge. It was therefore crucial that one held a calm and patient attitude in addressing these concerns.
3. Find a project that leverages your existing capabilities.
Dominic explains that regardless of whether one volunteers out of goodwill, or to clear a school/institutional requirement, one should always choose a project that matches their existing skillset and capabilities. This will not only allow the volunteer to be able to contribute effectively without having to spend extra time learning and acquiring new skills, but will also allow the organisation to reap the most benefits from the volunteer’s efforts with minimal hassle. Dominic gives the example of a website design project:
“Imagine let’s say web design, you have no experience, and you sign up for [a] web design project, you’re going to struggle a lot, and you won’t be able to help the organisation, the website you build is [also] going to be very messed up.”
He also emphasises that potential volunteers should not be thinking of just signing up for the first or most easily available project to clear school requirements without considering the job scope and how well it fits the individual.
As we close out the interview, we ask whether Dominic would go back to work with SIP again. He responds that due to his looming graduation, and the website already being completed, he probably wouldn’t go back full time. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t mind helping to make any further changes out of goodwill. All-in-all highlighting the dedication and professionalism shown by Dominic in his volunteering efforts.
Has Dominic’s story inspired you to contribute your skills to a good cause? Head down to our website today and join our community of passionate volunteers making a difference in society!
About Skills for Good
Skills for Good is a local volunteer-matching organisation which seeks to empower volunteers through convenient and meaningful skills-based volunteering opportunities that help social organisations to achieve their missions. Volunteer with us today and wake up tomorrow with the warm and fuzzy sensation of ‘volunesia’.
