Volunteering @ MIFF

Love film? Then you love the Melbourne International Film Festival. Offering a bevy of unique and exciting cinema, it's a must for film fans.

The event can be a bit taxing if you're a little light in the pocket however.

Solution: Volunteer! This goes for all festivals: the Fringe, Writers', Food and Wine, and many music festivals are often looking for volunteers a couple of months out from the event (or longer for popular music festivals - it's a good idea to check before tickets go on sale). They usually require you to cover at least three to five shifts, and more if you

Added to the obvious feel-good factor, festivals often allow you to attend a number of events for free, and often throw wicked after-parties to thank the staff. You may even snag a shirt and other merch for helping out. Volunteer at enough festivals, you have a nice little addition to your resume.

Volunteer for MIFF here.

Festival Vollies

I've absolutely FALLEN IN LOVE with festival volunteering this year.
There's so many benefits.
Including:

1. Meeting Cool People - People from all age groups, backgrounds and parts of town put their hands up for these things. You'll also be likely to meet people with similar interests to you. It's a great way to meet new people if you're new in town, or break out of a social circle that's suddenly decided to go all boa-constrictor on your arse.

2. Giving back to your community - C'mon, it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside, you know it! Be a part of Generation Generosity and lend a helping hand to an event or festival you care about!

3. Learning new skills and getting job experience - This is a great way to learn about opportunities in the field, gaining new skills, improving your confidence, and even getting a good reference or two. Make sure you whack all of this on your resume. You'll get brownie points for being involved in your community, and if you're unemployed you are showing initiative for not just sitting on your hands.

3. Getting free stuff - Oh yes.

So far, I've volunteered for The Melbourne Writer's Festival, Fringe Festival and Overload Poetry Festival. All have been exciting, challenging and stimulating events to work for, and I've gotten to experience some great arts events that I couldn't have otherwise afforded in my wildest dreams. Also - they tend to throw not too shabby volunteer parties afterwards. :)

These things usually start searching for vollies a few months before, so you have to be onto it, as demand is usually high, especially for the particularly popular events.

Just FYI: Some of the events are so exclusive that they require quite a bit of experience before they'll accept you, so if you get some work under your belt around this time of year, you'll have a better chance of succeeding in them. These events include: MIFF, The Melbourne Festival, ANY music event, and The Food and Wine Festival.

It's a good idea to do your volunteering in 'chunks'. I've just done mine: I put my name down for Midsumma and The Food and Wine Festival.