Student Volunteers Needed for SIOP 2019
(This page is being updated and will be up-to-date by end of business, February 20, 2019. The general information is valid, but some of the links are from last year's conference.)
SIOP is always looking for opportunities to get students more involved, and volunteering at the SIOP Annual Conference can be a great first step. SIOP volunteers have the opportunity to network with fellow students and professionals, make some extra spending cash for the conference, and contribute to the success of the conference overall.
If you are a SIOP Student Affiliate and would like to assist with the SIOP 2019 conference in National Harbor, indicate your interest in volunteering when you register online for the conference. Volunteers assist in a variety of ways, and the roles are described below.
Volunteers will be needed beginning Tuesday, April 2nd through Saturday afternoon, April 6th. Each volunteer will be assigned a total of four hours, spread over one or two time slots. Upon completion you will receive a $60.00 prepaid cash card for your time. Leann Caudill (leann.caudill@gmail.com), Volunteer Coordinator, organizes the volunteers and will contact each selected volunteer prior to the conference regarding their assignment.
Student affiliates selected to volunteer should check-in with Leann before their shift. This does NOT apply to Placement Center, Open Plenary, or Fun Run. Volunteers should receive their t-shirt from Leann before their shift at the registration desk. After volunteers have completed their shift, they can visit the Hospitality Desk area to collect their gift card. A student volunteer will be able to hand them out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11:00am - 12:00pm and Friday from 4:00pm - 5:00pm."
Volunteer Role Descriptions
Coordinator Assistant
Volunteers for the SIOP Annual Conference are compensated with prepaid cash cards. The Coordinator Assistant will assist the Volunteer Coordinator in handing out the cards during designated times and days. It is imperative that the volunteer be able to verify that the volunteer receiving the card has served their 4 hour shift prior to being issued the card, as well as that good track be kept of those who have received and those who are still owed cards.
This volunteer role involves standing, sitting, and talking. Accommodations can be made. There are no specific dress requirements. Work directly with the Volunteer Coordinator to determine reporting and full duties of assignment.
Exhibit Hall
The SIOP Exhibit Hall in Prince George's Exhibit Hall D&E opens on Thursday at 10:00am. The Exhibit Hall volunteers will function as crowd control traffic directors in order to welcome attendees and guide them through registration but away from the entry to the exhibit hall. We do not want conference registrants entering the exhibit areas until 10:00am Thursday, as exhibitors do not want individuals visiting their unattended booths.
This role involves standing, walking, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the registration desk in the Riverwalk Promenade in the Sheraton Grand Chicago hotel.
Friday Seminar
There are six Friday Seminars at the SIOP Annual Conference, which are 3 hour educational sessions requiring additional preregistration and fee. Each Friday Seminar offers continuing education credit to psychologists and HR professionals. Friday Seminar details can be found at http://my.siop.org/Conferences/2019-Conference/Friday-Seminars.
Details about available CE credit and how to earn it can be found at http://my.siop.org/Conferences/2019-Conference/CE-Credit as well as in the Conference News onsite publication. Friday Seminar volunteers are asked to familiarize themselves with these resources prior to their shift, but are not expected to become experts on the matter.
These volunteers will sit or stand at a table outside the session room and ask those who enter the room if they are seeking continuing education credit. They will encourage those who do need credit to sign the attendance form and will remind them to return to the desk to sign out after the session. When the volunteer’s shift ends, they should secure the attendance sheets inside the room and give them to the Friday Seminar Coordinator, who can then give the sheets back to the next volunteer who arrives for the end of the seminar to administer the sign-out process. If the session has ended, the volunteer should take the completed sheets to registration.
The Friday Seminar volunteers may work shifts that bridge the end of one seminar and the start of the next seminar. It is recommended that the volunteer email the coordinator(s) pre event of the seminars at which they will be volunteering to introduce themselves (names at my.siop.org/Conferences/2019-Conference/Friday-Seminars)
This role involves standing, sitting, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the Hospitality desk area in Prince George E/Prefunction before being dispatched to the session room.
Fun Run
The 27th Annual Frank Landy 5K Fun Run will take place on the grounds of and area surrounding the Gaylord National hotel. Information about the run can be found online at http://my.siop.org/Conferences/2019-Conference/Fun-Run. The Fun Run desk can be found at the Prince George D&E Prefunction area.
Volunteers for the Fun Run will assist as needed, under the direction of Liberty Munson, SIOP Race Coordinator. It is recommended that volunteers reach out to Liberty pre event to introduce themselves and inquire on further details.
This role involves standing, walking, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is comfortable for the outdoors given the day’s weather forecast and in consideration of the physical nature of the event. Report to the race starting line (location to be determined), unless otherwise directed by the Race Coordinator.
Hospitality Desk
The Hospitality Desk is a catch-all spot, located near the registration desk, for registrant materials for particular groups of attendees, for instance, conference t-shirt pickup, badge ribbon selection, etc.
Please review the description below for Registration volunteers, as many of the same duties and details apply.
Master Tutorial
The Master Tutorials are a series of educational sessions taking place during the the SIOP Annual Conference that offer continuing education credit to psychologists and HR professionals, although the type of credit varies from session to session.
Details about the Master Tutorials are at http://www.siop.org/Conferences/18con/Regbk/tutorials.aspx.
Details about available CE credit and how to earn it can be found at http://www.siop.org/Conferences/CEas well as in the Conference News onsite publication. Master Tutorial volunteers are asked to familiarize themselves with these resources prior to their shift, but are not expected to become experts on the matter.
These volunteers will sit or stand at a table just inside the session room and ask those who enter the room if they are seeking continuing education credit. They will encourage those who do need credit to sign the attendance form and will remind them to return to the desk to sign out after the session. Master Tutorial are permitted to sit in on the educational sessions while they are taking place so long as they stay near the entry door in order to conduct their volunteer duties as needed.
This role involves standing, sitting, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the registration desk in the Riverwalk Promenade of the Sheraton Grand Chicago to retrieve the CE materials for the session(s).
Opening Plenary
The Opening Plenary is the first session of the SIOP Annual Conference and, as such, needs to go off without a hitch to ensure a positive start to the event. Volunteers for the Opening Plenary session will assist by demarcating reserved seating for SIOP VIPs as well as preparing the awards brochures for distribution. They will also greet attendees as they arrive and provide general assistance to attendees and SIOP staff as needed.
The Opening Plenary volunteer role involves standing, walking, talking, and some lifting. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report directly to the Opening Plenary in Potomac A/B of the Gaylord National Hotel.
Placement Center
The Placement Center is a space at the SIOP Annual Conference that provides those who have registered for it as job seekers or employers the opportunity to meet for in-person interviews. There are also computers available for individuals to upload resumes, check job postings, etc. A helpful FAQ is at http://www.siop.org/jobnet/pcfaq.aspx.
Volunteers assist the Placement Center Committee in checking in Placement Center users, facilitating the meet-up of scheduled interviewers/interviewees, and monitoring the use of the computers in order to report any AV troubles.
The Placement Center volunteer role involves standing, sitting, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report directly to the Placement Center in National Harbor 8 at the Gaylord National Hotel
Registration
SIOP registration desk volunteers often provide the first onsite impression of the SIOP Annual Conference for a conference registrant and, as such, professionalism, friendliness, and helpfulness are of utmost importance. Registration volunteers welcome attendees and assist with distribution of registration materials including badges, badge holders and lanyards, attendee bags, programs, program summaries, and Conference News publications. Volunteers may be asked to restock registrant materials or assist with other related duties.
Registration volunteers also frequently field questions from attendees pertaining to dates, times, and locations of conference events and other meeting logistics. There are conference information notebooks at the volunteers’ disposal to provide answers, and there will nearly always be a SIOP Administrative Office staff member on hand at registration or nearby in the event that a registration volunteer cannot find the answer to a question they have been asked.
The SIOP Administrative Office will prepare a “cheat sheet” for this volunteer role to give further guidance (PDF entitled “Registration and Hospitality Desk Volunteer Cheat Sheet”). We also request that Registration volunteers familiarize themselves with the layout of the event venue and the conference materials such as the printed program and program summary, so as to be prepared for their role.
The Registration volunteer role involves standing, sitting, talking, and some lifting. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the Prince George's Exhibit Hall E.
Session Monitor
Volunteers serving in the role of Session Monitor will be tasked with moving through the conference venue and alerting SIOP staff to educational sessions that are full so that attendees can be alerted via the conference app and encouraged to make alternative plans. During down time in the shift, volunteers will return to the registration desk and provide additional assistance, as they are willing, based on the needs of conference management.
This role requires a volunteer to have a working mobile device that can be used to contact the designated SIOP staff member or engage on the Whova mobile app as directed. Volunteers should be able to walk quickly through the large conference space so as to report in real-time on session attendance at numerous sessions simultaneously. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual, with comfortable shoes for walking recommended. Report to the Hospitality Desk area.
Session Scanner
SIOP occasionally tracks attendance at specific educational sessions to gather information regarding the popularity of the topic and for the purposes of generating leads for future promotions.
Session Scanner volunteers will be positioned outside of the session room of designated sessions. They will inform those attending the sessions that SIOP is gathering information on those interested in the presentation topic and will politely ask attendees if they would mind having their badge scanned. SIOP will use the attendee lists gathered for the purposes of sharing relevant information and upcoming event details post conference.
This role requires a volunteer to have a working mobile device with the Whova conference app installed. The role involves standing, walking, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the Hospitality desk area.
Theme Track
The Theme Track takes place on Thursday from 10:30am – 6:00pm and includes five different invited educational sessions. Information about the Theme Track sessions can be found at http://www.siop.org/Conferences/18con/Regbk/themetrack.aspx.
Details about available CE credit and how to earn it can be found at http://www.siop.org/Conferences/CEas well as in the Conference News onsite publication. Theme Track volunteers are asked to familiarize themselves with these resources prior to their shift, but are not expected to become experts on the matter.
Volunteers at the Theme Track will sit or stand at a table outside of the session room and ask those who enter the room if they are seeking continuing education credit for psychology purposes. They will encourage those who do need credit to sign the attendance form and will remind them to return to the desk to sign out after the session (and in for the next session, if they are staying in the room to participate in multiple Theme Track sessions).
Theme Track volunteers are permitted to sit in on the Theme Track sessions while they are taking place (rather than sitting alone outside the room the entire time) so long as they stay near the entry door to conduct their volunteer duties as needed.
This role involves standing, sitting, and talking. Accommodations can be made. Dress is business casual. Report to the Hospitality desk area to retrieve the CE materials for the session(s).
Translator
Individuals from more than 40 countries around the world attend the SIOP Annual Conference. As such, there is the possibility that one or more attendees may have difficulty communicating in English. Translator volunteers will serve in an on-call capacity, indicating a willingness to be contacted by SIOP staff or volunteers via phone, text, or email when there is an attendee seeking help at the registration desk who may need communications assistance.
Translator volunteers should have a working knowledge of both English and one or more other languages. The volunteer agrees to come greet the attendee and communicate with him or her in the preferred language, helping the attendee through the registration process and with general questions regarding navigating and participating in the conference. Volunteers would be of great help to provide the attendee with their phone or email contact for additional follow-up if the attendee needs it, but volunteers are not expected to become an official interpreter for the attendee for the duration of the conference.
Because the demand for this role will be very low, individuals offering to be a Translator must also serve a regular 4 hour shift in another volunteer capacity. Should the Translator be called to action and end up investing a noteworthy amount of time assisting an attendee in this capacity the Volunteer Coordinator may consider additional compensation possibilities.
This role involves communicating in a language other than English. A Translator will be contacted only in the event that an attendee needs assistance and cannot easily be communicated with in English.