How Not to Volunteer for SXSW
SXSW volunteers stuff bags with swag in preparation for the conference.
Fifty hours of labor in exchange for a pass worth $700 works out to $14/hour. Volunteering at SXSW made sense, or so I thought. I signed up online and made plans to be in Austin for last weekend’s volunteer call, where I could arrange my committee assignments and create my schedule.
It didn’t work out that way. I was unsuitable in three key areas. Be like me, and you too can fail to volunteer.
Be Old
For our purposes, old means anyone who is beyond college age. The sweet spot for music crew volunteers is 21–22, which is old enough to get into the music venues and past TABC, but young enough to be on spring break during the festival. Which puts the age range of the conference volunteers at 16–20.
The 18-year-old in line in front of me at the volunteer call thought it was “unfair” that she couldn’t be on the photography crew (age 21+), since she had tons of experience and had been shooting “since middle school.” Her friend stated that no one else had her talent, but she didn’t really want to be there anyway with all the “old people,” did she? The girl concurred. No old people.
Be Slow
The volunteer call was spread over six hours on two days. But it’s more like college class registration in that you don’t stand a chance unless you’re ready and waiting the moment the window opens. So show up an hour after the start of the first day, like me, and expect over half the committees to be full up. I honestly should have known better.
Be Busy
This one I didn’t see coming. In the advance information given to volunteers, SXSW warns you that you absolutely must be available on March 10, the Wednesday before the conference starts. But once you’re there at the call creating your schedule, you’ll discover that all the committees also require you attend pre-event orientations. Many of these meetings were on February 28, but some weren’t yet finalized and would be “sometime the week before the conference.”
Again, it makes sense to have orientation sessions before the conference, but why they aren’t on March 10, and why the dates weren’t previously disclosed, I have no idea.
I’m frustrated that it didn’t work out for me to volunteer, but it wasn’t in the cards. I might try again next year, but if I do, it will be as an “out of town” volunteer. I suspect they make scheduling accommodations for anyone with travel arrangements. But more likely, I’ll be fully employed next March, and I’ll buy a badge like a normal person.
