So.. I'm considering volunteering myself to help with the Convention.

[Rodney_Pheonix]

What would some of the pros and cons of assisting with the con be?

[RaddaX2]

I don't personally know how it works but this is what I've got

Pro:
Full weekend refund

Con:
You need to put in something like 20 hours of volunteer work.

Don't take my word for it though.  Just look through the board, you can get alot of answers just by skimming through

[ewu]

Con: you don't really get to choose where you help out. You get assigned where you are needed.

Pro: you find out a lot about con and if you are lucky, get palced in a place you would want to staff.

[Steve.Young]

Con: you don't really get to choose where you help out. You get assigned where you are needed.

Pro: you find out a lot about con and if you are lucky, get palced in a place you would want to staff.

Like the other person said, FULL REFUND. Free con. Oh and A volunteer badge. Haha

[RaddaX2]

Like the other person said, FULL REFUND. Free con. Oh and A volunteer badge. Haha

Honestly the full refund isn't that big a deal.  The con so far is only $55.  In a minimum wage job you would only need to work half the hours it takes to volunteer for your refund. 

Minimum wage x 10hr = $60-90 + tax rape = probably enough to cover $55

Depending on where you live you might need to work a extra few hours but you get the idea.  In 6 months you can easily make that extra cash.

That's not to say that volunteering is pointless though. 
1. You might meet cool people you might not have otherwise met if you weren't forced to work with them
2. You have something to do instead of re-entering the dealer/artist rooms over and over and over and over and over...

Also, I just remembered this but I'm not sure if it's true or not.  If you want to volunteer then you'll need to attend staff meetings and what not.  If you're not from San Jose then I dunno what to tell ya.

[Steve.Young]

Staff needs to attend staff meetings, volunteers just show up.

[Pimpstress Rei]

Staff needs to attend staff meetings, volunteers just show up.

Not all staff need to attend all staff meetings. It is up to your Department Manager to let you know how many staff meetings you should attend within the year.

If it is your first time volunteering or staffing, you might want to go to one of our monthly meetings to meet the various Department Managers or Divisional Directors (who manage multiple departments) to figure out where you'd like to help out.

If you're looking to staff (you make a commitment beforehand to help out the con) and not volunteer (just show up to con, pay your membership, get assigned to wherever you're needed, then get reimbursed after the con), you'll be working more hours, but you'll get more perks such as getting the staff hotel discount rate. Plus the ooo pretty shiny staff laminated badge.

If you have specific staffing questions, e-mail hr at fanime dot com. If you have volunteer questions, e-mail vols at fanime dot com.

[FanFicGuru]

Sorry to veer this slightly off topic, but for some of the senior staff members who help out with the major stuff like Guest and Hotel relations, Dealers and stuff like that, what is the main perk for you guys? I mean, I'm guessing it looks really good on a resume to say something like "Head of ____ department for Fanimecon, one of the largest Japanese Animation conventions on the West Coast", yeah?

Care to give us a little insight?

[Kava]

I honestly don't think anyone in Fanime is staff simply so they can put it on their resume to look good. Some of us may have it on our resume, because it's applicable, but I believe we are staff because we love the con, we're into anime, and we have a lot of fun working together to put on a show (as stressful as it can be sometimes).

I'm on staff because I enjoy the convention more and learn far more about anime, Japanese culture, and associated things when I'm on staff than if I was aimlessly wandering around the convention. It puts me in the thick of things, and I get satisfaction from knowing I'm helping out. I also get to meet THE coolest people, who I'd never interact with in the normal course of things.

[ewu]

oh and not sleeping. I think that is the best part of con.....

[sysadmin]

It is a hobby for me.  I gain experience and experiences, especially in working with people.

But, overall, I do my job because it's fun.   I like doing game show, I like being IT.  I used to like being chair.  I like hanging out with facilities, etc.  When this stops being fun, I'll move on.  But for now, the people that I work with make it worthwhile.

Personally, I'd never actually put it on a resume though.  At least, not in the main "work experience" section.

[Steve.Young]

it would be something you put under volunteer information, that helps demonstrate leadership, event planning, etc.