So you want to be a CV...

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Wandering through the communityrelations group and I always come across comments from people willing to become volunteers, it's not uncommon to see comments like "Applied for ___ gallery!", "I can't wait to be 18 to apply!", "I so want to be on the team!", there are some who list the complete CR roster in their personal profiles, who openly say in their tagline, signatures or devIDs "Hoping to be a CV one day", etc. This is specially evident in the The Community Relations Team journal, where the opening positions are listed.


To those people: take this journal just as a personal opinion and a friendly advice from a fellow community member.

I think is great that people is so enthusiastic and passionate about volunteering.  I'm not moonbeam13 and only she knows what she looks for when selecting new CVs, but if I were her I think I would take that passion people demonstrate into account during my selection process . I'm pretty sure she does, after all, the process of becoming a CV starts by wanting it.


But along those "I want to be a CV" comments, there are also disappointment demonstrations from people who applied for a position but didn't get selected, or when they are below 18 so they can't apply yet, when the positions they are hoping for are not open yet. etc.  Are they wrong? Not really! It's just logic to feel disappointment when you don't get something you wanted.

However know it's not the end of the world and this certainly doesn't mean you'll never become a CV, it just means it's not your time just yet!

Maybe you need to do some things differently, work on your community involvement or even have a motivation adjustment, etc. But sometimes even if you're doing everything right, you still might not get it. In a community this large, many apply for a position so it's obvious many people will get rejected just for a matter of logic, moonbeam13 simply can't select all of you! But once again; be patient, your time may come soon!


You want to be a CV? Start acting like one!


Wanting and trying to become a CV is certainly not wrong at all of course, but sometimes I wonder if people is not more focused on becoming a CV rather than doing what a CV does. I know it sounds like it's the same thing but it isn't. It's obvious not everybody can be a CV, but the more people do what a CV does I think this would be a better community.

We're a community of millions, and in a community as large as this, the group of volunteers need as many help as they can get to make others aware of what is going on, to help in giving education and exposure to others, they need your support and your help in practical ways. In short: people who act like volunteers, even if they aren't one officially. They need the help of the community to make things work.

So if you think about it, applying for a CV position and not getting it is just a bump in the road, not the end of it, if you really want to help, to contribute and give back to the community, then start doing it. Don't wait until you actually become a CV to start acting like one. You don't need to be a volunteer, not even a senior for that. I know it has been said before but it remains true; You don't need a fancy symbol to do what a CV does. Basically you can do almost everything a volunteer does; promoting other's art, sharing resources, hosting fun events, activities and contests, mentoring a fellow deviant and more.

Also, why do you think the current volunteers were selected? Because of their pretty face? No sir! They were selected for their expertise, their involvement and commitment, and it's something they were already doing before getting selected. 


What's your motivation?


Ask yourself: why do I want to become a CV?

Do you want to do it to obtain "power", to become famous or get more respect? Or going further, do you only want to get a fancy symbol that looks cool besides your username?


If you said yes to any of these, this is not for you.  

"Community Relations adhere to a series of Core Values and if you’re interested in volunteering with it’s important you are familiar with them. You can read about them in FAQ #84: What are the Core Values of the Community Relations Department?"

Note how the very first value is: COMMUNITY: "We believe that our community is our most important resource and we strive to act in ways that nurture and encourage its growth, development and ultimately its ongoing success. We err on the side of the artist."

If the community is not your main motivation, volunteering is not for you. Volunteers love this site and are willing to take some of their free time to do things for the community, sometimes with no apparent retribution at all. Yes, featuring or helping other artists can be rewarding in itself, it makes people happy and they usually give you their gratitude, that is an awesome feeling! But beyond that, you don't really get anything else. In fact, things are not always warm and fuzzy, you might even get criticized, questioned, receive complaints or just plain hate, just for being a CV. It's not the norm, but trust me, it happens.

If despite all this you still want to become a CV, you love the community so much you're willing to give back to it, we get back to the starting point: what are you waiting for? you should already be doing it!


It should be enjoyable


Something I consider very important is that I think doing things for the community should be something you're willing to do on your own and should be something you enjoy. Shouldn't be something you feel an obligation or pressure for. And this applies for everybody, both volunteers and not volunteers. If you feel you have the obligation to do these things then maybe you should step back a little, take a break and ask yourself why you're doing these things.
This, applied specifically to people wanting to become volunteers and once again taking the motivation factor into account: remember you should be doing community-driven things because you want, because you enjoy it and because you love the community, not just because you want to become a CV.


Becoming a CV is like falling in love...


I know! cheesy comparision =P but I think it helps to prove my point. Becoming a CV is like falling in love: it simply can't be forced! it should come natural, if you need to force things, you surely are doing something wrong. If you go to the person you fancy everyday and say to their face "I want to fall in love with you!"... that's not how it works. If you go to them everytime you get rejected and say "Why don't you love me?!"... that's not going to help your case. If you really want to be with this person you need to take little steps at a time and be patient. Well, same goes for becoming a CV, saying "I want to become a CV" in every opportunity you have is not really necessary, getting angry whenever you don't get it won't help you either.


Be patient and start doing little things, feature people in your journal, give some advice to fellow deviants who ask for critiques, go to the current CVs and offer your help, spread the word about their activities with your own watchers, etc. Be friendly! And more importantly: be genuine about it!


In closing


Let nothing stop you from doing what a CV does! Not because you don't have a volunteer symbol means you shouldn't be doing all that, in fact is all the way around, if you really want to volunteer in an official capacity one day you are already a step ahead and even if you're not a Community Volunteer right now, you are already making this community a better place :heart:




Related articles:


Did You Know - Community VolunteerCommunity Volunteer
Community Volunteers (short CV) are deviants that help the community out by providing them with a specific contact point in relation to galleries, chat and forums
Every CV only acts within the areas they are trained in. That means that generally, a gallery CV will not moderate chatrooms or forums or give DDs for artworks in other galleries (unless having permission). And no chat/forum CV will give DDs. In some instances, some volunteers are trained in Chats & Forums and Galleries and have permission to cross-over.  To be certain, you can view the whole roster of volunteers here and see what area a volunteer is representing.
Any volunteer can be easily recognized by the heart, next to their username.

Community Volunteers are regular people, just like everyone else, with a few special p
PE: Want to be a `Senior or ^CV?Community Week
»So you want to be a `Senior or ^Community Volunteer?«
Than follow your goal! Nobody will stop you.
Hello! :happybounce: I will tell you a bit about the basics on how to become a Senior or Community Volunteer.
The fine finishings and last step to be a Senior or Community Volunteer you must accomplish by your own.
`
:granny: Seniors are chosen by fourteenthstar. She reviews each Senior suggestion you send to her as a note and posts a Seniority Announcement Journal with a list of deviants she choosed who deserve a Seniority `tick. :note: There is no set schedule for when these announcements occur.
Seniority Announcements 2013
January 13, 2013
:iconcommunityops:
But how do you FINALLY get on this list?
The basic information in short is told in
  So you want to be a CV... (German Translation)The original journal is by Thiefoworld
I tried to translate it as close to the original as possible
Der Originaltext und der Originaleintrag ist von Thiefoworld
CV heißt so viel wie "Freiwilliger der Gemeinschaft"
Die Übersetzung ins Deutsche beginnt ab hier:
Ich [Thiefoworld ] browse oft durch die @comunityrelations Gruppe und sehe Leute dort, die unbedingt ein Freiwilliger werden wollen. Durchgehend lese ich Kommentare wie "Ich kann es nicht erwarten, 18 zu werden und mich zu bewerben!" "Ich will unbedingt ins Team!" , es gibe sogar manche, die die komplette CR Liste auflisten, manche, die öffentlich in ihren Taglines, Signaturen oder dA Profilen Sachen sagen wie "Ich hoffe, ich werde einmal ein CV" und so weiter. Das wird vor allem in den Journals des  The Community Relations Team deutlich erkennbar, wo offene Stellen veröffentlicht werden.
An diese Leute: nehmt dieses Journal hier als e



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nightmarethedragon's avatar
This is very helpful. I love this site, I have no idea what it is about it, maybe it was the fact it was released only a day after I was born, or maybe I just have no life. I want to help this site. It annoys me when people say DeviantArt is full of fetishes, furries and other "Unpleasant" things, but there is so much beautiful art of all kind here! People only focus on the negative sides. Don't do what I do, don't focus on the bad things, be optimistic if you can! I want to improve myself and this site, that's why becoming a Community Volunteer would be nice :)

Of course just saying this won't magically turn me into one, don't go thinking that. As was said, it's like falling in love. Don't force it and don't expect it, it just happens!

I'll do what I can to help the community, when I'm needed ;)