This was a very strange interview process. I want to share so others know what they're getting themselves into if this organization reaches out.
First, I applied on LinkedIn. The founder quickly contacted me and an interview was scheduled. The overall interview process--for a volunteer position, mind you --lasted over an hour.
It began as an interview with the founder, which went fine. Then after about half an hour, she noticed one of the other founders was online, so we hopped on what was essentially a follow-up interview. This person was...interesting. He spent most of the time talking (I didn't get much word in), then asked a few very unusual interview questions. This second interview lasted another 30 minutes.
After that, I went back to finishing my interview with the founder and was offered the position on the spot. It seemed strange but I felt pressured to answer right then and there, so I accepted. However, I made it clear that my commitment level would be minimal (a few hours a week) since I had just accepted a new full-time job offer. I was told this was fine, but I was also apparently expected to attend weekly team meetings (in the middle of the work day) and monthly company meetings. Again, this is a *volunteer* position.
After accepting, I had that bad gut feeling in my stomach. Although the interview process was unnecessarily long and a little odd, what irked me most was the company itself and the foundation upon which it is supposedly based. I did research on the organization before my first interview and, based on the website, it seemed it was indeed an organization meant to provide services for abuse victims. I was so excited to be a part of that.
But what are these services, you ask?
That's where I couldn't really get a straight answer. In my interview, I asked if they offered direct services for victims (like housing, financial support, etc.--things that actual domestic violence programs and shelters offer). The founder didn't really give me a straight answer, but the TL;DR was: No.
She did tell me all about their "Norm Therapy" program, which even to this day, after having it explained to me and doing research on it, I still don't really understand what it is. My interpretation is that it's pre-therapy for therapy. According to another review, Norm Therapy not endorsed, reputable, or legitimate in any way. This was a big red flag to me.
Another red flag: I was told in the interview that they are expanding ARO sites across the country. I can't find any information on this anywhere, and since their social media accounts have less than 500 followers, this seems embellished to me.
The last (smallish) red flag to me was, when I checked out their website, I found it strange that they didn't have a "quick escape" button like most domestic violence websites do. This is so if a victim of abuse is searching online for domestic violence services, they can hit the quick escape button and be taken to Google or a random news site or something "innocent" if their abuser were to walk in on them. Seems very very strange that something so simple hasn't been added to their website, and even stranger that an organization purported to help victims of abuse didn't have the foresight to add that from the start.
All in all, the whole situation just gave me bad vibes, so I ultimately did not take the position in the end.
I don't want say that ARO isn't who they claim to be or isn't following through on their mission. At best, I think they are overly ambitious or naive about what they have the means to do. If that's the case, they should be honest with their volunteers, people who offer free work to help them succeed.
If that's NOT what this program is, then I hope this review helps others who might be on the fence about joining.