Frequently Asked Questions About CommunityNI

Many of the the answers to the most frequently asked questions about using CommunityNI can be found here. If your question isn't answered here, please contact us for support.

Notice: Many unexpected issues can be solved by using the Chrome browser.

 

Help sections

  1. Registering accounts and logging in
  2. Posting and editing content
  3. Organisation pages and managing teams

 

Registering accounts and logging in

Why should I register?

If you want publish content or receive our weekly jobs or events bulletins then you will need to register for an account.

Make sure you choose the right account for what you want to do. There are two types of account:

  • Personal account: you can sign up to receive CommunityNI bulletins by email, and can save posts to a personal folder. This is best for people who don't want to join as part of an organisation.
  • Organisational account: as well as having the features of a personal account, you can post content on behalf of your organisation (jobs*, events, news and opportunities), and create an organisation page.

* Private sector organisations cannot post jobs on CommunityNI, but can set up an organisation page and add other content.

More information about CommunityNI, including visitor numbers, are on the About page.

 

How do I register an account?

Look for the register button on the home page, select the appropriate account type, and fill in the short form.

You'll need an email address and we would prefer it if you used your real name as a username.

If you're setting up an organisational account, the verification process is quicker if you use a work email (e.g. [email protected]).

 

What happens if I register and don't receive a confirmation email?

People who sign up for a personal account CommunityNI will receive an email containing a one-time log-in link automatically, and can start using the site right away.

However, those applying for organisational accounts will usually have their details manually verified. This means that there might be a short wait before your account is approved and you receive the one-time login email.

 

What happens if I forget my password to login?

Click the "Forgot your password?" button in the login panel and type in your username or the email address you registered with. A temporary password will be emailed to you to allow you to access the site and change your password. If you've forgotten your username, or the email address that you created your account with, submit a help request.

 

How do I use my account?

My Account’ (previously known as your ‘Dashboard’) is where your profile and account information is saved and can be edited. From here, you can also add content and access a list of all your previously published content.

 

How do I edit my profile?

If you have moved organisation, need to update contact details, or want to change your preferences, go to 'My Account' and click on ‘Edit’. 

 

How do I sign up for or unsubscribe from receive the jobs bulletin?

When you register an account you will see a tick box 'Sign up for our weekly email bulletin'. Check this and each Thursday you will receive details of each job posted on the site in the past week.

If you have already registered, you can also sign up by logging in to your account on CommunityNI, following the 'Edit' link on your profile and ticking the box to subscribe to the bulletin.

You can easily unsubscribe from this bulletin at any time by following the link at the bottom of these emails, or by logging in and unticking the box on the Edit your profile page.

 

 

Posting and editing content

Please note you need to have an organisational account to post content on CommunityNI.

If you have signed up for a personal account, you can click 'Upgrade Now' when logged in to switch this to an organisational account.

 

What if I can't see the option to post a job, event, news or opportunity?

Posts can be created only by users with an organisational account. Only voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) organisations can post jobs and events.

If you have registered with a personal account, you will need to submit a request to upgrade your personal account to an organisational one. You can do that in 'My Account' when logged in, and look for the option to 'Upgrade Now'.

 

CommunityNI is telling me that I need to enter an organisation in order to create or save a post, but I can't enter one!

This is because your account needs to be linked to a published organisation page, and right now it's not.

You can change this by going to 'My Account' and clicking on 'Edit' in the 'Organisations' Panel.

  • If your organisation already exists on CommunityNI you should click 'Add existing organisation'. This will link you to an exisiting organisation page, so make sure you choose the right one.
  • If you need to add your organisation to CommunityNI then you should click 'Add new organisation'. You then need to enter the required information and publish the new organisation page before you can do anything else.

Once this is done, you will be able to add a new posting, which will be linked to this organisation's page.

 

I've just posted a job or event, but I can't see it!

First of all, please check your organisation page to see if your post is displayed there. If it is, you have successfully published it.

If you don't see it here, you should check that you have saved the post as 'published'. Postings are saved as 'draft' as default, which means that you can save it but it won't appear online until you change the status to 'published'.

In order to deliver a better user experience, CommunityNI updates every hour. If you can't see your posting then you may need to clear your browser cache. You can find out how to do this in Google Chrome (CommunityNI's prefered browser) here.

Your posting should also appear in search results after an hour.

Please note that job opportunities are automatically unpublished after their closing date.

 

Why can't I find my posting in the search results?

Please note that the default search results for jobs, events, and opportunities are sorted so that the openings that close soonest appear first. If you've just posted something, it's likely that it is towards the end of the results, but will move up as the closing date draws nearer.

For your posting to appear in search results it's important that your post contains lots of relevant and descriptive words in the right places. Think about how someone would find your posting and what they would search for.

For example, if the role you are advertising is for a Support Worker, your post should contain the phrase 'Support Worker' in the title of the post, with further description in the body of the post content. We have guidelines on posting a job.

It is important to avoid too much detail in the title as this will narrow down the chance of your posting being seen at the top of the search results.

Please note that job postings are automatically unpublished a couple of days after the closing date to keep site content relevant.

 

Why can't I view a page that is linked to?

From time to time, a posting may appear in the weekly jobs or events bulletin, or on social media accounts, but it is no longer available on the website. 

Sometimes a posting is removed from CommunityNI by its owner, or by the CommunityNI team, after it is posted. This might be because the vacancy is closed, or because it didn't meet our house rules.

If you cannot see one of your own postings it may be because your account is not an organisational account. If you think this might be the case, please contact support.

 

What should I include in the 'Summary' field?

The 'Summary' field will appear on the Facebook and Twitter feeds, so ensure that you include as much relevant information in as few words as possible in order to generate maximum traffic to your listing.

 

 

Organisation pages and managing teams

Our previous organisation page administrator has left, how can I take over the page?

You will need to have registered an organisational account for yourself. During the registration process you can link your account to the organisation you represent. 

While on your organisation's page you will be able to change ownership by clicking the 'Change Ownership' button under your 'Team' section. You are now the organisation's 'owner' and can now edit the organisation page.

 

Can multiple accounts post on behalf of an organisation? 

Yes! If you have a new start in your organisation or a new member of your team wants to add posts, then simply have them set up an organisational account and then link it to your organisation's page during sign up.

Only the organisation page owner will be able to edit the content on your organisation page, however. The other team members can post jobs, events and opportunities.

If you're the owner, you will receive a notification when a new account has been linked to your team, and the new team member can start posting right away.

Redundant or unrecognised accounts can be removed from the organisation's team. Simply click 'Edit' while logged on and on your organisation's page. Scroll down to 'Organisation Admin' and click 'Remove' next to any people who are no longer associated with your organisation.

 

How do I update my organisation page or logo?

If you need to edit any details, for example your organisation's logo or contact information, you will need to be on the organisation page while logged in. You also need to be the organisation page owner to make changes.

At the top of the organisation page you will see the 'Edit' option. Clicking on this will enable you to change the details on your organisation's page. 

You can easily find your organisation's page by clicking on 'My Account' and clicking on the name of the organisation you wish to edit in the organisation panel on the right of the screen (when using a desktop).

If you can't see your organisation listed in 'My Account' click 'Edit' in the organisations panel to add an organisation.

 

What is the ideal size for an image?

Images are best uploaded in landscape, at least 1024 pixels in width. 

 

What browser works best?

CommunityNI works best with Google Chrome. You can download Google Chrome here.