Try to get volunteers at the outset (5)
I believe the answer is:
taste
'try' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'get volunteers at the outset' is the wordplay.
'get' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'volunteers' becomes 'TA' (abbreviation for Territorial Army).
'at the outset' becomes 'ste' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'ta'+'ste' is 'TASTE'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for taste that I've seen before include "Test for flavour" , "A sense; briefly sample" , "To eat sparingly" , "Fine discernment" , "Sample by eating or drinking a little" .)