The Top 20 Volunteering Interview Questions You Should Ask

Interviewing volunteers is a crucial part of building an effective and committed volunteer program. Taking the time to get to know your potential volunteers will help ensure you place them in suitable roles that utilize their skills and inspire them to keep contributing.

In this article, we provide the top 20 volunteering interview questions you should ask to help you find the best volunteers

Why Conduct Interviews for Volunteer Roles?

Interviewing volunteers serves several important purposes:

• It allows you to assess if the volunteer is a good match for your organization and the role. Not every volunteer will be right for your particular needs.

• It gives the volunteer a chance to find out more about your organization and the role to see if it aligns with their interests and availability.

• It enables you to determine the motivations and goals of the volunteer. This helps you place them in a suitable role and retain them longer by ensuring they get value from the experience.

• It provides an opportunity to outline your expectations and requirements, such as time commitments, training, policies etc. This sets clear expectations from the start.

• It establishes a relationship and starts building trust between your organization and the volunteer. This leads to more engaged and committed volunteers

Overall, taking the time to interview volunteers reduces the chances of mismatches and turnover, while increasing the productivity and impact of your volunteer program.

Generic Volunteering Interview Questions

These common interview questions help get an overall sense of the volunteer:

• Why are you interested in volunteering with our organization?

This reveals their motivations and values. Look for alignment with your organization’s mission and causes.

• What kind of volunteer work interests you?

Helps determine their skills, preferences and role match.

• What would you want to get out of this volunteering experience?

Highlights their goals so you can shape the experience accordingly.

• What skills or qualities can you bring to our organization?

Gives insight into their abilities and how they can contribute.

• How much time can you commit to volunteering?

Essential to know for roster planning. Get specifics.

• Are you volunteering as part of a school or community program?

Context on external requirements can shape the experience.

• Do you have any questions for me about the role or our organization?

Their questions show genuine interest and considerations.

• Have you volunteered before? What did you enjoy about the experience?

Previous enjoyment indicates a good cultural fit.

• Is there anything that could affect your ability to volunteer consistently?

Helps foresee barriers or challenges to address proactively.

• What are your other current commitments or priorities in life?

Provides context on availability and potential schedule conflicts.

Getting responses to these common questions provides a basic overview of the volunteer and how suited they may be to your needs. Tailor follow-up questions to fill in any gaps.

Role-Specific Volunteering Interview Questions

After the general introductory questions, you need to ask more specific questions tailored to the requirements of the volunteer role.

For example, if you are recruiting volunteers for an upcoming fundraising event, some focused questions could include:

• Are you comfortable approaching people and asking for donations or selling raffle tickets?

• How do you handle rejection if someone says no?

• Do you have experience counting money or handling cash safely?

• Are you willing to stand outside for several hours at a time?

The examples show how you can probe for role-relevant skills, qualities and comfort levels. This helps determine suitability and sets expectations.

Other examples of role-specific questions:

For volunteer tutors/mentors:

• Do you have experience teaching or mentoring children/youth? If so, what age groups?

• How would you handle a student who is disengaged or disruptive?

• Are you comfortable enforcing boundaries with students?

For volunteer counselors:

• What qualifications or training do you have in counseling?

• How would you handle a client in distress wanting to self-harm?

• Are you willing to adhere to confidentiality policies regarding client information?

For volunteer event staff:

• Are you comfortable handling large crowds in a busy environment?

• Do you have experience setting up for events, such as moving equipment?

• How do you handle last-minute changes or unexpected issues arising?

As you can see, tailoring questions to the context provides much deeper insight into fit and abilities. Take the time to think through the specific needs of the role and craft relevant questions that probe for them.

Interview Questions to Avoid with Volunteers

There are certain types of questions that should be avoided when interviewing volunteers:

• Discriminatory questions – Do not ask about protected characteristics like race, religion, age, sexual orientation etc. unless directly relevant to the role.

• Leading questions – Avoid questions that hint at a desired answer instead of an honest one.

• Hypothetical scenarios – Situational and behavioral questions are better than vague “what if” hypotheticals.

• Personal lifestyle questions – Unless pertinent to availability, avoid questions about marital status, children, living situations etc.

• Yes/no questions – These elicit short responses rather than insight. Re-frame as open-ended questions instead.

• Overly difficult questions – Questions should assess abilities, not try to trip up candidates.

• Legally protected information – Avoid asking disability-related questions specifically. Allow volunteers to disclose special needs themselves.

• Setup questions – Don’t ask questions just to make yourself look good by answering them.

By steering clear of these kinds of questions, you create a more professional, welcoming and equitable interview process. The focus should be assessing fit, not prying or cornering candidates.

Practical Tips for Interviewing Volunteers

Here are some tips to help create positive interviews with your volunteers:

• Set a friendly tone – Smile, make eye contact, and establish common ground early with some introductory chat.

• Ask open-ended questions – Encourage detailed responses by avoiding yes/no or close-ended questions.

• Rotate questions between people – If co-interviewing, trade off questions to keep it conversational.

• Listen more than speak – Interviews are for assessing the volunteer, not demonstrating your own expertise.

• Sell the role – Emphasize the positive impacts and importance of the role. Be enthusiastic.

• Watch body language – Note signs of engagement/disengagement, discomfort etc. and respond accordingly.

• Leave time for their questions – Show you are open by allowing questions and giving thoughtful answers.

• Close on a positive note – Thank them for their time and interest, and reaffirm next steps.

Following tips like these helps create a welcoming volunteer interview process for all parties. The more at ease volunteers feel, the more natural and honest their responses will be.

After the Interview

Once you have interviewed potential volunteers, here are some next steps to take:

• Compare notes if you had multiple people participate in the interview. Discuss highlights and concerns.

• Rate and rank candidates based on their fit to the role and your organization’s needs.

• Let candidates know next steps so they aren’t left hanging. Even if rejecting, thank them for their time and interest.

• Start paperwork for successful candidates like reference checks, police checks and registrations.

• Begin onboarding and training new volunteers so they can get started. Clearly convey role duties, expectations, policies and timelines.

• Continue recruiting if you still have volunteer openings you need to fill.

Leverage the insights gained from your interviews to make strategic volunteer selection decisions. Match the right volunteers to the right roles for maximum motivation and impact.

Key Takeaways on Volunteering Interview Questions

• Ask general questions first to ascertain overall fit, motivations and availability.

• Tailor role-specific questions to probe abilities needed for that particular role.

• Avoid discriminatory, hypothetical, confrontational or overly personal questions.

• Create a welcoming tone and actively listen to responses.

• Compare candidates and make clear accept/reject decisions based on assessments.

• Onboard new volunteers with clear expectations, duties and training.

Taking a strategic approach to volunteer interviews will enable you to build an engaged, productive volunteer team that helps propel your organization’s mission. By matching the right volunteers to the right roles based on interviews, you set yourselves up for volunteer program success.