Volunteer Coordinator Interview Preparation Guide

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Volunteer coordinator’s have to play important roles in a team or group. Your ability in setting relationships with other team members should be appeared in your interview answers and you should mention your contribution into the success of the team.

Seemingly innocent and of course you need to grasp this opportunity to highlight your strengths and showcase your portfolio. At the same time don’t forget one important aspect – giving credit to others. While you may have managed or planned a successful event, chances are you didn’t do it alone so they are looking for you to acknowledge teamwork and give credit where it’s due, while also highlighting your own skillset.

What motivates you and why have you chosen this career path? Employers want to know if you will be able to deal with the less than glamorous side – whether that’s long hours or a huge workload – and that you won’t lose interest when the going gets tough. We all need to pay the bills but why have you decided on an event planning career specifically?

The interviewer wants to hear about a positive experience you have had with leadership. Think about a time when you led a group either in the work environment or on a business class assignment when you were really proud of the outcome! Start off by giving the interviewer a high-level overview of what you were leading, and share that you enjoyed the experience. Discuss the positive outcome that the group had, and explain that you would gladly lead again!

This can be a great way to stand out from other applicants and demonstrate initiative. Almost every company will have a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, or some sort of digital footprint. Spend a bit of time doing some online research:

☛ If they have a website, check out their “About us” or “Culture/Mission/Vision” pages.
☛ Who are some of the principal people who work there? Who are the founders?
☛ What sorts of things does this company care about? Do they donate to a particular cause or charity? Which one(s)?
☛ What are their core values? Which of their core values resonate with you?
☛ Has the company been in the news recently or have they won any awards (Social Media can be a great place to find this information).

Another tricky one. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself.

One the one hand, if you suggest you don’t have any weaknesses, your interviewer will almost certainly see you as a lair, egotistical, or both.

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to present a positive skill in disguise as a weakness, like “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist”. Any experienced interviewer will see through this in a heartbeat.

Often interviews will start with an “easy” question to encourage you to relax. However, the way you answer a question like this also gives a good initial insight into the type of person you are. The important thing is that you show that you are an interesting and active individual, with a passion for life. Not having any hobbies to share or saying something like “watching TV” can suggest that you are quite passive or uninspiring. On the other hand if you have a memorable or quirky hobby or a number of things you like to do in your spare time, this can count in your favour as it may be memorable to the panel and shows your zest for life.

Asking about your favourite event genre is easy but asking about the events you are least interested in gives insight into what parts of event planning you dislike and also helps to see if you are a good match for the job. In preparing for the interview you should have been reading up on the company and getting as much background information as possible. It would be a big blooper if the organization runs a lot of conferences and you reveal that you hate planning conferences and think that all conferences are boring.

Whatever answer you give get specific about why you don’t like a specific type of event but always end on a positive such as; “but if I was working on a project I would always work to a high standard, whether or not the event type is my preference”. Also remember that you may be describing a project they have in mind so try to let them know that while it isn’t your favourite, it wouldn’t hinder your ability to get it done.

Absolutely! Fundraising is all about asking people for money in unique ways, and you are a pro at it to be in the field! Tell the interviewer that fundraising is asking people for money, and this is often done in outside of the box ways. Share that you enjoy collecting money to fundraise for whatever organization you are a part of, and you look forward to doing so for this company.

Most event planners juggle multiple event projects at once and are skilled at multitasking. What the interview panel are looking to hear is your attitude towards a larger workload and whether you find it easy or hard to deal with multiple deadlines. Chances are you will be needing to draw on this skill again in the job role you are being interviewed for.

Time management is one of the most important aspects to meeting deadlines and staying on track. Do you have an organisational program that you use? How do you ensure that you stay on task and meet the required deadlines? This is about specifics, draw on previous examples if you can.