Volunteer Coordinator Interview Questions And Answers

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.

Many consider this question to be a loaded gun – dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced. Often times, an interviewee will start talking salary before they’ve had an opportunity to illustrate their skill set and value making any sort of leverage valueless. Here, knowledge is power, as salary often comes down to negotiation. Do some research into your industry to establish base rates of pay based on seniority and demand but keep in mind – your employer is hiring you for what they believe you are worth, and how much benefit they feel you will provide.

☛ How long have you been attending ABC Church?
☛ Please tell me how you learned of this volunteer position.
☛ Tell me why you would like to volunteer for ABC Church.
☛ Why are are interested in this particular volunteer position?
☛ Can you give me an example of another volunteer position you had and the responsibilities you had in that position?
☛ Do you have any physical limitations for jobs that require physical activity?
☛ Tell me how you typically resolve conflict.
☛ What are some tasks that you enjoy doing?
☛ What are some tasks that you would prefer not to do?
☛ What hobbies do you have?
☛ What do you do for a living?
☛ How would your friends and family describe you?
☛ When can you begin your volunteer job?
☛ Do you have any questions for me?

☛ Tell me about a time when you had to accommodate a last-minute change. What did you do and who was involved?
☛ What do you do when you are feeling stressed?
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client. What was the result?

☛ How do you prioritize your time? What organization tools do you use?
☛ When kicking off a new event, what are the first steps you take?
☛ Have you ever managed more than one event at a time? Did you complete both events successfully and if so, how?

☛ What event technology/software do you use/prefer now? What new event technology are you excited to try?
☛ What marketing technology do you use to promote events? How do you manage your social media, advertising, and email campaigns?
☛ How do you stay up-to-date with the event industry?

☛ Have you ever gone over budget? How did you deal with it?
☛ How have you negotiated with sponsors, vendors, and partners to make more room in the budget?
☛ What tools do you use to manage your budget?

☛ Describe a time you dealt with an argument between volunteers
☛ Recall an instance in your time as a volunteer when you found it difficult to stay motivated. What did you do? What do you think a volunteer coordinator should have done?
☛ Tell me about a time you had to work while being short staffed. How did you manage?
☛ Describe a project/event you coordinated successfully

☛ How do you measure the success of your events? Do you use qualitative or quantitative data?
☛ Describe your most successful event planning experience. What did you do that made it so successful?
☛ What do you think makes a good event?

☛ How would you encourage diversity among volunteers?
☛ How would you promote the recognition of volunteers’ work in the community?
☛ Imagine one of the most committed volunteers tells you they want to quit. What do you say?
☛ You will need to work with people who don’t receive any compensation for what they do. How do you motivate/reward them?
☛ Imagine you interview a volunteer who seems a nice, outgoing and enthusiastic person. Yet you find that they lack time-management and organizational skills. What do you do?
☛ If you didn’t have enough volunteers, would you take any person who applied? What would it take for you to refuse a volunteer?

☛ How would you rate yourself as a leader?
☛ Do you find our mission important and why?
☛ How does your experience make you right for this role?
☛ What’s your experience with databases? How would you use them to recruit volunteers?
☛ What system would you use to keep track of volunteers?
☛ Are you familiar with background checks? When would it be necessary to conduct one?
☛ What’s your experience in training volunteers/employees?
☛ What type of software do you think a volunteer coordinator needs? Have you used any in the past?
☛ What do you need to know to create a schedule for volunteers?

This one is all about job commitment.

Some people make job hopping a career in of itself, and your answer here can be telling. Here, your interviewer is determining if you are:

☛ someone who sets goals
☛ someone who has a vision
☛ someone who is reliable
☛ someone who demonstrates commitment
☛ someone who is loyal

While no interviewer expects someone to stay at a company forever, try and craft your response in such a way that shows progression in your career, and alignment with the Company’s needs and future. Again, self awareness is key – your employer doesn’t want to send you down an unwanted path, resulting in wasted time and energy for everyone.

Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I’ve been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn’t realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.

Again this goes back to prioritising but the specifics of event venue selection can be important to many brands and clients as this is one of the larger (costly) decisions that are made. Explain how you would narrow down options for the client and then work closely with them so they don’t feel as though you would make these decisions without understanding their needs. This would also be a good time to mention your venue negotiating skills to get the best deal.

An innocent question. But a question that if answered improperly, can be a deal breaker. While many individuals will be looking to a new job as a means of increasing their salary, “not being paid well enough at your last job” is not something you want to mention to your interviewer. After all, are you not likely to leave this particular job if you found you could make more down the street?

If you’re currently employed and leaving of your own accord, craft your response around enhancing your career development and a seeking out of new challenges.

If your current employer is downsizing, be honest about it, remain positive, but keep it brief. If your employer fired you or let you go for cause, be prepared to give a brief – but honest – reply. No matter how tempting it may be, or how “unfair it was that they let you go” steer clear away from any and all drama and negativity. Any experienced employer understands that sometimes things happen. Staying positive is key here.

Focus on your strengths here and avoid putting others down, be specific and give examples of how you have dealt with event fails or navigated tricky situations. Discuss everything you can but avoid naming competition or bashing other planners. Competition or not you may end up working with them and you don’t know your potential boss or client’s relationship with them either!