We’re in the final week of our series looking at possible youth worker interview questions. Each week we’ve given you tips and advice on how you can best prepare for and answer possible interview questions:

• Week 1 – 20 questions you might be asked in a youth work interview
• Week 2 – How to answer job interview questions about yourself
• Week 3 – How to answer interview questions about how you work
• Week 4 – How to answer interview questions about how you work with youth

Q: I have a job interview coming up. What kind of youth worker interview questions can I expect to be asked?

A: You can expect to be asked questions that are job or role specific. These are going to be questions that we can’t help you answer specifically, but we can offer a few tips on how to approach your preparation for such questions.

Possible types or styles of questions include:

• How much experience do you have working with (insert type of youth work you’re applying for here – e.g. foster care, black, Muslim, LGBTQ, refugee, Latino/a, at-risk, homeless, etc.) youth?
• (Faith-based) What theological training do you have and how would you engage youth in the discipleship process?
• Please create a session plan around (insert topic for type of youth work you are applying for here – e.g. youth leaving prison, youth excluded/expelled from traditional school, sexual health awareness, bible study/church small group, global youth work, etc.) and be prepared to present it with a group of youth (or to the interviewers). You have 20 minutes to plan and 10 minutes to present.
• What are the three most important things to remember when doing _____________ activity with youth?  (This may be a question for those planning youth trips or working at youth activity centers)

Here are 3 tips for preparing for these kinds of youth worker interview questions:

1. Know that you have all or most of the required skills and experience before the interview

Theoretically, this has already happened at the application stage. You can expect to be asked detailed questions about how long you’ve done this particular type of youth work and what your experiences are, so don’t expect to wing it based on the brief information provided in your application or on your resume/CV.

If you have already confirmed that you have the right amount of experience and training working with that youth population, you should have ample situations and scenarios to build on when answering any tough questions.

2. Take time to find out about the interview process and if there are any tasks you will be expected to do during the interview.

Find out if it is a panel interview or a one-on-one session. Ask if you will be presenting to youth, creating an example session or completing a mock-budget task. Find out if you will need to plan a trip in 15 minutes or come up with ideas for media projects on the spot.

Take the time to prepare beforehand. Then, when you are presented with your planning and execution time you will already have some ideas formulated. They may not tell you much because they want to see what you will do under pressure; if that’s the case, still take the time to consider possible options that they may present you with based on your experience.

You’ll already be a little nervous on the day, so taking time to prepare answers and ideas beforehand – even just engaging in the creative process – will only improve your responses during the interview.

3. Be yourself

If you’re applying for a niche role, you’re most likely interested in it and passionate about it. Allow that to shine through and support all the preparation you’ve done before the interview.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this series on youth worker interview questions and that it will help you when preparing for your next interview.

Question: What other questions have you been asked when interviewed for youth work jobs? We’d love to hear in the comments below.

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4. Signing up to our RSS feed

 

This is week four in a five week series about youth worker interview questions. You can check out the other posts here:

• Week 1 – 20 questions you might be asked in a youth work interview
• Week 2 – How to answer job interview questions about yourself
• Week 3 – How to answer interview questions about how you work
• Week 5 – Youth worker interview questions specific to the role

Next week will be the final installment looking at how to answer questions that are role specific.

Today’s post explores possible questions and answers about how you work with youth. This will obviously vary greatly based on your experiences and perspective on youth work practice; these are just tips, possible suggestions and links to some of our previous posts that might be helpful to get you started.

Q: I have a job interview coming up. What kind of youth worker interview questions can I expect to be asked?

A: In any youth worker interview you can expect to be asked about how you work with youth, how you handle challenging situations and how your practice has developed through your experience.

1) Describe a time you had an angry youth to deal with

• As with any question in the interview, be prepared to be honest. If you previously dealt with an angry youth one way (particularly if you reacted in anger), and upon reflection feel that it wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, share that. However, make sure you’ve got the necessary distance from the situation to have perspective and the ability to be reflective about the experience. If you are still upset about the situation, that will come through in your interview.
• Be ready to talk about who or what was the antecedent to the behavior. Was the youth angry when they arrived at the session; if so, what did you do early on? Did the youth develop their angry feelings during the session; if so, what happened? How did you support them through their feelings? Did they become aggressive? What steps did you take to keep everyone safe and secure?

2) What steps would you take when planning a youth trip?

• First, confirm if you are supposed to share what you would do for a day trip, overnight trip or long, overnight youth trip.
• If you have a lot of experience planning trips just share your steps, what you did when and how successful they have been.
• You might want to have a look at three of our posts about youth trip planning to make sure you haven’t missed anything crucial when preparing your answer:
  • Choose your own adventure – planning youth camps and residentials
  • Three keys for a successful youth trip
  • Top five tips for a safe youth trip

3) How would you handle a youth who is vulnerable and shows an unhealthy interest in spending time with you, particularly alone?

• Make sure that you emphasize the fact that you would immediately make your supervisor aware of the situation and take extra precautions to safeguard yourself and the youth by always having a second member of staff around when the youth is present, etc.

4) What are three things you think are most important when working with youth?

• Again, this is a question only you can answer, but it’s worth giving it thought before you get to the interview so that you don’t ramble.
• Repeat the question back in the answer to make sure you’re taking the time you need to formulate your answer and that you’re answering the question that they are asking. For example, ‘Three things that I think are most important when working with youth are…” and then give your answer.

5) How would you get a shy youth to open up in a group or mentoring session?

• Share what has worked for you and maybe what didn’t work but what you learned from it. For me, it’s all about the open-ended question and being patient in the awkward pause. I don’t force shy youth to join in, but I do everything I can to create the optimal safe-space in which they can share when they are ready.

6) How would you describe your style as a youth worker?

• Are you familiar with youth participation (aka youth empowerment)?
• Do you like to create ownership in your youth programs?
• How do you help youth make decisions – do you do it for them or guide them through the process?
• Are you a dream squisher or enabler with young people?
• What qualities make a great youth worker for you?

With these questions, interviewers are trying to figure out if you will fit in the culture of their organization from a youth work perspective. An organization that has youth participation as a ‘hot button issue’ for all their programs probably wants to find a youth worker who believes in adult-led programming. Similarly, an organization that deals primarily with vulnerable youth will want to find out how you will handle complex and challenging situations when presented with them.

Take your time and learn all you can about the role and organization you are applying for. Also make sure that you regularly take time to reflect on your practice, even if you’re not planning to move roles any time soon. That way, you can learn from mistakes (or even learn from good situations) to make each and every session with youth better than the one before.

Next week is our final installment and we’ll be looking at specific questions pertaining to the role you are applying for.

Question: What youth worker interview questions have you been asked relating to how you work with youth? We’d love for you to comment below so that other youth workers can prepare more thoroughly for their interviews.

You can also connect with us by:

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2. Following us on Twitter
3. Liking us on Facebook
4. Signing up to our RSS feed

 

This is the third post in a five week series about youth worker interview questions. Check out the other posts in the series at the bottom of the post.

Q: I have a job interview coming up. What kind of youth worker interview questions can I expect to be asked?

A: You can expect to be asked questions about how you work with others – with both your coworkers and youth. Here are a few possible questions you may be asked about how you work with your coworkers and some tips on how to answer them. Next week we’ll explore possible questions about how you work with youth, so check back!

1) Do you prefer to work alone or with a team?

• Always answer questions honestly, but do your homework first. If this role has a job description that requires 85% time working with minimal support and interaction and you’re a team player, it might not be the right fit for you.
• If it’s a job that’s in a close-knit team that works well together and you prefer to work completely alone as often as possible, you may want to find a role that suits your interests and abilities better. That’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t stretch yourself to learn new ways of working, but you should make it clear what you prefer and why you think you’d still be a great fit for this role.
• Be prepared to give an example of your work in a team and on your own and be ready to  discuss what worked and didn’t work with each approach.

2) Share a time when you worked with, or in the case of a supervisory role, led, a team. What worked well and what would you improve?

• Following on from the feedback in question one, have stories that serve as examples of your work thought out beforehand. Share what went well (there’s always something) and one thing (or more) you’d improve – again, there’s always something.
• If it’s a supervisory role you’re applying for, be prepared to talk about what kind of leader you are and how you delegate tasks and create teams, as well as being prepared to talk about ways you’ve led teams well and times where your leadership skills could have or did improve throughout a project.

3) Share a time when you disagreed with your supervisor about a youth work-related decision.

• Some interview questions are downright uncomfortable to answer. No one wants to talk about how they thought their previous boss was wrong when they’re trying to impress a new one. Especially if the situation didn’t turn out ideally.
• Interviewers might want to know the answer to this question for a number of reasons such as wanting to know if you follow the policies and procedures set out by the organization for handling disagreements, whether you’re a follower or have your own convictions, how you channel your frustrations (do you go and tell everyone around you or do you tackle the problem head on), or how honest you’re being in the interview process versus what kind of worker you really are.
• You also don’t have to share the biggest and most painful experiences from your career with the interview panel. Think of a story that answers their question honestly and thoroughly while still accurately showing how you work. If you had a bad experience, but have since learned from it and handle disagreements differently now, you can share your learned experience rather than just sharing the hard road to learning in the first place.
• Be prepared to talk about what you learned from the situation. Maybe your side of the disagreement wasn’t followed in the end and you learned a new way of working with youth. Or maybe there was some training or professional development that was identified through the situation.

6) What computer skills do you have? What social media and online tools are you familiar with or proficient in?

• I know I keep harping on about honesty, but do not say that you know how to use a software program or online tool that you do not. If you know that is a prerequisite for the job, get the skills before the interview if possible or identify a program that you do know how to use that’s similar to the one they’re requiring. If you are computer literate, you will be able to learn new programs and systems and that will show through.
• Learning how to use social media is easier than ever and many youth work jobs require you to have those skills. Practice using a free blog service if you know that blogging is required for the role. Some programs like Adobe Photoshop or Apple’s iMovie might need more time and specialist training. You may need get more before applying for that role or be prepared to discuss your need for professional development in that area.
• It’s the twenty-first century. You need to get computer skills if you don’t already have them. Take a typing class or computer class at the local adult education center. Invest some time with your youth learning new technologies. Be open to trial and error because you won’t get it perfect each time; it’s very unlikely that you will cause the ‘blue screen of death’ while trying to learn how to use Excel or Twitter.

Last week the skills we shared had a lot to do with transferable skills (the ability to share how the skills you learned in one role translate over to another, even it if wasn’t always youth work related). While this week it’s all about being able to develop, interviewers ask questions about you to see how you will fit in with their current team and how well you grow and adapt in a working environment.

They want to know if you’re willing to change and develop as a practitioner, not just stick with what you’ve always done. Even if you don’t have every skill or experience they’re looking for, your ability to reflect on your experiences and make changes to your practice will be very appealing to most employers.

You can check out the other posts about youth worker interview questions below:

• Week 1 – 20 questions you might be asked in a youth work interview
• Week 2 – How to answer job interview questions about yourself
• Week 4 – Questions you might be asked about how you work with youth
• Week 5 – Youth worker interview questions specific to the role

If you’re interested in youth worker interview preparation, please contact us today to set up a virtual consultation.

Question: How do you prepare to discuss yourself in a youth work interview? We’d love to hear your tips and experiences in the comments below.

You can also connect with us by:

1. Signing up to receive our posts via email
2. Following us on Twitter
3. Liking us on Facebook
4. Signing up to our RSS feed

 

This is week two in a five week series about youth worker interview questions – check out the other posts at the bottom of the page.

Q: I have a job interview coming up. What kind of youth worker interview questions can I expect to be asked?

A: You can expect to be asked questions about yourself. Here are a few possible questions you may be asked and some tips on how to answer them.

1) How long have you been a youth worker? What experience do you have – either paid or volunteering if you are new to youth work?

• One key in any interview is to answer with honesty. Be truthful about the amount of time you’ve been working with youth. Any organization can do the research and find out from your references if you’re being honest. You may end up costing yourself the job by embellishing about your experience.
• The other part of honesty is giving yourself credit where you do deserve it. Make sure that you share your experiences – both paid and volunteer – even if they don’t seem that important to you. You may have had a useful experience during that time the interviewer will ask about.

2) Do you have any training or qualifications? If so, how do you think these will help you in this role?

• These may not be youth work qualifications, but they may still have given you transferrable skills to discuss that relate to youth work.
• Think about the transferrable skills you acquired before you get to the interview. Consider youth work situations that you may encounter and how your training and qualifications prepared you for it. For example, if you have a business degree, it’s likely that you participated in group projects. This may help you explain the group development process and things that you would do the same or improve upon when doing a group project with young people based on your experiences during your degree.

3) What are your strengths when working with youth? What are your weaknesses?

• Think about your strengths and weaknesses before the interview. Talk to your colleagues, family, friends and youth you may already be working with to find out how they might describe you. Find one or two of each that you can discuss concisely so that you don’t ramble and over share.
• Embrace your weaknesses. Don’t just find ways to turn your weaknesses into more strengths. Think about ways you’re working to improve your weaknesses and the steps you’ve taken to develop in areas of weakness instead of just trying to explain them away as strengths. This shows that you’re a reflective practitioner who has good intrapersonal skills and a clear understanding of yourself and your developmental needs.

4) What kind of ideas do you have for this program or organization’s youth work?

• Come up with 3-5 ideas for their organization and how it relates to their mission and vision statement. You need to do research ahead of time to make sure that you don’t suggest programs that are outside the remit of the organization you’re applying for.

These are just a few of the possible youth work questions you might be asked. Check out our other posts in this series for more ideas on how to answer interview questions:

• Week 1 – 20 questions you might be asked in a youth work interview
• Week 3 – How to answer interview questions about how you work with others
• Week 4 – Interview questions about how you work with youth
• Week 5 – Youth worker interview questions specific to the role

If you’re interested in youth worker interview preparation, please contact us today to set up a virtual consultation.

Question: How do you prepare to discuss yourself in a youth work interview? We’d love to hear your tips and experiences in the comments below.

You can also connect with us by:

1. Signing up to receive our posts via email
2. Following us on Twitter
3. Liking us on Facebook
4. Signing up to our RSS feed