Interview Questions to Ask Volunteers
For volunteer coordinators at a nonprofit, school, church, hospital or shelter who need interview questions to ask new volunteers before placing them. The list follows the conversation: why they chose you, the time they can give, experience and skills, reliability and teamwork, then care and safety with the people or animals you serve, from boundaries through checks and references, and a close on what they hope to get from it. Each question has a note on what a good or a worrying answer sounds like and what to do with it.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Why us
Why do you want to volunteer with us?
Why ask it
The answer to hope for ties something in their own life to something you actually do: a parent who was cared for at the hospice, a dog adopted from the shelter, a free Tuesday and a liking for how the pantry is run. 'I just want to help' is a fair start. Follow it by asking what made them pick you over the other places that need help.
What do you know about what we do and who we serve?
Why ask it
Nobody needs to have read the annual report. You are checking that the picture in their head matches the work, because someone expecting to cuddle kittens should hear about the cleaning now. Correct any gap on the spot and watch whether the interest holds.
What made now the right time to start volunteering?
Why ask it
Retirement, a child starting school, a move to town, a class requirement: each reason hints at how long the free time will last. If the reason is a recent loss or crisis close to your cause, be kind about it and ask how it would feel to be near that every week.
What kind of work do you picture yourself doing here?
Why ask it
Compare the picture with the roles that are open. If they see themselves reading with children and the gap is in the stockroom, say so plainly. Some people take the stockroom gladly, and it is better to find out today who would not.
Is there a personal connection to this cause that you are comfortable telling me about?
Why ask it
Lived experience brings in some of the most committed volunteers, so make room for it and make it optional. Where the experience is recent, talk about starting one step back from the front line, in a role such as reception or driving, and reviewing it together later.
How did you find out that we take volunteers?
Why ask it
A short one that earns its place twice. It shows which of your recruiting efforts work, and a referral from a current volunteer gives you a natural person to pair them with on a first shift.
Time
Which days and times can you usually give us?
Why ask it
Write the answer down exactly. 'Whenever' is the hardest reply to schedule, so ask for two slots they could keep every week, and check them against the real gaps in your schedule before you promise anything.
How many hours a week or a month do you want to give?
Why ask it
The number offered in an interview is usually a best week, not a typical one. Suggest starting a little below it and adding to it after a month. A small shift that is always covered is worth more to you than a large one that lapses.
How long do you expect to be able to keep this up?
Why ask it
If you ask for a minimum commitment, say what it is and why, usually the cost of training. A student who is home for one summer has given you an honest answer. Fit them to a task that takes an afternoon to learn.
Is there anything in the next few months that will take you away for a while?
Why ask it
Travel, exams, a busy season at work or a new baby are all things you can plan around once you know. Dates are enough. There is no need to ask for the reason behind them.
Are you volunteering anywhere else at the moment?
Why ask it
Another commitment is no mark against them. Ask which one gives way when the two clash in a busy week, and what the other place has them doing, since that is work they already know. Whether training or checks done elsewhere count with you is for your own policy to say.
Are you looking for a regular slot, or would you rather help with events and one-off jobs?
Why ask it
Both kinds of volunteer are useful, and trouble starts only when one is scheduled as the other. Put the events people on a call list and stop asking them about Thursdays.
How will you get here, and does that still work late in the evening or in bad weather?
Why ask it
Few people bring up transportation unless asked, and a shift that is hard to reach is the first one dropped. If yours ends after the last bus, offer an earlier one or see whether another volunteer drives that way.
Do you need your hours recorded or signed off for a school, a class, a court or an employer?
Why ask it
Ask to see the form before the first shift: who has to sign, how many hours, by what date, and whether your tasks count. The rules belong to the school or program that set them, so read its paperwork and do not guess. If you cannot give what it needs, say so now.
Experience
Tell me a little about yourself: your work, your studies, whatever fills your days.
Why ask it
Paid work, school, raising children, caring for a parent, thirty years on a factory floor: all of it is experience, and people who have never volunteered tend to leave the useful parts out. Give it two minutes and jot down anything a role here could use.
Have you volunteered before, and what did you do there?
Why ask it
Ask for tasks, not titles. 'I ran the Tuesday sorting table' tells you more than 'I helped at a food bank'. With a first-timer, ask about anything unpaid they have kept going, such as coaching a team or looking after a relative.
What did you enjoy about it, and what made you stop?
Why ask it
A move, a new job or a program that closed are ordinary endings. If it ended in a falling-out, listen for whether their own part appears anywhere in the story. Whatever drove them away, check that you are not about to offer the same thing.
Which of your skills would you most like to use here?
Why ask it
Do not assume it is the one they are paid for. An accountant may be longing to walk dogs and never see a spreadsheet on a Saturday. Ask outright before you hand them the books.
Is there something you can do that we would never guess from your form?
Why ask it
A second language, a pickup truck, sewing, fixing bicycles, a steady hand with a camera. Put it in their file even if you have no use for it this month, because the day you need it you will not remember who mentioned it.
Do you hold any training or certificates that could be useful, such as first aid, food safety or a driver's license?
Why ask it
Look at the document itself and note when it expires. What a role requires, and whether an outside certificate counts toward it, depends on where you are and on your organization's own rules and insurer, so check there before relying on one.
A shift in this role means [lifting boxes, three hours on your feet, cleaning kennels, working outdoors]. Is any of that a problem for you?
Why ask it
Describe the real demands and let them tell you what works. That is better than asking about anyone's health, and what you are allowed to ask on that subject differs from place to place, so ask whoever advises your organization. Often a small change, a stool or a shorter shift, settles it.
Is there any task here that you could not do or would rather not do?
Why ask it
Handling meat, personal care, serving alcohol at a fundraiser, leading a prayer, being present when an animal is put to sleep: limits like these are easy to schedule around once known. They do not owe you the reason.
How comfortable are you with computers, phones and forms?
Why ask it
Plenty of roles now include a sign-in tablet or a database, and it is fairer to say so up front. Low confidence can be trained. Being unwilling to try is the thing to notice, and where a paper version exists, mention it.
Reliability and teamwork
Something comes up an hour before your shift and you cannot make it. What do you do?
Why ask it
'Call as early as I can' is the whole of a good answer. Then give them your actual procedure: which number, how much notice, who finds the cover. Worry a little about any reply that treats showing up as optional because the work is unpaid.
Tell me about something you kept showing up for even when it was inconvenient.
Why ask it
Small, dull examples are the convincing ones: the weekly ride for a neighbor, the team coached through a wet winter. Someone with no example at all is not ruled out, but start them on a short trial period with a date to review it.
What tends to make you lose interest in something you have signed up for?
Why ask it
Most replies are things within your control: standing around with nothing to do, never hearing whether the work mattered, plans that change at the last minute. Write theirs down. It is a short list of what would lose you this volunteer.
How do you feel about being shown one set way to do a task, even where you would do it differently?
Why ask it
Kitchens, hospital floors and kennels have procedures for reasons a newcomer cannot see yet. A good reply is to do it the house way first and raise the suggestion afterward. Take note of anyone who says they usually find a better method.
If you were unsure what to do in the middle of a shift, what would you do?
Why ask it
This sorts the people who ask from the people who guess. Guessing is harmless when stacking shelves and risky with a client or an animal in front of you. Use the moment to name who is in charge on each shift.
Tell me about a time someone told you that you were doing something wrong. What happened next?
Why ask it
Notice where the story ends: with something they changed, or with why the other person was mistaken. If their shift leader is likely to be a good deal younger than they are, or a fellow volunteer and not staff, mention it and see how it lands.
What would you do if you disagreed with a decision made by staff or by a longer-serving volunteer?
Why ask it
Bringing it to the coordinator in private is what you are hoping to hear. Taking it to other volunteers, to the people you serve or online is the pattern to worry about. Tell them where complaints go so that the right route is easy.
Parts of this work are repetitive or unglamorous. How do you feel about that?
Why ask it
Name the actual chores: folding, labeling, mopping, washing bowls. A shrug and 'somebody has to' is all you need. If they ask how soon they can move on to something more interesting, give a straight answer about how long that takes here.
How are you when a shift gets hectic and several people need you at once?
Why ask it
Describe your own version of it: the pantry line out the door, the phones during a storm, intake day at the shelter. Slowing down, finishing one thing and asking the shift lead what comes first is a sound answer. Be wary of 'I thrive on chaos' where the job is to follow a procedure exactly.
Would you rather have a task of your own or be one of a team on shift?
Why ask it
Either preference can be placed, a solo driver as easily as one of six in a kitchen. The mismatch is what costs you: a sociable person alone in a storeroom leaves quietly, and a private one on a busy front desk dreads the day.
How do you get along with people very different from you in age, background or outlook?
Why ask it
One shift can put a sixteen-year-old, a retired judge and someone finishing court-ordered hours at the same table, so ask for a time they worked beside someone unlike themselves. A dismissive remark about any group matters twice over, since the people you serve will meet the same attitude.
Care and safety
Have you spent time around [the people or animals we serve] before?
Why ask it
Experience is rarely essential, but it tells you where orientation has to start. For animals, ask which kinds and sizes, and whether they have handled one that was frightened. For people, ask what the setting was and what they found hard about it.
What do you expect to find hardest about this work?
Why ask it
A considered answer means they have pictured the real thing. If nothing comes to mind, describe a hard day honestly, a patient who dies, a guest who shouts, an animal that cannot be saved, and ask again. 'What support is there?' is a better sign than a quick 'I would be fine'.
How would you respond if someone we serve was rude, upset or angry with you?
Why ask it
Staying calm, not taking it personally and fetching a staff member cover most of it. Arguing back or expecting gratitude are the replies to weigh. Explain what your people are trained to do, so they know they will not be left alone with it.
How would you handle an animal that was frightened or would not cooperate?
Why ask it
One for shelters and rescues. Backing off, not forcing it and fetching staff is the sound reply. 'Animals always love me' is the one to be careful with, since confidence without caution is how hands get bitten.
How would you handle it if someone we serve held beliefs or made choices you disagree with?
Why ask it
You want to hear that the person gets the same service as everyone else, with no commentary. Listen for an urge to advise, correct or persuade, in a faith-based program as much as a secular one, and tell them what your organization expects.
What do you do to look after yourself after a hard day?
Why ask it
Worth asking for hospice, crisis line and shelter roles. Any real habit will do: a walk, a talk with a friend, knowing when to take a week off. If they have none, tell them what debrief or support you offer and who to ask for it.
What would you do if someone we serve asked for your phone number, a ride home or a small loan?
Why ask it
Kind people want to say yes, which is exactly why the rule exists. Nobody new will know your policy, so state it and watch what follows: acceptance, a sensible question, or a case for why they should be the exception.
What would you do if a child or a vulnerable adult told you something that worried you?
Why ask it
The right instinct is to listen, make no promise to keep it secret, and pass it promptly to the person your organization names. A plan to look into it themselves, or to say nothing, needs correcting on the spot. How concerns must be reported varies by place and sector, so teach your own written procedure at orientation.
You will see and hear private things here. What does keeping them confidential mean to you?
Why ask it
Good replies reach past 'not gossiping' to the less obvious cases: not telling family, not greeting a client in the grocery store in a way that reveals how you met. Raise photos and social media yourself, since a well-meant picture is an easy way to break a confidence.
Do you already know anyone here, whether staff, volunteers or people we serve?
Why ask it
In a small town or a congregation the answer is usually yes, and that is no barrier. It decides placement: keep them away from a neighbor's file or a relative's care, and agree on what they do when someone they know walks into the waiting room. If a family member uses your services, see what your policy says before you promise a role.
Our rule is that volunteers are never alone with [a child, a patient, a resident]. Are you comfortable working that way?
Why ask it
Explain that the rule protects the volunteer as much as the person served, and most people relax at once. Pressure for one-to-one time before a first shift has even happened is a reason to slow down and talk to whoever is responsible for safeguarding in your organization.
Volunteers in this role go through [a background check, an ID check, safeguarding training]. Are you willing to do that?
Why ask it
Which checks apply, who pays for them and how long they take depend on the country, the state, the role and the kind of organization, and applicants under 18 often come with rules of their own, such as a parent's signature. Find out from your governing body, licensing authority or insurer how it works where you are, and apply it to everyone in the role. Hesitation deserves a private conversation, not a conclusion.
Is there anything a check or a reference might bring up that you would like to tell me about first?
Why ask it
It gives someone the dignity of saying it in their own words. Do not rule on it in the room: what your organization can accept for which role is a matter of written policy, so take it to the person responsible. Whether and when you may ask this also varies, so confirm that before it goes on your list.
Who could we contact as references, and how do they know you?
Why ask it
Ask for people who have watched them keep a commitment: an employer, a teacher, a faith leader, a previous coordinator. Then make the calls, however well the interview went. 'Would you have them back?' is the one to be sure of asking.
Closing
What do you hope to get out of volunteering here?
Why ask it
Company, a fuller week, experience for a resume, a way of giving something back: every one of these is a sound motive. Note which it is, because a volunteer who gets what they came for has a reason to stay. Ask again at the first review.
Are you hoping this leads somewhere, such as a paid job, a reference or a line on an application?
Why ask it
Ambition is welcome, and it is kinder to answer it straight. Say what you can offer, perhaps a reference after a set number of months, and what you cannot, such as any promise of paid work.
How do you like to be thanked, if at all?
Why ask it
One person treasures a mention in the newsletter and the next would hide from it. A quiet word, a card, a name read out at the annual lunch: it costs nothing to note which, and people remember being thanked the wrong way.
Is there anything we could put in place to make the role work well for you?
Why ask it
Put it as an offer to everyone, not a screening question for some. A chair, written instructions, large print, a quieter corner or a shift that fits around other appointments are small things to arrange when you hear about them early.
Now that you have heard what the role involves, is it still what you want?
Why ask it
Make it easy to say no or 'let me think about it', and mean it. Someone who steps back today has cost you half an hour. Someone who vanishes after training has cost a good deal more.
Would you like to try a shift alongside an experienced volunteer before you commit?
Why ask it
Two hours beside someone who knows the work answers what an interview cannot: the noise, the smell, the pace. Check first what your own policy says has to be in place before anyone joins a shift, since for some roles the checks come before even a visit.
What would you like to ask me about the role or about us?
Why ask it
Questions about training, who they would work beside and what the first day holds suggest they are already picturing themselves there. A nervous person with no questions is no cause for concern. Give them a name and a number for the ones that come later.
Here is what happens next: [references, checks, orientation, first shift]. Does that timeline work for you?
Why ask it
Volunteers are easily lost in the gap between a good interview and a first shift, so give dates and keep to them. Where checks take weeks, say so and offer something in the meantime: a tour, the handbook, an invitation to an event.
How to run a volunteer interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the interview
Write the role down first
Before you meet anyone, put each open role on half a page: the tasks, the hours, where it happens, who supervises it, and what has to be in place before a first shift. The interview is a matching exercise, and you cannot match a person to a role you have not described. It also lets you hand the applicant something to take home.
Scale the interview to the role
Someone handing out water at a one-day event needs ten friendly minutes and the questions under Time. Someone who will be with children, patients, residents or people in crisis needs the whole conversation, with most of it spent on the two longest groups, Reliability and teamwork and Care and safety. Decide which roles get which version and write it down, so the choice is about the role and never about the person.
Find out what your checks are before you promise anything
Background checks, ID checks and references are handled differently from one country, state and sector to the next, and a school, a hospital and a small pantry in one town may each work under different rules. Ask your governing body, licensing authority, insurer or umbrella organization what applies to each role: which checks, who pays, how long they take, and what a volunteer may do while waiting. Put the answer in a written policy and apply it to everybody in the same role.
Pick twelve to fifteen questions
The list is longer than any one conversation. For a half-hour interview, take two or three from each group, add the ones that fit your setting, such as the animal question for a rescue or the one about signed hours for a school program, and leave the rest. Keep the questions on boundaries, checks and references for every role that calls for them, however short the interview.
During the conversation
Remember who is offering what
The person across the table is offering you their free time. Start by thanking them, describe the organization in two minutes, and say that the aim is to find the place where they will be useful and happy. People answer more honestly when it feels like a conversation about fit than when it feels like an exam.
Describe the real role, dull and hard parts included
Say what a shift actually holds before you ask how they feel about it: the mopping, the smells, the person who is short with you, the animal that does not get adopted. The questions under Care and safety only work once the applicant has an honest picture to respond to.
Ask everyone in a role the same core questions
Choose the handful that matter most for a role and put them to every applicant for it, in much the same words. It keeps the decision fair, makes two applicants comparable, and gives you an answer if someone asks why they were placed where they were.
Describe the task, and leave personal details to them
Health, age, family, faith and immigration status are subjects to leave alone unless the applicant raises them. Describe what the role demands and ask whether it works for them. A written requirement of the role, such as a minimum age set by your policy or insurer, is different: state it and ask whether they meet it. What an organization may ask a volunteer differs by place, so check with whoever advises yours before adding a question of that kind.
Take notes you would be willing to show them
Write down availability, skills, limits and what they hope to get from it, in plain factual words. Keep opinions about the person out of the file. How long you may keep such notes and who may see them depends on the privacy rules where you are, so ask how that works for your organization.
Placing, checking and saying no
Finish the checks, whoever it is
Call the references and complete whatever checks your policy sets for the role before the stage at which it says they must be done. The applicants it is most tempting to wave through are the charming ones, the board member's nephew and the person everyone at church has known for years. A policy that bends for them is not protecting anyone.
Place, do not just accept
Use what you heard. Put the person who wants company on a team shift, the one who wants a break from spreadsheets on the loading dock, the one with a raw connection to the cause a step back from the front line. Then set a review date, four to six shifts in, and tell them it is coming.
It is all right to say no, or not this role
A coordinator is allowed to decide that someone is not right for a role. Often the honest answer is a different role, a later start, or another organization that would suit them better, and you can say so warmly. Reply within the week, thank them for offering, and keep the explanation short and true.
Close the gap before the first shift
Give a date for orientation before they leave the room. If paperwork will take a while, stay in touch during the wait with a short message, a tour or an invitation to an event. Enthusiasm is highest on the day of the interview and fades with every quiet week.
Mistakes to avoid
Taking everyone because you are short-handed
An empty slot on Saturday makes any willing person look like the answer. A poor match costs more than the gap: staff time to supervise, other volunteers who stop enjoying the shift, and sometimes the trust of the people you serve. Hold the interview even in a bad week.
Running it like a job interview
Trick questions and a panel of three suit a paid post, and even there not always. A volunteer who feels grilled will tell their friends. Keep the standards high for the role and the tone easy for the person.
Skipping the hard questions to be polite
Boundaries, confidentiality and what to do when someone discloses something are awkward to raise with a kind stranger. They are much more awkward to raise after something has gone wrong. Say that you ask everyone, and ask.
Promising what you cannot deliver
Do not hint at a paid job, a particular role, a reference or signed hours unless you know you can provide them. If the popular role has a waiting list, say how long it usually is. A clear no on the first day is easier to forgive than a hope that was left to run.