Recruit and retain campaigners
Cathy Luffman, a former campaigns and development officer with CPRE, shares 10 tips for getting volunteers involved - and keeping them!
Or are you thinking about volunteering, as a way back into work... but worried about the interview?
Worry no more! We've tracked down the 10 toughest questions ever asked in recruitment interviews. And the answers!
10 tips for getting volunteers involved
Consider what sort of volunteers you want and what you will need them to do.
Learn how to "sell" your organisation. For instance, many people who are attracted to CPRE are highly visual, so use plenty of pictures.
Think about the language you use, how interesting and exciting it will make the opportunity sound to the prospective volunteer.
Examples:
a) We would like someone to sift through all the planning applications on a regular basis
b) We would like someone who is keen, enthusiastic and willing to do some detective work in the locality for us
... which is best?
Make sure your advertised opportunities are up to date.
Don't be afraid to be creative!
Make sure your advertised opportunities and contact details are up to date.
Answer applications as quickly as possible.
Give potential volunteers a warm welcome.
Be very clear about what you want them to do. If you don't know, they certainly won't!
You can do this by use of:
- an information pack
- a clear role description
- keeping in contact
Meet your volunteer informally once or twice before they "sign up".
Find out what their motivators are. Without knowing these, it is harder to assign volunteers to the right roles.
The most common motivators are:
- achievement
- recognition
- responsibility
- advancement
- the work itself
- growth and learning Back to top
This is something they have chosen to do, not something they HAVE to do.
MAKE IT FUN!
Be careful about the language you use. Have a clear understanding about commitment, but no pressure. Most people do not volunteer to be stressed.
Say "thank you". It means a lot.
Help the volunteers build their confidence and skills.
Enable the volunteer to feel good about him/her self.
Share what you are able to about what is going on in the organisation.
Offer praise and congratulations for work well done.
Offer expenses.
Attracting and motivating volunteers requires 4 elements:
- Excitement
- Enthusiasm
- Energy
- Effort
9. Creative ideas for recruitment
Use the A5-sized community magazines.
Target walking, climbing, cycling and conservation groups.
Make yourself known to councils, banks or other big employers in the area, who may run pre-retirement schemes.
Use the CVS and local Volunteer Centres. Meet the staff and make sure they know you and your organisation.
Send a letter to parish councils introducing yourself.
Contact civic societies and rotary clubs.
- Consider your market
- Project a good image
- Provide clarity
- Understand what motivates your volunteer
- Don't treat it like work!
- Value your volunteers
- Excitement, enthusiasm, energy, effort!
(c) Cathy Luffman 01283 520042
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Adapted by Fiona Cowan
May 2009
The 10 hardest interview questions ... and how to answer them!
- Tell me about yourself
- Why should I hire you?
- What is your long term objective?
- How has your education prepared you for this role?
- Are you a team player?
- Have you ever had a conflict with a manager? How was it resolved?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- If your last employer had to describe you, what would they say?
- What qualities do you think are essential for this role?
- If you could live your life all over again, what one thing would you change?
Mental fear of the unknown is often what produces the physical symptoms of nervousness. In addition to preparing yourself physically, you need to prepare yourself mentally. The best way to prepare mentally is to know what may be coming. Take the time to understand some of the standards when it comes to interviewing questions.
The following are some of the most difficult questions you will face in the course of your job interviews. Once you have become practiced in your interviewing skills, you will find that you can use almost any question as a launching pad for a particular topic or compelling story.
Answers are provided to give you a new perspective on how to answer tough interview questions. They are not there for you to lift from the page and insert into your next interview. They are provided for you to use as the basic structure for formulating your own answers. While the specifics of each reply may not apply to you, try to follow the basic structure of the answer
1 Tell me about yourself Back to top of page
It seems like an easy interview question. It's open ended. I can talk about whatever I want from the birth canal forward. Right?
Wrong. What the hiring manager really wants is a quick, two- to three-minute snapshot of who you are and why you're the best candidate for this position.
So as you answer this question, talk about what you've done to prepare yourself to be the very best candidate for the position. Use an example or two to back it up. Then ask if they would like more details. If they do, keep giving them example after example of your background and experience. Always point back to an example when you have the opportunity.
Tell me about yourself does not mean tell me everything. Just tell me what makes you the best.
The easy answer is that you are the best person for the job. And don't be afraid to say so. But then back it up with what specifically differentiates you.
For example: You should hire me because I'm the best person for the job. I realize that there are probably other candidates who also have the ability to do this job. Yet I bring an additional quality that makes me the best person for the job - my passion for excellence. I am passionately committed to producing truly world class results. For example . . .
Are you the best person for the job? Show it by your passionate examples.
3 What is your long-range objective?
Make my job easy for me. Make me want to hire you.
The key is to focus on your achievable objectives and what you are doing to reach those objectives.
For example: Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I'll be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what I'm presently doing to prepare myself . . .
Then go on to show by your examples what you are doing to reach your goals and objectives.
4 How has your education prepared you for your career?
This is a broad question and you need to focus on the behavioural examples in your educational background which specifically align to the required competencies for the career.
An example: My education has focused on not only the learning the fundamentals, but also on the practical application of the information learned within those classes. For example, I played a lead role in a class project where we gathered and analyzed best practice data from this industry. Let me tell you more about the results . . .
Focus on behavioural examples supporting the key competencies for the career. Then ask if they would like to hear more examples.
5 Are you a team player? Back to top of page
Almost everyone says yes to this question. But it is not just a yes/no question. You need to provide behavioural examples to back up your answer.
A sample answer: Yes, I'm very much a team player. In fact, I've had opportunities in my work, school and athletics to develop my skills as a team player. For example, on a recent project . . .
Emphasise teamwork behavioural examples and focus on your openness to diversity of backgrounds. Talk about the strength of the team above the individual. And note that this question may be used as a lead in to questions around how you handle conflict within a team, so be prepared.
6 Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?
Note that if you say no, most interviewers will keep drilling deeper to find a conflict. The key is how you behaviourally reacted to conflict and what you did to resolve it.
For example: Yes, I have had conflicts in the past. Never major ones, but there have been disagreements that needed to be resolved. I've found that when conflict occurs, it helps to fully understand the other person's perspective, so I take time to listen to their point of view, then I seek to work out a collaborative solution. For example . . .
Focus your answer on the behavioural process for resolving the conflict and working collaboratively.
7 What is your greatest weakness?
Most career books tell you to select a strength and present it as a weakness. Such as: I work too much. I just work and work and work. Wrong. First of all, using a strength and presenting it as a weakness is deceiving. Second, it misses the point of the question.
You should select a weakness that you have been actively working to overcome. For example: I have had trouble in the past with planning and prioritization. However, I'm now taking steps to correct this. I just started using a pocket planner . . . then show them your planner and how you are using it.
Talk about a true weakness and show what you are doing to overcome it.
8 If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say?
This is a threat of reference check question. Do not wait for the interview to know the answer. Ask any prior bosses or professors in advance. And if they're willing to provide a positive reference, ask them for a letter of recommendation.
Then you can answer the question like this: Back to top of page
I believe she would say I'm a very energetic person, that I'm results oriented and one of the best people she has ever worked with. Actually, I know she would say that, because those are her very words. May I show you her letter of recommendation?
So be prepared in advance with your letters of recommendation.
9 What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?
Focus on two words: leadership and vision.
Here is a sample of how to respond: The key quality in a successful manager should be leadership--the ability to be the visionary for the people who are working under them. The person who can set the course and direction for subordinates. The highest calling of a true leader is inspiring others to reach the highest of their abilities. I'd like to tell you about a person whom I consider to be a true leader . . .
Then give an example of someone who has touched your life and how their impact has helped in your personal development.
10 If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?
Focus on a key turning point in your life or missed opportunity. Yet also tie it forward to what you are doing to still seek to make that change.
For example: Although I'm overall very happy with where I'm at in my life, the one aspect I likely would have changed would be focusing earlier on my chosen career. I had a great internship this past year and look forward to more experience in the field. I simply wish I would have focused here earlier. For example, I learned on my recent internship... ...then provide examples.
Stay focused on positive direction in your life and back it up with examples.
In reviewing these responses, please remember that they are only to be viewed samples. Please do not rehearse them verbatim or adopt them as your own. They are meant to stir your creative juices and get you thinking about how to properly answer the broader range of questions that you will face.
Reproduced with thanks to the collegegrad.com website - and the kind person on Twitter who sent me a link to the article!
Fiona Cowan
16 March 2010 Back to top of page