Some questions (first interview) for a youth organization
I (M15)have a interview for a youth organization on Friday . This is my first interview. They told me they will tell some stuff about it and want to know me too. What questions should I be prepared for? What to avoid? I am very anxious about this.How do i act ? Like if i do the smsllest mistake its over.
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First interviews are always very scary but they’re really not as bad as your brain is telling you it’s going to be.
This will be very broad strokes and generic, but here goes.
What they’ve said is true for most interviews. You’ll be told about the organisation and about what they do and how they do it.
They’ll likely tell you what they’ll expect from the position that you’re interviewing for by letting you know what your responsibilities and duties would be.
Keep good eye contact with the person who’s talking to you and listen to what they’re saying.
You could even tell the person it’s your first ever interview and you’re a little nervous. I would imagine they’ll be fine with that.
One question they might ask is “Why are you interested in this job?”
Other possibles ..
“What can you bring to this position ?”
“What would you say you’re good at ?” or “What are your strengths ?”
They also might ask you the opposite as in “What are your weaknesses ?”
One big thing to remember is that they wanted to see *you*. Whatever your job application was, they clearly saw something in that that peaked their interest and made them want to call you in for an interview.
If they didn’t think you could do the job then you wouldn’t be having an interview.
Good luck 🙂
Read up on the organization.
Have clear for yourself why you want to work for them. They will want to know why this organization and not the competitor for instance.
You dont have to talk about the cat you petted this morning or that you hung with your friends last night. So keep what you say relevant to the interview.
Just be relaxed, its not the end of the world if it goes wrong.
Some thoughts — it’s often better to be able to answer some questions with specific examples. Like, “What can you bring to this position” is okay if you answer it “I’m smart and flexible” but even better if you can say “When I was worked on this project I dealt with unexpected problem X by working with so and so and coming up with solution Y so that’s some of the flexibility and creative problem solving I bring to the table.” It makes it seem less like you know the right words to use and more like you’re actually talking about yourself. Problem is, it’s REALLY hard to come up with those examples on the spot, and waiting for ten minutes to answer the question probably isn’t a good look either, so one of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to go over your personal resume in your head — what have you achieved that is relevant?
Something to consider, which may come up directly as a question or if it doesn’t may be useful to have in mind anyway to keep yourself goal aligned — the interview works both ways. It’s not just “what can you do for our organization” but “what can our organization do for you.” Being able to explain why you want to work with your organization “I’m looking forward to opportunities to do X and I am confident that working with you will provide me with useful skills and experience” shows that you’re actually looking forward to doing something, not just box checking.
Have some questions ready for them. There is usually a moment where they’ll say “What questions do you have for us” and having something to say here without flailing for it is a really good idea. Make it something deeper than something you could have just googled. “When people work with your organization, what do they say is the biggest benefit when they’re done?” or “what surprised you the most about working with X?” are ideas to start with because they show some mature forward-looking about the process.
Obviously, the specifics will vary widely depending on whom you’re interviewing with and what you’re interviewing for. And if they’re interviewing teenagers for a youth organization, they’re used to dealing with people who are still awkward at formal interviews, so rest assured that no matter what you do, you probably won’t be the most awkward talk they’ve had — so no, if you do the smallest mistake it’s not going to be over. A little being real is just humanizing. You can be honest at the beginning and say “wow, this is the first real interview like this I’ve done so I hope you don’t mind if I’m a little nervous, and at the end I’d love it if you could give me some feedback on how the interview went” — that’s not unreasonable for a teenager. Sometimes a sense of humour really helps, and you’ll get a sense for that soon in the interview. No need to overprepare and prepare a fake persona for it; they don’t want to meet pretend you, they want to meet you.
Go in there with some passion and enthusiasm and the actual questions/answers won’t matter so much.
Prepare answers and practice answering aloud for [100 behavioural interview questions](https://www.macslist.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/100-Practice-Behavioral-Interview-Questions.pdf). A lot of these questions are repetitive, so have a few stories ready to go. They might not be expecting a lot because you are young. Make sure you are on time and show up in unwrinkled clothes.