YMCA of Boulder Valley Interview Questions
Applicant Name: ______________________________Position: __________________Date: ___________________
I.
Welcome, YMCA & Motivation
1. Tell us what you know about the YMCA movement/YMCA of Boulder Valley.
2. Why do you want to work for the YMCA?
3. What prompted you to apply for the ___________________position?
Follow up questions:
What do you hope to gain by
becoming a ________________?
Why are (reasons given to
previous question) important to
you?
Continue to ask questions to
determine true motivation.
Be aware of your first impression
of the candidate but avoid
making any snap judgments.
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Unsure about interest
Some interest
Interested
High interest
Extremely interested
II.
Work History/Background
1. Tell us about your past work, volunteer or life experiences that relate to this
position.
Follow up questions:
Ask more about related jobs and
what they learned that could
relate to this position. Find out
about:
Their job responsibilities
-
What they liked or disliked
How could they have been a
better employee?
Did they receive any special
recognition?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Unacceptable work history
Minimal work experience
Typical work history
Clearly motivated to work hard
& has rec’d recognition
Hard, committed worker
Receives recognition for
doing extra
III.
Most Significant Accomplishment
1. Describe a time when you have felt a great sense of accomplishment or
something that you are very proud of. Something that gives us a sense of who
you are and what you are capable of doing.
2. Now that you have described for us a team/individual accomplishment, tell
ss about an individual/team accomplishment.
Follow up questions:
What was the most satisfying
part?
What did you actually do?
What was the most challenging?
What would you have done
differently?
How did you change or grow as
part of this experience?
Why was this so significant to
you?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Little evidence of
accomplishment.
Minimal accomplishment.
Solid individual & team
accomplishment.
Above average individual &
team results &commitment.
Outstanding
accomplishment. Good
team skills.
IV.
Relationship Building
1. Building strong relationships with members, program participants and
volunteers is an important part of every job at the YMCA. Can you describe
a situation where you’ve built a relationship as part of a job or project?
2. Tell us about a time when you helped someone out or helped them
improve.
Follow up questions:
Why did you help that person?
Find out:
Who they helped
The nature of the
relationship
Look for patterns of
developing meaningful
relationships.
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
No evidence of helping
others. Not a people
person.
Connects with others,
but not naturally.
Makes connections well
but takes time to do it.
Makes connections quickly.
Very sensitive to needs
of others. Goes out of
way to connect.
V.
Problem Solving & Customer Service
1. Tell us about a time you were faced with a problem. Describe the situation
and how you handled it. What was the outcome?
2. Describe a creative solution you developed to correct a problem.
Follow up questions:
How did you determine what to
do first?
If at first you did not succeed
what would you have tried next?
Is the candidate:
Consistent
Flexible
Rigid
Unsure
Interested in learning
Multitasking
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Poor understanding of issues.
Some understanding of
problem .
Understands problem, finds
a solution.
Many good ideas for handling
situation. Understands
priorities.
Always one step ahead of
problem. Creative ideas
and teaches others.
VI.
Managing Stress, Frustration & Anger
1. How do you manage stress?
2. Tell us about the last time you were overwhelmed, frustrated or angry. How
did you overcome those feelings?
Follow up questions:
What were the circumstances?
What caused you to lose your
temper?
How did you express your
frustration?
How did you feel about your
reaction?
What would you have done
differently?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Does not handle stress well.
Reacts to stress with urging.
Average reaction to stress.
Handles stress well.
Understands issues and
deals with them.
Has a preventive
approach to stressful
situations.
VII.
Strengths & Weaknesses
1. What do you consider your greatest weakness?
2. What is your current supervisor’s name?
i. When we ask them, what will they tell us is your greatest strength?
ii. What is the best way for us to contact him/her? (get phone # or email)
Follow up questions:
What have you done/what are
you doing now to improve
yourself?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
No sense of weakness.
Minimal true thought into
answers.
Know their own weaknesses.
Strong understanding of
weaknesses and how to
improve them.
Embraces weaknesses
and understands how to
work with them.
VIII.
Success & Future
1. What motivates you? Tell us the last time you felt motivated, describe to us
the situation and mitigating factors.
2. What does the term “success” mean to you?
Follow up questions:
Where do you see yourself in 5
years?
What do you expect from your
supervisor to help you be
successful?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Little evidence of
accomplishment.
Minimal accomplishments
answers.
Solid individual and team
accomplishment.
Above average individual and
team results & commitment.
Outstanding accomplishments, Good team skills &
individual contributions.
IX.
Diversity
1. What does diversity mean to you?
2. What experience do you have working with diverse populations?
3. Tell us about a time when you work with a diverse population.
Follow up questions:
How did that look?
What was your role?
What were the outcomes?
Examples of diversity:
Race
Ethnicity
Age
Gender
Socio-Economic
Physical abilities
Religious beliefs
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Little evidence of
involvement.
Minimal evidence of
involvement.
Some evidence of
involvement.
Above average evidence
of involvement.
High level of
involvement.
X.
Recruiting at the End of the Interview
1. Thank you for taking this time to interview with us. While we are
interviewing other candidates, we would like to know what you think
about this opportunity.
2. What questions do you have about the job or the YMCA?
Follow up questions:
How interested are you 1-10?
What do you like/dislike about
the position?
What is your availability?
What do you need for
compensation?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Excellent – 5
Not interested in job.
Adequate level of interest
but cautious.
Sincerely interested in job.
wants to move to next step.
Wants job and is ready to
move forward rapidly..
Sees job as great fit.
Highly motivated & ready
to move quickly.
After the interview is finished, rank the candidate’s personality and interpersonal skills.





Did the candidate get better or worse as the interview went on?
Become more/less nervous?
Open up and talk more?
Did you observe the candidate’s true personality?
Is the true personality consistent with job needs?
Weak – 1
Fair – 2
Good – 3
Very Good – 4
Not a good fit for this
position.
Neutral – personality OK
or a little nervous but not bad.
Seems like a good fit.
Not too nervous.
Personality was good fit.
WOW. Personality great.
Comfortable and easy to talk to. Easy to talk to and very
Recommend for position.
open. Highly recommend.
Excellent – 5
s
Interviewer’s name:_____________________________________________________________
Notes: