Youth Counselor Interview Questions & Answers


Youth counselors offer social services to minors (at-risk children and teenagers) by providing mentorship, counseling, legal assistance, and/or assistance with domestic issues.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Youth Counselor or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Youth Counselor position, these Youth Counselor interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Youth Counselor Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Youth Counselor interview questions.

  1. What are some of the warning signs that a child may be the victim of domestic abuse?
  2. What are some of the most prevalent challenges in this community?
  3. What advice would you give to a child whose parent has been incarcerated?
  4. How do you dissuade youths from experimenting with illegal substances?
  5. How would you assist a teenager who has fallen pregnant?
  6. Name a time where you developed or directed study courses or religious education programs within congregations. Share an example.    
  7. What is the most challenging part of collaborating with other ministry members to establish goals and objectives for religious education programs or to develop ways to encourage program participation?    
  8. Describe what method you use to select appropriate curricula or class structures for educational programs. What has worked so far?    
  9. Tell me about training and supervising religious education instructional staff? Describe an experience.    
  10. Please share with me an example of how you helped coach or mentor someone. What improvements did you see in the person's knowledge or skills?    
  11. Provide an example of a time when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.    
  12. Share an experience you had in dealing with a difficult person and how you handled the situation.    
  13. Tell me how you organize, plan, and prioritize your work.    
  14. Please share an experience in which you presented to a group. What was the situation and how did it go?    
  15. Share an experience when you applied new technology or information in your job. How did it help your company?    
  16. Share an experience in which personal connections to coworkers or others helped you to be successful in your work.  
  17. Share an example of a time you had to gather information from multiple sources. How did you determine which information was relevant?    
  18. Provide an example when your ethics were tested.    
  19. Share an example of when you went above and beyond the "call of duty". 
  20. Name a time when your patience was tested. How did you keep your emotions in check?    
  21. Provide an experience in which you were sensitive to somone's needs or feelings. How did your helpfulness affect your work environment?    
  22. Walk me through how you confer with clergy members, congregational officials, or congregational organizations to encourage support of or participation in religious education activities.    
  23. Share an effective approach to analyze member participation or changes in congregational emphasis to determine needs for religious education.    
  24. What kind of experience do you have counseling individuals regarding interpersonal, health, financial, or religious problems? Share an example.    
  25. What have you found to be the best way to identify and recruit potential volunteer workers?    
  26. What is the key to success when communicating with the public.    
  27. In your experience, what is the key to developing a good team? (Look for how they build mutual trust, respect, and cooperation.)    
  28. Share an experience in which you successfully coordinated with others. How about a coordination effort that was not as successful?    
  29. Provide a time when you dealt calmly and effectively with a high-stress situation.    
  30. Share a time when you willingly took on additional responsibilities or challenges. How did you successfully meet all of the demands of these responsibilities? (Make sure the candidate is a self-starter and can demonstrate some initiative.)    
  31. Tell me about a time when you developed your own way of doing things or were self-motivated to finish an important task.    
  32. Provide an experience that demonstrates your ability to manage time effectively. What were the challenges and results?    
  33. Provide an example of a time when you were able to demonstrate excellent listening skills. What was the situation and outcome?    
  34. Name a time when your creativity or alternative thinking solved a problem in your workplace.    
  35. What is the key to success with fundraising activities for the church? Share an experience.    
  36. What are some long-range objectives that you developed in your last job? What did you do to achieve them?    
  37. Tell me about the last time you oversaw the work of someone else. How did you effectively motivate, develop, and direct the worker(s)?    
  38. Provide an example of when you were persistent in the face of obstacles.    
  39. Share an experience in which you used new training skills, ideas, or a method to adapt to a new situation or improve an ongoing one. (Look for the candidate's ability to learn.)    
  40. How would you rate your writing skills? (Ask for an example that demonstrates great writing skills.)    
  41. Describe an experience in which you identified the educational needs of your students and successfully developed a way to teach/train them.    
  42. Walk me through how you best interpret religious education activities to the public through speaking, leading discussions, or writing articles for local or national publications.    
  43. Name a time where you participated in denominational activities aimed at goals such as promoting interfaith understanding or providing aid to new or small congregations? What did you learn?    
  44. Describe a time when you successfully persuaded another person to change his/her way of thinking or behavior.    
  45. Describe methods you use to analyze revenue and program cost data to determine budget priorities. Share an example.    
  46. Provide an experience in which your ability to actively find ways to help people improved your company or your own work ethic.    
  47. Share an example of when you established and accomplished a goal that was personally challenging. What helped you succeed?    
  48. How much time do you spend visiting congregational members' homes or arrange for pastoral visits to provide information or resources regarding religious education programs? What have you learned?    
  49. What factors do you consider when attending workshops, seminars, or conferences to obtain program ideas, information, or resources? Share an experience    
  50. Share an experience in which your ability to consider the costs or benefits of a potential action helped you choose the most appropriate action.    
     

Youth Counselor Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Youth Counselor interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  2. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  3. Tell Me About Yourself
  4. Why Do You Want This Job?
  5. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  6. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  7. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  8. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  9. Why Should We Hire You?
  10. What is Your Greatest Weakness?