We're excited to let you know about A Conversation with a Purpose: A Practical Guide to Interviewing Prospective Volunteers by Kathleen McCleskey and Cheryle N. Yallen. This e-book, new to the Energize online store, fills a gap in volunteer management literature by providing a practical how-to for the volunteer interview process, including sample dialogues, questions and forms. Read on for more information and an excerpt.
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A Conversation with a Purpose: A
Practical Guide to Interviewing Prospective Volunteers
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Interviewing
potential volunteers demonstrates the value your organization places on
volunteer involvement and helps to identify individuals whose skills,
personality, and motivation fit well with your team. Authors McCleskey and
Yallen provide a combination of knowledge, preparation, and practice to enable
the unskilled interviewer to become a skilled interviewer who can ascertain the
information needed to choose the right volunteers for the right jobs.
Order the Book NOW! (e-book, $12.00 USD)
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Book Excerpt
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Characteristics of A Good Interviewer
From A Conversation with a Purpose: A Practical Guide to Interviewing Prospective Volunteers by Kathleen McCleskey and Cheryle N. Yallen.
A good interviewer will be able to guide this chat
without dominating it. It becomes a focused dialogue with a planned beginning,
middle and end. They will be able to ask non-directive interviewing questions.
They will have the skills of a good communicator because they will not only be
an extraordinary listener but also a good questioner. Finally, they will be
able to graciously reject unsuitable prospective volunteers.
One key element in an effective interview is the
fact that two people are attempting to communicate. The interviewer wants to
obtain information about the prospective volunteer and the prospective volunteer
wants to determine if they would like to volunteer for the organization. There
is stress on both sides of an interview. Consequently, it is up to the
interviewer to help put the prospective volunteer at ease.
Since an interview is a two-way conversation, the
interviewer is concerned about:
- the fit between the prospective volunteer and
the organization or agency
- the consequences if the volunteer does not
work out (will they feel blamed)
- not being ready or prepared for the interview
The concerns of the interviewer will be addressed
throughout this book. The concerns of the prospective volunteer will be put at
ease if the interviewer follows the steps presented.
Read a longer excerpt about traps interviewers should try to avoid.
Permission is
granted for organizations to reprint this excerpt. Reprints must provide full
acknowledgment of the source, as cited here: Excerpted from A Conversation with a Purpose: A Practical Guide to Interviewing Prospective Volunteers by Kathleen McCleskey and Cheryle N. Yallen, � 2009, KM Consulting and Training Connection. Found in the Energize, Inc. Online Bookstore at http://www.energizeinc.com/store/5-231-E-1.
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