Screening and Interviewing Techniques for Selecting Volunteers:

Identifying Volunteers Who Can Do the Job and Who Will Stay Committed

Susan Vavra, B.S. HelpLine Coordinator, Anne-Marie Smith, Graduate Assistant

Loraine Fano, Eric Frost, Mike Hershberger, Michele Monies, Emily Scates, and

Shanna Wright, HelpLine Workers

Student Counseling HelpLine, Texas A & M University

1263 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1263

(979) 845-4427
The Student Counseling HelpLine provides telephone crisis intervention, information, referral, and support for a campus of over 43,000 students, those concerned about these students, and some local community callers. The HelpLine uses a screening instrument and interview techniques that seem to ferret out those who are likely to successfully complete training and stay committed to volunteering even beyond our required service commitment. This workshop provided printed screening materials and demonstrated interview techniques for finding quality volunteers. Demonstration role-plays taught participants how to differentiate between good applicants and those who would not be a good fit with the program. Materials related to the intensive training program were also shared with participants.

The written application form asks about 1) previous volunteer experience and why the applicant ended that experience (to determine background and potential commitment); 2) the applicant's definition of helping (to see if the person has unrealistic expectations or wants to tell others how to run their lives); 3) what they have to offer the HelpLine; 4) what they hope to gain from the volunteer experience; 5) what areas the applicant has concerns about handling over the HelpLine (to probe for potential judgmental attitude, and over or under confidence); and 6) a description of previous events in the applicant's life that might have an impact, either positively or negatively on being a crisis telephone worker (to evaluate naivete, unresolved psychological problems, or past positive problem solving on the applicant's part). These items are reviewed with the applicant in more depth during the hour to hour-and-a-half screening interview.

The HelpLine staff believes that the initial interview serves not only as a crucial screening tool, but it is the first step in the intensive training process. The interview is conducted by one or both of the HelpLine coordinators, and often a current HelpLine worker sits in to assist with the interview process. The initial interview begins with the interviewers describing the interview process and giving detailed information about the program and training. Although one purpose is to help lessen their anxiety, this also provides the opportunity later in the interview to see how well they listened and how quickly they are able to apply new information. We give information about our philosophy and procedures. For example, describing our prohibitions on giving advice, sharing personal past experiences, and using anything but HelpLine reference notebooks or training materials in offering information or referrals to callers.

We then give the applicant several "what if" scenarios and ask them what they might do or say if a caller called and said X, or what the caller might be feeling if they called and said Y. Typical scenarios include one about an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy, one on "coming out" issues, and one selected from a potential problem hinted at or mentioned directly in the person's application form or disclosed earlier during the interview by the applicant.

One of our most valuable interview questions is to ask the applicant to tell us about a crisis from their own life that they have gone through, how they resolved it, and what they would have wanted from a HelpLine had they called during that crisis. This helps in the screening process because if someone tells us about a current, unresolved crisis, they may not be a good match with crisis intervention work.

We review the written application to probe and clarify their written responses. We also ask the person how they deal with stress, both effectively and not so effectively. Finally we answer their questions and give information on the selection process.