5 Questions to ask in a youth work interview

Christians are rubbish at the ’employing’ bit

Youth Workers are ministers, pastors and missionaries – absolutely. However, they’re also employees. We all too easily forget this!

It’s easy in the light of ‘Gospel partnership’ mentality to let clear employment ethics slip in our churches and organizations. This leads to mess, unhappy people, mess, awkward conflict, more mess, and it’s largely responsible for why Youth Workers quit only a couple of years after starting.

There are a few questions you should ask at every youth work job interview. Good interviews will be a relatively equal split between their and your questions so you can effectively interview each other. If you can’t find a way to ask the questions you need answers to, then don’t take the job until you can.

Question Number 1: Who will my line manager be?

There needs to be someone who is clearly responsible to you as an employee. Ideally they should not be the main pastor or chairperson, as their responsibility to the organization may at times conflict with concerns for you as employee.

Followup 1: Who will my mentor be?

This should not be the line manager. A mentor is someone responsible for you as a developing spiritual person unrelated to projects, ministries or employment. It’s not vital for a church to provide this but it is important that they understand you will be looking for someone somewhere.

Followup 2: What will my relationship with the Pastor / Chairperson look like?

Where will you fit in broad strategy discussions and what will accountability to the leader look like? It’s important that everyone understands that you are not another assistant minister and it’s not your job to fill all the creative, messy or skivvy-esq jobs in the church.

Run for the hills if…

If they don’t give you thought-through answers to these questions then they clearly don’t understand the accountability needs of a long-term youth worker. Check that your role is defined specifically within a healthy management structure.

Question Number 2: What does success look like for this role?

You’re looking for the key values that led them to create this job in the first place. Are they looking for bums on seats, relationships with the unreached, developing community work, deeper discipleship & integration, school links? – What will show you as doing well at your job?

Followup 1: What will success look like after 3 months?

Do they have realistic objectives for your settling in period? Are they person or project based? Will they evolve to work with your character and gifts? Is there a transition team in place to see this work though?

Followup 2: What will success look like after 1 year?

Same as above but thinking about the end of the honeymoon period. You could always ask the ‘after 10 years’ question too – but good luck!

Run for the hills if…

If their view of success does not match up with yours then you will need to tease out exactly why. If you can’t get together on a ‘job well done’ then you will be neither happy nor effective. Also, if they don’t have a realistic and personal view of transition, numbers, connecting relationships and intangible returns then leave them be.

Question Number 3: What – other than the salary – do you offer to help me grow in this role and as a person?

The main thing you’re looking for here is a training and reading budget with some specifics thrown in. Do they value this and are they going to support your growth? A key poke might be ‘is there time you expect me to take to be with God and deepen my skills that’s not holiday time?’

Followup 1: What local youthwork or ministry networks are there that I should belong to?

Are they aware of any? Hopefully they should be! You’re looking to see if they unknowingly plan to isolate you.

Followup 2: What other churches / organisations would you encourage me to partner with on ministries and projects?

Same as above. This also speaks volumes of the church’s ethics regarding others and themselves.

Run for the hills if…

If they respond negatively or noncommittally to you needing training, support or partnership then move on. If they are confused about these needs then it’s probably a sign of a church that doesn’t understand the dangers of isolation. I’d tend leave any caviler organisations alone.

Question Number 4. How do you expect my family to be involved?

Are they looking for a ‘2-for-1’ deal with your spouse partnering with you. Are they looking for a boost to Youth Group numbers through your children?

Followup 1: How do you see my spouse supporting me?

If they expect more than being a loving partner for you then you’ve probably got some grounds for worry. Some churches expect spouses to be actively involved in youth clubs or Sunday schools which is just begging for work and conflict to be bought home. My wife once needed to take a few weeks out of the Sunday service for a personal spiritual MOT away from community pressures. This led some people to question her mental heath and commitment to the church… which led me to feel very Old Testament about them!

Followup 2: How do you expect my children to be involved?

Same as above really. Too many young people grow up bitter at God because of the extra pressure of having pastor-parents. Does the church expect more from them than other local children?

Run for the hills if…

If they’re looking for a package deal – don’t give them a second look. It will be terrible for your family, terrible for the distinctions between work and home life, and you’ll simply be a rubbish youth worker!

Question Number 5. What do you see as my working hours?

Contracted hours and clear expectations for timetables are really important in youth work because of the inherent chaos and spontaneity involved with the job. You need to talk about anti-social hours, prep time, prayer time, and anything else time-wise that will affect your role.

Followup 1: What would you say if you found I was working on my days off – or regularly working over my contracted hours?

You’re looking again for an understanding of the pressures of youth work. They should be pretty clear that you are expected to take your time off.

Followup 2: What happens if I book a holiday but can’t find cover for my roles?

The organisation needs to have thought about this as it is a regular problem in volunteer based youth work. The best resourced places tend hire an interim youth worker, but at least the other staff and team should pool together to make sure your holidays are covered – just like any other organization would. The bottom line is if you don’t have the team one week then activities shouldn’t happen that week. The world and your ministry will survive (and your spouse will thank you).

Run for the hills if…

If they don’t have a strong, healthy opinion on hours and holidays then leave it be. I once told my pastor in a previous job that I was regularly working 70 hours a week – his response was ‘me too, we all are, that’s comes with the job!’ If I knew that in the first place I never would have accepted – and neither should you.