Why did you decide to choose this organization for employment?

"A friend of mine had a grandfather who used to live here and he loved it. I visited a few times and he always talked about how wonderful the staff is. He is what brought my attention to this nursing home, but your mission statement is what made me apply. I love how it is about putting people first."

The interviewer wants to know you've done some research about their organization prior to the interviewer. It's important to know what you're getting into when applying to different organizations. Research a little history about the organization what they value, are they for profit or a nonprofit, etc. You don't have to know the full history of the program, but is important to know a little bit more than just the name. For your answer just pull in something from the organization that you've found interesting and pulling a question in would be even better to show the interviewer that you are interested and care.

Why did you leave your last job or are leaving?

"I didn't feel like I had a chance to grow at my last place of work. I had been there for three years and I talked to my boss about getting more professional development and where I wanted to go with my career. She explained that due to the atmosphere and change happening at the company with management that there weren't going to be many chances to grow. I want to grow with a company and continue to help it grow."

This is a very common interview question, especially in social service work. The interviewer does not need to listen to you bash about the old company you worked for- you never know who knows who. If you did have a bad experience at your last company, you can share the experience but keep if general and do not use names of people that you had issues with.Sometimes people switch jobs because they need change in their work life and want to grow more professional. There are many reasons to leave jobs, so don't feel unfortunately discussing your reasons, just remember not to bash on your past place of work.

What does customer service mean to you related to this job?

"I believe customer service for this company surrounds the person we are working with and also everyone that is connected to that person. What I mean by that it is not only making sure the children are safe and having fun, but also make sure the parents are well informed about what is happening and what to expect. Customer service also means making sure all concerns are addressed and issues are acknowledged and taken care of."

Customer service isn't just something you'd see in a store, all businesses can talk about their customer service. Customer service is different in a nursing home or camp than it would be at a restaurant. Your customer base is your children, parents/guardians, or your residents and their families. The interviewer wants to know that you understand that part of your job is to my sure people are enjoying their time and if they aren't you can work on steps to improve their time. For this answer you can talk about how you make sure people are doing well or what customer service means to you.

"I believe customer service for this company surrounds the person we are working with and everyone connected to that person. What I mean it is not only making sure that our res are safe/being taking care of and have fun, but also their family members are well informed about what is happening and what to expect. Also, customer service means all concerns are addressed, issues are acknowledged and taken care of!"

Not everyone will be at the same learning levels, name a time you adapted an activity to meet the participant's needs.

"I created a ropes course for my campers one year for a summer camp- I was super excited for my campers to do it. I had two campers that were scared to do it and one that did not to try at all. So I had three campers that didn't want to do the activity with another ten that did, I didn't want to force them to do it nor make them which everyone having fun. I came up with the three campers being my ropes course supervisors to make sure no one was cheating or cutting- they loved it. I was able to make everyone felt comfortable and had a great time."

As a Recreation Worker one of your goals is to be able to run group events, unfortunately if someone is not able to or isn't understanding an activity it makes your job a little harder. Sometimes during activities you'll need to adapt or adjust parts for different participants. The interviewer wants to make sure you are comfortable doing that and are able to recognize when things need to change. For this question you should talk about a time where you had to adapt an activity for the camper/resident when you discovered they were struggling. If you haven't done this yet yourself you can talk about how you would adapt an activity once you've come across the situation or talk about a time you've seen an activity adaptive.

"As you can see from my resume, I've been the director of previous centers before and I believe it is time for me to slow down for my family. Working as a recreation worker I would have less responsibilities- not that I can't handle more, I just want to make more time for my family at this time."

How does this position fit into your career goals?

"This position would help me gain experience for eventually becoming a director one day. I think it is important for directors to have experience in all positions that they supervise."

This question is similar to 'where do you see yourself in five years', but the interviewer wants to know how this position is good for you. Is this position a stepping stone into a director position you'd like one day, if so talk about how it will help you.Prior to the interview you should think about why you want this position and how it will help you. If you're not sure what you want to do yet, that's okay. You can tell the interviewer that you are focusing on this position currently and if moving up in this field is something that seems interesting down the line, you'll talk to them.

"To be honest, I've been focused on this current position and getting into this career that I haven't thought about where I want this career to take me. I would love to discuss potential options with a manager further down the line, but would like to focus on this position for now."

"This position will help me gain experience for eventually becoming a director one day. I think it's important for the directors to have experience in all fields they supervise."

Provide a time you worked with management to resolve a participant complaint.

"I had a very angry loved one started yelling at me about one of the residents on my wing. The resident had told her that she was being mistreated by one of the nurses, I had to calm the woman down before I could address her concerns. I had to bring in my supervisor due to the seriousness of the allegations and they worked on the next steps to take to help figure out what had happened."

Any job you have working in direct service with people there will be complaints, a lot of the times you are able to prevent problems but there will be times when you can't. The interviewer wants to make sure you can appropriately handle complaints/problems when they occur. It will be expected that you can solve small issues on your own, but with big issues they are brought to the attention of a supervisor.The interviewer wants to hear about a time that you had to help resolve a bigger issue that you had to get management involved. Sometimes bigger issues can get messy, there are always ways to improve how situations are dealt with, so don't be alarmed if the interviewer talks about how they would handle the situation if it happened at their camp/nursing home.

"I had a loved one yelling at me about one res at my wing. The resident told her that she has been mistreated by a nurse. I had to the woman down before addressing her concerns. I had to bring in the supervisors due to the seriousness of the allegations and they worked on the next step to figure out what has happened."

Name a time when your creativity or alternative thinking solved a problem at the camp/nursing home you were at.

"I was wondering in a nursing home one night that we were suppose to have a movie night. Unfortunately, the TV we were going to use stopped working and there were no others we would be able to use. At the time I was working with two other recreation workers and we decided to do an improv night instead- the residents loved it. I was absolutely terrified that it would go horrible, but it turned out to be one of my favorite memories."

While working with people there are going to be surprises and unplanned things that pop up. The interviewer wants to make sure you are okay with the unplanned and can handle coming up with new plans on the spot. For your answer you should talk about a time when you or a coworker had to change plans last minute due to an irruption or surprise. Sometimes people have items set aside just in case for rainy days at camp or 'five-minute activities' when you need to keep your residents occupied for a few minutes while you think of a game plan. Another problem you'd be able to discuss if two campers/residents wanting to use the same item and how you would handle it. For this question just discuss one problem you've encountered and how you fix it.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

"In five years, I see myself continuing my education and growing within a company. I'd love for it to be this company, the core values have really attracted me to your company."

Don't look at this question as a trap, the interviewer is just looking to make sure you aren't just staying around for a few months. There is no expectation that your answer will be that this is your forever dream job. You don't want to lie during the interviewer, so if the position isn't something that you can see yourself in forever, you can talk about how you hope to grow within a company. If staying with this company and becoming their Recreation Director is something that interests you, you should definitely mention that.

"I see myself continuing with my education and growing within a company. I'd love it to be this company though as the core values really attracted me to your company."

Describe a time you identified the needs of your student/resident and successfully developed a way to teach/train them.

"I was working with a camper who never cleaned up after himself after lunch. I would always have to remind him to go back to take care of his stop. I had a discussion with the camper about it and I learned that he never had to do it at home, so he kept forgetting that it needed to happen here. We worked out a system among my group that once everyone was done eating everyone would get up together to throw everything away so that everyone would remember to do it. Slowly we moved away from that and the camper eventually started to clean up without prompting."

The interviewer wants to know how you address and help residents/campers that you've noticed need extra support. With young campers you can use examples about tasks that they haven't learned yet like- tying shoes, reminders to clean up the table, standing in line, etc. With residents you will focus more on ways you made need to reteach or assist the person with items such as- dressing, eating, different games, etc. The interviewer wants to know that you'll be able to identify and support different needs that campers/residents have. If you can't think of an example that you've done yourself, you can talk about a time that you were informed that staff would be assisting a resident/camper differently.

Do you have experience in this field?

"I haven't been in this field for a very long time. I started volunteering for an organization about a year ago and fell in love with the impact you can have on people's lives in such a positive way."

This question can be intimidating for people new to the industry, don't feel overwhelmed though- no matter how many years of experience you have you can show the interviewer that you are passionate about what you're doing. This question can create an opening to talk about the different experiences you've had on your journey or for newer members it can be a conversation about this new journey you are embarking on. If you don't have any experience in the field directly, you can talk about volunteer opportunities that are similar or what experiences brought you to this field.

When working with kids/residents they will have different belief systems, how do you handle situations where you don't agree with statements being made?

"I have a lot of experience working at my last camp with campers from all over the country, many had different belief systems. I was able to create it into a program to the campers to learn about other people while also respecting others choices. I choose to keep my own beliefs to myself, which allowed for the children to comfortably ask me questions about other people's beliefs."

Generally both children and the aging population tend to be very honest and open- this can be related to questions or comments they have or their beliefs. There will be times with both groups that they may say something that you don't agree, but you don't have to argue about whose beliefs are right. The interviewer wants to make sure you are able to work with people with different beliefs with you and it won't cause arguments or fights. If you want to discuss different beliefs on a professional, work friendly way that is okay, but you shouldn't let it affect your work. For this question you can talk about how you would handle the situation if you'd ignore the comment or address the statement.

"I work with people who have different beliefs and especially aging people tend to be honest and open. When working within this group I keep my beliefs to myself that allows the residents to comfortably ask a question about other people's beliefs."

Children/residents can be predictable sometimes, give an example when you were able to prevent a problem because you foresaw the reaction of another person.

"I once had a camper that would continuously get upset at 10 AM every day no matter what was going on. After talking with the camper and their parent, we discover that the camper had started a new medicine that made him hungry around that time. We were able to stop further behaviors by providing him with a snack around that time."

You are not going to be able to be able to prevent every action that a resident or child makes and that will never be expected. Sometimes children/residents are predictable, especially when you get to know each of them. The interviewer wants to know that you are willing to get to know your children/residents so that you'll be able to keep your eye out for common behaviors.You can talk to the interviewer about a time you've observed a pattern of behavior and were then able to prevent a similar behavior from occurring.

"I noticed one of my residents who was always generally pleasant and peaceful become very irritated and would start throwing items whenever they had to sit near a certain residents. To prevent further reactions I let the other workers know and we kept them apart."

"I have noticed one of our residents who are always pleasant and peaceful became irritated when he sits close by certain res. To prevent further reaction I let other team member know and kept we them apart."

Working with children/residents can be very stressful, how do you handle stressful situations?

"There will always be different stressful situations at work, but what I like to do is take a deep breathe in that moment and figure out what my next steps are. In really high stress situations I like to follow up afterwards with my supervisor to talk about the situation, how I handled it, and how I can do better next time."

The interviewer does not expect you to tell them that you never get stressed out- that is nearly impossible. Working with youth or the aging population can be difficult and the interviewer wants to make sure that you can handle the stress.Both working with youth or the elderly is a team environment, you can't do everything on your own. There will be moments that are stressful, so for your answer talk about ways that you cope with stress.

"There'll always be a different stressful situation at any workplace, but what I like to do is to take a deep breath figuring out what my next step is. However, if I get really overwhelmed I'd talk to my supervisor or colleagues."

What recreation activities do you already have planned in your mind to implement?

"I used to volunteer at a nursing home before and one of my activities was having children come in during Halloween time to collect candy from our residents. Unfortunately, that activity can only happen once a year. An idea that I would like to try is including more students with residents. I believe getting students in to help engage residents helps both the residents and students."

For a recreation worker it is important to have ideas for programming to bring to an interview. The interviewer is not trying to catch you off guard, they just want to know what you can bring to the table.You don't have to talk about all your ideas but you should be prepared to talk about one or two. You also don't have to go into all the detail about activity plans you have, you can do a brief overview of your ideas. Depending on the population of the company you are applying for, answers will vary.

"Well, I used to have students and children come in for halloween to collect candy from residents, but unfortunately, that activity can only happen once a year. So, I'd like to try the idea of including more students with residents. I believe getting students to help engage, helps both students and residents."

What hobbies, special interests or talents do you have that you think might be useful here?

"I am very into card games. I know that card games are probably a huge thing for this population, but I think it would be fun to create a tournament out of different card games with a prize at the end. I also really enjoy friendship bracelets, it would help this population with their fine motor skills as well."

Due to the freedom of a Recreation Worker you may bring some of you specialties or hobbies into the workplace. You can talk about anything that interests you that you'd be able to create into a program. Even if there is something that you've always been interested in trying you can mention it to the interviewer.New and fun ideas are always important in the recreation field, because sometimes programs get stuck doing the same programs over and over again. For your answer talk about one or two things that might be fun to create a program.

What is your greatest personality asset working with kids/elderly?

"I think my greatest strength is being approachable, it is very important to me to have our clients feel comfortable coming to me when they have an issue or concern. I think being approachable is important for any workplace environment."

As a Recreation Worker you are going to be spending a lot of time with kids/the elderly. They want to know if your personality matches the clientele. There is not meant to be a trick question, it is just to make you think about how and why you connect with this age group.Your work self is different than your home self, so think about two different personality traits that you generally display at work. Now think about an example for each of the traits how it is beneficial to you for work. When answering this question pick the better example of the two.

"My greatest personality is being approachable. I think it is important to have our clients feel comfortable coming to me when they have issues or concerns. I think being approachable is very important for any workplace environment."

Share an experience in which you tried to coordinate an activity, but it was not successful.

"A time I wasn't successful was when I tried to organize a challenge course- none of my campers were interested in it. I talked to them about why they weren't interested and I found out I added too many tasks for the age group I was working with. Although it wasn't successful, I learned a lot from my campers about being a better counselor."

As a recreation worker you hope that all your activities are engaging and are successful with the group, unfortunately that is not always the case. The interviewer wants to hear about a time when you tried to organize an activity but didn't succeed.The interviewer isn't asking this question because they want to hear about your failures, they want to hear about what you learned from the activity.

Share an experience in which you successfully led others in a coordinated recreation activity.

"I had just started at a nursing home and the person who normally ran Bingo was out sick. I was thrown in to running the program for the evening, thankfully this was a planned program that happened weekly, so the engagement came from the regular crowd. I've since run programming and found that consistently with a schedule has helped with getting the group engaged."

As a recreation worker at a summer camp or a nursing home, you'll have to be able to coordinate recreation activities. The interviewer wants to know about one you ran that was successful and why.You can talk about the program itself but you also need to talk about why it was engaging for the group and how you kept the group engaged.

Why are you the best candidate for us?

"I will always be the most motivated team member. I don't have a ton of years of experience under my belt, but I am very passionate about this age group and want to make a difference."

The interviewer wants to know why they should pick you over the other candidates for this position. If there is anything that you don't think will be brought on during the interview now is a good time to mention it. Is there an interesting certification that would be beneficial for them to know about or an experience that's not on your resume- tell them about it.Talk about what you will bring to the program that you believe other people won't. Talk yourself up for this question, but remember not to go into a fifteen minute conversation. The interviewer wants to know what makes you different and why you'll be an asset to their program.

"I'll always be the most motivated team member, and I'm very passionate about this age group and I want to make a difference."

Why did you choose to become a recreation worker?

"Growing up my grandparents passed away before I was born, so I never got the traditional grandparent experience. When I was in eighth grade I join a club after school that took as to the nursing home to hangout with residents there- I love it. The residents were generally interested in knowing about our lives and telling us about theirs. Ever since the first day I went there, I have continued to volunteer there and I want to make a bigger difference than just volunteering- I want to change and help people."

The interviewer wants to know a little about you and why you want to be a Recreation Worker. This is your time to talk about what you are passionate about. When working with residents/clients there is generally a reason that people want to with either elderly or the youth- this may be because they want to make a difference at a senior center or changes the lives of young kids. This is your chance to show the interviewer why you want to be in this career and why you want to make a difference in people's lives. Take time prior to the interview to think about why you want to be a Recreation Worker. You don't have to come up with a ton of reasons why you want to do this job, but you should have a solid answer thought out prior.

As a recreation worker there will be times you'll need to talk in front of a group, how comfortable are you speaking to a group?

"To be completely honest, I am not super comfortable talking in front of large groups, but it is something I'm working on. I used to be really shy and not talk to groups at all, so I've already come a long way, but know I have a long way to go."

As a recreation worker you'll be in charge of a lot of groups, so the interviewer wants to make sure you are comfortable taking charge of a group. Many times there will be moments when people are talking over each other and you will have to get everyone's attention to start an activity.If you aren't super comfortable speaking in front of a group, be honest with the interviewer, but also talk about how you are working on it.

How do you handle campers/residents who don't want to stay with the group?

"At my last camp we stayed within yelling range of each group in case situations like this happen. My policy at my last camp was to chase after by having eyes on them, so we could make sure the camper didn't get hurt. With our radios we would also let the nearest group know support is needed as well as one of our directors coming to help the situation. The follow through by our directors talking to parents is also important for consequences. Depending on the age of the student could be suspended from camp."

It is important to remember when working with people that they all have their own mind and sometimes they don't want to part of group activities. Depending on the organization, like summer camps it is required for campers to stay with their groups due to safety concerns. The interviewer wants to know how you will address campers who tend to leave the group often or start to run away.Situations like this are never ideal and generally it is hard to have a 'perfect' way to handle it, but the interviewer wants to hear how you would so they can discuss different strategies as well.

Provide an example of a time when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.

"As a summer camp counselor we had different tasks or weekly challenges to do as a group. One time we had to build the tallest tower and all the children had different ideas, so I had to manage the different leadership levels among the group to make sure everyone was a part of the tower."

Whether you are working with children or the aging population there will be diversity in each group, so the interviewer wants to make sure you have experience working towards a common goal with a diverse group.Think about a time when you were working with a group with clashing ideas, how were you able to organize the group to finding common ground. If you haven't organized a group yourself, think about a time you were part of a clashing group and how your leader was able to help you accomplish the task anyways.

Think about an area you need to improve on, what support do you need to help you succeed?

"I've been an assistant for quite sometime, which means I don't get to lead activities myself. I think I'm ready for the challenge of running my own group and would like the opportunity to do so. I've been successful engaging small groups of campers and am ready for the next step."

The interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect, so don't pretend to be during the interview. Think about something that you wish you had more experience with or practice doing at your current job and talk about that.Remember to mention what kind of supports will help you improve. Areas of improve can be as simple as learning to write incidents reports for residents/campers if you've never done so.

How would you handle a camper/resident who becomes violent to another?

"At my current company, I had situation very similar, but was able to deescalate the situation prior to anything bad happened. One student of mine picked up a book and was ready to throw it at another student, but I was able to stop the student from throwing it. I sat with both students separately to discuss their stories and then together. I held both students accountable for their actions that built up to one wanting to throw something."

The interviewer wants to know the tools that you already have to manage aggressive behaviors. For your answer you can provide an example of a time you have to manage a camper/resident in the same or similar situation. If you are not able to provide an example you managed, you can talk about the different policies and procedures your previous employer had.The interviewer isn't going to expect that you have all the tools needed for their company, because they will help train you on what the specifics are for their companies.

"At the nursing home I work at, I have not experienced any residents being violent yet, but have heard about it happening. Thankfully in a nursing home we are in one wing of the building and it is easier to alert another staff if help is needed. The first thing I would do is separate the resident who is being violent and call for help to help with the other residents. We have a reporting policy here that I would also have to go through- it includes asking the resident about what happened and why."

"First of all, I would separate the residents who are being violet and call for help with the other resident."

Recreation Workers Interview Questions

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1. Why did you decide to choose this organization for employment?
2. Why did you leave your last job or are leaving?
3. What does customer service mean to you related to this job?
4. Not everyone will be at the same learning levels, name a time you adapted an activity to meet the participant's needs.
5. How does this position fit into your career goals?
6. Provide a time you worked with management to resolve a participant complaint.
7. Name a time when your creativity or alternative thinking solved a problem at the camp/nursing home you were at.
8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
9. Describe a time you identified the needs of your student/resident and successfully developed a way to teach/train them.
10. Do you have experience in this field?
11. When working with kids/residents they will have different belief systems, how do you handle situations where you don't agree with statements being made?
12. Children/residents can be predictable sometimes, give an example when you were able to prevent a problem because you foresaw the reaction of another person.
13. Working with children/residents can be very stressful, how do you handle stressful situations?
14. What recreation activities do you already have planned in your mind to implement?
15. What hobbies, special interests or talents do you have that you think might be useful here?
16. What is your greatest personality asset working with kids/elderly?
17. Share an experience in which you tried to coordinate an activity, but it was not successful.
18. Share an experience in which you successfully led others in a coordinated recreation activity.
19. Why are you the best candidate for us?
20. Why did you choose to become a recreation worker?
21. As a recreation worker there will be times you'll need to talk in front of a group, how comfortable are you speaking to a group?
22. How do you handle campers/residents who don't want to stay with the group?
23. Provide an example of a time when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.
24. Think about an area you need to improve on, what support do you need to help you succeed?
25. How would you handle a camper/resident who becomes violent to another?

Recreation Workers Interview Questions

1. Why did you decide to choose this organization for employment?

2. Why did you leave your last job or are leaving?

3. What does customer service mean to you related to this job?

4. Not everyone will be at the same learning levels, name a time you adapted an activity to meet the participant's needs.

5. How does this position fit into your career goals?

6. Provide a time you worked with management to resolve a participant complaint.

7. Name a time when your creativity or alternative thinking solved a problem at the camp/nursing home you were at.

8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

9. Describe a time you identified the needs of your student/resident and successfully developed a way to teach/train them.

10. Do you have experience in this field?

11. When working with kids/residents they will have different belief systems, how do you handle situations where you don't agree with statements being made?

12. Children/residents can be predictable sometimes, give an example when you were able to prevent a problem because you foresaw the reaction of another person.

13. Working with children/residents can be very stressful, how do you handle stressful situations?

14. What recreation activities do you already have planned in your mind to implement?

15. What hobbies, special interests or talents do you have that you think might be useful here?

16. What is your greatest personality asset working with kids/elderly?

17. Share an experience in which you tried to coordinate an activity, but it was not successful.

18. Share an experience in which you successfully led others in a coordinated recreation activity.

19. Why are you the best candidate for us?

20. Why did you choose to become a recreation worker?

21. As a recreation worker there will be times you'll need to talk in front of a group, how comfortable are you speaking to a group?

22. How do you handle campers/residents who don't want to stay with the group?

23. Provide an example of a time when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.

24. Think about an area you need to improve on, what support do you need to help you succeed?

25. How would you handle a camper/resident who becomes violent to another?