Ciao ragazzi, come va? Your favorite volunteer (me) is in this exact moment being part of one Youth Exchange to Greece. If you are interested in this topic, keep reading!
My job is to select participants that I think are the best fit for our project and make sure that every process respect deadlines. So, regarding my previous and recent experiences, I will take the responsibility to give you some tips about how to make a good impression in your selection part!
For those who do not know what a youth exchange is, I will put down below a very good and short video.
There are plenty of groups on facebook which are every day looking for participants. According to “how”, “when” can depend according to the association and, of course, the project. Then again it depends on how the association deals with it. I will take about my case. We had a little questionary, about the candidates (name, contact number, and email, why are you applying to this youth exchange if you ever participated in one, English level) following an info pack – a document with all the information needed about the program.
After going through every single participant, there are a few things that we take into consideration and might be a minus for some people:
Read carefully the questionary: guarantee that you correspond the parameter of the project;
Keep in mind that your answers represent your curriculum:so keep it simple, clean and YOU;
Short and practical answers: keep in mind that you should only write what is really necessary, in the further part of the selection you will have the opportunity to explain yourself better;
Make sure that your email and your phone number are correct: is the only way to contact you, and you have to think that a lot of people are waiting in the line;
Check your email every day: answering on time is very important. it shows that you are really motived to do it and that you also take it seriously;
Don’t make someone wait for you: if you had managed to be on that hour, that day, just do it. Making someone wait for you do not give the right impression;
Technical details about online interviews matter: good connection, good presentation, good background, some earphones). You have to guarantee that nothing can either distract you or me along this conversation. And about visual components, you have to study the project that you are about to apply. Normally it is not anything very formal, so just be casual;
Do your homework: search for the place you are applying for, the project and the organization and use this information in your favor;
Read the info pack: do not take it for granted, is very important to build a bridge between you and the project;
It’s now about the youth exchange you were at before, it’s about what you learn from them: have some critical opinion about it, and show how it changed you;
Do not be intimidated if you have to do the interview in some language that is not your mother language: practice your answers at home and you will be fine. We are no seeking in specifically for someone fluent in English, instead, we are searching for someone who has the passion to communicate and give interesting points of view;
In every opportunity, you go to be kind, be: a simple “thank you” counts. At the end of the day, behind the screen there is a person.
And last but not least, more cliche it can seem: smile and be yourself.
Take this advice into consideration, not only for youth exchange interviews but for your career also. Having knowledge about how to behave into these working atmosphere is very important, not only because it is something that you will have to do it very often during your professional life, but also, because can make the difference. If you think this post was useful, share, comment or just send us a message! It would be nice to have which kind of content you like the most. Ciao e buona fortuna!
SE.M.I. 