Learn more about the applicant(s) prior to the interview
Review their application prior to the interview. This allows you to familiarize yourself with the applicant(s) and helps you to:
- Identify questions you may want to ask during your interview.
- For Volunteer Applicants- Identify which volunteer registration items are still missing.
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- To do so, click the applicant's name in the list of 'Interviews', and then click 'Check Status'.
- A list of volunteer registration requirements show, and completed items are marked with a checkmark.
- To do so, click the applicant's name in the list of 'Interviews', and then click 'Check Status'.
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- Contact AskAFS@afsusa.org with questions
Bring important materials
Remember to bring these items to the in-person/in-home interview:
- Interview form- If you want to review them during your session on paper rather than a mobile device:
- Specific information/resources for the applicant(s)- For example:
- You might want to bring information on the Department of State scholarship programs for applicant(s) applying to host or go abroad.
- In the case of volunteer interviews, you could share a team calendar.
- A mobile phone (specific to the host family interview)- Some host family applicants do not have a recent photo of all household members or required photos of their home.
Bring a buddy
It could be valuable to have two volunteers participate in the interview process. Interviews are a great way to mentor and train a new volunteer on interviewing.
- For host family interviews, it might be helpful to have a volunteer who has hosted before or a younger volunteer who was a host sibling.
- For study abroad interviews, it might be helpful to have a returnee who went abroad on a similar AFS program or country or a volunteer who was a natural parent.
- For volunteer interviews, it’s a great way to get new or younger volunteers involved.
Before you go to the interview
- There is required training for study abroad interviewers and volunteer registration interviewers. Be sure to complete the training before doing an interview! There’s also an optional host family interviewer training.
- Check out this interview resources section for more detailed information about study abroad, hosting, & volunteering interviews.
- If you want to learn more about Interviews & MyAFS, join one of our monthly MyAFS Webinars.
Pro Tip- Share AFS materials
No matter the type of interview you are conducting, the interview is a great opportunity to share AFS materials about the variety of program and volunteer opportunities available to the applicant(s), their friends, or family.
- Some ideas of AFS materials to share are: AFS brochures on hosting, study abroad, and volunteering with AFS-USA, and local team materials – newsletters, calendar of events, volunteer opportunities/needs in your team.
- View information on how you can access and create your own AFS materials for free.
Next, you'll want to learn more about how to conduct an interview.