The interview process
Steps to the interview process. (These should be the same for every candidate you interview)
- Decide how you will post or advertise the position.
- Have the applicant respond via email with a brief history of their background and experience.
- Send the applicant a list of questions (examples below) that they can answer and respond.
- Review the responses and reply to the applicant. (always reply, even if you are not interested!)
- If you move forward with an interview be sure to use the same list of questions for every candidate.
- Keep the interview notes in a confidential file for a min of 3 years.
- As part of the interview process, have them bring their main instrument and have them play several worship songs at your church.
- Let candidates know within 24-48 hours if your are still interested.
Before you interview an applicant, you may save yourself time by pre-screening candidates before you actually speak to them.
It may be a good idea to use a survey site like Survey Monkey to get this information from worship leader applicants. Or you can copy and paste the questions below to an email and have them respond with their answers.
Example Survey questions
Are you currently a worship leader, or a worship pastor?
Where did you obtain your pastors certification?
How long have you been at your current church?
How long have you been leading worship?
What churches have you led worship for in the past?
What instrument do you lead worship with?
What is your musical education? (Remember, a lot of people might not have an education in music but are still very capable)
Do you sing lead and what is your vocal range?
What is your current churches (or lead pastors) vision of worship and what is means?
What is your vision of worship?
What is your most used biblical reference for worship in the church today? (Either old or new testament)
How do you gauge others ability to perform worship? (Performance meaning their musical ability)
How do you handle criticism and negative feedback?
What was the last book, article or podcast/blog you read or listened to about worship in the church today?
What was the primary message?
Are you familiar with the various web sites about building worship teams, skills sets, and recruitment tactics? If so, can you describe a little what you have read or learned?
How familiar with the technical side of a worship service are you? (Lighting, overhead presentation systems etc.)
Have you run sound in a small, medium or large church or other venue?
Are you familiar with how to set up a sound system for a worship team/band including use of digital boards, outboard gear monitor sends and basic sound engineering principals?
Do you currently subscribe to any worship websites, worship magazines? If yes, which ones?
How important is talent versus a heartfelt desire to participate when it comes to participating on the worship team?
Is a desire to serve enough?
How do you offer constructive feedback?
How would you coach someone with little to no talent but a desire to play on a worship team?
Do not ask questions that are not legal to ask in any other type of employment. Questions about age, children, transportation etc. (Refer to your churches legal counsel for more information on this)