Below are example case studies from managers, applicants and young people who have been involved in the recruitment & selection process with a young person for a role with South Gloucestershire Council.
Interview Questions for Organisations
What is your role within the organisation?
Jane Spouse (Deputy Director for the Department for Children and Young People) - My role as deputy director involves strategic planning for the long term and the wider picture for the Department for Children and Young People. We have to consider what developments are on the national agenda and turn these into local approaches. I lead on the cross-agency Children and Young People’s Plan. To do this I work with many partners whose work is to do with children and young people, they include the voluntary sector, the Health Service, Connexions the Police and Fire Service, and my role involves helping us all to work together to see that shared vision in place.
Why has the organisation decided to include children and young people in the Recruitment Process?
Jane Spouse – It’s a strategic decision to ensure we enable children and young people to have a voice as we strongly believe that we should seriously listen to children and young people’s views and opinions as they bring a unique experience of the services that we offer and know firsthand if our services are working or not.
My experience is that children and young people will be honest and sometimes tell you the things you don’t necessarily want to hear regarding our services. As these have a direct impact on their lives, why would we not ask and why would we not listen? Even the youngest person has a worthwhile view – one on a headship’s panel was four years old and they wanted “somebody who was really nice”, as do we! It is a national drive and as a department we really value the viewpoints of children and young people. An added bonus is that the experience also offers the opportunity for children and young people to develop new skills and experiences.
Can you explain the benefits to the organisation of including Children and Young people?
Jane Spouse – Children and young people offer a unique perspective and open our thinking to opportunities to do things differently. We have often found that young people are naturally drawn to somebody who has drive, enthusiasm and energy. An example on one panel involving a young person was that the candidate some of us felt was right, the young people disagreed with, as they felt that they were not valued as the candidate questioned why they were on the panel. This obviously had an impact on the final decision made as we could not employ somebody who did not put children and young people’s views and opinions at the heart of the service.
What do you think are the benefits for children and young people of being involved in recruitment?
Jane Spouse – We offer all children and young people who are on our recruitment panels training so that they understand the recruitment process and feel comfortable and confident enough to be able to ask questions, hear answers and work together to arrive at a common agreement against the selection criteria.
We often see that confidence increases as children and young people can see that they are really being valued and their opinions and views are being listened to. We always give full feedback to them about who was selected and always explain very carefully how they met the criteria. This can at times go against the choice of the young people panel members, but once we have explained the reasons behind the decision, it is usually agreed with and accepted. Having children and young people on the panel making decisions on who we appoint also offers credibility to the successful candidate in the eyes of children and young people who they will work with and meet.
The experience of being on the panel also offers young people an insight into what it’s like for the person being interviewed and for the person interviewing, which I hope helps them immensely for their own future interviews. Most importantly we are interested in what children and young people have to say about the people we are employing.
What are your hopes for the future?
Jane Spouse – I would like to see this positive practice being extended across all agencies that are involved in the services that could affect and shape young peoples lives and we are looking into ways that we could support this, especially with all our key partners. I know with several of them they are already doing this really well.
We would also encourage our own staff and partners to involve children and young people in giving feedback which helps to decide the shape all of our services, as they do for the Children and Young People Plan. I am also keen for children and young people to understand that this is not just a token gesture but that we truly want to work with them and not just for them.
Nick Turner interviewing Jane Spouse, Deputy Director, on the importance of involving young people in recruitment and selection
Interview Questions for Young People
Who did you recruit and what was your involvement in the process?
Did you have any training?
How were your views taken into account in the final decision?
What recognition did you receive for your involvement?
What did you learn?
What are your top tips if you did it again?
Interview Questions for Candidate
Social Worker for the Looked After Team.
What was the interview process and how did it involve young people?
The interview process consisted of a 20 minute preparation time on the Every Child Matters Report. This was then followed by a 45 minute interview with the panel which consisted of two Assistant Team Managers and the Team Manager and a young person, they each asked two questions each. Within the 45 minute interview I was asked to give a presentation using my notes that I had made earlier regarding the Every Child Matters Report.
What was your view of the interview process?
The interview process was very well laid out. By being questioned first and then presenting the information that I had written down on the Every Child Matters Report, this was good in particular as I was able to elaborate on my answers within the presentation.
It also worked well having a young person there as I was able to show how well I could communicate with a young person.
How useful was it having young people involved?
Very useful, the young person asked me two questions and it seemed that she didn’t understand one of the answers that I gave, so she was able to ask it in another way so that I was able to give a more in depth answer.
Top tips (about being interviewed and young people’s involvement)
Definitely having a young person in an interview helps, as if they like you they will be more willing to work alongside you rather than against you.
Having a young person that is confident enough to ask questions and not to be scared of speaking up if they did not understand an answer given.
What’s it like being interviewed by young people?
What’s your job?
Senior Adolescent Support Worker
What was the interview process and how did it involve young people?
The interview was a face to face interview with me and 5 people. There were 3 adults and two young people. The young people asked me several questions and were an integral part of the interview.
What was your view of the interview process?
I enjoyed the interview process. It was a good opportunity to talk about my skills and for me to find a little bit more about what the job involved.
How useful was it having young people involved?
I felt it was very useful as firstly it showed that the team cared about the opinions of the young people, secondly it allowed me to ask the young people what their views were on the team and the service that it provided and finally it gave the interviewees the opportunity to see how I engaged with young people.
Top tips (about being interviewed and young people’s involvement)
If you attend an interview that involves young people, it is important that you include the young person in the process. If you get the opportunity, ask the young people some question and when they ask you a question answer them whilst keeping eye contact. The young people can give you a great insight into how the service provided really effect the people involved.