Involving kids in staff selection - NSW Commission for Children and Young People

Participation means being involved in decisions that may have an impact on our lives. One way organisations can help children and young people participate is by involving kids in selecting staff members.

There are a number of ways to do this:

including kids on interview panels
involving kids in writing job advertisements and job descriptions
having kids interview preferred candidates in a second interview.

What are the benefits?

Every employer knows it is important to get the right person for the job.

Involving kids in the interview process provides an employer with an opportunity to see how a potential employee communicates and interacts with kids. Kids have valuable insights into what sort of person will get on well with children and young people.

Many kids are happy to help organisations if they know it will benefit other kids, however it is a significant time commitment and the organisation should make it worth their while.

Talk to the young person about the skills they will gain from selecting staff; such as helping them with their own job applications and interviews, teaching them negotiation and building communication skills.

Asaf - young person
"I've been on an interview panel when one of the applicants wouldn't even look at me. You could tell they didn't treat young people with respect and were not really interested in young people."

General Tips

Give practical examples

Giving kids practical examples will help them to understand unfamiliar concepts.

Make it easy for kids to attend

Time - if possible, arrange for interviews to be held in school holidays or after school.

Costs - make sure you cover any travel costs and provide food or money for a meal.

Negotiation - if kids need to take time out from school, studies or work to attend the interviews they may want you to negotiate with their principal or employer.

Explain the process

It is important to explain to kids how recruitment is done and what is expected of them.

You should explain:

The role - describe the position and what the successful applicant will be doing from day-to-day.

Merit selection - explain that this means the person whose skills, knowledge and experience best match the job requirements will be selected. It can sometimes be difficult for a child or young person to make out differences in answers between similar candidates so explain how to read between the lines.

Culling - explain that shortlisting is done by ranking how applicants meet the selection criteria. Don't assume they will automatically understand what each of the criteria means. For example a child or young person may not know what 'extensive experience in policy analysis and development' means.

Referee checking - it is helpful to explain how referee checks act as a double checking process and may help decide between two high calibre candidates.

Decision making - explain who has the final say and why.

Help them learn

For many kids this will be a new experience requiring some pretty fast learning. It's important that you respect this, and are sensitive to any embarrassment they might feel. This may decide to explain things in private, either before everyone else arrives or during breaks.

Feedback is important in the learning process. A thank you letter is very valuable as it acts as acknowledgement of their work but also provides them with something to place in their portfolios. Tell them how they helped you, what they did well and if there were any areas or skills you thought they could improve will add to the learning experience.

Treat the child or young person with respect

The child or young person should have the chance to be heard and respected in the decision making process. This can include asking them to back up their opinions with reasons and examples.

Pay attention to the behaviour of the other panel members. If they seem to be disregarding the young person's point of view, bring this to their attention.

Kate - young person
"At one panel I was on, I was behind on culling. The other interviewers told me not to worry about it and just started talking about the interview questions. You could tell they weren't interested in my opinion and this was just something they had to do."

Involving kids on interview panels - Tips

Kids may feel more comfortable being on interview panels if another young person they know participates as well.

Allow them more time to consider the applications or discuss the interview questions.

Let the interviewee know that a young person will be on their interview panel.

Linda Mallett, Children's Guardian
"We recognise that children and young people may be unfamiliar with taking part on selection panels. We help make it a positive and constructive experience for them. Other panel members provide support and assistance so they feel able to participate with confidence."

Involving kids in writing advertisements and job descriptions - Tips

Thoroughly brief the children or young person on the intended role of the employee and what is expected of them. They can then help write the job requirements and role statement that relate specifically to working with young people.

It is helpful if the young person is a client or stakeholder as they will have a better understanding of how the position works with young people.

Involving kids in second interviews - Tips

Many organisations have preferred candidate/s attend a second interview with the head of the organisation or another senior person. Kids can also be involved in this 'checking-out' process. They can act as a co-interviewer with a senior person or may interview the person separately. This can be done in a formal process with structured questions or can be a more informal chat, depending on the needs of the organisation and the young person's preferences.

Choosing the child or young person

The child or young person may be an existing client, a school student taking career studies, a Student Representative Council member from a local school, a member of a local youth council, or a member of a local youth service such as the Youth Action and Policy Association (YAPA).

In choosing a child or young person consider whether they:

are representative of the kids the employee will be working with
have the confidence to interview an adult
have the minimum communication and analytical skills needed for selecting staff.

Need more advice?

The Commission has produced a kit called TAKING PARTicipation seriously. It gives organisations practical tips and examples about how to involve kids in decision making that affects their lives. You can download a copy of the kit or you can purchase the complete kit for $39 by phoning the Commission on 02 9286 7276.

The Commission runs a participation advisory service. If you'd like more information about how to get kids involved in your work phone 02 9286 7276.