Youth Development Project of the Diocese of London

T33- Sample interview questions and scoring sheet

childrenssociety.org.uk/toolkit / 1

Candidate name:

Interview date:

Post:

Interviewers:

Scoring: 0 = Unmet, 1 = Partially Met, 2 = Met *, 3 = Fully Met.

* Candidates must achieve a minimum score of 2 (Met) on each question to be considered for this post

Introduction

  • Interviewers to introduce themselves
  • Explain the interview will take about [insert approx number] minutes, with the last 15 minutes for the candidate to ask questions
  • Explain the format of the interview—there will be [insert how many] panel members asking questions, please answer succinctly
  • Say you will be taking notes throughout

Presentation

You may have asked the candidates to prepare an interview; insert the title of the presentation here. Explain that the first part of the interview will be for the presentation

Questions / Good answers / Bad answers / Notes
1. Can you tell us why you have applied for the job and what you feel you could bring to the role? /
  • Interest / commitment to this type of work
  • Have experience of doing this type of work before
/
  • Can’t say what qualities they would bring to the role
/ 0 1 2 3
2. Can you tell us about some work that you have done with young people from different backgrounds? Eg class, culture, ethnic, religion
What issues did you have to think about? /
  • Where they worked
  • Backgrounds of children and young people
  • Age
  • Why it was good
  • Religion / culture
  • Mention languages
/
  • Don’t say if it was good or bad
  • Don’t give details
  • Say that they don’t have to think about peoples backgrounds
/ 0 1 2 3
3. Tell us about an event you planned where you included young people.
How did you involve them in planning and which methods did you use?
(If they have never done it before: how would they do it?) /
  • Give an example
  • Describe the method(s)
  • If it worked or not and why
  • What skills they had to use
  • Involved children in decision making by asking them what they wanted
  • Let children vote what they want
/
  • Haven’t tried it
  • Wouldn’t do it
  • Didn’t have the skills
/ 0 1 2 3
4. If you have to explain something difficult to children and young people what methods will you use? Please give an example /
  • Give an example
  • Did the children understand
  • Used pictures
  • Used examples
  • Explained through games or activities
  • Break up the information to make it simple to understand
  • Consider the age of the child or young person
/
  • No example
  • Don’t use creative activities
  • Just talk
  • Don’t ask if the children understood
/ 0 1 2 3
5. If you were taking children and young people on a trip, how would you make sure they are safe? /
  • Enough adults
  • Give each child a label with the project name so that we can easily see them or all have same t-shirts
  • Workers to have mobile phones and give numbers out to young people
  • Tell children what to do if they get lost
  • Tell children about ground rules for trip
  • Know about any allergies
  • Do a head count to make sure no-one is left behind
  • Consent form from parents
  • Have emergency contact numbers for parents
  • Have a risk assessment
/
  • Don’t mention most of the points
  • Leave children to wander off on their own
/ 0 1 2 3
6. Can you give us an example of a time when you organised a meeting with children and young people? If you haven’t done this, can you give an example of a time you have organised a meeting with other adults or an event?
Please take us through the process you followed to do this. /
  • Good example
  • Booking venue
  • Transport
  • Letting people know about meeting
  • Writing a plan
/
  • Bad example
  • Doesn’t mention any of the good examples
/ 0 1 2 3
7. Can you give us an example of a time when you were faced with a problem with a member of staff or a volunteer?
How did you deal with it and what was the outcome? /
  • Example of a specific problem
  • Tells how it was dealt with, appropriate time and place, language, clarity of issue, etc
  • Says how it was solved or not solved
/
  • No specific problem
  • Doesn’t say how it was solved
/ 0 1 2 3
8. Why is it important to evaluate the work you are doing and can you give an example of when you have involved young people in an evaluation. /
  • To review learning
  • To gain feedback from young people
  • To inform future work
  • To improve practice
  • To highlight any unexpected outcomes
/
  • Unaware of importance of evaluations
  • Doesn’t give specific example
/ 0 1 2 3
9. What do you think are the potential issues of two or more organisations working together?
Please give an example /
  • Understanding of partnership
  • Aware of pros and cons and able to give examples e.g. conflict of interest, confidentiality, different aims
/
  • No concept of partnership
  • Unable to give specific examples of issues
/ 0 1 2 3

Final score: ______

Non-scoring questions

This role involves occasionally working unsocial hours and some travel. Does this bring up any issues for you?

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