Don't call us, we'll call you...

Post date: Mar 24, 2016 4:24:27 PM

“So Derek, can you tell us a little bit about your experiences working with young people?” pens immediately flew to scribble notes, tick boxes, and rate the responses of MyBnk’s potential new freelance trainer, “Derek”, the fictional character created for the mock interview at last weekend’s YAP event. With the ultimate goal of embedding young peoples’ views and visions at every level of MyBnk’s work, the YAP will get involved with each team in turn to not only learn more about how MyBnk operates, but influence decision making and drive positive change.

With Johnny taking on the role of “Derek”, Kruti, Jessie, and myself acting as the interview panel, and the young people serving as the board, we all had an authentic learning experience imagining ourselves as members of Team Ops, charged with managing MyBnk’s recruitment and HR. Within small groups the young people evaluated Derek using the actual job requisition and performance assessment used for freelance trainer interviews. Where they felt something was lacking, the young people developed their own questions and created best possible answers for use in finding the ideal trainers to deliver our programmes.

In the end, Derek did not end up with an offer from MyBnk, but many good conversations were generated and plenty of good laughs were had by all. By consulting the experts themselves, the YAP, MyBnk stands better informed of what type of individuals that young people will find engaging, trustworthy, and dynamic. The young people also gained valuable insight into the interview process as they keenly identified pros and cons to inform their own future preparations to enter the work force. I am genuinely excited to see how the next YAP event will open up further avenues for young people to shape and guide our practice. Well done Hannah, Jessie, Johnny, Kruti, and Guy!