How Eurochild Involves Children in the Staff Hiring Process
A blog by Carine Le Borgne, Eurochild Child Participation Coordinator, on meaningful child participation in the Eurochild recruitment process, with the participation of the Eurochild Children’s Council and the most recently hired Eurochild Secretariat staff members.
At Eurochild, we believe that children should have a say in the decisions that affect them. This includes having a voice in the recruitment of staff who will work closely with them and for them. To make this possible, we work with the Eurochild Children's Council to ensure their meaningful participation in staff recruitment interviews.
To help children assess candidates effectively, we guide them through interactive exercises that highlight key qualities like values, personality, and skills. By simplifying candidate profiles and addressing potential biases, we ensure children feel confident and prepared. Additionally, we encourage them to create their interview questions and define what makes a strong answer, empowering them to engage critically in the process.
We emphasise the importance of children’s feedback in the selection process, ensuring they understand its impact on the hiring committee's decision. To boost their confidence, we offer various methods for sharing their impressions, such as rating systems and open feedback. We also stress the significance of confidentiality, explaining why interview discussions must remain private to ensure fairness and respect for all candidates.
During my job interview for the position of Child Participation Coordinator, I also had the opportunity to do an online interview with two Eurochild Children’s Council members. As someone who has been working in the field of children's rights and child participation for over 20 years, I was delighted to see that for once an organisation that promotes child participation was involving children in the recruitment process for its staff.
The interview started with an icebreaker, which was original for a job interview. It allowed us to know each other better and in a fun way. I found the exchange very dynamic with insightful and relevant questions and a dialogue where they wanted to know more about me, my motivations for the job and how I would react to certain situations.
Overall, this experience underlines the value of including children in governance decisions, as it offers new insights, ensures greater authenticity, and strengthens the organisation's commitment to child participation. By doing this, Eurochild wants to ensure that children's voices are not just heard in its activities but also in key decision-making processes, such as hiring Eurochild staff members.
- Quotes from the young interviewers
"Interviewing candidates for job positions in Eurochild has been an amazing and really interesting experience. It is not something a 16-year-old teenager gets to do frequently, and it is definitely something that has taught me a lot. Being an interviewer rather than an interviewee at such a young age is extremely intriguing and enlightening, which for sure made me feel truly included in such vital decision-making processes at Eurochild." - Georgios Efrem, Cyprus
"I really liked interviewing the new Eurochild staff member, Carine. I liked that I was included in the process of selecting the new staff member. The hardest thing to do was decide which of the two candidates was better, and it's also nice to meet somebody online before you meet them in person." - Leon, Croatia
"This was an extremely empowering opportunity, which genuinely made me feel like my voice and opinions mattered. I felt heard, but more than that, I felt listened to. It is one thing to say you value young people’s voices and ideas, but it is a completely different thing altogether to actually include them in important decisions and show that you genuinely care. This process proved the latter. The interview process also helped me grow and think more maturely. The most beautiful part was that I had freedom—freedom to say what I wanted, to ask what I felt necessary, and to make my decision free of influence. I wasn’t just in the background, listening and taking notes; I was actually allowed to come forward and speak." - Rhythm, Malta
- Quotes from the Eurochild Secretariat
‘Initially, I thought the children’s role in the interview would be limited to asking a question or two. However, I was pleasantly surprised—and honestly a little amazed—when they took the lead for the entire interview, posing thoughtful and sometimes challenging questions. Overall, it was an engaging experience that highlighted the importance of children's participation in practice.’ – Julie Bartonova, Policy Advocacy and Communications Intern
‘It’s not every day that you get to engage directly with someone who represents the voices and perspectives we’re working to amplify. While I felt a little nervous about what type of questions I might receive, I was also excited by the opportunity to hear their views firsthand. And indeed the questions I got made me look at my own views and opinions I expressed from a different perspective.’ – Kristiana Stoyanova, Policy and Advocacy Officer – Child Poverty
"It was the first interview I ever had with children and it gave a whole new perspective to the exercise and helped me challenge myself to adapt to their questions, which were really interesting and more relevant than most of the ones we can encounter in "classic" interviews!" - Maël Leroux, Child Rights in the Digital Environment Intern
