Identifying Appropriate Applicants

Selecting a candidate who will truly benefit from the RYLA experience is an important opportunity for your Club. But how do you identify a young person who will take full advantage of this opportunity? What indicators point to someone who is likely to be a future leader in their endeavours?

Please consider these points as your Club casts the net to find your next ideal RYLA candidate:

• Has the candidate already demonstrated leadership skills in their community, workplace, field of study, sports code or volunteer capacity?
• Does the candidate display a good positive attitude? Are they curious about this opportunity? Are they willing to prepare for the experience?
• Have they done any homework - do they know what Rotary or RYLA is about?
• Is the candidate a team player? Have they examples of when they worked with others to solve a problem or achieve common goals?
• Do they have aspirations of their own? Do they demonstrate a drive to succeed? Will attending RYLA accelerate their progress, for the greater good?

Please be thorough in your selection process - avoid picking just any young person to simply make up numbers. Not everyone will be tomorrow’s leaders, so RYLA is the perfect opportunity for those who have already shown leadership potential.

Now go find them!

Recommended Interview

The interview does not have to be formal but all applicants should be interviewed.

The committee recommends the following:

• At least two people on the panel.
• Invite past RYLA participant to assist with the interview and/or selection.
• Maybe meet them at a cafe.

It is the club's responsibility to arrange the interview, to make it easier for the Rotary Club the committee has put together sample of questions you can choice from to help answer some of the questions above.

Sample Interview Questions

You may wish to select four or five of the following questions in the interview with each of your applicants:

1. Why would you like to attend RYLA?
2. What are your plans for your future:
   1. next year?
   2. five years from now?
   3. twenty years from now?
3. Who has been the most important person in your life?
4. If you were trying to convince a new company to relocate in your town, what are three positive features of the community you would stress?
5. What are your three most important values?
6. If you could make one change affecting your Community, what would it be?
7. Outside your family and friends, who do you most respect?
8. What is the last book you read for pleasure?
9. Outside of your work or study, what activity has been the most important in terms of your personal growth?
10. What makes a good leader?
11. Why are ethics important in leadership?
12. Who do you know that you feel is an outstanding leader and why?
13. If five candidates - including you - are equally qualified, why should you be the one selected for RYLA?
14. If you had the power and money to do something good for mankind, what would it be and why?
15. As a young adult what do you see as your role in the community? (i.e. setting examples, community service)
16. Name your hero or role model you look up to, and tell us why he/she is important to you.
17. Name one thing that you have done that made you feel good about yourself.

It could be great if their answers could be included in your endorsement.

Download the full A Rotary Clubs Guide to RYLA