Your YAB application should be short and sweet. At the top of the application, include a small summary of your organization, the purpose of the YAB, and any requirements you have for members (e.g., age, geographic location, mental health condition). You can include links to your organization or the recruitment flyer you are using for your YAB for members to find more information.

For example:

“The Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research is a research center that focuses on improving the education and employment outcomes of youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions. We are in the Department of Psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School. We are seeking young adults between the ages of 18-30 with serious mental health conditions to join our young adult advisory board.”

The application should also ask for basic information such as: 

• Confirm that they are in the age range you want
• Full name 
• Pronouns (ex. She/her, they/them, he/him)
• Contact information (email and phone number)
• State

It should also include some open-ended questions such as:

• Interest in being part of your advisory board
• Skills the participant may bring to the table
• Why they feel they would be a good fit
• Their experiences with having a mental health condition
• Any obstacles they faced (e.g., language barrier, racism, cultural, insurance, location, access, immigration status, not age-appropriate, etc.) in their search for services/treatment
• Ask them to describe their thoughts and commitment to inclusivity, equity, and justice

Finally have a closing statement that lets the interested party know what the next steps are. 

For example:

“Thank you for your interest in our young adult advisory board. You should receive an application confirmation email shortly. Our team will be reviewing applications in the next few weeks. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to ‘example@email.com”

Download our Example Application

Accessibility considerations: If possible, create an online application (e.g., Survey Monkey or REDcap, Google Forms) or allow applicants to email in their applications. 

• It is generally more youth-friendly to have an application that can be completed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer than expecting them to print it out & scan or mail it back.
• When creating your application & recruitment materials, consider that some youth might use assistive technology such as screen readers to access them. Check out the flyer below on best practices for making materials accessible!

Find more accessibility tips: Guide to Creating Accessible Flyers 

Secure Storage: Before requesting applications, create a procedure for securely storing job applications, which will contain personal contact information & details.

• Your team should create a password-protected folder or shared drive to store online/emailed applications on.
• If you are having applicants submit physical applications or plan to print out the applications to review, identify a locked filing cabinet or drawer to store these applications.
• Make sure only those involved in the YAB hiring process have access to where the applications are securely stored
• As with any other personal or identifying information, the contents of an application should not be shared with or discussed with anyone outside of the hiring process