Radical Change in the Interviewing Processes; A Different Way of Selecting and Interviewing in Student Affairs

Typically, when departments in Student Affairs are hiring, they take a more traditional approach. We all are very familiar with this tradition. The department posts the job, candidates apply, a committee or person in the department reviews the candidate documents, then chooses who they will interview. The first interview is typically over the phone. After the department finishes up with phone interviews, they decide who should move forward to the second interview on Zoom (Skype seems to be a thing of the past). The department will then invite others in the department to interview candidates. After the Zoom interviews, most departments will choose 2-4 candidates for the final interview on-campus. While candidates are on-campus, they meet and interview with important people. After about 3 hours of interviewing, candidates may feel they answered the question “so why are you interested in this position?” 100’s of times. Once formal interviews are complete, candidates will end by talking with the potential supervisor. Feedback gets reviewed about two weeks later, and an offer is made to the “best” candidate. We all are familiar with the process, but is this the best approach? Departments in Higher Education should assess their interviewing practices and come up with changes that are more people-centered. When assessing your hiring processes, keep these 5 ideas in mind.

1) Recruiting candidates – Instead of waiting for candidates to apply, how is your department recruiting qualified and diverse people?

2) Connection with staff – How are candidates connecting with staff in the department outside of the interview structures? How are they able to understand the position from astaff’s perspective?

3) Knowledge of the department – When your department posts a job, is there anopportunity for potential candidates to also learn about the job and department culturethrough presentation?

4) Simulations and case studies – Instead of interviews being questions and answers, is there an opportunity to have the candidate go through simulations and case studies relevant to the job responsibilities?

5) Respecting time – When selecting candidates, is the department transparent with the timeline of selection?

Radical Change in the Interviewing Processes; A Different Way of Selecting and Interviewing in Student Affairs

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