The use of search committees is required for all positions. A typical search committee is comprised of 3-5 individuals for whom the position vacancy has impact. Generally, committee members will not include the outgoing employee or employees who will report to the position.
The committee should include individuals with different expertise and perspectives; all should have a commitment to diversity.
It is important that all search committee members and anyone else who may be interviewing candidates fully understands the magnitude of conducting legal, confidential, consistent, non-biased, and thorough interviews. Take the time to review interviewing information with all parties well in advance.
Bias
ALL search committee members and anyone else who may be interviewing candidates MUST review the 12 Cognitive Biases.
Human bias comes in a variety of forms. These biases may be implicit and lead to judging people according to unconscious stereotypes. During the hiring process, it is important to be aware of the following potential biases:
- Sourcing bias: If you rely exclusively on the same social networks, or on your same connections, you risk ruling out the best, most diverse talent, simply by not reaching it.
- Qualification bias: The most qualified candidate isn’t always the most capable of doing the job. Prizing schooling, or even the prestige of previous employers, limits the diversity of your hires.
- Interview bias: Without a solid framework for guidance, it’s easy to unwittingly discourage a candidate from accepting a position by asking culturally insensitive and potentially illegal questions that delve beyond their ability to do the job.
- Assessment bias: As with interview questions, it’s crucial that any assessments you use during candidate selection target job-specific skills and don’t unfairly impact one protected class over another.
Do NOT search candidates’ social media profiles as this can be a source of bias.
Legal questions
Refer to Interview Questions to Avoid for the differences between illegal and permissible interview questions. All those involved in the hiring process should be familiar with the interview questions. Consistently asking each candidate the same set of predetermined of questions can help prevent allegations of discrimination as a result of an interview question.
Consistency
Consistency is important. Ask all candidates the same set of questions and take notes on their responses. This provides a good baseline for comparison among candidates and reduces legal risk if the hiring decision is challenged by a candidate alleging differential treatment.
If you desire further clarification regarding an answer that was provided, it is okay to delve deeper. Examples include:
- What did you do?
- What did you think about or want?
- When did this happen?
Confidentiality
We do not want to compromise a candidate’s standing at their current place of employment and ask all employees privy to information about candidates to maintain this information in confidence. Observe the following confidentiality practices:
- Do not discuss or share candidate materials to anyone outside of the search process.
- Do not reach out to friends or colleagues to discuss any of the candidates.
- Do not state any of the candidates’ names on social media.
Notetaking
It is important to take notes during the interview. Notes serve two purposes. They help capture the content of the interview versus relying on memory, and they reduce legal risk if the hiring decision is challenged by a candidate alleging differential treatment.
Notes should reflect what the candidate says, rather than how they said it. Record concrete observations. Do not record evaluations, like “sociable” or “difficult”. Do not make notes during the interview regarding physical/mental characteristics of the applicant.
Candidates sometimes volunteer information that employers may not lawfully consider in evaluating someone for a position. Examples: “I have two children, and we’re expecting another” or “My spouse is disabled.” Do not follow up on this information even though the applicant brought it to your attention. Do not write this information down. Nod, or say something neutral, and move right on to your next prepared question.
All search-related materials (i.e. interview notes, rubrics, references, etc.) must be sent to HR for safekeeping. Application materials submitted through PageUp will be retained electronically within the application software.
Interviews may NOT be recorded.
Security
- Job searches are handled through PageUp, the applicant tracking system. Applicant material can be easily viewed in PageUp and the option exists to download application materials as PDF or Excel documents. Caution must be taken when downloading data from the system, since the data is then saved onto your computer or tablet. Do not store the confidential data on your computer, tablet, thumb drive, etc.
- All communication, electronic or hard copy, is discoverable evidence and must be legal and appropriate.
- E-mail documentation can be scrutinized and easily misconstrued. Be careful regarding the mode of communication used to communicate about candidates. Do NOT create any electronic documents or send any emails comparing candidates. ALL communication comparing candidates should be conversations done in person or via phone.
- Do NOT leave voicemails comparing candidates as voicemails are transmitted electronically.
- Do NOT forward any information to an e-mail account outside of St. Olaf, including a personal e-mail account. This includes resumes, cover letters, and any other candidate information.
- Rule of thumb: if it is locatable, it is admissible in court. Be very cautious when taking notes.
- After the hire is complete, the hiring manager collects all documentation by all interviewers and sends to HR for safekeeping.
Goal of the initial interview:
- Determine if a candidate has the necessary technical skills and confirm they meet the requirements.
Goal of the on-campus interview:
- Determine if a candidate has the necessary soft/employability skills and will be a good match for the position.
Interview format options:
- Initial video/phone interview (either with the hiring manager or the hiring manager and search committee members to narrow down the list of candidates for on-campus interviews)
- On-campus interview
- Group or panel interview
- Multi-interviewer approach, e.g., immediate supervisor interviews the candidate one-on-one followed by a 3-5 member panel interview of peers
- Ask effective and legal questions. A good question is job-related, focused on past behavior, and open ended.
- Prioritize the list of the most important job qualities and functions that are critical to the position.
- Prepare interview questions designed to assess the candidate’s relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.
If only one interview will be held, be sure to ask both technical and behavioral questions. If two interviews will be held (video/phone and on-campus), the first interview should focus more on technical skills questions to determine if the person can do the job. The second interview should focus more on behavioral questions.
Past performance is one of the best predictors of future performance. The most effective questions to ask a candidate are behavioral based questions which require the candidate to describe specific situations, actions and outcomes from their past experiences. Your role as the interviewer is to “dig down” and ask probing questions, always with the goal of trying to get at “what did you do?”
College Required Interview Questions
See Interview Questions Guide for college required interview questions and more examples for job specific questions.
The following topics must be asked of every candidate:
- Why are they interested in the job and why are they considering leaving their current employer
- Previous work experience and reasons for leaving these jobs
- Minimum of 1 diversity question
- Technical skills, examples of what they’ve done using those skills, and the most advanced functions utilized
Legal questions
Refer to Interview Questions to Avoid for the differences between illegal and permissible interview questions. Consistently asking each candidate the same set of predetermined of questions can help prevent allegations of discrimination as a result of an interview question.
Send the finalized list of interview questions to HR for review a minimum of one week before interviews begin.
Develop a list of selection criteria and a process for rating candidate applications before beginning the application review process.
Use the Video/Phone Interview Evaluation for the first round of interviews, and the Candidate Interview Evaluation form for on-campus interviews. If there will be only round of interviews, simply use the Candidate Interview Evaluation form.
Rating candidate applications can be as simple as using exceptional, above average, average, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory. Sample criteria for a rating scale can be found in the Candidate Interview Evaluation Rubric.
The selection criteria must be directly related to the job duties and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) outlined in the job description. Modify accordingly. Additional criteria ideas for the Candidate Interview Evaluation form can be found in the Additional Candidate Interview Evaluation Topics form.