How to Conduct
Interviews for
Smooth Sailing
Dr. Donna Lewis,
Assistant Superintendent
Human Resources San Mateo Foster City School District
Mary Berkey,
Assistant Superintendent,
Human Resources, Union School District
Overview
Introduction
District Size
Staff in our department
● Before the interview
○ community input, paperscreening, question design, panel selection
● In the hallway
○ what to say to candidates, do you provide questions in advance?
● During the interview
○ confidentiality, guidelines, demographics, notes, scoring/ranking
● Interview models
○ round robin, demo lessons, scenarios, role plays, written exercises, site visits,
Skype/FaceTime
● After the interview
○ reference checks, Google, Facebook, Megan’s list
Before the Interview:
Community Input
Why Community Input?
● Principals, CBO, Superintendent
● Qualities, characteristics, and attributes, educate community about
process
● Staff, parents, other
● Basis for interview questions, share with panel
Before the Interview: Paperscreeening
Who should paperscreen?
Rubric
Notes: non-discriminatory a must!
Rubrics can be simple
Value
Relevance and
scope of on-the-job
experiences and
accomplishment
Appropriateness and
quality of
training/education/
preparation
Quality of
References
Entire packet as a
communication tool
and work product
Total
Comments
Rubrics can be complex
Letter of Application (11 total)
Specific to Union (1)
Signed (1)
Error Free (1-3) Glaring Errors, Minor Error, Error Free
Letter reflects understanding of our community (1)
Overall Quality (1-5) Adequate, Very Good, Exemplary
Application (2)
Error Free (1)
Complete (1)
Resume (5)
No unexplained holes (1)
Pattern of 1 year, 2 year, 1 year, etc. w/out logical
explanation (-1)
Overall Quality (1-3) Adequate, Very Good, Exemplary
Reference Letters (8)
Current Supervisor (1)
Most Within the last two years (2) Older (1)
Overall Quality (1-5) Adequate, Very Good, Exemplary
Job Experience (10)
Elementary Teaching (1)
Middle School Teaching (2)
High School Teaching (1)
Special Education Teaching (1)
Counseling (1)
CLAD (1)
Needs BTSA (-1)
B.S. (1)
M.A. (1)
PHD/EDD (1)
Overall as a Communication Tool (5)
Overall Quality (1-5) Adequate, Very Good, Exemplary
Total
Percent
Before the Interview: Question Design
Is this a good question?
Let’s up the DOK level…why or why not?
What is your greatest
weakness?
Research says…
NO
Best you can expect: Canned
answer
Worst you can expect: Catching
someone off guard, getting the
truth and having a truly awkward
moment with your panel and a lot
of silence
Is this a good question?
Let’s up the DOK level…why or why not?
What do you see yourself
doing in 10 Years?
Research says…
NO
I’ll continue to be a teacher –
Yuck, lacks ambition
Running the place – just sounds
arrogant
No good answer
In the Hallway
What to say to candidates:
No surprises
How many panelists
How many questions
How much time
If we need to move along
Do you give them the questions in advance?
It depends!
Just before the Interview:
Pre -meeting with Panelists
No one is absolutely perfect, and no one is absolutely
horrible.
Confidentiality agreement
Guidelines
Review application materials
Assign questions
Demographics
Notes (Write in pencil ...you might change your mind!)
Do you have a group goal?
Guidelines for the Interview Process
U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, Equal Opportunity Act of 1972:
1. Extend coverage to all public facilities, including public education
2. Provide for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to file suit
Interview team must be consistent and same questions must be asked in same
order.
Do not ask about: marital status, ancestry or national origin, pregnance, race or
color of skin, age, religious affiliation...
Guidelines: Administrators
Confidentiality
“...there is no
expectation that
the person will be
selected in this
round of
interviews.”
Assurance of Confidentiality (sample)
Union School District’s selection process is designed to provide fair and equal treatment
for all applicants. Inherent in that process is the assurance of complete confidentiality.
Selection committees are composed of staff, student, and community individuals, and the
credibility of the selection process rests primarily with the conduct of these committee
members in carrying out their duties. For the protection of the applicant and of the Union
School District, all committee deliberations must remain confidential.
To emphasize the importance of this assurance of confidentiality, each member of the
selection committee is asked to sign this brief affidavit stating that they will not reveal any
information about committee discussions or individual applicants at any time during the
selection process or after the selection is made public.
Selection Committee Demographics
Why collect demographic data on the selection committee?
What should you collect?
Name
Position
Location
Gender
Ethnicity
Why We Need Interview Guidelines
Interviewing Techniques
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Preview application packets.
Make sure the applicant qualifies for the position.
Make the applicant feel at ease.
Be careful of first impressions.
Consider the”Halo Effect” error.
Be aware of your own biases or preferences.
Let the applicant do most of the talking.
Interviewing Techniques
8. Don’t ask trick questions or questions designed to trap the candidate.
9. Be careful of your non-verbal communication.
10. Don’t contradict or argue with the candidate or to cross-examine him/her.
11. Do pause a few seconds after the candidate appears to have completed a
response.
12. Oftentimes one or more of the interviewers may know a candidate. Don’t
engage in informal conversation.
13. The same interview committee must interview each applicant.
14. Collect all notes and questions and save for 2-3 years.
Scoring
Forced ranking
Points/rubric
Debriefing: plus/delta chart
What would you want to know?
Who can you live with?
Interviewer’s Rating Sheet
Interviewer’s Rating Sheet
Please use the following Scoring Guide. Please do not use fractions of points. The maximum points for any question is 9
0
3
6
9
Minimal Skill, Limited Knowledge
Good Skills, Competent Knowledge
Superior Skills, Outstanding Knowledge
1.
Please briefly describe……..
Rating
______
Forced Ranking Sheet
Interview Models: Teachers
Panel make-up
Panel Prep
Round Robin Process
To demo or not to demo that is the question...
Round Robin
Question: Please describe your familiarity with the Common Core State Standards and with the Smarter
Balanced Assessment. What do you believe will be the most challenging part of implementation
and (time permitting) what do you think will be the most exciting part of implementation?
Rating – Circle
Notes
1 Adequate …………...9 Exemplary
1….2...3….4….5...6….7….8….9.
Rating – Circle
1 Adequate …………...9 Exemplary
1….2...3….4….5...6….7….8….9.
Notes
Round Robin
Interview Models: Administrators
Panel make-up
If you don’t have the expertise, ask an outside person
How many panels?
Technical, community
Round 1 & 2 & 3
Site visits
Scenarios? Role Plays? Written Exercises?
After the Interview: Reference Checks
What do you ask?
What can you say?
Honesty or a dance of lemons?
Google/Facebook/Megan’s List
Questions, Comments, Advice...