Tomorrow's Academic Careers
Recall a program/course you designed. Describe step by step what you did and how it turned out.Tell us about a time when you had to talk with a subordinate whose work was below average. What were the circumstances? How did you deal with it? What was the result?
Folks:
The posting below gives some good advice on preparing faculty search interview questions. It is from Chapter 6, Identifying Top Candidates in the book: Hiring Right: Conducting Successful Searches in Higher Education, by Sandra Hochel and Charmaine E. Wilson. Copyright 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by Jossey-Bass. A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741. For table of contents go to: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470180870.html
Regards,
Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Student Motivation: Problem Solved?
Tomorrow's Academic Careers
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Identify Top Candidates
Exhibit 6.2 - Tips for Writing Questions
Do
* Have a set of standardized questions you ask of each candidate.
* Ask mostly behavioral questions.
* Know why you are asking each question.
* Ask only about BFOQs.
* Probe for full information.
Don't
* Ask questions with obvious answers.
* Ask leading questions.
* Ask overused questions.
* Ask too many closed questions.
* Ask for personal information.
Exhibit 6.3 Sample Interview Questions
Quality of Past Work
* What do you think were some of your greatest accomplishments in your last job? Greatest disappointments or frustrations?
* In what ways did you contribute to the success of your unit at your last job?
* Tell me about a time when you needed outside help and had to ask someone for assistance. What was the situation? How did you decide whom to consult?
* We contact applicant's past employers. What do you think your past employers will say about your performance?
* Recall a time when you saw something that needed to be done in your organization and you stepped up and handled it.
* Recall a time when a coworker or supervisor criticized your work. What was the situation and how did you respond?
Ability to Work Well With Others
* Tell me about your experience working on teams. (Probe for details because no one is going to say that they don't work well with others.)
* Tell us about a time when you helped out a colleague at work.
* When do you have difficulty communicating with others?
* Recall a time when you had to deal with a difficult coworker. What was the situation? How did you handle it? How was the relationship affected?
* What are some of the things you and your supervisor agreed about? Disagreed?
* How do you feel your supervisor could have done an even better job?
Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills
* In your role as _________, what was the hardest decision you ever had to make?
* What are some things your department could do to be more successful? How would you go about implementing such improvements?
* Suppose you found that a student had plagiarized a small part of a final paper. What would you do?
* If you encountered this problem (describe a specific situation an employee might be expected to deal with), how would you handle it?
* If you could make one suggestion to higher administration at ____________ University, what would it be?
Describe a difficult problem that you had to resolve in your last job. How did you handle it? What did you learn from it?
Ability to Set and Accomplish Goals
* If you could select an ideal working environment (or job), what would it be like? What are some things you would most want to avoid? Why?
* What would you look forward to in the future if you joined us? What additional education and training do you think you would need to reach your goals?
* Tell me about an innovation you introduced in your current workplace. What was it? How did you get the change made?
* What aspect of your work do you consider most crucial?
* How do you promote integrity in your unit/classroom?
* No one is perfect. Tell us about a time you changed your work behavior because of feedback you received from a coworker or boss.
Ability to Manage Unit/Classroom
* How have you successfully motivated employees/students?
* How have you created a climate conducive to productivity/learning?
* How have you met the individual needs of subordinates/students?
* Tell us about a situation where your subordinates/students taught you an important lesson.
* Recall a program/course you designed. Describe step by step what you did and how it turned out.
Tell us about a time when you had to talk with a subordinate whose work was below average. What were the circumstances? How did you deal with it? What was the result?
