Currently we do a pretty diligent phone screen of every applicant. At the end of the phone call, if I feel comfortable with them I schedule the in person interview. When they come for the in person interview, they will bring their completed application and conduct a teaching demo. When the interviewee comes in they will interview with two senior administrators and then conduct the teaching demo. I have found that the process of the phone screen and setting up an extensive interview usually filters out many weak applicants. Since implementing this, we have had many no-shows or applicants drop out before the in person interview.
I will absolutely add the RJP or even just a detailed job description to the applicant at the end of the interview if I think they have a chance of moving forward. I like the idea of giving them a realistic idea of their responsibilities before they are offered the position.
Maria,
Providing a realistic idea of what teaching for you will really be like is very important. Most folks who have not done formal teaching have no idea of the amount of preparation it takes to plan and deliver good lessons.
Discussing this up front may chase away a teacher or two, but they would have left fairly quickly anyway.
I'm definitely guilty of being one of those interviewers that do 75% of the talking with the applicant doing only 25%. After this course, I'm definitely going to make it a huge priority to work on my structured interview questions and to be sure that I flip the "talk time" around, with the applicant doing most of the talking.
Our interview process requires conducting more than one interview of a candidate on two seperate occasions before a final selection will be made. If a potential hire is serious, they will be more than willing to come twice to the campus. In addition we do take the candidate through a structured process and have them demonstrate their teaching skills.
I will create a more structured process by reviewing all applications ahead of the interview every time, and create a list of specific questions to use and help guide the interview.
We first have them submit a resume and we review to see if this could be a potential employee. Then they are invited to an interview usually with 3 to 4 people. Then if everyone agrees that we see potential we ask them to come i and teach a lesson and they are observed. If everything works out then they do a drug test and an orientation.
Elaine,
How do you set up your teaching demonstration?
Jeffrey Schillinger
I am searching for the demonstrated KSAOs, enthusiasm for the position, knowledge of the organization, communication skills, body language, etc. We mainly use the interview but I would like to see the use of employment tests as well. For our programs that contain a great deal of hands on training we do evaluate the candidate's skills in those areas to ensure that they will not be passing on incorrect techniques to the students.
We go through a strict process of knowledge and skill checks, years of experience in the field, and a current license. There is an extensive teach-back and hands-on portion that is performed in front of multiple staff members. A phone interview with the National Director of Education is required to move the process along. All in all I feel our process is thorough and clear.
Angela,
Your National DOE interviews all of your teachers? Interesting.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Our National Director of Programs conducts a phone interview with each potential candidate.
have applicant do PPT .Invite 3-5 faculty to observe rate applicant and ask questions.
Brenda,
What kind of things other than the actual PPt are you looking for during this presentation?
Jeffrey Schillinger
Our past interviews have been somewhat structured but I feel we can make a drastic improvement after this training.
Don,
The key is to focus on what the person has done in the past in situations he or she is likely to face at your school.
Jeffrey Schillinger
We use a structured interview process and last year we require all new and returning applicants to perform a mock lecture. This has proven to work well in the decision process. I will create a specific RJP for jobs as now we really only have the faculty manual. Thank you.
Jonathan,
Do you allow the candidate time to prepare a lesson at home or do you give the candidate a topic and a relatively short time to prepare? I have see this done both ways.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Hello Jeffrey,
We allow the candidate time to prepare their mock lectures, however we have had potential instructors stop by to see if we have any openings and they have been willing to do the mock lecture on the spot. Usually this works out well.
Thank you for the course.
I prefer the structured question model, it gives you a baseline to compare responses. I do have a tendency to throw a question in that an applicant may not be expecting. How do you enjoy spending your free time, interests, hobbies etc.... I am looking for potential distractions or activities that may cause them harm. I need my instructors to be healthy and not injured, to be effective in the classroom.
We utilize most of the procedures mentioned in this module, beginning with reviewing the applications, selecting those to be interviewed, conducting mock teaching presentations and then employment testing and following up with the more costly background checks for only those candidates who make the cut. The one item that we currently do not do is present a brief written job description which we will consider implementing with our next round of interviews.
Michael,
I hope this idea works for you.
Jeffrey Schillinger
