00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 Hello and welcome back to Your Morning Boost. Happy Thursday.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:21 Thanks for joining us again today.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 If you haven't had a chance to check out our webpage yet, I would invite you
00:00:25 --> 00:00:30 to do so. We can be found at www.awbeducation.org.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 On our webpage, we have a lot of resources that are available for you.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 We have some stuff on hiring as well on there if you're looking for even more
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 than what we're doing just this week.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:42 You can also catch us on our socials and get signed up for updates as those come out.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 We try to push out as much information as we can to keep the mission going to
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 ensure that leaders have what they need to be successful at the job.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:53 And we're going to try to do that one student at a time. So thanks again for joining us today.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:57 Check that stuff out. Again, if you have time for a like or a review on our
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 podcast, we would love that as well.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:03 This week, we've been talking about ensuring a successful hiring process,
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 and the interview, that's that next crucial step in this process.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:10 So in this episode, we're going to share some tips for conducting effective
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 interviews that are going to help you assess candidate skills,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:18 experience, and most importantly, making sure that we have a good fit in our school district.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 So we are going to start with the list of questions themselves.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:25 I'm sure you probably have some predetermined questions that we've used in the
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 past. I know certainly I do.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:31 I'm going to do a teaching interview. So I go to my online program that we use
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 and I pull out the teaching questions. Great. Awesome.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:38 But were those teaching questions really designed for this particular role?
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 Most likely not. They're going to be pretty generic questions.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 And some of those are great because we're going to have some that are going
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 to always be ones we want to ask.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 But I also want to make sure that I'm asking some questions that are specifically
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 designed to the role that I'm looking for.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 When we get to the questions themselves and we develop those,
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 we want to focus on some open-ended questions that allow candidates to share
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 their experiences and demonstrate their skills.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 Now, I should stop here real quick. If you want some help generating questions,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 a lot of AI services out there, I'm going to point out one.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 Check out the AI service that's built into the Grundmeyer Leader Services webpage.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:16 It does an amazing job at helping to generate interview questions for the job you need.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:21 Again, AI can help us do a lot of this work. You don't have to do it on your own.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:25 Just remember, you're going to have to finish it once they give you that foundation.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 So when we get to preparing those questions, again, focus on open-ended questions,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 allow the candidates to be able to share their story.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 The other thing you might want to think about now is how do I create a comfortable
00:02:35 --> 00:02:40 and welcoming environment? We want to make candidates feel at ease so they perform at their best.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 I know we always typically put the candidate at the end of the table,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 you know, put them in the hot seat and then everybody else is staring at them.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 I've been interviewed numerous times where I'm sitting at a desk in the middle
00:02:49 --> 00:02:53 of a large classroom with all of the rest of the desks fanned out.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 So I have 15 people on the interview.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 They can all see me. And honestly, that's pretty intimidating.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:03 Keep in mind, we're interviewing the candidate, but they are also interviewing us at the same time.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 Do you only want the candidate who just wants the job? I don't think so.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 I think we want the person that wants to join our team. There's a difference in that statement.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:18 Our interview is that first chance that they have to see what they are potentially joining.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 Don't forget that part of it. So make sure that that environment is something
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 that's going to make them want to join our team.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 Now, when we get to the interview itself, listen actively.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 Take some good notes. Pay attention to candidates' responses.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 Take notes to help you compare them during the decision-making process.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 I understand that with technology, we are now typically typing answers into
00:03:37 --> 00:03:41 a computer while they're talking. But what are your eyes doing during that process?
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 If you have to have a digital copy, does everyone on the team need to do that?
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 Or could you have one person be the designated typer and everyone else can use
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 a more traditional approach?
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 Again, think about how welcoming this feels for your candidate.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 If they are the best fit, you want them to say yes in the end.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 If all they are doing is talking to the tops of people's heads,
00:04:00 --> 00:04:04 they have their face buried in a computer, It's not very welcoming.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 Make sure they have the opportunity to be able to provide some eye contact and
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 be able to actually talk to the team that's there.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 I understand we have to have our paperwork in place, but really think about
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 what you have to do versus what you should do.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 Now, when you're talking with those candidates, ask about their motivation and
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 their fit. Try to understand why the candidates are interested in the position.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:27 Assess their alignment with your school culture and their values.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 Are they going to be a member of your team that's going to fit with your team?
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 Don't forget this interview. It's your chance to get to know the candidates
00:04:33 --> 00:04:38 on a personal level and assess their potential to contribute to your school's success.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 Think about how we're going to get to that through this process.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 Last little bit, think about practicing your interviewing skills.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 Develop a list of questions that are going to help you assess the candidate's
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 qualifications and a cultural fit, but also think about how you're going to
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 ask it or how the team is going to ask it.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 Do we want to use the popcorn approach to have everybody ask a question here
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 or there and rotate through?
00:04:58 --> 00:05:02 Or is it better to have one person ask the questions so everybody else can just
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 be more deeply involved in the conversation?
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 That's up to you. I think there's pros and cons to both of those strategies.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 In the end, we want to make sure that we have a process that gets us the answers
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 we need, but also gives our candidate the best feeling as they walk back out the door.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 Tomorrow, we will finish up this conversation on hiring practices.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 Thanks for joining us today and we will talk with you again tomorrow.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 You have been listening to Your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership
00:05:24 --> 00:05:29 with Grundmeyer Leader Services. You can find out more about our services by
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 clicking on the links in the description.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.