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REAL Sidenote: Maybe they aren’t “must have” questions but certainly worthy of considering.
From the Interviewing Committee to the Candidate
My newest favorite question, it really isn’t a question, is to send an email to the candidate a few days (or a week) before the interview that simply says,
Please prepare a ten-minute (max) presentation to share a little bit about you.
Simple? Vague? Yes. Insightful. Oh my goodness, YES! I suggested this task to our director of learning coaches for our interviews this spring. Why? Easy. You can visually see the candidates passion, values, enthusiasm, presentation style and how they connect to the audience. Honestly, you can tailor the rest of your questions based on this one ten-minute presentation. Our director took me up on the suggestion and said it was her favorite question, hands-down! She went on to tell me the creative approach some of the candidates took and yet how others captivated the committee with their passion and zeal for education. In fact, it gave the interviewing process a more personalized approach.
Some might frown on the task above because it gives the candidates an opportunity to prepare ahead of time. To that, I say, what would you rather them prepare–a passion-led presentation to share their REAL self? Or, would you prefer to hear more canned responses to lame interview questions that contain all the buzz words? What we ask is crucial to what we get!
From Candidate to the Interviewing Committee
Since interviewing is truly a two-way street, this is my favorite question to ask the committee.
What do you love most about your job? This school? This district?
I, personally, want everyone on the committee to share their thoughts. If they hesitate to think of something, that’s a red-flag to me! I find this question can be particularly insightful to learning more about the culture of a building, district or department.
From Either Side of the Interviewing Process
If your ______ were branded with an icon (or emoji) what would it be? Why?
Fill in the blank with ONE: teaching style, leadership style, school culture, or district culture
I thought of this after our round of interviews and hadn’t the chance to try it yet, but I really want to. I believe that it would be interesting to see what is said and how others connect, or brand, their practice with an icon. What would your icon be? Share in the comments below. Let’s try it out!
The answers to the questions above aren’t exactly what one can teach another. Therefore, THAT IS absolutely what I want to know! In other words, if the answer to the question is something I can easily teach someone to do, I don’t want to waste my time asking that question. You have 30 minutes to an hour to get to know the candidate; make it meaningful.
It all boils down to this…
If we ask the RIGHT questions, we will get the RIGHT people.
I am an educator who values the individuality and uniqueness of others. Writing the blog R.E.A.L. is an outlet for me to pay it forward by sharing ideas, influences, lessons learned and exposing a little vulnerability while encouraging others to maximize their R.E.A.L. potential, as well.