Guidelines for Conducting Effective Employment Interviews
Guidelines for Conducting Effective Employment Interviews Guidelines for Conducting Effective Employment Interviews
elated to those skills, abilities, and education/experience needed to perform the jobeffectively. Each candidate must be evaluated based on the same job-related criteria.Factors such as gender, race, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation,color, or family status must not influence the evaluation of a candidate's ability toperform the job. Avoid making assumptions about candidates based on stereotypes andavoid jumping to conclusions based on appearance or other non-job-related factors. Forexample, it is illegal to avoid offering a job to a male candidate based solely on theassumption that a man cannot coach female athletes, or to assume during the selectionprocess that a professor in the Spanish department must be of Spanish descent (althoughyou may certainly require that a Spanish professor speak and write fluently and have indepthknowledge of Spanish culture, history, geography, etc.). Take time to formulateyour opinion of each candidate; give him/her a fair opportunity to demonstratequalifications.Each candidate should be evaluated in comparison to other candidates, and also onhis/her own merits. When evaluating candidates, the manager / search committee maywish to use an evaluation sheet as discussed above; rank the candidates based on howwell they meet the criteria necessary for successful job performance, with the #1 rankinggoing to the candidate who best meets the criteria; or summarize each candidate'sstrengths and each candidate's weaker areas.When evaluating employment candidates, avoid these errors:• Focusing solely on personality traits versus work experience and abilities.• Allowing personal bias to influence the evaluation of a candidate rather thanfocusing on the skills, knowledge, and abilities of the candidate.• Making assumptions about candidates based on appearance; allowing stereotypesto influence the selection decision.• Allowing one characteristic of a candidate to be overly influential (either positivelyor negatively).• Comparing the candidate to oneself (the interviewer) and making judgementsbased on how similar or dissimilar the candidate is to the interviewer.As you are evaluating candidates, consider both information you gained throughemployment interviews and information you obtained through your reference checks.If none of the candidates are well-qualified for the position, the search should continue.Document reasons for the selection decision-- Keep documentation of each candidate'sstrengths and weaknesses, skills, abilities, relevant knowledge, professional experience,and what you learned from professional references. Document observable behaviors ofthe candidates, rather than your impressions (for example, "John Doe responded in a curtmanner to interviewers' questions", rather than "John Doe seemed rude").Forward documentation regarding the selection decision to Human Resources-- Forprofessional staff searches, send documentation regarding the selection decision, and allsearch committee members' notes, to the Associate Director, Human Resources before anoffer of employment is made. A New Hire Documentation Form (available from the
Human Resources web pages and in the Human Resources public folder in eDisk) maybe used to document the selection decision.Human Resources will retain all applications, resumes, notes, and documentationregarding the selection decision as required by law (generally for at least 1 year).Consult with the Associate Director, Human Resources regarding the employmentoffer-- Discuss your selection decision with the Associate Director, Human Resourcesbefore a verbal offer of employment is made. (Note, please discuss compensation with theAssociate Director, Human Resources, before making the verbal offer. Newly hired staffmembers generally may not be offered campus housing, either on a rent-free or rentpayingbasis, as part of their compensation package. Only staff who are required, basedon their job duties, to live on or close to campus may be offered campus housing. Suchsituations must be reviewed in advance with the Director or Associate Director, HumanResources, because of the possible income tax implications.)Notifying Unsuccessful Applicants-- After the verbal offer of employment has beenaccepted by the successful candidate, the manager / search committee chair is asked tonotify the following applicants that the position has been filled:Ø each internal applicant (i.e., current College employee who applied),Ø any alumni of Franklin & Marshall who applied for the position,Ø any other candidates who were interviewed but will not be offered theposition.Human Resources will notify all other applicants. No detailed information should beprovided to unsuccessful applicants other than to let them know the College appreciatestheir interest in Franklin & Marshall but we are unable to offer them employment. Asimple form letter may be sent, or each individual may be contacted by phone. Sampleform letters are available in the Human Resources public folder in eDiskIt is especially important to promptly notify all internal applicants as well as Franklin& Marshall alumni who applied for the position, whether or not interviewed, that theywill not be offered the position.Please see “Hiring Procedures for Professional Staff Positions”, available on the HumanResources web pages (http://www.fandm.edu/humanresources/college-policies ), for moreinformation about conducting a search.Note: all applicant information gathered during a search must be treated as confidential.All notes / correspondence regarding a candidate must be strictly job-related with noreferences to physical appearance, age, marital or family status, disability, gender, etc.
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Human Resources web pages and in the Human Resources public folder in eDisk) maybe used to document the selection decision.Human Resources will retain all applications, resumes, notes, and documentationregarding the selection decision as required by law (generally <strong>for</strong> at least 1 year).Consult with the Associate Director, Human Resources regarding the employmentoffer-- Discuss your selection decision with the Associate Director, Human Resourcesbe<strong>for</strong>e a verbal offer of employment is made. (Note, please discuss compensation with theAssociate Director, Human Resources, be<strong>for</strong>e making the verbal offer. Newly hired staffmembers generally may not be offered campus housing, either on a rent-free or rentpayingbasis, as part of their compensation package. Only staff who are required, basedon their job duties, to live on or close to campus may be offered campus housing. Suchsituations must be reviewed in advance with the Director or Associate Director, HumanResources, because of the possible income tax implications.)Notifying Unsuccessful Applicants-- After the verbal offer of employment has beenaccepted by the successful candidate, the manager / search committee chair is asked tonotify the following applicants that the position has been filled:Ø each internal applicant (i.e., current College employee who applied),Ø any alumni of Franklin & Marshall who applied <strong>for</strong> the position,Ø any other candidates who were interviewed but will not be offered theposition.Human Resources will notify all other applicants. No detailed in<strong>for</strong>mation should beprovided to unsuccessful applicants other than to let them know the College appreciatestheir interest in Franklin & Marshall but we are unable to offer them employment. Asimple <strong>for</strong>m letter may be sent, or each individual may be contacted by phone. Sample<strong>for</strong>m letters are available in the Human Resources public folder in eDiskIt is especially important to promptly notify all internal applicants as well as Franklin& Marshall alumni who applied <strong>for</strong> the position, whether or not interviewed, that theywill not be offered the position.Please see “Hiring Procedures <strong>for</strong> Professional Staff Positions”, available on the HumanResources web pages (http://www.fandm.edu/humanresources/college-policies ), <strong>for</strong> morein<strong>for</strong>mation about conducting a search.Note: all applicant in<strong>for</strong>mation gathered during a search must be treated as confidential.All notes / correspondence regarding a candidate must be strictly job-related with noreferences to physical appearance, age, marital or family status, disability, gender, etc.
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