A sentiment that has long been a question of mine – why do application and interview processes for entry level positions feel like you’re interviewing for something much more serious, and why do these processes have so many steps? With multiple rounds, meeting with various people, and sometimes involving a presentation or writing sample submission, I often wonder if all of that is truly necessary. Over the course of my career I’ve seen different schools run professional staff recruitment in various ways, and now that I largely oversee these processes for my department, I’ve come to realize the traditional way of running recruitment doesn’t work for up-and-coming professionals, and what to consider instead. What would happen if you shift your recruitment process from one that focuses on what the department needs to know and change your process so that it centers the candidate’s experience?
I have found that you end up recruiting better talent.
I remember a time when HRL professional staff recruitment processes consisted of four main steps – an application, a first-round interview, a second-round interview, and then a final-round interview, usually in person, on campus, consisting of an overnight visit. But, in recent years, I’ve often asked, is all that worth our time and resources? In my opinion, honestly, no.
For entry level positions in Housing and Residence Life, I’ve pivoted to running a two-step interview process: One 30-45 minute first round interview, and one final-round half-day virtual interview. What I’ve found is that in that revised process, I learn just as much about a candidate as I used to with a long, drawn-out process. The purpose of that first-round interview is to assess ability to do the role, and the final-round interview is to assess the best fit among the finalist candidate pool. Below are some things I’ve implemented to ensure a recruitment process is candidate-facing and friendly:
Pare Down the Interview Process: Ask yourself – Do you really need to conduct three different sets of interviews? Probably not. Assess the purpose of each interview and then decide how many interviews to put a candidate through. The job search process is hard enough, and nothing is more disheartening than being put through hours, and sometimes days of interviews all to not get an offer. Remembering that some candidates are working full-time jobs and they have to take time off to participate in your process is helpful – and, most candidates appreciate when you keep this in mind. Really consider if your on-campus interview is worth someone’s PTO.
Be Transparent and Communicative: One of the most valuable things about the search process for my current position was that the search chair was transparent and communicative from day one. It seems like common sense, but I’m still waiting for communication regarding jobs I applied for years ago, and I know my experience isn’t isolated. When I applied for my current position, my department was hiring right in the middle of summer student staff training and move-in. The search chair told me from my first outreach that there would be a delay between my first and second round interviews. This not only demonstrated to me that they valued my time, but it also allowed me to discern if I should pursue this job opportunity and if it fit with my own job search timeline. In a world where candidates can have their pick of jobs and be navigating multiple processes at a time, transparency and communication can set you apart as a prospective employer. Additionally, if your hiring committee determines with absolute certainty after a screening interview that you aren’t going to move forward with a particular candidate, the most humane and caring thing a hiring manager can do is let that candidate know. I do my best to follow-up with candidate questions and concerns within 24 business hours, and proactively email candidates when we’ve received applications or are moving onto the next stage of our search process so they aren’t left wondering. Transparency matters.
Ask Better Questions: One of the ways I can tell if an interview is higher-ed based is if an interview question is four questions in one, and that isn’t a good thing. In residential education, we’re notorious for telling a candidate that we have 45 minutes with them for an interview and that the time will consist of five questions, when – in reality – we have closer to ten questions for them to answer. Asking multi-part questions can often confuse candidates, and you don’t always end up being able to glean the information you want to know. So, sticking to questions with one clear purpose is more fruitful. For the sake of candidates, if you want them to speak to an example or lived experience, make sure your question includes that direction. For screening or first round interviews, every question should be tied to an essential function of the job, and memorable interviews usually consist of questions that prompt the candidate to cite a previous experience or example. Multi-part questions are just rude.
Differentiate Your Questions: In final round interviews where a candidate is being put through sessions of interviews with different people nothing is more taxing than being asked the same questions repeatedly while trying to come up with differentiated answers, i.e. no one needs to be asked about crisis response five times (talk about trauma!). If a candidate is sitting through groups of interviews, each group should have different questions tailored to that specific group of interviewers, and if you can’t come up with varying questions, evaluate if the candidate needs to meet with that group of people at all. Your colleagues will thank you.
Presentations, Writing Samples, and Pre-Work: In some cases, asking a candidate to develop some kind of presentation or writing sample as a part of their application or interview process makes sense. For my friends in orientation, or those who are in leadership positions, presenting a departmental vision or public speaking is often vital to the role they are applying for. I would argue that for most Residential Life entry-level positions, presentations are just another way to stress a candidate out. Moreover, presentations typically are done for campus partners and various stakeholders – some who interact very little with the candidate once they are in the job. For certain roles, presentations make sense but assessing the purpose of a presentation and what value-added information you hope to gain during a prospective presentation is vital. Lastly, writing samples can be a great alternative to presentation assignments; however, I would argue that a well-written cover letter is a writing sample – or – it should be evaluated as such. Save yourself some time – we all have enough to do.
Flip the Script: Part of what can make an interview stale is that a traditional format isn’t equitable for the candidate. One of my favorite ways to interview is to split question asking time with the candidate 50-50 so that I get insights into how they would be in the role, and they also get a chance to interview us as a department. I tell candidates ahead of time to prepare questions for our time together, and that the format will consist of a back-and-forth conversation, explaining that I want them to feel like they are getting a chance to interview us, too. I often learn a lot about what a candidate values and focuses on based on the questions they bring forward, which has helped me home in on the best candidate for a role. This interview format is great for a first-round interview, or session of a final round interview. We remember when someone tanks an interview and we tend to remember conversations. It’s more enjoyable to interview this way.
Create Buy-In From Your Staff Team: One of the best recruitment and interview tools you have at your disposal is your own team. Having team members on hiring committees is great and crucial, but letting them lead interviews and wrap up conversations is even more powerful. Allowing candidates to see that current team members are valued and have a voice in developing and leading recruitment efforts sends the message that “we value the opinion and experience of our professional and graduate staff and prepare them for their next role” in real time. It’s one thing to tell your team you value them, it’s another thing to show them. Plus, it’s fun to watch them feel empowered.
Ask for Feedback: It can be a scary thing to ask a candidate what their experience of a process is like, but if you’ve built rapport with a candidate, it can also be invaluable. For finalist interviews with people who are prospective direct reports, asking for feedback is one of my favorite things to hear about from candidates. In my interview wrap-ups, I always ask, “What was your experience like with us today – is there anything that we could have done to make your interview experience better, or anything that you thought you would have a chance to speak to that you didn’t get a chance to share?” I have found that if I have been communicative, transparent, and relational throughout the recruitment process, candidates tend to share their honest opinions with me. I’ve heard everything from “Consider eliminating this question from this interview because it was redundant,” to “I wish I could have met with X department, ” to “Wow – I’ve never been asked for my feedback before.” How candidates react to this question tells me a lot about their relationship with feedback and more importantly, what we can do better as a department as we recruit new talent. You have to filter feedback, but it usually adds value.
Lean into Transferrable Skills: With the changing job market, we are likely going to see more and more individuals apply for entry level residential life positions that don’t have the traditional higher education to Residence Director pipeline – that is a part of my own story. I was a teacher in a former life and have a ministry background – I came back to college residential education after five years away from it. As you evaluate candidates in your candidate pool, consider what skills they bring to the table, even if they don’t have existing traditional HRL experience, or haven’t had the most predictable trajectory. Some of my best hires have been those who bring a new lens to work that people with a traditional HRL background have been doing for years and it’s bettered departments I work in. Not all great hall directors have been graduate hall directors or have higher education degrees – for some, this is their third career path.
Job searches don’t have to be stress-inducing and leave candidates wondering how many steps it’ll take to get an offer. In recruitment processes I’ve led, other than wanting to conduct a successful search, my other hope has always been that candidates have a positive experience regardless of the outcome. In your department’s next recruitment cycle, consider if you would want to be a candidate in your own process. If not, maybe it’s time to make some changes.
