The Zombie Stack Exchanges That Just Won't Die
At the university library where I work we have been discussing how to improve what happens when we interview candidates for a librarian position.
Our usual routine:
The lunch is with someone not on the committee for two reasons: to allow the candidate to freely and confidentially ask questions, and so that the committee members are not unduly influenced by personal and casual conversation.
We're looking at how to improve this into a better, richer, more fruitful time for both the candidate and the committee, and I would like to know what works most effectively at other academic libraries or similar institutions.
wdenton
At our university, the plan for the interview is largely directed by what HR says needs to happen for each candidate (benefits meetings, meetings with supervisors), but departments within the library have preferences.
My supervisor doesn't have any candidates give presentations, for example, and the only people who meet with or interact with the candidates have specifically been invited to do so. Another group has candidates give presentations and invites everyone to give feedback.
In either case, the candidates meet with a LOT of people -- potential departmental colleagues (both librarians and support staff), the search committee itself, others outside the department who are invited to have a discussion, faculty members, supervisors, the University librarian... Candidates talk to at least 30 people in the course of the day, and I think that's good, if exhausting.
I think the most valuable parts of interviews I've participated in (as an interviewee and as a search committee member) are the dinner the night before with selected members of the search committee and the time alone with the direct supervisor and the supervisor's supervisor, if applicable. It's great to get one-on-one time with different levels of management as they often have different perspectives of the library and the university as a whole.
The dinner invites casual and personal conversation and I think that's important -- why would I want to work somewhere if I didn't enjoy conversation over dinner with my future colleagues? Maybe not every candidate thinks that, but work/life in libraries is skewed -- librarians collaborate intensely on projects throughout the year, and to do that successfully, a candidate should probably fit the organizational culture on a personality level as well as a professional level.
At MPOW (medium sized regional university) librarians are considered faculty, so we have potential candidates meet with the faculty in the library as a group...it is a good opportunity to talk about tenture, expectations, etc. As well, we have an open-to-everyone meet and greet in the morning with coffee and snacks prior to the formal presentation by the candidate, to give everyone in the library a chance to interact with the potential hire.
Our process is a 1.5 day affair, starting with dinner after arrival in town with the Dean of the Libraries and the Assistant Dean. The actual day of the interview is structured like:
It's a full day, and exhausting for everyone involved...but necessary. Hiring a new faculty member is like proposing marriage...it's possible you'll be working with this person, if they get tenure, for the reest of your life. Choose wisely.