Interviews

General Interview Best Practices

Use the interview to assess preferred criteria on which the committee may need additional information. Ensure that the vividness of the interview experience does not overshadow the more concrete information available in the application materials.

• Establish questions that allow assessment of certain preferred criteria. Develop a scoring guide or rubric to evaluate each answer.
• Ask identical questions for each candidate and attempt to limit prompting, follow-up questioning, and elaboration on questions.
• Take notes on each candidate’s responses to be used in evaluating candidate responses.
• Be sure that all interviewers are well-versed on appropriate and inappropriate questions and the impact of implicit bias.
• Provide time for candidates to ask questions of the committee members.
• Try to avoid discussing candidates or their answers with other search committee members between interviews (discussing candidates can result in different standards for later candidates).
• Request evaluations for each candidate from search committee members, and summarize the results based on the agreed-upon weighting system. 

On-Campus Interviews

The on-campus visit has dual purposes. It is both a final opportunity to assess the ability of the candidate to fulfill all job requirements and a chance to share with the candidate the resources and opportunities available at OU.

Preparing for On-Campus Interviews

• Review established (first and second screening) criteria; determine those criteria on which additional information is needed and/or interviewing is likely to prove useful.
• As a search committee, create questions for the on-campus interview together and seek input from colleagues broadly. Develop a rubric to use for evaluating candidate responses to interview questions.
• Before setting up the interview schedule, work with the college dean, Provost, and VPRP Offices to identify individuals and facilities on campus, beyond those of the home academic programs, to whom the candidate should be introduced, based upon interests, collaboration opportunities, etc.
• Ask candidates if they have any specific offices or programs they would like to learn more about while they are on campus and try to incorporate these visits into their schedule accordingly.
• Request input from the candidate about any preferences or needs with regard to diet, breaks, or other accommodations.
• Clearly communicate to the candidate the scope of expectations for the on-campus interview two to three weeks prior to the campus visit and provide a detailed itinerary as soon as possible.

Conducting On-Campus Interviews

• Ensure that candidates meet with people from various parts of the University (colleagues from other departments; Center for Faculty Excellence; VPRP; OU Libraries, etc.). Be thoughtful in scheduling, providing “down time” so the experience is memorable and not hectic.
• Involve both undergraduate and graduate students on the schedule, most effectively during separate meetings for groups of students with the candidate. Seek student feedback following the visit.
• Ensure that all representatives (e.g., faculty, students, staff) of OU are aware of and avoid questions that are inappropriate and potentially sensitive personal questions.

After the On-Campus Interview

• Provide a mechanism for collecting feedback from faculty members, students, and any other stakeholders who met with candidates during their visit, so they to formally contribute their perspectives. This feedback can be combined and considered separately from the structured interview conducted by the search committee. See an example candidate evaluation form (DOCX).