Principal Selection - PowerPoint Presentation

Principal Selection Advisory Committee January 2015

2 Agenda Confidentiality Agreement Committee Role Interview Questions – Legal/Illegal Questions Competency-Based Selection Model

3 Confidentiality Agreement Confidentiality is an important part of any selection process. It is the School District’s objective to promote to the full extent permitted by law an atmosphere in which, during the selection process, committee members can candidly express with each other their ideas and opinions regarding the candidates. No committee member should ever disclose to anyone outside of the acting Advisory Committee at any time any confidential/personal information related to any candidate. This also includes the deliberations of the committee members or any opinions, evaluations/assessments, or ideas expressed by any selection committee member.

4 Objectives Understand the roles and responsibilities of the Advisory Committee Build an effective interview process Identify competency-based questions

5 Committee Role Provide a list of strengths, areas of follow up and areas of weakness for each candidate Committee does not select the finalist, but rather provides feedback to the Instructional Superintendent for the decision to be made

6 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask NO discriminatory questions that identify a person’s: Age Race Gender National Origin or Ancestry Sexual Orientation Religion Marital or Familial Status Disability Do NOT include these characteristics in your notes

7 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask Regarding Age Examples: How many years do you plan to work? Do you still plan to be working in five years? When did you graduate from college (or high school)? How many years have you been working? Do you have concerns about keeping up with the latest technology? Examples of what NOT to consider: whether candidate will be retiring soon whether candidate has the “energy” to keep up

8 Interview Questions - What You CAN Ask Regarding Age Questions related to ability to meet job requirements: How many years experience do you have in leading a school?

9 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask Regarding National Origin Examples: Where are you originally from? What was your first language? What you CAN ask: Questions related to language skills if it relates to a job requirement to have fluency in another language

10 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask Regarding Marital or Familial Status or Sexual Orientation Are you married? What does your spouse or partner do? (i.e. questions probing to find out marital status or sexual orientation) Do you have any children? Do you plan on having children? Do you plan on having more children? Name or relationship of person with whom candidate resides or who is designated as emergency contact

11 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask Regarding a Disability D isabilities or physical conditions or attributes not related to applicant’s fitness to perform job W hether the applicant would need accommodations M ethod of transportation if not related to job requirements Involvement or membership in organization that would reveal disability Nature and severity of the applicant’s disability

12 Interview Questions - What NOT to Ask Regarding Religion R eligious affiliations of schools the applicant has attended Membership in an organization that would reveal or indicate religion What church the candidate goes to Religious preference – affiliation, customs, denomination, holidays observed etc.

13 Interview Questions - Other Types of Questions NOT to Ask Military experience not substantially related to ability to perform job duties Conviction or court record if not related to applicant’s ability to perform job duties Whether applicant has ever been arrested Financial status, credit rating, outstanding debts, bankruptcy status Involvement in previous grievance, discrimination claim, or lawsuit against DPS

14 Competency-Based Selection By hiring people who have attributes consistent with DPS’s School Leadership Framework, School Performance Framework and the Denver Plan, the likelihood increases that these employees will successfully contribute to the organization now and in the future. Competency-based selection processes ensure that we can identify who these people are in an objective way.

15 Structured Interview Process Established outline with pre-planned questions Ensures consistent information from candidates Prevents reaching conclusions too early Provides better control over the conversation Write down responses (abbreviated) – don’t rely on memory Don’t evaluate the responses in the presence of the candidate Be conscious of time limits – avoid running too far behind schedule

16 Interviewing Errors and Bias Positive-Negative Leniency Error: Interviewer tends to be too hard or too easy on everyone. Trait Error: Interviewer tends to be too hard or too easy on a given competency or event. (resume style, cover letter.) Repetition Error: “This candidate reminds me of the last 3 candidates.” Sympathy Score: Interviewer thinks “Well, they were trying really hard and they are really enthusiastic.” Order Effects: If you have just seen 2 bad candidates, the average one seems like the best.

17 Common Interview Errors Asking questions that are too general Asking multiple questions at one time Failing to ask reflective questions to gain clarification Asking leading questions that offer too much information Making promises/commitments that cannot be kept Following a tendency to develop relationships and hire those like us

18 Interview Questions Five types Open-ended – requires an explanation Situational – solicits specific examples of situations/tasks the candidate has experienced Problem-solving – ask how one would respond to a typical circumstance found on-the-job Close-ended – require yes or no response Reflective or probing – usually not pre- planned and are a response to the candidate’s initial response

19 Candidate Responses Excellent Provides abundant evidence supporting the desired competency or indicator(s) Response Next Step Move on to next question Strong Provides some positive evidence of the desired competency or indicator(s), but there are gaps in information or an inconsistent pattern Probe - ask additional follow-up or probing questions to gather additional evidence Weak Provides some generally negative evidence of the desired indicator(s) or very limited positive evidence Probe - Offer the candidate a chance to clarify his/her position, provide additional evidence or clearer pattern or to show that they are not acceptable Poor Candidate provides abundant negative evidence of the desired indicator(s) Document evidence and move on to the next question or competency

20 Challenging Candidates Non-stop Talker Interrupt Non-talker Help them talk about what they know and enjoy Smooth Talker Ask probing questions Hostile Give benefit of the doubt Determine basis Evasive Reword question they are avoiding Nervous More time building rapport

21 Questions?