We’re Keeping Score, Too

Job candidates offer 15 tips for a better interview process

By Ashley Pillow, Diana Holden, & Karen Hinton -- Library Journal, 3/27/2007

There is much advice to be found in the library literature pertaining to new librarians obtaining their first professional position. But what of advice to libraries on attracting qualified candidates? Here, three graduates from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, offer advice based on their collective interview experience. Among them, they were offered 13 phone interviews and 18 site interviews. They interviewed at government offices, corporations, and academic libraries of all sizes.

Create a job description before the interview.

A thoughtfully composed job description is perhaps the best means of attracting interested and well-qualified candidates.

Confirm travel arrangements. Now reconfirm.

Finalizing and communicating all travel arrangements prior to the candidate’s arrival can prevent feelings of confusion and discomfort.

Discuss the reimbursement policy and schedule early in the process.

Informing candidates about your particular policy and schedule saves everyone from embarrassment and headache. And, once you’ve shared your institution’s reimbursement policy and schedule with potential employees, stick to the guidelines discussed regardless of whether an offer is extended.

Show us the money.

Knowing the salary in advance (or near the beginning of an interview) allows the candidate to evaluate whether or not the job duties coincide with the compensation.

Provide a detailed schedule.

Bright, eager candidates appreciate a detailed schedule, one including the names and positions of those with whom they will meet during the interview. Such detail allows candidates to prepare fully by researching the scholarly and professional interests of their interviewers.

Let’s eat!

Meals present excellent opportunities for candidates and search committee members to get to know one another informally. Meals also offer a great chance for other personnel to get involved in the process; after all, the candidate will work with more than just the search committee. If meals are not a shared event, make certain to provide the candidate with information about local eateries.

Play tour guide. (Walking backward is optional.)

Informally exploring the local area allows the candidate to learn about the community, to ask questions about extracurricular activities, and to imagine him- or herself living there. Such exploration also provides another opportunity for the committee (or other personnel) and the candidate to get to know one another.

Don’t stare.

Your mother was right; it’s not polite.

This is an interview, not a test.

While it is tempting to test the candidate’s skills during an interview, it is not usually a good idea to leave a candidate alone behind the reference desk.

Take five—or, better yet, 15.

Beyond the core skills and knowledge required, the information profession demands stamina, endurance, and vigor. Search committees are eager to determine if a candidate possesses these qualities, but in their zealousness they often overlook the importance of providing the candidate a few minutes alone to gather thoughts, reflect on the experience thus far, and prepare for the next portion of the interview.

Who are you?

Introduce all members of the interview group and tell the candidate what they do on the team. Candidates find it awkward to respond to questions without knowing to whom they are speaking.

Ticktock.

If you are going to be delayed for a significant period of time, give the candidate the opportunity to reschedule.

Maybe we should just be friends.

The savvy candidate reads the words and behaviors of her interviewers throughout the interviewing process. When interviewers begin to talk less like they’re auditioning the candidate and more like they’re preparing her to assume the advertised position, the candidate certainly will notice. Keeping a professional distance from your candidates can prevent words that are meant to encourage from seeming like a job offer on the horizon.

Be considerate of other demands on the candidate’s time.

Just as your time is valuable, so are the hours of your candidates. Ensure that all of the time you require of a candidate is well spent.

Ease up.

When you have made your decision and want to make an offer of employment, please use the contact methods provided by the candidate and bear in mind that the candidate may not be able to return your phone call from her/his present location. Let the candidate know your needed time frame for a response and leave it at that. Interested candidates will always return your call!

The job search is ultimately about finding a good match between candidate and organization. Will an organization that ignores our perspectives still attract qualified candidates? Probably. But the difference between finding someone, anyone, to fill an open position and attracting several qualified candidates from which to choose has a considerable impact on the success of the organization. In our experience, organizations that are responsive, considerate, and professional attract a wider pool of qualified candidates and ensure that everyone is satisfied with the result of the interview process.

Ashley Pillow is Outreach Librarian, Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans; Diana Holden is Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Librarian at Pendergrass Library, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Karen Hinton is the Western Regional Training Supervisor for ProQuest
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