Talking Stick - January/February 2017 - 55

great teachable moment about getting
things in writing. #LessonLearned

Touchette: The hardest thing my
team deals with is prospective staff
members who interview really well
but then turn out to be a complete
180-degree change from what they
saw initially. This can be during the
on-campus interview day or in some
cases after the new staff member has
started. This is a tough thing to screen
for, but it has happened, leading a few
of those candidates to depart from our
team prior to the end of an academic
year.

Przywara: In our most recent AC
search, we invited four candidates
to campus. Two candidates needed
to be flown in. Both withdrew from
the process moments after they
visited. I think one person emailed
me from the taxi on their way to the
airport from campus and the other
just before they boarded their flight!
My staff and I . . . not pleased. The
other telling moments have been
when we are showing the apartment
where the AC will reside and the
candidate mentions how their current
apartment, as a grad student, is
much bigger/nicer than what we
have. Or they will comment that
XYZ institution has better living
arrangements. I am never quite sure
where to go with these observations.
TS: So, to end on a high note, what is
one thing your team does really well?
Perhaps one thing you'd mention is
a best practice unique to your campus.

Touchette: We try to give the
candidate the best representation of
campus life possible. We want them
to feel the essence of what it is like to
be on campus. If living and working
here isn't going to be the right fit,
we want to avoid that. I believe our
recruitment team provides as much
information as possible. We have a
small packet of information about

the area around our campus. The
information includes restaurants,
shopping, and resources in the area.
We also talk about our proximity
to the big city, and that is helpful
for people to understand as well. I
guess transparency is key, and I am
confident that is what we are trying to
maintain throughout our process.

Barile: For HWS, we provide a
pre-question. We give the candidate
the question before the interview
(usually about their personal brand
and how it will benefit HWS) and tell
them that will be the first question of
their interview. We want them to feel
prepared for their day, so, along with
that, we also break down their agenda.
While we provide the schedule, we
also provide a guide to their day with
a short paragraph for each meeting:
who they are meeting with and what
those staff members are looking for
in a successful candidate. I've gone
back and forth as to whether this is
coddling the candidate.

Myrick: While it is important to ask
candidates why they are interested in
your position, it gets a bit redundant
when they are asked the same
question during every session of
a campus interview. Each session
during our campus interview is
focused on a specific topic related to
the position. The topics are outlined
on the candidate's itinerary, so they
can properly prepare and develop
questions that may help them better
understand the central roles of the
position. This is also helpful for our
current staff who may have specific
functional areas and can participate
in interview sessions related to their
positions, and it gives them insight
into how candidates will specifically
work with their area. A number of
candidates express appreciation for
the variety throughout the day. 

JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2017

55
Talking Stick - January/February 2017

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