Tag Archives: Interviews

Skype Interviews Redux

14 Thursday Mar 2013

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Check out this current reflection on Skype interviews over at Episcopal Café which borrows heavily from The Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein aka Peace Bang of Beauty Tips for Ministers

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/clergy/interviewing_by_skype.html#more

I have only experienced on Skype interview, having by and large gotten out of the looking for a new call stage of life.  My only observation is that it is a technologically one-sided process.  The interviewing committee will get an up close and personal image of the clergy person, necessitating attention to nose hairs among other things.  The clergy person, on the other hand, gets to see a large committee sitting around one camera.  They appear as dots on the interviewee’s screen. Its hard to read their body language, let alone see any stray hairs.

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The Discernment Doctor Conducts a Search

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

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I have been rather quiet on this blog for the past month as I have been busy conducting a search for an assistant.  Now that we have successfully completed that task, let me share with you our process and my observations about the responses to the process.

The Old North Foundation was seeking an Assistant Director for Education.  This is a secular, museum position, requiring a masters in history or museum studies.  It is the equivalent of a full-time assistant rector position.  I learned of the vacancy on August 3, when the previous incumbent announced he had accepted an offer to lead a historical agency in Wellesley.  We hired a new assistant on September 10.

My first step was to secure interim coverage of essential parts of the job.  We promoted our lead tour guide from part-time to full-time and I assumed grants administration on a temporary basis.

The second step was to design the search process.  Our process was simple.  Advertise the position, screen resumes, conduct initial interviews to further screen the list, present final candidates to a small committee of the board, and make a final decision.  Only four people were involved in the process, which shortened the timeline considerably.  I led the effort, assisted by the Foundations other senior assistant, and two board members.

We wrote the job description, modifying previous job descriptions to reflect the evolution of the position.  We fill the job every three to five years, so the old descriptions did no need much tweaking.

The position was posted on a job site maintained by the Massachusetts Cultural Council called HireCulture.org.  It was also circulated to other history museums and societies in Boston.  Within two weeks we had received almost forty resumes from as far away as Florida.  Almost all met our minimum requirements for education and experience.

The gift shop manager and I selected seven candidates to invite for an interview.  Six responded.  After those interviews, we turned down two who did not have the requisite skills our experience.

The four finalists were invited back for second interviews with two board members ( a third had to back out due to a family illness), the gift shop manager, and myself.  One board member conducted phone interviews.  The other participated in half hour interviews with the gift shop manager and myself.

At the end of the interviews, I asked each interviewer to rank the candidates and comment on the skills and values they discerned in each candidate.  The interviewers felt that all four candidates were strong and could fulfill our expectations.  Two candidates seemed a bit stronger than the others.  I was left with the final decision.

The decisive factor in the final decision was that our chosen candidate was an internal candidate, already teaching our history program to elementary school students.  Both the gift shop manager and I were pleasantly surprised by our decision.  We began the process fully expecting to hire outside.  As this was a secular position, there was no prohibition against hiring from within.  We debated briefly how the decision might impact the rest of the guide staff, and concluded that the impact would be minimal and mostly positive.

When we issued the first invitations to interview, I informed all other candidates by e-mail that we would not be able to offer them an interview.  I received several responses thanking me for getting back to them, noting how often they applied a job and never heard anything.  One said, “That is the nicest turn down letter I have ever received.”   Clergy, please note, the widespread lack of communication we experience in church searches is endemic of a widespread rudeness in secular culture.

One of our board members asked a great question of each candidate that was new to me.  “How do you manage up?”  This is the perfect question to ask potential subordinates as it recognizes that those of us with final authority may not always be right.  I wonder when interviewing candidates for rector or bishop, whether we should ask them, “How do you encourage subordinates to manage up to you?”

I dreaded having to call the unsuccessful final candidates, having been through that a number of times.  It is not easy to say no to someone who has impressed you.  The conversations were all very short.  I could hear the disappointment in their voices.  One candidate e-mailed me shortly after our conversation asking for feedback.  I could honestly tell her that she had been very impressive, but that the final decision was made on a factor out of her control, as we chose an internal candidate.  Clergy note: in my experience, final decisions are often made on factors outside of our control.  The decision is not that we are not good enough, but that someone else possesses a set of skills and values that fit better than ours do.

Why were we able to move so quickly?

  1. This was a secular process, where short searches are the norm.
  2. This was an assistant, not an executive position.
  3. Only four people participated.  Our church’s proclivity to appoint large committees is inefficient.
  4.  We used a secular jobs bulletin board that is closely watched by professionals in the field.  We were not worried about call vs. discernment theology.
  5. We were confident enough to make our first cut based on the resume and cover letter.  We did not require additional writing samples.
  6. We did not reference check until the end of the process.  Reference checks do not generally yield much useful information for decision makers.  All candidates provide positive references and in the secular world, references rarely will make a derogatory comment for fear of being sued.  References can help affirm a decision that has pretty much been made.
  7. We were not trying to find the one, preordained, perfect match.  Rather we were trying to find a candidate who would exceed our expectations.  As Voltaire said, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”

Throughout the search process, we tried to treat all candidates with respect.  Responses to communications from candidates were prompt.  The timeline was made clear.  Interviewees were told when they would learn of a decision.  No candidate spent more than a few weeks of psychic energy thinking about this job.  We never contacted any of the candidates’ current workplaces.

Now some may say, “As a church, we must do things differently when it comes to clergy searches.”  To which I would respond, “Must that always be the case?”

Tips for Skype Interviews

18 Monday Jun 2012

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Many, if not most search committees now employ Skype interviews in their screening process.  Skype interviews have replaced phone interviews and often replace site visits to the candidates current congregation.  Skype technology offers a good approximation of a face to face interview without the cost of travel for a candidate or a search committee delegation.

Skype interviews have become ubiquitous in the secular world and a number of major publications and websites have published useful tips.  Several of the best are listed below my summary of the most useful suggestions.

I have very limited personal experience to draw on, having participated in only one Skype interview.  In that interview I discovered that it is very difficult for a candidate to read the body language of search committee members.  When you spread a full search committee in a semicircle around one video camera, each member appears quite small on the candidate’s computer screen, making it very difficult for a candidate to read and respond to the body language of search committee members.  The candidate, on the other hand, will appear as a head and shoulders shot on the search committee’s computer screen, where his/her facial expressions and hand gesture can be more easily read.  This phenomena makes non-verbal communication rather one sided.  I’d prefer to have a one to one conversation with a single search committee member that other search committee members could view.

According to the Skype tips links below, technical preparation is key.

  • Make sure you computer connection is glitch free – hardwire is better than Wifi.
  • Choose a good background for the camera shot – somewhere between too cluttered and a blank white wall.
  • Check the lighting beforehand – you may want to add some lamps off camera to light your face, without shadows.
  • Dress well in monochrome colors – black clergy shirts are fine, patterns are bad.
  • Buy or borrow a higher quality video camera than the little one on the top of your laptop.
  • Place the camera in front of the screen so you are looking into the camera while you are looking at the screen.  Looking into the camera is the most important single tip.
  • Place the camera and computer at eye level.
  • Choose a location with no distractions – no other people, barking dogs, or background noise.
  • I’m not sure about the makeup recommendations – that seems overkill to me.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahsweeney/2011/08/15/4-tips-for-skype-interview-success/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47541444/ace-your-skype-job-interview-14-smart-tips/

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2667-Interviewing-8-important-tips-for-Skype-interviews/

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobinterviewtypes/a/skypevideo.htm

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/04/26/how-to-ace-a-skype-interview-tips-for-making-a-good-impression-on-job-interviews-video/

Godspeed to all who will Skype interview.  Let me know what other tips we might share with each other.

Quiet and Interviewing Introverts

30 Monday Apr 2012

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I’ve just finished reading Quiet, by Susan Cain.  The book, which is riding high on the best seller lists, is a defense of introverts, by an introvert.  As the majority of clergy are introverts, you may, like me, enjoy reading this.  Cain writes in her introduction (p.6):

As adults, many of us work for organizations that insist we work in team, in offices without walls, for supervisors who value people skills above all. To advance our careers, we’re expected to promote ourselves unabashedly.

Quiet helped me think about the many clergy colleagues who are reticent to enter search process.  For many clergy the essence of a search process is to open our lives to review and judgment by a large number of people.  This is not an activity that comes naturally to introverts.

The early steps of a search process, reading and reflecting on parish profiles, and writing responses to questionnaires, play to introverts strengths.  The very first step, getting your foot in the door and introducing yourself to a search committee, may be daunting for introverts.  That is an area I have been most helpful to clergy.

The face to face interviews at the end of a search process may be the most daunting part of a search process for introverts.  I know I have a hard time reading social cues from a panel of ten or more interviewers.  I like to think before answering questions.  From my perspective, large group interviews test skills that are more associated with extroverts than introverts.

I wonder what the impact of using large group interviews as the penultimate test in search processes has on discernment.  I don’t think it is a matter of extroverts faring better in the deployment system than introverts.  My unscientific survey of the clergy leadership in my own diocese senses that introverts fill a majority of the prestige positions.   

My question is whether group interviews, which may be biased toward extroverts, can help identify the best introvert for a position.  Are we testing to see who might be least weak in skills associated with extroverts, rather than testing to see who might be strongest in skills associated with introverts?

Several recent bishop searches have tried to move away from the large group interview.  In these searches all the semi-final candidate are brought together for a “retreat” where they engage in a series of small group interviews.  I participated in one such process a few years ago.  While I appreciated the small group conversations, I found cramming so many interviews into a short amount of time with little rest so exhausting that I withdrew from the process.

We need to think about how to structure finalinterviews to better test for candidates’ strengths, keeping in mind that the majority of clergy are introverts.

THE FIVE STEPS IN THE SEARCH PROCESS, PART 7 – INTERVIEWS

14 Monday Nov 2011

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Engaging in face–to-face interviews

There are two forms of face-to-face interviews: a visit to your current parish by a subgroup of the search committee, and a final tour and interview at the prospective parish with the whole search committee and/or vestry. Clergy not currently engaged in parish ministry are usually asked to “borrow” a pulpit in a local parish, so the visitors can hear them preach. Some search committees may omit the step of visiting home parishes for financial reasons.

The pre-visit preparation arrangements give clergy an opportunity to demonstrate their administrative skills. Clergy should help the visiting team make their arrangements. If a hotel is needed, help find a good, reasonably priced one near the church. Send the visiting team maps showing the location of the church, hotel, restaurants, and parking. You may have some latitude choosing the specific day of the visit. If so, choose a day which can best illuminate your ministries, a day with special programs, or a day with good lectionary passages on which to preach.

You will be asked to schedule interviews with yourself and several references. You will also be asked to arrange a meal with your spouse or partner. When preparing the schedule for a site visit, leave sufficient down time for the visiting team and yourself. The visits can be tiring for everyone.

Visiting committees usually take the candidate and his or her spouse/partner out for a meal. Choose a relatively quiet restaurant with reasonably good food at reasonable prices. Your spouse or partner may be anxious about the shared meal, as this is the only time they are involved in the interview process. A few search committees still ask what role a spouse may play in the congregation, but more often they are interested in who the spouse/partner is in his or her own right.

The interview with the visiting committee is an integral part of the home parish visit. At this point in a search, committees are more focused on determining whether a candidate will be a good fit than whether he or she has the right skills. During the interview and any informal conversations, try to explore common values and a shared sense of purpose.

After the round of parish visits, search committees will ask a small group of finalists to visit their parish and meet with the entire search committee and/or the vestry. This final visit typically includes tours of the church grounds and surrounding community, a formal interview, and an informal meal or social occasion. A candidate’s spouse or partner may be invited to participate in the tours and informal conversation.

Interviewing techniques

Teaching interviewing techniques is akin to teaching a golf swing.  There are a thousand details that you could attend to, but it is impossible to remember them all.  The following tips touch on a few of the key techniques for successful interviews and can apply to phone, visiting committee, and full search committee interviews. A more extensive guide to interviewing techniques can be found at http://www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/Mastering-the-Interview/. I highly recommend this resource.

The purpose of interview techniques is to present your essence to a search committee in a clear and engaging fashion. Interviews are by nature exercises in judging and being judged.  Anxiety is a natural part of the process.  The interviewers are also anxious as their judgment will shape their parish for years to come.  Interview techniques can help calm the anxiety so you can present yourself in the best light.  Do not use them to present someone you may think the search committee wants to meet.  Always remember to be yourself.

By the final interview stage, search committees should have determined that each of the remaining candidates have sufficient skills to be successful in the new position. While they may continue to ask candidates about skills, they are far more likely to make a final decision based on a perceived fit between a candidate and a parish. They will be looking for evidence that a particular candidate shares a similar set of values and purpose with the parish. A successful candidate needs to clearly articulate those values and purpose and show the ability to inspire others to act on them.

According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, individuals make instantaneous unconscious decisions when meeting others. Most interviewing guides stress the importance of the first impression. Your first impression is based on your appearance, eye contact, posture, handshake, smile, and the sound of your voice. Much of your first impression cannot be altered. You are who you are.  You should focus on appropriate dress, posture, eye contact, smile, and speaking style. As best as possible, your appearance and demeanor should reflect the appearance and demeanor of the interviewing committee.

Often candidates are invited to open an interview with prayer. This gives you an opportunity to set an optimistic tone for the interview and ask God to help everyone in the room to focus on the key issues (values and purpose) to be explored at this stage of the discernment process. Write and memorize an opening and closing prayer before entering the interview room.

Search committees ask a wide range of questions. Some will ask you to reflect on their profile. Others may ask you to elucidate on material you have submitted. Open-ended questions, such as “Tell me about your greatest strength or your greatest weakness” are common. Do not be afraid to take a little time to think before responding. Keep your answers relatively short. Answer negative questions with a positive spin. For example, if you are asked, “What has been the biggest failure in your ministry?” talk about what you learned from that failure and how you turned that weakness into strength.

The tension between sales and discernment

Both the candidate and the committee share the task of discerning whether there is a good fit between candidate and position.  Candidates have the dual task of convincing the committee that a they are a good fit, while trying to discern the question of fit for themselves.  Selling yourself at the same time as deciding whether you like the parish enough to accept a call can be confusing.    By the time clergy are interviewed, we have invested a good bit of time and spiritual energy in the process and may have difficulty consciously recognizing warning signals.

A discernment checklist can help clergy balance the task of discernment with the task of presentation.  A discernment checklist is a series of questions that clergy can ask of themselves after both formal interviews and informal interactions with the search committee.  Sample questions after an interview might include: Did I feel at home with the committee?  What were the values underlying the questions that were asked?  Did they listen well to each other and to you?  Sample questions after a visit to the site might include: Was the committee hospitable?  Did I like the look of the church and the community?  What condition was the church in?  Did the committee give me enough down time?  A discernment checklist should be tailored to the values you are trying to discern.  Knowing that you have one to fill out after an interview will help you keep those questions in your consciousness during the interview.

Committees routinely give candidates time to ask questions during the interview process.  Take advantage of that opportunity to ask questions about their values and purpose.  Prepare a list of questions before the interview.  Ask questions in a positive, appreciative, manner.  For example: What is your best experience of (fill in the blank – liturgy, church school, outreach, etc.)?  What did you value in that experience?

The interview process is a time to trust in the Holy Spirit.  We can prepare a few things, like the opening prayer, closing questions, and details of a visit.  Ultimately, we need to relax and rely on the Spirit to help committees and candidates communicate their values, purpose, and essential nature.  I tell myself two things to help me relax.  They may not be absolutely true, but they get me in a relaxed frame of mind.  1. The interview is over in the first five seconds according to Blink, so make a good first impression then enjoy yourself.  2.  A good fit is either there or it is not, so focus on figuring that out and don’t worry about winning a popularity vote.  I’ll confess, these two points are easier said than done.