Initial & Secondary Interviews: Best Practices

Many faculty searches will conduct one or more rounds of interviews with applicants via Zoom or at a conference in an effort to identify a shortlist of applicants to invite for a campus visit. 

Some academic units require a hiring manager or Dean’s Office review of applicants before inviting applicants to participate in an interview. The search committee chair is responsible for following the appropriate process for interviews as identified by their academic unit.

Before conducting interviews, the search committee should:

• Identify a list of questions that all applicants will be asked as part of the interview process.
• Determine when and how interviews will be conducted (via Zoom, in person, SparkHire, or another approach) 
• Discuss if all search committee members will be attending all interviews or if search committee members will attend a portion of the interviews.
• If interviews will be conducted via Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or another online platform, determine if the interviews will be recorded and shared with committee members.
• Specify the rubric that will be used to evaluate all candidates who are interviewed (for a sample interview rubric, see the second worksheet called “Zoom Interview”).

Important Note: Be mindful that some questions are off-limits during an interview. Review these Legal vs. Illegal Interview Questions to avoid asking illegal interview questions.