EMPLOYMENT Resources for Hiring Officials

A well-constructed interview process can increase our effectiveness in determining how well a candidate meets the needs of our organization. Interviewers should use only questions and processes necessary to determine an applicant's qualifications, skill level or competence to perform the job. Following these guidelines will also assist in avoiding practices that may violate a candidate's privacy or other rights.

• Legal Guidelines for Intervew Questions
• Guidelines for Reference Checking
• Developing Interview Questions
• Equal Opportunity Office Guidelines

LEGAL GUIDELINES for INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The table below outlines some of the things that may or may not be asked during the employment interview process. Apply these guidelines in developing application, reference checking and interview questions.

	APPROPRIATE INQUIRIES	INAPPROPRIATE INQUIRIES
APPLICANT NAME	Whether the applicant has worked under a different name.	Inquiry about the name that would seek to elicit information about the candidate’s ancestry or descent. Inquiry about a name change due to court order, marriage or otherwise.
BIRTHPLACE	See Citizenship	Birthplace of applicant, spouse, parents or other relatives.
CITIZENSHIP	Statement that employees must be eligible to work in the US.	Any inquiries about citizenship or whether the applicant is or intends to become a US citizen.
RESIDENCE & NATIONALITY	Place of residence. Length of residence in this city.	Specific inquiries into foreign addresses that would indicate national origin, nationality of applicant. Whether applicant owns or rents home.
AGE	Can inquire if applicant meets minimum age requirements, or state that proof may be required.	Cannot require that applicant state age or date of birth. Cannot require that applicant submit proof of age before hiring. Any questions that may tend to identify applicants over 40 years of age.
SEX	Inquiry or restriction of employment is permissible only with a bona fide occupational qualification—practically never.	Any inquiry that would indicate sex of the applicant. Applicant’s sex can’t be used as a factor for determining whether an applicant will be “satisfied” in a particular job.
MARITAL & FAMILY STATUS, SEXUAL IDENTITY	Whether applicant can meet specific work schedules.	Marital status or number of dependents. Names, ages, or addresses of spouse, children, or relatives. Questions about sexual identity, orientation, or preference.
RACE, COLOR, PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS	Voluntary submission of EO/AA information is made directly to the Office of EO.	Inquiry as to race, skin color, or questions related to race or color. Applicant’s height or weight if not relevant to the job.
DISABILITY	Can ask an applicant questions about his or her ability to perform job-related functions.	General inquiries that would tend to reveal disability or health conditions that do not relate to fitness to perform the job.
EDUCATION	Applicant’s academic, vocational attainment.	Date last attended high school (reflects age).
PREGNANCY	No acceptable inquiry.	Any question concerning pregnancy or birth control.
ARRESTS & CONVICTIONS	Asking about conviction of a crime related to job qualification.	Asking about arrests.
RELIGION	No acceptable inquiry.	Any question requesting the applicant’s religious affiliation, church, parish, pastor or religious holidays observed.
MILITARY EXPERIENCE	If needed for employment history, you may ask about military experience in the armed forces.	Any question into applicant’s general military experience, or type of discharge.
ORGANIZATIONS	Any question into applicant’s membership in organizations which the applicant considers relevant to his/her ability to perform the job.	Asking what organizations, clubs and societies the applicant belongs to that are not relevant to his/her ability to perform the job (political, social, religious, etc.)

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GUIDELINES FOR REFERENCE CHECKING

Prepare your questions ahead of time following the same legal guidelines listed above. You may not ask a reference a question that you cannot legally ask a prospective employee. (For example: You should NOT ask a reference, “Does the candidate have children?”)

Appropriate areas of inquiry of a reference include:

• Job responsibilities
• Quality of overall job performance
• Productivity
• Ability to work with others
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Areas for improvement
• Specific achievement on the job
• Motivation
• Eligibility for rehire

Examples of good questions to ask references:

REGARDING TEACHING -

• "How would you describe candidate’s teaching style?"
• "Describe a time when the candidate faced some significant challenges in the classroom and how she/he worked to overcome the challenges?"

REGARDING ADVISING -

• "How would you describe candidate’s one-on-one interaction with students?"
• "This position includes being a ______ adviser. What specific experience does candidate have in counseling ______ students?"

REGARDING COLLABORATION -

• "What experience did candidate have working in teams at your institution?"
• "Give some examples of collaborative research conducted with other faculty across departments?"

Tips for conducting a reference check:

• Be thoroughly familiar with the candidate’s file.
• Call references in groups of two or more committee members.
• Open the call with an explanation of whom you are and why you are calling.
• Plan questions ahead and follow your plan during the call.
• Sort out opinions from facts and examples.
• Write down as much as you can.
• Collect relevant information without evaluating it.
• Be alert to: unusual hesitations, evasive responses, overly negative or overly enthusiastic responses.
• Take the time you need.
• Express appreciation.
• If warranted, contact the reference for further information.

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DEVELOPING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

• Be sure each applicant is asked the same set of questions.
• Use follow-up questions for complex subjects.
• Ask behavioral event questions and ask for responses that include:
  • what he/she actually did
  • why he/she chose the course of action
  • the outcome of the action
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Avoid leading questions.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

• "Tell me about a successful collaborative project you worked on in the past year. With whom did you work? What was your role? How did it turn out?"
• "How did you market your new program to the intended participants? Who did you have to work with to pull it off? What happened? What, if anything, would you do differently next time? Why?"
• "What was the most challenging (counseling/in-class/customer service-related) situation you had last year? How did you approach it?"
• "We’d like you to think of an example where you were responsible for organizing and coordinating a major initiative in your department. How did you evaluate its effectiveness?"
• "Give us an example of a recent leadership challenge you have had to face in the workplace?"
• "As the new director, what initial steps would you take to establish your leadership?"
• "In prior jobs what did you do to foster positive working relationships with your new staff and supervisor?"
• "Give an example of when you anticipated a problem and were able to provide direction to address that problem."
• "Tell me about a time when you had to adjust to changes beyond your control."
• "Give an example when you told someone to do something and they did it wrong. How did you handle it?"

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Adapted from Ohio State University (2000) and Pittsburgh State University (2008) HR Websites