Table A: Questions to Solicit Soft Skills Competencies continued...
Soft Skill
Question for Candidates*
Question for References*
How would you rate the candidate’s ability to manage their time? When you worked with the candidate, how confident were you that the candidate would complete important tasks on time?
Time Management Skills
Being a faculty requires “juggling” multiple demands. What strategies do you use to manage your time?
Describe an interaction with a student where empathy on your part was required. How effective were you in managing this situation? What would you do differently in a similar situation in the future?
What would the students and colleagues that worked with this candidate say about their ability to be empathetic?
Empathy
What Recruitment Strategies are Most Effective? 3. Posting positions on electronic sites appropriate for the faculty you hope to hire is a must. However, in times of shortage, this approach alone is not sufficient. Hiring managers—and others who may be working with the new faculty—must actively network with potential candidates or colleagues who may know someone who fits the job description. Networking and word-of-mouth are critical to identifying the right candidate. A longer-term strategy to hire faculty who will add value to your educational environment is to be known as a “good place to work.” Developing your organization’s reputation for having a supportive environment in which faculty members can develop professionally in collaboration with others goes a long way toward attracting faculty who share the work values of the organization. While benefits such as a competitive salary, adequate professional development funds, and flexible scheduling are important to potential candidates, most health professions educators value a supportive, collaborative work environment where it is challenging—and fun—to come to work. Having such a reputation, which requires constant effort on the part of the administration and other members of the faculty, can pay dividends during the hiring process. In contrast, a reputation as a chaotic or unsupportive environment makes successful recruiting extremely difficult. Caution: Hiring the wrong person just to fill a position, no matter how tempting in a crisis, rarely works well. Baker and O’Malley (2008) suggest instead that we should hire for character , never for convenience . They note that it is far easier to bring in people who subscribe to the values of the organization than to try to influence their behavior once they are hired. * Remember: You must ask the same questions of all the candidates applying for the same position to have a consistent interview process for every candidate. However, your follow-up questions may vary depending on the initial answer of the specific candidate.
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