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The Southwood school district is a mixed comprehensive secondary school in the United Kingdom. It has a capacity of more than 800 students whose age range between thirteen years and eighteen years. It has one hundred and twenty employees among whom eighty are in the teaching staff while forty are on the non-teaching staff. The school is a public school and thus it is government-funded. It is also a non-profit making organization, and its primary aim is to provide quality education for the students. Employees are required in the school making hiring new employees a responsibility given to the principal, school management, and the human resource manager. This paper provides an assessment interview questions used by Southwood School District when hiring new employees. It also provides five additional questions that the principal and the human resource manager may ask when selecting a new employee for the school.
The teaching and the non-teaching staff are required to have some qualities that play a large part in the academic performance of the students in a school. It is thus important for the human resource manager of the school, the management, and the principal to ensure that the staff is well qualified. They should also ensure that the staff has the necessary experience and qualifications to help them ensure that the students are taught well and that they perform well. Organizations recruit new employees through interviews. Therefore, the interview panel should be well prepared and ready to ask the right questions to the interviewees. Being prepared and asking the right questions ensures that other right people are picked to occupy the vacant position
The Southwood School District uses various questions during new employee’s interview. Among the questions asked by the principal and the management is, why the interviewee applied for the advertised job. The question is important as it helps the interviewer know why the interviewee applied for the job. That is the motive or motivations that drove them to apply for the job other than seek employment elsewhere. It also helps employers understand what the potential employee likes about the organization which attracted them to apply for the said position. The other question is what the person knows about the school. It helps the employer gauge the level of information the individual has regarding the institution. It also helps them know how much research they have done in preparation for the job interview. It is thus a crucial question. The other question is why the person decided to pursue the teaching profession. The questions help employers learn how motivated the employee is towards their job and why they decided to engage in the profession. Another question is what the interviewee can contribute to the school development plan. It helps employers gauge the employee’s level of commitment as well as the contribution they will make to the school once they are employed (Robson, 2015).
In addition, principals and the management ask about the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. They also inquire how the colleagues and managers of the potential employee would describe them. Both of these questions are important. They help employer learn the skills and abilities of the employees as well as their teamwork spirit. Among these questions, the only ones that are not important are what colleagues and managers would say as well as the question of why they decided to pursue the career. These questions are diverse, and they do not help to gauge the employee’s abilities or motivations. The answers provided are also difficult to classify and decide who answered best or who should be hired and who should not.
The questions asked by human resource manager include what contribution the interviewee would make to the school. It is important as they learn how the potential employee will help the school. The other question concerns the training and development opportunities individuals have taken part in. It is important as it helps assess the qualifications the individuals have. Another question concerns the career plan these individuals have for the next five and ten years. The question helps the HR manager to learn whether the potential employee plans to remain within the institution or plans to leave soon after employment. It also helps them learn what expectations the potential employees have, concerning the future as well as what they plan to have achieved by then. The final question concerns the kind of help interviewees expect from the school once their application went through. The question is vital as it helps the human resource manager to learn what the employee expects from the school to help them do their job. All the questions asked by the human resource manager are crucial, and thus, none of them should be omitted.
There are several questions which the Southwood School District should add to their interview questions. The first question relates to behavior management strategy in dealing or handling the students. The question is very effective, and it allows the management and the interview panel as a whole learn how effective the potential employee is at handling the students. They can be asked to describe a scenario in which they used a certain strategy to control the behavior of students in the classroom. High school students are in their adolescent age. They are thus at an age when they are highly susceptible to the misbehavior and ignorance of advice provided by adults. A potential employee to the school should ensure that they know how to handle the teenagers. They should be in a position to control them when they misbehave. They should also be capable of tolerating their ignorance and have ways of educating them regarding the dangers associated with their mischief.
The principal, as well as the human resource manager, should also ask a question that is related to the individual’s application letter or resume. It may be a statement they made which they may want them to elaborate. It may also be a certain thing that the panel did not understand and would like them to expound. It may also be about something they find interesting and would like to know more about it. For instance, a candidate may have indicated that they have a certain qualification that is new to the industry. They may also have indicated that they are qualified in another field and the panel does not understand how that qualification relates to the profession they are applying. In such a case, the panel may ask the individual to explain how they are related. Similarly, the human resource manager and the principal may pick a skill or competence the candidate indicated they possess and ask them to explain. Doing so helps them learn, whether the candidate just mentioned it on their resume to decorate it or whether they possess the skill or competence they claim to have. It helps to distinguish between people who are serious about the job search, and who are truthful or not.
Another important question relates to the expected salary the employee wishes to be paid. It helps the panel learn how confident the candidate is. It also helps the human resource manager as well as the principal learns how much the candidates value their work and contribution. Usually, those who believe that they have much to contribute and are realistic, ask for the correct amount of money that ought to be paid to employees their level. Those who are not so confident about themselves may ask for a lower amount. The human resource manager and the principal should also ask the candidates to describe themselves or tell them more about themselves. It also helps gauge their confidence in themselves. It also helps them gauge their communication skills and the influence they are likely to have on the students.
Moreover, the principal and the human resource manager should also inquire on the candidates personal and professional goals. Doing so helps them learn what the candidates are planning to achieve in their lives and how their achievements will benefit the school. It also helps them learn what kind of motivation the potential employees will provide to the rest of the staff and share with their students. Candidates should have big dreams and goals. They should also be capable of expressing them and explaining why they want to achieve them.
References
Ratcliffe, R. (2014, January 29). Top 10 Questions Teachers are Asked At Job Interviews. Guardian Professional.
Robson, F. L. (2008). Staffing Management Sudent Workbook: Southwood school; A Case Study in Recruitment and Selection. United Kingdom: Society for Human Resource Management.
