Homework for "Teacher Andrew" Only

20 September 2015

Introduction

According to Delahaye (2015), an interview is a formal interaction between an employer or their representative and a potential employee which is characterized by a questioning and answer session. The purpose of interviews is for the employer to evaluate the potential employee through the questions. An interview hence is used by the employer to obtain facts, opinions and statements that reveal the nature, value and beliefs of the potential employee (Smith, 2013). This is an important role for the human resource department in its effort to engage the most competent and highly skilled person within the various ranks of the organization (Mello, 2014). Staffing is crucial as it enables an organization to replace vacant arising from new jobs created, retirement and transfers, resigning or death of some of the current employees (Boselie, 2014). The South Wood District School interview panel is composed of the principal, the head of department, senior teacher, students and the Human Resource manager. The panel used various interview questions to assess the candidates.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Interviews

First, interviews help to paint a clearer picture of the employee through social cues. By considering the intonation, voice and body language of the interviewee, the panel gets extra information about the verbal responses of the interviewee (Mello, 2014). In addition, due to the face to face interaction, the interviewing panel can get in-depth detail about the interviewee due to the specifically tailored questions. This gives insight into impressions, personal experiences, thoughts and feelings, perceptions and attitudes of the candidate. Interviews hence give the panel a greater chance to briefly identify with the respondent (Kehoe & Wright, 2013).

On the other hand interviews have several disadvantages too. First, the planning of the interview and the interview questions can suffer complications. Members of the panel have to involve immense multitasking including keeping eye contact, noting down responses, and thinking of follow up questions hence the possibility of missing some information. In addition, the personal nature of the interview may make it difficult for the interviewees to present their true-self.

The South Wood District School Case Study

Questions by the School’s Principal

The school’s principal possibly asked the reason the interviewees applied for the job. This question is aimed at understanding how the candidate thinks the job offered will help them in achieving their future goals. The second question was on the reason behind the decision to take a career in teaching. The answers to this question vary from the personal love for children, inspiration by other teachers in their education life as well as the personal love and passion for learning (Wilson, 2014). The source of passion helps to identify how the employee is likely to undertake their duties. The question on the contribution to the school development plan, aims at realizing the positive sides of the candidates’ character (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). The answers to this question can be based on the previous work experience which has led to many innovations such as perfect public relations; candidates time flexibility, hardworking character to ensure things are done efficiently as well as the ability of the candidate to work in a group.

The question on the strengths and weaknesses aims at confusing the candidate to give their weak points. This gives insight about the character of the candidate. The question on the knowledge about South Wood District School aims at identifying if the candidate has correct facts and figures about the school. This aims at identifying if the candidate is well informed about the school.

Questions by the Senior Teacher

The senior teacher may have asked about the successful teaching methods that the interviewee used in the past. This question aims at discovering the various teaching methods the candidate has successfully used to teach in the past such as the lecture, guided and demonstration performance methods (Smith, 2013). The question on the subjects that one enjoys teaching is meant to identify their preferred subject of choice. The candidate should give true information about the subjects they love to teach (Smith, 2013).

On the question about the technology used in the past to enhance the teaching experience, the senior teacher hopes to identify if the candidate is familiar with various technological methods such as the power point teaching presentations, online classroom activities, web quest activity, online grading system as well as email submission of class work by the students methods achieved in the past (Wilson, 2014). On handling a notorious student in class, the question focuses on how to minimize any chances of disruption from occurring in the classroom environment and the interviewee’s capability of reinforcing positive behaviors on the students (Kehoe & Wright, 2013).

Questions by the students

The students possibly asked about the most important characteristics that a teacher should possess. This question seeks answers on the passion to teach, excellent communication skills, as well as the caring attitude of the teacher (Smith, 2013). On how the college life and previous experiences with students has prepared the interviewee for the teaching career, the focus is to narrow down on the skills gained previously in the teaching career as well as in the college life (Kehoe & Wright, 2013).

The question on how one would offer a helping hand to the students who find the subject challenging aims at identifying the various strategies that the interviewee would use to ensure that any student encountering problems in their subject is taken care of (Smith, 2013). The final question by the students is on how the candidate would create a conducive classroom environment. This question aims at identifying if the interviewee acknowledges the importance of relating well with the students while teaching (Busher & Saran, 2013). The candidate hence is expected to bring the concept of engaging the student on board.

Questions by the Human Resource Manager

The human resource manager asked the question on the where the candidate’s career plans in five years’ time. This aims to identify if the candidate has great passion for teaching career life (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). A possible answer could be to increase the total number of students getting top level grade. By asking on the kind of support the candidate would like to be offered by South Wood, the interviewer expects the candidate to give out the actual personal facts that they would need in order to have a smooth teaching experience in the institution (Mello, 2014). By asking the candidate about the contributions they hope to make to the school, the HR manager aimed to gather vital information about the applicant regarding how they value the South Wood District School South Wood District School community.

Additional questions by the HR officer and the principal

Based on the case study clearly, the following additional questions need to have been asked by the HR officer and the principal:

What can you do for us that other candidates cannot do? This would help identify any possible traits that a candidate may have that would make them a preferred choice. Another question would be; what is your professional highest achievement? This would identify if the candidate has had remarkable commitment to their career. In addition, it would have been appropriate to ask, what are you looking for in this new position? This would help to identify the personal expectations of the candidate and their goals during their tenure in the organization (Wilson, 2014). This may go along with the question on their expected salary and other package benefits. The panel would also have asked what type of environment the candidate prefers. This would identify the compatibility and adoptability of the candidate to the institutions working conditions. Finally, they would have asked; why should we hire you? This question enables the candidate to justify their case with information that the other questions might have overlooked regarding the suitability to the position.

Conclusion

The South Wood District School case study shows that the school uses sufficient interview questions to recruit new members of staff. Through the experienced team of panelist, the institution offers sufficient formal interview. The interviewing panel has to make the candidate to feel very comfortable, without compromising the goal of the process which is accurate cross-examination. The panel must also be prepared how to respond to any contingency during the probing process.

References

Boselie, P. (2014). Strategic human resource management: A balanced approach. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Busher, H., & Saran, R. (2013). Managing teachers as professionals in schools. Routledge.

Delahaye, B. (2015). Human resource development. Tilde Publishing.

Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39(2), 366-391.

Mello, J. (2014). Strategic human resource management. Cengage Learning.

Smith, R. (2013). Human Resources Administration: A school based perspective. Routledge.

Wilson, J. P. (2014). International human resource development: Learning, education and training for individuals and organizations. Development and Learning in Organizations, 28(2).