An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 3 – Hiring

2. T AKE N OTES A ND P ROMPTLY S UMMARIZE I NFORMATION Interviewers should take notes during the interview and a school should allow time between interviews for interviewers to summarize notes. A school should retain interview notes for two years. Tape-recording is legal provided the school informs the applicants that the interview will be tape recorded and obtains their consent to do so on the recording. 266 However, tape recording is not usually an effective tool in the interview process. Tape-recording tends to make the interview more formal and impedes the interviewer’s ability to perceive the qualities of the applicant and communicate effectively. The transcription of tapes is also a timely and expensive process. Promptly completing an interview form or score sheet following an interview allows the interviewer to consider a variety of topics during the interview. These forms also provide critical information if an applicant challenges the hiring process. Schools should compare qualified applicants immediately following the interview, bearing in mind that they must still must carefully check and compare references. 3. B E A G OOD L ISTENER A ND W ATCH F OR N ON -V ERBAL C UES Interviewers can also glean information about applicants from their (1) demeanor, (2) gestures, (3) attentiveness, and (4) eye contact. These cues can provide information about whether a candidate is attentive, confident, evasive, combative, cooperative, or patient. Schools should conduct the interviews in a comfortable location that is free from outside distractions and that ensures privacy for the participants. To the extent possible, the area where the interview occurs should not be visible or audible to other applicants or disinterested parties. Privacy allows applicants to feel more at ease with the process. Privacy also provides applicants security to discuss information and subjects they might not otherwise discuss. The interviewer should also provide the applicant an opportunity to ask questions and clear up any misunderstandings that might have arisen during the interview. B. I NTERVIEW Q UESTIONS C ONCERNING S UITABILITY T O W ORK WITH M INORS Among other questions, the interviewer should ask questions similar to the following to determine whether the applicant has difficulty in developing adult relationships or exhibits an excessive interest in developing personal relationships with children:  Why are you interested in working with children?  How would you describe yourself?

 Why do you enjoy working with children?  What about this position appeals to you?

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 88