Gilroy
– With six candidates lined up to vie for the position as the
district’s next superintendent, the board took a crash course in
interview techniques.
Gilroy – With six candidates lined up to vie for the position as the district’s next superintendent, the board took a crash course in interview techniques.
The Gilroy Unified School District board of trustees held a special meeting Monday night with two consultants from Hazard, Young and Attea – the consulting firm hired to run the superintendent search – to learn how to conduct and what to look for in interviews.
“You don’t want the candidate to feel apart from you, you want them to feel a part of you,” said Bill Attea, chairman of the consulting firm.
Arranging the tables in a circle and covering them with skirts to hide candidate and trustees’ legs creates a comfortable environment, he said. The trustees should also dress in business casual attire and keep conversation flowing.
Following these guidelines – and polite conventions, such as offering the applicant water – casts the board and the district in a favorable light, said Attea.
“They’re coming to check you out as much as you’re going to be checking them out,” he said.
The interview will consist of 12 questions, the answers to which should be limited to about six to eight minutes each, Attea said. The board should not stray from these questions – or ask about age, race, marital status or if the candidate has children – because it would open trustees up to accusations of discrimination. Should candidates answer the questions in a shorter time frame, trustees can ask follow-up questions from a list of 12 main questions.
After discussing interview techniques and scheduling issues, the board convened a closed session to look at the slate of six candidates that will be interviewing Thursday and Friday.
“The candidates looked promising,” said Tom Bundros, president of the board. He was also reassured by Attea’s promise that if the board did not like any of the six candidates the consulting firm would stay on at no extra cost.
The board will identify its three preferred candidates Friday after the interviews but will not make them public.
April 30 through May 3 the board will host the three preferred candidates and their significant others. Based on the two rounds of interviews, the board will decide on a final candidate during a closed session meeting May 3. Trustees will have an opportunity to visit the chosen candidate’s work place during the week of May 6. Should the candidate accept the position, the board will announce its selection May 17 at a regular board meeting.
All this is meant to ensure that the next superintendent will be an exceptional leader that is in for the long term, said Attea.
“We’re looking at success and longevity,” he said. “We have an expectation that they’re going to make a five- to 10-year commitment to Gilroy.”
