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As COVID-19 forces institutions to rethink their selection process, we could be on the brink of a sustainable movement to paperless selection and hiring. Candidate applications need to be electronically submitted, reviewed, and evaluated electronically; interviews need to be physically distanced; and multiple people need to view files simultaneously. Institutions need to think creatively to ensure that candidates all receive a fair shot at the positions while still allowing all professional staff to review files without passing them around or centrally storing them.
Most of all, standard practices for student staff selection may need an overhaul. Group interview processes will need to be reinvented to be COVID compliant. Just as you need the right tools to conduct an in-person selection process, you need to have resources available to properly implement a virtual process. By eliminating the group process, an institution will need to create opportunities to obtain a holistic view of the candidate. The following “out of the box” processes are used to evaluate a candidate:
- Open Application – Ask the candidate to use the space to convince you why they should be considered.
- Video Question – In addition to your traditional application, ask candidates to submit a two-minute video describing why they want to be an RA or how their experience has set them up for success in the position.
- Coffee Chat – If your institution typically uses the group interview process to involve current RAs in your selection process, consider scheduling a one/one with an RA candidate and a current RA. The most effective assessment has often come when these are left open-ended, so the candidate can showcase their ability to drive a conversation.
- Record-and-Upload Video Interview – We all know that it’s nerve-racking to interview, and it can be even more intimidating online. Make the process less stressful for the candidate by giving them the questions in advance and also allowing them to record and upload their answers. This allows your candidate to be confident that they’re showcasing their best self and provides you with the opportunity to rewatch or have multiple evaluators.
- Candidate Reflection – If your institution conducts an online interview, ask the candidate to reflect on their experience after the interview. This unique perspective will tell you about the candidate as well as showcase their commitment to the role following the interview.
- Paperless Process – With professional staff splitting their time between home and the office in conjunction with the uncertainty that COVID brings, you’ll want to have all of your materials accessible online from any location. A system containing all of your applications, scoresheets, notes, references, and hiring decisions will act as a virtual filing cabinet for applicant files that never get lost. It will also make your selection assessment process much easier as the demographic and selection data is in one place.
By thinking about hiring differently, you’ll likely also improve efficiencies within your process. That said, consider the impact of dialogue when making final hiring decisions and ensure that trust in hiring isn’t impacted by less contact or reduced conversations.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted how we can do our work in student affairs and will continue to have an impact on common practices for the foreseeable future. That said, with thoughtful consideration and sustainable practices, the effects of COVID in some areas could be viewed as positive when we look back. Selection and hiring processes could be one of the areas that force positive change by adopting both environmentally and socially sustainable practices.
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