1. Interviewing & Hiring:
Finding the Right Fit

2. Star employees are:

3. Challenging employees are:

4. Hire for Attitude
• “Stars” are:
• Easy Going
• Positive
• Mature
minded
• Enthusiastic
• Challenged
• Dependable
• Responsible
• Open
• “Challenges” are:
• Moody
• Temperamental
• Negative
• Often seen
gossiping
• Complainers
• Not energetic
• Always late
• Poor
communicators

5. Where to Find Star Employees
• Referrals – Parent, Employee, Colleague, References
• Social Media
• Past Employees
• AEYC Conferences
• Interns
• Local Colleges
• Open Houses

6. “Train for Skill” Resources
• In-center New Employee Orientation
• In-Service Training Days
• Assign a Mentor
• Job Performance Appraisals
• Local Colleges
• CDA Programs
• AEYC Trainings

7. Hire for Attitude Questions
• Communicate your values and center culture
• Based on personality traits or attributes rather than skills

8. Examples
• Team player
• Share an example of how you have shown appreciation for team
members
• Open to feedback

9. Behavioral Interviewing Questions…
• Focus on past behavior to predict future behavior/success
• Focus on actual experiences rather than hypothetical situations

10. Examples
• Hypothetical Question(s)
• What would you do if parents and teachers questioned a decision
you made?
• Behavioral Question(s)
• Can you tell me about a time when others questioned your
decision and how you handled this feedback?

11. Examples
• Hypothetical Question(s)
• Behavioral Question(s)

12. Interpreting Information
• Interpreting answers on teamwork
• Listen for examples of teamwork: sharing information, voicing
opinions, consensus with others, listen and solicit or encourage
input from others, positive attitude, willingness to help, flexible,
creative in solving problems
• Red flags: “I did all the work” or “no one helped me or worked
together…”

13. Probing Questions…
• Help to draw out the thinking and feeling of applicants without
biasing their answers
• Add information to the points being discussed
• Show the candidate the interviewer is interested in listening
• Assist in building a complete behavioral picture
• Reduce applicant “faking”
• Keep the applicant talking 80% of the time

14. Suggested Probing Questions
• …and then what happened?
• …tell me more.
• …could you elaborate?
• …be more specific.
• …what do you mean by?
• …what happened then?
• …because?
• …in what way?
• …how so?
• …give me an example.
• Silence

15. Legal vs. Illegal Questions
• What country are you a citizen of?
• How many years of work experience do
you have?
• Do you own your home?
• Have you ever been arrested?
• Do you have children?

16. Legal vs. Illegal Questions
• _I_
• _I_
• _I_
• _I_
• _I_
What country are you a citizen of?
How many years of work experience do
you have?
Do you own your home?
Have you ever been arrested?
Do you have children?

17. Legalities of Interviewing: Key Points
• Questions must be:
• Job related
• Asked consistently of all applicants for the same position
• Other:
• Take objective notes
• Complete a rating scale
• Completed Application
• Share Job Description

18. The Interview
• Preparation
• Pre-Interview arrangements
• Brief introduction
• Obtaining information
• Giving information
• Center tour
• Closing the interview
• Evaluation
• Contacting the candidate

19. Interviewing Errors
• Jumping to conclusions early in the interview
• Applying the halo effect
• Giving away information/desired answers
• Interviewer talking too much
• Failure to observe non-verbal cues

20. Interviewing Errors
• Asking leading questions and hinting at desired answers
• Feeling sorry for the candidate and rushing to answer questions
• Not being prepared
• Not allowing enough time to conduct interview

21. Conclusion
• Q&A
• Best Practices
• Things to try