It's an old adage in theatre that casting is 90% of the director's job. Whatever the industry, I firmly believe that idea still applies: putting the right people in the right place is crucial to success. I have had the opportunity to build many of my teams through multiple hires at a variety of levels, managerial to front-line.
I strive to make the hiring process a positive introduction to our organization. During each step of the process, I consider carefully how what we say and do communicates our culture and values. When we give candidates a chance to see who we are from the beginning, we help ensure that new staff members are not only excellent at their jobs, but a great fit for our library.
I strive to make the hiring process a positive introduction to our organization. During each step of the process, I consider carefully how what we say and do communicates our culture and values. When we give candidates a chance to see who we are from the beginning, we help ensure that new staff members are not only excellent at their jobs, but a great fit for our library.
Interview Question Re-Design
Kitsap Regional Library, Spring 2016
As a manager frequently involved in hiring, I joined HR and a small group of other managers and directors to review the interview questions for all our public-facing positions. In the past, the questions for each position changed slightly with every new opening, resulting in an uneven patchwork of questions. Now, we are looking at them holistically. This gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves:
Overall, we found that the vast majority of questions were ones we really wanted to ask every candidate, regardless of position. Instead of a binder full of interview formats, we now have one master list and a set of several short, position-specific additions. This elegant solution ensures we are hiring consistently and fairly across the system, in a way that strategically seeks out candidates who have the qualities we value most, and that provides them with a welcoming and positive experience.
- What are the core competencies we want in everyone we hire?
- What values are we communicating with the questions we ask and the language we choose?
Overall, we found that the vast majority of questions were ones we really wanted to ask every candidate, regardless of position. Instead of a binder full of interview formats, we now have one master list and a set of several short, position-specific additions. This elegant solution ensures we are hiring consistently and fairly across the system, in a way that strategically seeks out candidates who have the qualities we value most, and that provides them with a welcoming and positive experience.
Hiring Team: Library Assistant
Kitsap Regional Library, Spring 2016
This is a paraprofessional position at a downtown city branch. This person will need extremely strong customer service skills and the ability to react calmly in difficult situations.
Hiring Lead: Bookmobile/Outreach Supervisor
Kitsap Regional Library, Fall 2015
I led the hiring process for this position, which reports directly to me. In addition to some of the same experiences I've previously had hiring peers and indirect reports, I took on additional responsibility for managing this hire. I approved and the hire and ensured buy-in for filling the position from management, pulled together the hiring team, approved the interview questions, and worked with HR on formalizing the offer and curating the on-boarding process.
Hiring Teams: Adult Services Librarians (2)
Kitsap Regional Library, Fall 2014
Within just a few months of each other, we hired two new Adult Services librarians for different branches. For the first time, instead of hiring a peer, I was hiring members of my team. Their relationship to me was indirect; though librarians play equally important roles in their branch and system teams, they report directly to their branch managers for clarity. However, this was still an increase in responsibility from my past hiring experiences, as the new hires would be an essential member of my team. I reviewed applications, participated in the selection and interview of final candidates, gave input on interview questions, and participated in the final choice of candidates.
A year later, I am thrilled to say that these two hires are incredible assets to my team. They are innovative leaders and team members who share the organization's deep values and embrace our mission.
A year later, I am thrilled to say that these two hires are incredible assets to my team. They are innovative leaders and team members who share the organization's deep values and embrace our mission.
Hiring Team: Adult Services Librarian
Kitsap Regional Library, August 2013
For this hire, I was asked to help select my peer at another branch. With a long-standing librarian's retirement, we lost a significant amount of institutional knowledge but also gained an opportunity to take adult services in a fresh, exciting direction at our flagship branch. As I was at the time taking a leadership role in revamping our system-wide perception of adult services, especially programming, I was thrilled to be involved here.
After reviewing approximately 20 applications in ApplicantPro, I worked with the Library Director, Director of Branch Services, Branch Manager, and HR Director to select the interview candidates. Several candidates were granted initial interviews. It was so exciting to hear about their diverse experiences, their wealth of ideas, and their visions for Kitsap County. After such an interesting pool of candidates, including some interviewed over Skype, we decided to conduct a second round of interviews. I helped to shape the sample work we would request from candidates, to learn more about them than interview questions would allow. Each candidate was asked to prepare a sample blog post and to give a 5 minute pitch for an innovative new program. As we reviewed the work of several excellent candidates, I learned so much by seeing the priorities and perspectives of others from different areas of the organization.
An offer was recently extended to a candidate, and I look forward to having that person begin work!
I truly enjoyed participating in this process, and I am excited for future opportunities to hire.
After reviewing approximately 20 applications in ApplicantPro, I worked with the Library Director, Director of Branch Services, Branch Manager, and HR Director to select the interview candidates. Several candidates were granted initial interviews. It was so exciting to hear about their diverse experiences, their wealth of ideas, and their visions for Kitsap County. After such an interesting pool of candidates, including some interviewed over Skype, we decided to conduct a second round of interviews. I helped to shape the sample work we would request from candidates, to learn more about them than interview questions would allow. Each candidate was asked to prepare a sample blog post and to give a 5 minute pitch for an innovative new program. As we reviewed the work of several excellent candidates, I learned so much by seeing the priorities and perspectives of others from different areas of the organization.
An offer was recently extended to a candidate, and I look forward to having that person begin work!
I truly enjoyed participating in this process, and I am excited for future opportunities to hire.
Hiring Team: Temporary Children's Librarian
Kitsap Regional Library, September 2012
When our much-beloved branch children's librarian took a 9 month leave of absence, there was no question that we would need to fill in with a temporary position. Because of our excellent local public schools, our community has a large and active group of families with children 0-12. A top-notch children's librarian to provide energetic and creative programming and readers' advisory is indispensable. I served on the committee to select the new hire, along with the branch manager, the director of support services, and the young people's library associate.
We interviewed four candidates, a mixture of internal and external applicants. We knew it would be impossible, and even inadvisable, to try to simply imitate our wonderful children's librarian. Instead, we looked for an energetic, creative, and highly qualified person who had her own personality and strengths, even if they were quite different from what our community had grown used to. It was difficult choosing between many qualified people, but ultimately two factors were the most important: the ability to hit the ground running, offering the best possible service even in a short assignment, and a passion for children's services that would make this a powerful career development opportunity for a young librarian. In that way, we were able to find the best person for our community and give an emerging librarian a chance to build the skills she will need to serve many children for years to come.
I enjoyed this experience very much, and I will continue to seek out opportunities to be involved with staffing decisions in the future.
We interviewed four candidates, a mixture of internal and external applicants. We knew it would be impossible, and even inadvisable, to try to simply imitate our wonderful children's librarian. Instead, we looked for an energetic, creative, and highly qualified person who had her own personality and strengths, even if they were quite different from what our community had grown used to. It was difficult choosing between many qualified people, but ultimately two factors were the most important: the ability to hit the ground running, offering the best possible service even in a short assignment, and a passion for children's services that would make this a powerful career development opportunity for a young librarian. In that way, we were able to find the best person for our community and give an emerging librarian a chance to build the skills she will need to serve many children for years to come.
I enjoyed this experience very much, and I will continue to seek out opportunities to be involved with staffing decisions in the future.
