Make the Best Hire through an Effective Coaching Interview

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Make the Best Hire through an Effective Coaching
Interview

• Tim Graham, CMAA
• Tumwater High School
• Tumwater, Washington

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QUICK THOUGHTS

• Your success as an Athletic Administrator is
  simply the result of how good you are at hiring
  and mentoring the people around you.
• Finding the right people is one of the biggest
  challenges in athletics today.
• Hiring outstanding coaches has great impact on
  our students, school and community.
• You win with people Woody Hayes

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Sampling of What We Look For When Hiring Coaches

• Great Teacher
• High Character
• Proven Winner
• Role Model
• Promotes Academics
• Promotes Team
• College Placement for All Players
• Builds Programs
• Builds Pride in Program, School Community
• Promotes Sportsmanship
• Supports Other Sports
• Knowledge of Strength Training Conditioning
• Works Well with Athletic Administrator
• Coachable

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Steps to Hiring the Right Person

• Job Description
• Job Posting
• The Candidate Pool
• The Interview Committee
• The Interview
• Review and Selection

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Job Description

• Should Include the following
• 1. Skills
• 2. Abilities
• 3. Education
• 4. Experience
• 5. Reporting relationship
• 6. Program priorities and expectations
• 7. Responsibilities and duties
• 8. How performance will be measured
• 9. Compliance statement
• - Equal Opportunity Employer

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Job Description

• An accurate, detailed job description leads to a
  full understanding of the job requirements,
  qualifications and expectations.
• The stated qualifications will provide the basis
  for the selection criteria used in the final
  decision.
• Job descriptions will help avoid wasting time
  describing the position during the interview.

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The Job Posting

• Internet Postings Facebook, Twitter and other
  Social Media
• State Department of Education
• State Athletic Association
• College Placement Offices
• Referrals from other professionals
• Principals, Athletic Administrators, Coaches
• Clinics and Coaching Associations
• Direct Mailing of Job Posting Job Description

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The Job Posting

• Sell Your Program
• Candidates are checking up on your program,
  school district and community.
• 1. Materials from city, Visitors Bureau and
  Chamber of Commerce
• 2. School district information
• 3. Athletic program information
• 4. Website District, Athletic and Team

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The Candidate Pool

• Develop a reputation for hiring great coaches,
  training them and promoting them.
• Referrals are the best source
• From current employees
• From other professional contacts
• From friends
• Recruit all of the time
• Dont wait until you have an opening. Know who
  is looking for jobs and who the future stars are.

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The Candidate Pool

• You are identifying most suitable candidates and
  rejecting unsuitable ones.
• Screening conducted by Principal, Athletic
  Administrator, Human Resources, etc.
• Must meet minimum standards set in job
  description.
• Talk to as many people as possible on the
  telephone to briefly assess qualifications.
• Look for red flags but dont jump to
  conclusions probe deeper
• 1. Unexplained gaps in employment account for
  all time
• 2. Excessive job hopping want stability
• 3. Is their current position described
  accurately by title?
• 4. Typos, misspellings and grammatical errors
• 5. Overly ambiguous phrasing (familiar with)
• 6. Lack of professional advancement or growth
• 7. Resume clear concerning education

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The Interview

• Objectives of a selection interview
• 1. To assess competencies and skills that fit
  with the situation and program.
• 2. To assess personal chemistry and
  cultural/values fit.
• 3. To identify past behavior as an indicator
  of future behavior.
• 4. To predict success in job and district.

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The Interview

• Major sport vs. Minor sport
• Multiple interviews
• One person
• Committee
• Hometown visit
• Interview committee and training
• Board members
• Superintendent
• Principal
• Athletic Director
• Coaches
• Parents
• Students
• Community Members / Boosters

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The Interview

• Things that need to be explored in an interview
• 1. The name of employer, the location and the
  dates of employment.
• 2. The job title.
• 3. Starting and final levels of compensation.
• 4. Responsibilities and accountabilities.
• 5. What was going on when you arrived? What
  challenges did you face?
• 6. Results, successes and accomplishments.
• 7. Major mistakes What would you like to be
  able to do differently?

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The Interview

• Things that need to be explored in an interview
• 8. The most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of
  the job.
• 9. The least enjoyable and least rewarding
  aspects.
• 10. Talents you inherited and changes you made.
• 11. Reasons for leaving.
• 12. Supervisors name, title and contact
  information.
• 13. What was it like to work for this person?
• 14. What were his or her major strengths and
  shortcomings as a supervisor?
• 15. What would your supervisor say about your
  strengths, weaknesses and general performance?

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The Interview

• Things that need to be explored in an interview
• 16. What do you want in your next job?
• 17. What other jobs are you considering and why?
• 18. What is your ideal position?
• 19. Rate this job in terms of your ideal
  position.
• 20. What are your strengths, assets, and things
  you do well and like about yourself?
• 21. What are your shortcomings, weaker
  points, and areas for improvement?
• 22. Describe your leadership philosophy.
• 23. How do you think your subordinates view you?
• 24. How might you modify your approach to
  dealing with subordinates?

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The Interview

• Five major mistakes when interviewing job
  applicants
• 1. Too Busy.
• 2. Winging the interview process.
• 3. Talk too much 20 is too much.
• 4. First impression appearance,
  credentials.
• 5. Ability to read is great, but dont seek
  out subconscious meaning.

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The Interview

• Do your prep work
• If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, Id
  spend six hours sharpening my axe Abraham
  Lincoln
• Ask the right questions and vary style
• Open, closed - factual, hypothetical
• Pay attention
• Rephrase questions to get complete answers
• Dont rush to judgment wait until end of
  interview
• Take notes
• End on a positive note

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The Interview

• Problems with interviews
• 1. First impressions
• 2. Stereotyping
• 3. Comfort with similar people
• 4. Situational influences
• 5. Interviewer differences
• 6. Tendency to be unstructured
• 7. Tendency to forget
• 8. Tendency to remember only negatives
• 9. Pressure to hire
• 10. Interviewing order in which applicants
  appear
• 11. Interviewers mood

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The Interview

• Solutions
• 1. Attentiveness (privacy, no interruptions).
• 2. Objectivity (suspend judgment).
• 3. Active listening (encourage applicants to
  talk).
• 4. Arrange setting to put interviewee at ease.
• 5. Structure the interview.
• 6. Take notes.
• 7. Ask the same questions in the same order.
• 8. NEVER hire after one interview ALWAYS
  get several opinions.

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The Interview

• Interviewing Strategies
• Dont talk too much
• Put candidates at ease, be friendly
• Probe for specific, detailed answers
• Ask situational questions
• Concentrate on past successes and skills, not on
  experience or education
• Do not respond to negatives keep an open mind
• Look for strengths not shortcomings
• Find out why applicants want to DO, not HAVE, the
  job
• Dont clone yourself

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The Interview

• Competencies to look for in the interview
• Intelligence
• Motivation
• Past performance success
• Job skills, knowledge, and experience
• Positive self-image, confidence, and optimism
• Emotional maturity, realism, and self-control
• Integrity, honesty, and dependability
• Energy and personal impact
• Conscientiousness (work ethic)
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Chemistry and cultural fit
• Action oriented, proactive

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The Interview

• Competencies to look for in the interview
• Organization, planning and discipline
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Independence
• Passion
• Curiosity, need to understand
• Coachable
• Communication skills
• Listening skills
• Strategic, long-term thinker
• Team oriented (we not me)
• Persuasive
• Efficient
• Analytical skills
• Attention to detail
• Persistence

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The Interview

• Other thoughts
• Prepare an itinerary for multiple interviews in
  the same day, tours of facilities, meetings with
  various groups (boosters, support staff, faculty,
  students, etc.).
• Give each candidate ample time to share his or
  her philosophy of sport and to ask any questions
  that he or she may have for any of the groups.
• Reference Check begin at the interview, do it
  yourself, ask the right people.
• Confirm employment history, job titles,
  responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses,
  interpersonal skills, work ethic, ask who else
  you can talk to about candidate, would you rehire
  the applicant.

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The Interview

• Other thoughts
• Watch your expression you are evaluating the
  candidates words, gestures, hesitations, etc.,
  but you must not show any reaction to those
  things.
• Dont interrupt listen carefully and dont
  break the flow of the applicants words and
  thoughts as long as they are relative.
• Pay attention most people tend to let their
  mind wander while someone talks sit UP and
  listen.
• Be consistent Ask all candidates the same
  questions.
• Control silence it is okay to let silence build
  as most candidates will fill the void with a
  second thought which could prove valuable.

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The Interview

• Other Thoughts
• Use yes and no questions sparingly.
• Use direct questions that deal with what, where,
  when , how and why.
• Open-ended questions are useful in finding out
  how well applicants organize their thoughts.
• If using situational questions, make sure the
  question doesnt require knowledge of specific
  operating procedures that they may not be
  familiar with.
• Avoid run of the mill questions as candidate
  will probably have a stock answer ready.
• Avoid leading questions which suggest proper
  responses.
• Structure the interview so that you have a
  measurable yardstick for comparison.

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The Interview

• Other Thoughts
• The interview process is pure communication.
• 7-38-55
• 7 from spoken word.
• 38 from how the message is sent (intonation,
  inflection, etc.).
• 55 from the associated facial expressions and
  body language.
• You can glean a ton of information being sent by
  the interviewee that is beyond the words actually
  being spoken.
• The interviewee gleans the same from you.

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Review and Selection

• Go back to the job requirements.
• Intangibles count.
• Beware of the halo effect dont be so
  impressed by one aspect that it changes overall
  perception of candidate.
• Dont let first impressions form biases.
• Trust your instincts.
• Track record of accomplishment and growth is a
  much better indicator of future success than just
  experience.
• If your candidates are NOT up to your high
  standards, it is better to re-open the position
  than accept a candidate with whom you are not
  completely satisfied.

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Review and Selection

• Should you hire internally?
• Advantages
• Familiar with school district, its function,
  stakeholders and culture.
• Proven track record no guesses on experience or
  work ethic.
• Training time may be minimal due to experience in
  district.
• Less complex hiring process.
• Person is likely dedicated to school district
  less likely to leave.
• Demonstrates districts commitment to employees.
• Disadvantages
• Salary may be out of alignment.
• More emotionally difficult to turn down someone
  internal.
• Familiarity with school district may limit
  creativity and innovation.

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Review and Selection

• The Ultimate Hiring Rule
• Everything else being relatively equal, always
  hire the smartest person.
• You can teach people almost anything, but you
  cant teach them to be smart.
• The only thing that can overcome a deficiency in
  intelligence is MOTIVATION (but you cant
  motivate people, they come motivated, and all you
  can do is provide an atmosphere that unleashes
  their desire to succeed, their need for mastery).

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THE END

• THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THIS WORKSHOP SESSION.
• THIS POWER POINT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE NASPE
  WEBSITE.
• CONTACT INFORMATION
• Tim Graham
• Tumwater High School
• 700 Israel Road SW
• Tumwater, WA 98501
• 360-709-7611
• tim.graham_at_tumwater.k12.wa.us