III. Making a Decision

Several theories exist regarding the most effective means of using interviews to make final hiring decisions. These theories encompass a large realm of knowledge and expertise that will not be covered in this practicum. However, careful discrimination should be exercised when hiring for a role as significant as school leader so organizations would be wise to implement a plan of action for choosing one favorite among several finalists. Here are a few recommendations for what such a plan should include.

Select for certain qualities
Organizations must decide ahead of time what the most critical qualities are for the desired school leader. This practicum suggests a few broad qualities (instructional ability, business attitudes, loyalty, etc.) but it is important that organizations also decide on some that are specific to the school that is hiring. For instance, should the leader be bilingual? Should he or she possess any particular certification? Whichever qualities the organization culls, there should be questions designed to evoke the desired responses. Candidates who fail to meet the most critical qualities are unlikely to make exceptional leaders.

Assign a value for each quality based on the candidate’s response
Each question should be assigned one or two qualities that can be given a score based on the answer. For instance, if the organization is seeking someone proactive, they will ask candidates to talk about controlling a situation, and then rank their proaction based on their answers. By the end of the last interview, each candidate should be represented by a score sheet assigning a numerical value to each desired quality. This will make it easier to compare each candidate’s suitability.

Do not settle for less
Depending on the timetable, a final decision should not be made in haste. If the outcome is that there are no exceptional candidates, then it is recommended that the organization continue its search even if it means delaying a school’s opening (Wilson 203). Steven F. Wilson writes that settling for a less than exceptional school leader will lock the school in mediocrity (203). Organizations should use as much time and resources necessary to locate a leader they feel fully confident in hiring.