We were asked in class yesterday what we got out of it--what have we learned so far? What will we take with us? I recently blogged about being an officer for Hillel and having to select the rest of the board. What I learned in PLA helped me to do that. Here's how. Our lectures this semester have covered a wide range of topics, from national security to intellectual property to corporate responsibility. Not only have we discussed various topics, but we've talked about the many components that comprise one topic from the people involved to the multitude of causes and effects of an issue. The completeness with which we discussed each topic showed me, when evaluating the interviews of my peers, the wide scope through which I needed to judge them.
Before interviewing candidates, we sat down and figured out what we were looking for--what characteristics and qualities did we want our board to have? We each contributed one aspect, and came up with the conclusion that we were looking for motivated individuals with creative ideas who would help to further our mission as an organization.
With that goal in mind, we established what questions we were going to ask. How were we going to find out if a student was motivated or creative or mission driven? Our questions were not direct with the hopes that their answers would shed light on the areas we were most interested in. For example, the question, what Disney character would you be? has nothing to do with Hillel, but it shows a person's creativity, ability to think on their feet, characteristics they value in themselves that they see in a cartoon character etc.
Taking notes during the interview allowed us to have a short five minute discussion of each candidate right after their interview. Not only were we looking at the answers they gave, but also the manner in which they conducted the interview. How was their energy? Were they professional? Were they prepared? There were many aspects to our decision making process and from the many aspects we had a well rounded evaluation of each candidate allowing us to make a decision about a person who fully encompassed the goals we had initially made.
Establishing criteria, evaluating in terms of that criteria, finding creative ways to understand an issue and looking at an issue from all sides are all ideas that I have learned and practiced in PLA that I can apply to my leadership role in another organization. Thank you for this amazing opportunity for I have learned so many things already and we are only just beginning!
Before interviewing candidates, we sat down and figured out what we were looking for--what characteristics and qualities did we want our board to have? We each contributed one aspect, and came up with the conclusion that we were looking for motivated individuals with creative ideas who would help to further our mission as an organization.
With that goal in mind, we established what questions we were going to ask. How were we going to find out if a student was motivated or creative or mission driven? Our questions were not direct with the hopes that their answers would shed light on the areas we were most interested in. For example, the question, what Disney character would you be? has nothing to do with Hillel, but it shows a person's creativity, ability to think on their feet, characteristics they value in themselves that they see in a cartoon character etc.
Taking notes during the interview allowed us to have a short five minute discussion of each candidate right after their interview. Not only were we looking at the answers they gave, but also the manner in which they conducted the interview. How was their energy? Were they professional? Were they prepared? There were many aspects to our decision making process and from the many aspects we had a well rounded evaluation of each candidate allowing us to make a decision about a person who fully encompassed the goals we had initially made.
Establishing criteria, evaluating in terms of that criteria, finding creative ways to understand an issue and looking at an issue from all sides are all ideas that I have learned and practiced in PLA that I can apply to my leadership role in another organization. Thank you for this amazing opportunity for I have learned so many things already and we are only just beginning!
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