University President Office interview - Administrative Leadership

SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The questions that follow are samples only, and do not constitute a required list.These are examples of ways to find out about an applicant's experience with supporting diverse environments, or her/his thinking about how to do so in a way that will be relevant to the functions of the job. Many of the questions are based on the principles of behavioral interviewing, which uses questions about specific past performance to predict future on-the-job performance. Some candidates have not encountered behavioral interview questions before, so be prepared to ask follow-up questions that encourage them to give specific examples rather than general responses.

These samples include a range of questions that might be asked of people applying for all kinds of positions at institution, with various levels of responsibility. Not every question is appropriate for every position. Please review the questions to see how they are designed, and see whether you find any that are particularly appropriate for the position you are filling. You may also write your own questions that are tailored to the needs of your unit.

• (after giving them the university Mission Statement and drawing their attention to the section on the value of diversity) How has your background and experience prepared you to be effective in an environment that holds this value?
• Tell me about a time that you adapted your style in order to work effectively with those who were different from you.
• What kinds of experiences have you had in relating with people whose backgrounds are different than your own?
• Can you recall a time when you gave feedback to a colleague who was not accepting of others?
• Can you recall a time when a person's cultural background affected your approach to a work situation?
• Have you ever realized you had said or done something that may have been offensive to a colleague? How did you respond to that realization, and what was the outcome?
• Give examples of times when your values and beliefs impacted your relationships with your colleagues.
• Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a wide variety of people by accepting/understanding their perspectives.
• In your experience, what are the challenges faced by members of historically underrepresented groups in the workplace? What strategies have you used to address these challenges, and how successful were those strategies?
• What does it mean for you to have a commitment to diversity? How have you demonstrated that commitment, and how would you see yourself demonstrating it here?
• Describe the climate for diversity at your present position. What impact have you had on that climate?
• What efforts have you made, or been involved with, to foster multicultural understanding and cultural competence?
• Have you encountered concerns about "chilly climate" raised by members of identity groups that have historically experienced discrimination? If so, how have you handled them?
• What measures have you taken to make someone feel comfortable when some people seemed uncomfortable with his or her presence?
• What have you done to further your knowledge/understanding about diversity? How have you demonstrated your learning?
• Tell us how you work with people to create or foster diversity in the workplace.
• In what ways have you integrated multicultural issues as part of your professional development?
• What do you see as the most challenging aspects of an increasingly diverse academic community, and what steps have you taken to meet such challenges?
• Suppose that you encounter a pervasive belief that diversity and excellence are somehow in conflict. How do you conceptualize the relationship between diversity and excellence? What kinds of leadership efforts would you undertake to encourage a commitment to excellence through diversity?
• In what ways do you feel it is appropriate to incorporate topics related to diversity and (your discipline) into the classes you teach? How would you do this?
• Has diversity played a role in shaping your teaching and advising styles? If so, how?
• What is your vision of diversity at an institution like Oregon State University?
• Describe a specific situation in which you worked with a diverse group of people over a period of time. Based on this experience, what did you learn?

Source from http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/president/sample-interview-questions

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2009 公務員筆試問題：堆填區、焚化爐還是家居廢物收費？

還記得去年的那篇《公務員筆試問題：建學校與墟市的取捨》嗎？筆者去年曾應徵香港政府的二級行政主任及二級助理勞工事務主任，可惜平日在網上曾被讚許的文筆，在筆試卻未能揮洒自如，最後也未能更進一步。其實筆者的口才遠不如自己的文筆，就算筆試僥倖過關，面試也必然黯然出局，更何況公務員職位競爭之激烈。不過，筆者於今年仍然應徵有關職位。事實上，以二萬二千人爭奪一百個空缺的比例，筆者其實由始至終都已經「打定輸數」，畢竟以據聞面試空缺只得五百個計算，即使剔除最後沒有應考筆試的棄權者，每三十多個應考筆試的人只有一個能夠脫穎而出，進入面試階段。筆者明知自己沒有甚麼希望仍然願意花時間於昨天應考，目的只是視之為一種挑戰，鍛鍊一下腦筋而已。 進入正題。一如以往，筆試有處境題及議論文各一。在處境題中，一個與香港很相似的Pleasantville市，其政府正研究固體廢物的處理策略。與香港一樣，Pleasantville過往主要依賴垃圾堆填區，但堆填區將於數年後爆滿，目前有三個解決方案：擴建垃圾堆填區、引入垃圾焚化爐，以及開徵家居廢物處置收費，而題目主要問及這三個方案應如何取捨（可推行多於一個，並不是三揀一）。恰巧地，本網誌之前也探討過類似議題——在《在郊野公園擴建垃圾堆填區別無他選？》中，筆者便提出了一些建議，包括盡快引入採用焚化技術的「綜合廢物管理設施」，以及加強推動廢物回收的工作等。然而，筆者昨日所寫的，卻與網誌上的立場略有不同。 原來，Pleasantville的處境與香港是有一些分別的。首先，它的廢物回收率達到45%，而題目亦已寫明再明顯提升這個比率相當困難。筆者並不清楚香港的有關數字，但肯定與45%仍有一段距離，還有大量提升廢物回收率的空間。另一方面，題目亦提到垃圾焚化爐成本不菲，在「環球經濟混亂」的影響下，政府難以承擔有關開支。相反，雖然現實世界中也有所謂的「金融海嘯」打擊，但香港政府似乎未有表明難以承擔「綜合廢物管理設施」的成本。所以，筆者在筆試所提議的策略，與現實世界有所不同。筆者傾向先擴建垃圾堆填區，而興建垃圾焚化爐的計劃則暫緩至經濟復甦時（順便寄望科技進步能夠略為減低成本）才加以落實。至於開徵家居廢物處置收費，筆者亦持反對態度，主要是Pleasantville像香港一樣都是以高樓大廈為主，按量收費難以實行，並涉及大量的行政成本，亦有著像為了逃避建築廢物處置收費而在郊外非法棄置的漏洞（以下這個例子因時間匆忙未有寫在答題簿上：市民大可以將家居廢物帶離住所，棄置到街上的垃圾筒內，藉此逃避徵費）；而非按量的劃一收費，市民不能因減少廢物而減少付費，失去了「用者自付」的原意，淪為一種「人頭稅」。所以，筆者無論在試題還是現實的香港，均堅決反對開徵家居廢物處置收費。事實上，根據題目所提供的統計資料，家居廢物雖然是在固體廢物所佔的比例最多，但近年已有下降的趨勢（不知香港是否如此了），所以筆者在答題時亦有強調，減少家居廢物並非最優先需要處理的問題。 以上只是筆者的答題大綱，其他支持以上建議的理據在此不逐一提出來了。筆者花了大約兩小時，才勉強寫滿了四頁，自問不是很滿意自己的表現。至於議論題目「立法強制供養父母」，筆者亦只是交出「行貨」，站在反對強制的一方，除了解釋不供養父母不一定是「不孝」，亦指出「立法強制供養父母」使「供養」不再是為人子女的心意，反而是破壞傳統道德倫理，筆者最後強調只須加強教育便足夠了。事實上，筆者當年在預科階段的「中國語文及文化科」，也依稀記得好像寫過類似的題材，但昨天的筆試始終時間緊逼，始終未能寫得理想。

Source : http://pingsum.blogspot.hk/2009/12/blog-post_13.html

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General personal review

The purpose of this review is to gain insight into some key dimensions of your work and life to give you more clarity in career development decision making. It is useful to start here if you are unsure about your future career direction.

Your career priorities change as your life and learning progress. Regular review is integral to continuing professional development.

Questions to ask yourself

Here are some initial suggestions. Some questions may be easier to answer when you have used other tools such as the career priorities tool,Prospects planner or skills audit. Try to get feedback from others in addition to your self-evaluations.

Your career motivators

Recognising the factors most important to you helps you make career choices founded on what motivates and satisfies you. You are then much more likely to achieve career fulfilment.

• What are your career priorities? 
• Does your current job match your career priorities?
• What if anything is lacking?

What could you do to address the missing dimension(s)?

For example, in research work you could:

• contribute to setting the research agenda or bidding for resources to increase your autonomy if this is a key priority
• ask for more supervisory responsibility if managing others is an unfulfilled priority
• look for a longer-term contract or ‘permanent' position if security is an issue for you.

Achievements

What do you consider are your most significant achievements so far?

What did you learn from them?

Disappointments

What have been your most significant disappointments so far?

What did you learn from them?

Your work tasks

The following questions help you identify your levels of accomplishment and work preferences. They could provide insight into how you might develop areas that are weak. They also help you make career choices that capitalise on your areas of strength and enjoyment, whilst reducing involvement in weaker or less enjoyable areas.

• What are the main tasks of your current work?
• Tasks you perform well are...
• Tasks you perform less well are...
• Tasks you enjoy are...
• Tasks you do not enjoy are...
• What are your key areas of expertise?

For example, considering your work as a researcher, relate the above questions to the elements of the research cycle (based on the Research career builder):

• Winning research income
• Using expert knowledge
• Data collection and analysis
• Generating research output (papers, reports, etc)
• Exploitation of the research
• Understanding the research environment
• External recognition
• Managing the project
• Managing people.

Which of these areas do you need to develop further to enhance your effectiveness and career prospects? How could you do this? (Look atcareer development methods for ideas)

Your skills

• Compile a list of skills that each of your work tasks requires.
• What are your strongest skills? (If it is difficult to identify these, try theskills audit and/or look at the Research career builder)
• What are your weakest skills?

What are the skills you need to work on to ensure you can do your current work effectively?

See career development planning for ideas on how to develop your identified skills needs.

Work/life balance

• Are you content with the balance between your work and life outside work?
• Are you content with the time you have for leisure, sport, relaxation?
• Do you have sufficient time for friends and family?
• What could you do to gain a better work/life balance? (For example, could you ask for flexible working arrangements?)

Your network

• Review your network. This is your key development resource, whether looking for a new job or looking for ways to develop within your current role. Advice, insight and information and support are all available from the people around you.
• What can you do to develop your network?

Personal constraints

Are there any internal constraints or demotivators, pressures, negative thinking, health and fitness, or time issues holding you back from reaching your full potential?

How could you overcome these?

Support

Who can you rely on to support your career development?

Career goals

• What are your short-term career aspirations?
• What are the skills you need to develop to ensure you reach your short-term goal?
• What are your longer-term career aspirations?
• What are the skills you need to develop to ensure you reach your ultimate career goal?

Where next?

• If you are currently unsure about your future career direction, you will not be able to answer these last questions specifically. For help, look at‘Where do you want to be?'
• If you are clear about your aims and ready to begin planning, go to how will you get there?
• For more information about career reviews, see help and support.

Sources from : http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1349/General-personal-review-.html

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What employers look for

In 2006 the Association of Graduate Recruiters surveyed 236 employers and found that the following skills and attributes were the most sought after, in order of importance to their business.

• Commitment and drive
• Motivation and enthusiasm
• Teamworking
• Oral communication
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Customer focus
• Problem solving *
• Managing learning and career *
• Commercial awareness *
• Planning and organisation
• Time management
• Leadership *
• Numeracy
• Cultural sensitivity
• Computer literacy
• Project management *
• Report writing
• Risk taking/enterprise. *

* Denotes skills that the recruiter has difficulty in finding.

Although research training allows you to develop most of the skills listed above to a high level, it is important not to assume that employers will appreciate this. In a job application, clearly translate your experience, for example:

• Thesis = reports
• Research group = teamwork, creativity
• Scholarship = planning, creativity, analysis
• Running experiments, implementing methodology = project management, problem solving

Research in 2002 'Set for Success', in fact, revealed that doctoral researchers are failing to reach their full potential partly because of their inability to recognise and articulate their transferable skills.

But researchers who do manage to convince employers they have what it takes are highly appreciated. In 2004, Vitae (formerly the UK GRAD programme) contacted employers that regularly hire researchers:

'We like PhDs in our business sector - they never take anything at face value. That is a real bonus in a business compliance function. Their philosophical training and critical judgement have direct application in business services, whatever the topic of their research.'  Head of Graduate Recruitment, 'Big4' accountancy firm.

‘We don't set out to employ PhD graduates specifically - we take the best candidates available. However, we've found that PhD graduates have a combination of maturity and autonomy that is more useful for our work than engineering graduates with a similar length of experience in industry.'  Alan Prior, ABAQUS UK 

Sources : http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/2376/What-employers-look-for-.html

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Managing your career

The term ‘career management' suggests taking control. In practice, careers are interactive processes between individuals and their employers and it can be difficult to feel in control of your destiny. The better your career knowledge and understanding, the more able you are to take the lead.

Career management is based on:

• understanding yourself and what you want from your life
• understanding careers e.g. types of work, recruitment methods, career structures and what support, training and development is available
• understanding the wider economic, political, social, and technological climate

Career management is a continuous process over your lifetime - and its focus will change:

• sometimes geared to developing in your current role
• sometimes aimed at preparing you for promotion
• sometimes directed at finding you a new job.

The career management cycle has several stages:

• Where are you now? A self-awareness review. Think about your career priorities and values. Evaluate your current skills and abilities, experience, work-life balance, family commitments and constraints.
• Where do you want to be? Explore your options - anything from improving as a researcher to a complete change of career and life pattern.
• How will you get there? Make plans. Decide how to achieve the desired career outcome. Set manageable objectives and be prepared to revise these plans if things change.
• Getting there Take actions to fulfil your plans.
• What have you learned? Achieve your goal - celebrate! Begin the new cycle with a review and record of your completed activity: evidence of what you did and what you learned to use in the future.

Sources :http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1335/Career-opportunities-outside-higher-education.html

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Working in higher education - Admin and other support

As large organisations (often the largest employer in a locality), higher education institutions require knowledgeable, talented individuals to work in roles that support front-line staff and students. There is a wide range of academic-related support roles in administration and student and staff services that often are overlooked by doctoral graduates and research staff. ‘What Do PhDs Do?-Trends', which analysed 2003-2005 doctoral graduate career destinations found that around one in twenty moved into professional support roles in higher education and opportunities are increasing. As a researcher, you have many skills that support staff in higher education need as well as knowledge of how higher education organisations function. In return you will be employed in a familiar environment which is usually flexible and supportive.

Administration

‘The expansion in the numbers of students in higher education during the last two decades has led to a corresponding increase in the number of personnel needed to support the 'business' that is now higher education...

Increasingly 'administration' has become a more dynamic management activity in which staff collaborate closely with academic managers to make decisions which influence the university's direction.'

Association of University Administrators ‘Careers in HE administration' factsheet

Administrators play an important role in the smooth running of a higher education organisation. Administrative careers can be broadly split into specialist (requiring e.g. legal, financial, personnel or management qualifications) and generalist, which we briefly consider here. Generalists are most likely to be recruited into a registry, or faculty or departmental office. Examples of activities in 'academic administration' are:

• administrating the rules and regulations and handling student- related issues
• serving on and servicing committees and academic boards
• providing administrative support for large research projects
• managing information and providing advice related to internal or external policies and procedures
• preparing reports and statistics for internal and external use
• contributing to policy and planning
• managing budgets and funding schemes
• liaising with other administrative staff, academic colleagues and students
• collaborating with external organisations
• facilitating knowledge transfer activities.

Here is an example from a recruitment advertisement describing a typical generalist opportunity in higher education.

Academic support and planning officer

We are looking to recruit to our team an Academic Support and Planning Officer who will play an important role in helping to develop our approach to university governance, and support the work of key policy-making committees. This is a wide-ranging and challenging role, which calls for a good understanding of the higher education research scene, a keen strategic sense and excellent report-writing skills.

This example outlines a role requiring more specialised experience.

            Project manager

You will provide high quality project management, including monitoring and reporting of activities and outcomes, for a multi-million pound biomedical research and knowledge transfer collaborative project between two universities. You must have proven project management experience, with substantial experience of large multi-partner research projects, ideally in the biomedical field, together with professional negotiation and communication skills.

Student and staff services

If you would prefer a more people focused rather than administrative role, you might consider the growing number of opportunities to support staff and students in:

• staff development and training
• graduate schools or similar bodies
• careers services
• student and staff counselling.

Here is an example of a recruitment advertisement in this area.

Careers adviser for research staff

To support our university's research staff with their career management, development and training. You will have experience of career work or an appropriate professional qualification. Postgraduate experience and qualifications to doctoral level would be useful. Essential personal qualities include enthusiasm, curiosity, objectivity, stamina and the ability to switch tasks frequently. Above all, the postholder will need to be outgoing, to like people, and to be able to work under pressure, both independently and in a group. Professional training courses are available.

Sources from: http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1355/Admin-and-other-support.html

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The Career-Switch Résumé: Writing Your Way into a New Profession

So, you’ve come to a crucial turning point in your career. After some serious soul-searching, you’ve decided to that you’re ready to break out of your professional rut and move on in a new direction. Now what?

Believe it or not, what you’ve already accomplished is likely to be the most difficult part of the process. It takes courage and confidence to make a bold career move, so kudos to you for your chutzpah. Once your mental commitment to making a career change is in place, the rest is just details.

You’ve Made the Leap, Now Get Your Résumé Ready

You’ve decided that you’re looking for a professional change, and now it’s time to convince the rest of the world. The first thing you’ve got to do is update your résumé to reflect your new career goals.

If you’re worried about what you should list under the “Experience” heading on your career-change résumé, don’t despair. Although we’ve been trained to look at résumés as mere laundry lists of our professional experiences and accomplishments, they’re actually much more flexible than that.

According to Karen Hofferber, Microsoft’s in-house résumé expert, you can slant your core qualifications to sell yourself in many different ways, depending on the industry you’re looking to break into. The trick lies in developing a persuasive narrative in which you show how your skills match up with those most in demand in your new industry. Use these guidelines to help write yourself right into a brand-new profession.

§         Start from scratch.

It can be tempting to create your career-switch résumé by simply cutting and pasting from your current résumé, but you’ll be far better off if you can manage to avoid this urge and just force yourself to get a fresh start. You need to ensure that every word and every formatting decision you make is focused on persuading hiring managers that you’re a risk worth taking, and the only way you can be certain of that is to create an entirely new document.

§         Show off your industry knowledge.

Chances are, your interest in this field didn’t just spring into existence overnight. If you’re like most job seekers, you’ve been dabbling in your new field for years on the side and in your spare time. Make use of the knowledge you’ve gained in your résumé, demonstrating your familiarity with the field by adding in a few well-placed facts and lingo.

§         Use a format that highlights your transferable skills.

The traditional experience-centered résumé isn’t going to do you any favors in the career-change process. Instead, opt for a skills-based or “functional” format. Make a separate heading for each skill, such as “Customer Service” or “Personnel Management,” and then list your relevant experience in each category. That way, you can showcase your skills without drawing too much attention to where you earned them.

§         Broaden your definition of “experience.”

Paid positions are only one way to gain experience. Volunteering, internships, college coursework, workshops, lectures, conferences, and industry events are all great ways to break into a new field. Be sure to list relevant activities such as these on your career-change résumé. Many recent grads use this strategy to help snag their first entry-level positions right out of college, with little or no “real” experience to speak of.

§         Don’t sell yourself short.

Experts say that job seekers looking to make a career change often have low levels of confidence – and that can translate into a timid, lackluster résumé. You have to be bold and sell your transferable skills if you want to convince prospective employers to take a gamble on you. Remember, you have something positive to offer, even if the bulk of your experience was earned in a different field. Make sure your career-change résumé exudes self-assurance, even if you’re secretly feeling a bit nervous about your prospects.

If you’re looking to change careers, you’ve first got to radically remake your résumé to reflect your new ambitions. With a rewritten version of your career history in hand, you’ll be well on your way to forging a new professional path.

Source : http://www.hcareers.com/us/resourcecenter/tabid/306/articleid/464/default.aspx

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A guide to writing a CV if you are changing career

If you're changing your career, you'll need to give your CV a facelift, too. Clare Whitmell explores how you can tailor the content to land an interview

One of the biggest challenges career changers face is demonstrating how their career history is relevant. The key is to downplay a lack of direct experience, while highlighting the skills and accomplishments which apply.

Standard advice for career changers is generally to adopt a functional or skills-based CV: a detailed skills section followed by a briefer experience section. The reasoning behind this is that your reader will be wowed by your 'transferable' skills, skipping over the who, what and how of your work history. But employers often want – and expect – the detail found in a standard chronological CV, and not providing it puts you at a disadvantage. One solution is to develop a 'hybrid' CV with an expanded profile and skills section, and a chronological employment history.

View your career history through an employer's eyes

A successful career-change CV clearly shows how your career path to date is a consistent, natural progression of your talents and interests, leading you to the point where you've amassed the necessary skills and experience for your next move. You can avoid giving the impression that you're a directionless job-hopper or that you're floundering around for a career change by finding an underlying career theme and writing your career history around this. For example, if you're going for a marketing role, select and highlight any marketing elements from previous roles, downplaying all other, less relevant aspects.

Sell your strengths

Show confidence in your abilities. You may be at a disadvantage compared to others with more extensive, relevant experience, so showcase everything that positions you for the role. Quantifiable achievements; community, voluntary, part-time or temporary work; specific skills or added qualifications all count. Be selective: only include information that supports your new goals, otherwise you'll blur the focus of your CV.

However, don't be tempted to leave out work history. Gaps can raise questions, so either account for the dates with a brief summary, or find something relevant to highlight. If you've been pursuing two different careers (perhaps in preparation for a career move) you can choose which roles to include and which to delete. Or you can keep in concurrent roles if you've gained relevant skills or experience from both.

Be flexible with layout

Prioritise key details such as qualifications, blue-chip company experience, or even a glowing testimonial. These can go near the beginning of your CV. Consider splitting your professional history into two or more sections, with anything relevant (including voluntary or part-time roles) positioned more prominently.

There is no single way to format a CV. The job description can help you decide what needs to be most prominent. One possibility is to use your skills as broad headings, giving supporting details under each skill, then following with a reverse chronological work history section. So if you were applying for an office administration role, organisational or communication skills could be broad headings, with experience and achievements listed under each, then your employment history. If your new career is not too different from your previous one, you could even use a standard chronological format, angling the details to match the requirements of the new role (without stretching the truth).

Adding a profile can help you outline broad strengths such as management or leadership experience. You can follow this with a key results section to illustrate those strengths, or leave your achievements in your work history section. You can label CV sections as you find appropriate or even include new ones. For example, adding relevant civic or community service, ongoing education or leadership sections can help you stand out.

Pay attention to language

Don't use industry-specific jargon that might not be understood in a different sector. Consider including an explanatory sentence next to job titles.

Include a cover letter

This is the ideal opportunity to explain your career change and highlight what you bring to the role or company.

Suggested layout for a career-change CV

Name/contact details (plus LinkedIn url)

The role you're applying for as the title of your CV

Profile (summarising your strengths and value)

(Optional) extras such as community or voluntary work, professional qualifications, testimonials, and so on.

Skills/areas of expertise followed by work history

Educational history

 Source : http://careers.guardian.co.uk/writing-a-cv-changing-career

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