University of St Andrews

Once the shortlist has been agreed, the Convenor (or School Manager/appointed administrator) should submit an Interview Details form (Word, 223 KB) to the Recruitment team listing:

• the chosen candidates
• times required for interview
• times required/details of any tests or presentations to be used as part of the selection process

The Recruitment team will use this document to create an interview timetable and will email the candidates with an initial invite to interview. They will take into account factors such as time zones if holding the interviews via MS Teams or where candidates are based if they are required to travel for interview.  Once the candidates have confirmed their attendance, the final timetable will be circulated to the panel. 

For those interviews being held via MS Teams, the School should use this timetable to set up MS Teams appointments for the presentations and interviews and invite the individual candidates. HR do not set up the MS Teams meetings as this would prevent the School from having access control on the day of the interviews.

Based on the Convenor's recommendations, HR will then formally regret all other candidates via the e-recruitment system (including reserve and internal candidates). It is common for unsuccessful candidates to request feedback at this stage and HR will ask the Convenor for the rationale to pass on to the candidate. 

Convenors should allow 7 working days between the Interview Details form (Word, 223 KB) being sent to HR and the interviews taking place in order to provide adequate time for:

• HR to set up the timetable, issue the initial invites, collate candidate acceptances
• the School to set up and issue the MS Teams meetings
• the candidates time to prepare for interview (particularly important when a presentation is required) and make personal arrangements (travel, childcare, time off work etc) 

Once the timetable is set, HR will approach referees where the shortlisted candidate has given permission for the University to do so as it is often the case that candidates prefer to withhold permission until such time as they are made a verbal offer.  This is their right and must not influence the panel's decision on whether to shortlist that candidate. 

Convenors and panel members must not independently pursue references at any stage in the proceedings. 

At the moment, the majority of interviews continue to be held via MS Teams (see MS Teams Interviews).  In order to control access to the individual interview slots on the day, it is the responsibility of the School to set up and issue the MS Teams meeting invites to the candidates.

Please note that separate meetings will be required for each presentation/test and each interview and must be set up in strict accordance with the agreed timetable.  Full instructions of how to set up the MS Teams meetings and run the online interviews can be found in our Guide on Remote Interviewing (PDF, 2,478 KB)

Sometimes candidates ask for alternative interview times due to changes in circumstances.  There is no obligation to agree to this if the panel are unable to accommodate the request and the Convenor should bear in mind the impact on other candidates if they wish to move people around (eg candidates interviewing from different time zones).  Please seek advice from the Recruitment team if you are unsure.

Current practice is to conduct all interviews via MS Teams where possible.  Exceptions to this would be where candidates would benefit from a tour of a specialist facility/laboratory, the role is a front line/wholly campus based role, or where a practical test which forms part of the selection process cannot be delivered online. 

It may be possible for some other interviews to be held in person eg second interviews or interviews for senior posts, but this is by exception and will require Quaestor approval for posts based in Units and Master approval for professional services posts based in Schools. 

Using MS Teams supports several of the University’s key strategies:

• Carbon Net Zero by significantly reducing the carbon footprint of candidates and panel members travelling locally, nationally and internationally to attend interview.
• Financial efficiency by almost negating travel, accommodation and subsistence costs which, pre-pandemic, cost the University c£75,000 per year.
• Family friendly employer by enabling candidates to attend interviews at suitable times and negating the need to make complicated and prolonged caring arrangements in order to attend the interview. This may also be referenced in Athena Swan applications.
• Inclusive employer by reducing access issues for candidates with certain disabilities as some find Teams a more suitable platform for putting their best self forward (use of captions, easier to lipread, no access issues with travel, accommodation, interview rooms).
• Employer of choice as using technology to interview is an active expression of our intent to support a more flexible working model which is something candidates are increasingly looking for as part of a benefits package.

A named contact within the School/Unit should be available for all candidates to answer any queries on the day of the interviews and to act as the key liaison with HR and IT Services.  They should not be a panel member so that any glitches may be resolved while other candidates are being interviewed.   

In the event that permission is given to hold interviews in person, all candidates must be offered the opportunity to come to the University.  While it is preferable that one or other method is used in order to ensure all candidates have the same interview experience, it is not mandatory for candidates to attend in person and panels must accommodate Teams interviews if requested. The decision of a candidate to opt for Teams over attending in person must not be a material factor in the panel's appointment decision.   

If holding in person interviews, candidates may also meet members of the School/Unit before the interviews, be given a tour or, in the case of the more senior appointments, be taken for lunch or dinner.  Please note that this will be offered as a courtesy only and such opportunities should be offered to all candidates. 

It must also be made clear to the people conducting the informal meeting and the candidate that this does not form part of the appointment decision. 

It is standard practice for candidates interviewing for professional services positions to take a practical skills test, a computer-based exercise or give a presentation on a specified topic.  The format and duration of the test, along with how it will be assessed, will be determined by the panel and will vary depending on the type and grade of job under consideration. 

Practical skills and computer-based exercises will be marked by the Convenor or a delegated panel member and the results should be considered in the post interview discussion and final appointment decision. 

Presentations

Depending on the seniority of the position, presentations should last between 10-20 minutes with 5-15 minutes for questions.

Presentations can be live and to the panel only or the Convenor may request candidates to pre-record their presentations and submit them to the panel ahead of the interview.  This gives time for a review of the presentation and for the panel to craft more probing questions than may be the case when doing this in real time.  HR can provide support on how to mange pre-recorded presentations.  Whichever format is used, when the candidate is presenting to the panel only, the presentation will form part of the single interview slot.  

In certain cases, it may be useful for a live presentation to be made to the wider School/Unit.  The panel Convenor will moderate the Q&A sessions. In such instances, separate presentation and interview slots will be required to allow the wider School/Unit to attend the presentations in a block.  Following the final presentation and before the interviews, the Convenor or other delegated panel member should collate feedback from those who attended.  Again, a pre-recorded presentation could be made available to the wider School/Unit with feedback submitted to the Convenor ahead of the interviews.  

The panel will include this feedback in their appointment deliberations but are not bound by it ie the panel will make their decision based on all the available candidate information which includes their application, presentation, interview performance and references.

Depending on the seniority of the post, interviews will generally take between 15-30 minutes (40-45 minutes for grade 9 posts) with 5-10 minutes at the end for candidates to ask questions.   

Aside from questions relating to individual presentations, all candidates should be asked the same questions to allow fair comparison, although some probing of answers/follow up questions is permitted.  Questions should focus on the candidates’ capability and potential rather than historical achievement (which will already have formed the basis of the shortlisting decision). Therefore, the panel should ask questions around the candidate’s plans or, for example, how they would tackle issues which are a focus for the School/Unit or sector. 

Notes should be taken by the panel and these should be competency and behaviour based rather than personal observations.  Panels may find it useful to use the Interview Scoring Grid which will be issued with the timetable.  The notes and/or scoring grid will be used to justify the final appointment decision and to provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates. 

As with the long and shortlisting stages, panel members should be aware that candidates may request sight of any notes related to their application and recruitment experience so they should be written accordingly.