Setting Up the Web Conference Session
Determine How the Web Conferences Will be Conducted
- Select which web conference tool you will use; Zoom or MS Teams. These can be used for both video and audio interviews
- Review information on securing online meetings
- Ensure the person coordinating the interview and the committee chair have a Mason-licensed web conference account in Zoom or MS Teams
Scheduling the Interview Sessions
- If someone other than the committee chair is scheduling the sessions, they will need to have scheduling privileges for the committee chair; this allows them to schedule on behalf of the chair and allows for the call to be seamlessly initiated on the day of
- Other committee members can be assigned “alternative host” or “Co-organizer” roles so that they can also start the meeting and are not put into a lobby or waiting room.
- When naming the meeting, it is ideal to have a consistent naming convention that avoids using “interview” (so the word is not on their calendar where others could see it) and any identifying information
- Schedule the meeting so that a unique meeting ID or link is generated for each session
- Do not schedule a recurring meeting or use a personal meeting room
- Enable a waiting room in Zoom or a lobby in MS Teams
- Save meeting details in a spreadsheet where the meeting information is recorded and associated with the proper candidate information
Tip: Schedule with 10-15 minute gaps between meetings in the event of technical issues.
Testing the Connection with the Candidate
It is recommended to:
- Use the same meeting link created to schedule the interview
- The candidate should be in the same location and using the same device they will use for the interview
- Test at least one business day before the interview
- Connect for 5-10 minutes before to ensure they have a stable network connection
- Ensure you can see and hear the candidate and that they can see and hear you
- Suggest that the candidate have a glass of water nearby for the interview
- Suggest keeping all pets in another room and setting all other devices to silent
- If the candidate is interviewing from their office, suggest they put a “do not disturb” sign on their office door
Conducting the Interviews
- On the day of the interviews, the meeting host, co-host, or alternate host should start the meeting
- If recording, be sure to let all attendees know that the session is recorded
- HR Policy: All recorded interviews must be downloaded by the requesting party to a CD or flash drive and included with all the paperwork generated by a search committee. ITS, Enterprise Collaboration, or Zoom administrators are not responsible for compliance with record retention.
- If the committee needs to meet for discussion,
- Best practice: conduct the discussion in a separate meeting so the candidate can’t re-join
- Alternative: remove the candidate from the meeting and lock the meeting