RA Selection by Lindy Wagner, Assistant Director of Residence Life, University Park

We are proud here at SIUC of the phenomenal Resident Assistants (RAs) we have on staff. We wouldn’t be able to have such wonderful staff without a process to select them. We decided to try to do things a little differently this year and adapted our previous selection process. Most RA candidates may be nervous and unsure about the interviews. For some candidates, this was their first ever interview experience. We hoped by changing the process a little from previous years we would be able to improve both the candidates' experience and the interviewer’s experience. Through a few adaptations, we also hoped to improve the actual process of selection along with the interviews.

This year, we based our selection process on the idea that most people are able to make a first impression within the first three to five minutes of an interview. We also wanted each candidate to have the opportunity to make an impression on at least one person from each of our residential areas during the interview process. We planned this process to, within one hour; include six separate six-minute interviews. This gave the candidates six opportunities to make a great first impression.

Each of these interviews took place at a separate table with two interviewers. While interviewers included one full-time or graduate student staff member and one RA, two members of the same staff were never represented the same table. This team asked four questions during their six minutes with each candidate. At the end of the interviews, all interviewers were given twenty minutes to go over the questions, discuss candidate answers and create a joint score on one scoring sheet. This provided the opportunity for interviewers to process the interview and ensure the scoring was done as thoughtfully as possible. By having only one sheet, the scoring conversations were stimulated and allowed for less paperwork to review by the interviewers when the time comes to make the final selection of candidates for each staff.

In addition to the interviews, selected RAs briefed candidates at the beginning of the process to help the candidates not only understand the process, but also feel at ease with it. The RAs answered any questions candidates had before interviews began. The RAs then led the candidates into the interviewing area. After the interview process was complete, the candidates returned to the RAs for a debriefing. During the debriefing, the candidates were told the timeline for decision letters. In addition, this allowed for any questions that may have arisen during the process to be answered by the RAs.

Overall, this process has been proven to be efficient and helpful for both candidates and interviewers. It took several hours in one day, but it was worth the product in the end. This semester, we were able to interview approximately 140 candidates from about 9 AM until 4 PM with a one hour lunch break. It was much fun!