In Spring 2024, our team faced a staffing shortage and needed to hire a new instructional designer. I joined the search committee, bringing my expertise in instructional design evaluation and hiring best practices to the process. My role went beyond participation—I took the lead in developing structured evaluation tools to ensure an objective, fair, and effective hiring process.

This experience reinforced my ability to:

• Develop structured, fair hiring processes that ensure consistency and equity.
• Design effective interview rubrics and questions to assess instructional design expertise.
• Engage in strategic hiring decisions that strengthen team capabilities and future-proof operations.

Key Contributions

Developing a Structured Hiring Process

• Created a Resume Review Rubric: Designed an evaluation tool to ensure consistency when assessing applicant qualifications and preventing subjective biases.
• Designed Two Interview Rubrics: Developed structured rubrics for both rounds of interviews, covering eight topic areas to assess candidates’ instructional design skills, experience, and potential fit for the role.
• Developed 20 Interview Questions: Provided an extensive question bank that was refined and tailored for each interview round to gather the most relevant information from candidates.

Ensuring Fair and Objective Candidate Assessment

• Standardized Evaluation Criteria: The rubric ensured that all committee members were aligned in assessing qualifications, preventing decisions based solely on subjective impressions.
• Identified Hiring Pitfalls: Through the structured process, it became clear that one finalist lacked the necessary qualifications—something that may have been overlooked without the rubric.

Active Participation in Interviews

• Led Candidate Engagement: Asked key questions and follow-ups to gain deeper insights into candidates’ expertise and problem-solving approaches.
• Evaluated Growth Potential: Prioritized candidates who could contribute new insights to the team rather than those who merely met baseline qualifications.

Lessons Learned & Hiring Outcome

Through this process, I gained valuable insights into effective hiring practices, including:

• The impact of structured evaluation tools in reducing bias and maintaining consistency.
• How HR-led phone screenings can shape the hiring pool, sometimes filtering out strong candidates based on subjective impressions.
• The importance of hiring forward-thinking instructional designers who can immediately contribute, rather than requiring extensive training to meet team standards.

Ultimately, we successfully hired a highly qualified candidate who excelled in our rubric-driven evaluation, bringing valuable expertise and a fresh perspective to our team.