Recruiting a Media Manager for a Government Department - Assignment Example

THE LUTHERAN WORLD FEDARATION THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORLD INFORMATION SERVICE PROGRAME &MEDIA The Lutheran world federation for information word service and media is seeking to recruit a media manager for a government department. Vacancy full description To improve the strength and good governance in the UK government and the different branches of the government the media must demonstrate strong initiative and professional skills. The media manager is to provide efficient administrative and management support for the information team. The media manager is to be responsible for developing efficient organizational and tracking system, coordinating office operations, and implementation administrative procedures to ensure that the media office functions effectively and efficiently. The media manager works closely with the entire information team. Some of the specific task envisioned includes: 1) Generate routine project documentation include, but not limited to, payment request/ voucher, project background information, short analysis pieces, and compliance 2) design and implement tracking and organization system for a wide variety of office documents, such as work permit, grant close-outs, tax exemption forms, official correspondence, unsolitate proposals, country clearance, program implementation documents, calendar of event. 3) Arrange and schedule appointed, meetings, workshops and other official functions. 4) Verify timesheets and handle all travel arrangement for office staff and short-term visitor 5) Maintain contact list and correspondence and 6) Other task as by the office. Criteria for selection The applicant must have a secondary school education and two-year post graduate diploma in the relevant field. Master degree in journalism is an added advantage. He or she must have at least fire year experience as a media manager or support officer. Experience with a non-government organization or international is preferred. The candidate must have excellent English skills. Well-develop English writing skills and ability to conceptualize and produce grammatically correct document that require minimal editing. The incumbent must have basic understanding of UK politics and international development. He or she must have ability to receive and follow up on broad range of detailed action with minimal supervision. The incumbent must manage multiple media projects requiring superb organizational and time management skills. Further individual must be able to train other supported staff assign to the office. NB: Any application that does not meet the minimum requirements stated below will not be evaluated. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. If you have not been conducted within one month from the closing date of the advertisement please consider your application unsuccessful. Interview techniques Job interviews are normally very difficult but can be made easier for both interviewers and interviewees. This is possible only if interviewers plan in advance and prepare well structured questions and answers, and make use of proper interviewing techniques. A successful interview consists of well prepared questions as well as good interviewing techniques. Interviewing techniques can also be applied when making a structure for interviews to find the most competent employees to fill the vacant positions. The interviewers with the best technique have their own secret which is prior preparation. They need to prepare in advance for the interview just like the interviewees. In this task of recruiting a media manager to fill the position arising in the government department, I would make sure that I make proper prior preparation for the interview. Techniques applied on interview questions (McNamara, 1999). Standardized, open-ended interview Prior to the interview, the interviewers should deliberate on the number and nature of the questions to be asked to the interviewees. The interviewer should ask brief open-ended questions. This is normally called the standardized, open-ended interview. As opposed to the closed, fixed-response interview, in the open-ended interview the same questions are asked to all interviewees. Ask one question at a time Interviewers are supposed to ask one question at a time which is a prudent way during the interview. In a panel for example of three interviewers, each may be having his own different question. Using two or three interviewers can help avoid accusations of bias. In the task given, I would not interrupt with a question but instead I would write it down on a paper to be asked later. Behavioral based interviewing Finally, the interviewer should ask more behavioral based interview questions so as to get an accurate picture of the interviewee’s potential. Behavior-based interviewing is a technique that is applied during the interview. It normally focuses on the past behavior as the best predictor of future performance. For example instead of asking the interviewee what he would do if he is faced with a difficult situation, you ask him to tell you about a time when he was faced with a difficult situation and how he solved it. Interview structure A good interview is the one has structured process. A structured approach helps get rid of bias and gives all interviewees a fair chance. The best ways to achieve this is by making use of behavioral based questions and situational questions. a typical interview structure have several topics although not all that are covered during the interview. They include: Opening the interview This is the introductory part and the interviewer starts by greeting the applicant and introduce himself and his position in the organization and members of panel if any and their positions. When recruiting the manager in this case, I would start by explaining the interview purpose to him and the position we are interviewing him for. This will help to built a rapport and acquaint the interviewer and the applicant. Explain the interview purpose This helps to acquaint the interviewer and the applicant. This is the stage where the applicant is given time to relax and the interviewer explains more about the position to be filled. He briefly describes the duties and responsibilities of the one to fill the position. As an interviewer, I would also ask the applicant a rhetorical or general question just to cheer him up and drive away the fear in him. Ask questions It is always recommended that at this stage the interviewer should be very careful. They are normally advised to conduct a behavioral based interviewing. It is in this stage that the interviewers learn more about the background and experience of the applicant. The background information may include the applicants’ education levels, marital status, health, availability and transport. On the other hand, experience will cover skills, previous work experience and the attitude towards work in general. The applicant will also understand the position to be filled and the organization setup. Closing the interview This is the last part of the interview where the applicant is given a chance to ask the panel any question. The interviewer then appreciates the applicant and thanks him for the productive interview. They may wish the applicant good luck and give them a probable date for the reply. Interview Questions Behavioral Interview Questions Behavioral interviewing is a style of interviewing that is more effective although it is sometimes intimidating. This type of interview is aimed at predicting the future performance of the applicant by examining his past and present performance in a similar situation. It focuses mainly on skills, abilities, behaviors, knowledge and experience of a related job. The questions may help to understand the applicants’ creativity, flexibility, analytical skills, decision making, leadership skills and his adaptability (Foddy & Willam 1993). They include: 1. How long have you worked as a manager? 2. Tell me about a time as a manager when you restructured a department or significantly changed staffs work assignments and what was your approach. What were the reactions of the affected employees? 3. Describe a time when you predicted potential problems and initiated preventive measures. 4. One of the main tasks of a manager is to control performance and undertake periodic performance reviews. 5. As a manager, one of your roles is to give direction and leadership for a work department. Describe how you have achieved this in the past. 6. Tell us of a situation where you worked as part of a team to achieve a result. What was your role in this? References: Foddy, Willam,1993, Constructing Questions for Interviews, Cambridge University Press. McNamara, Carter, 1999, General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews, Minnesota. Read More