Interviews are a crucial step in the admissions process. As your potential students and families submit forms and complete your application, your school can use interviews to get to know students to select the ones that best align with your values and mission. However, knowing how to manage this step can ensure smoother admissions for all involved.
What Is Interview Management?
Interview management is a strategy to improve your interview process and streamline it for your faculty and students. The admissions process includes many steps and includes tasks for your administrative teams and students to work through. An interview management system can help your school track essential information, hold stronger interviews and make better admissions decisions.
Many schools develop their management strategies with the help of school interview software. These solutions help automate tasks and centralize resources, so your data is easier for your faculty to access during each stage in the admissions process.
Benefits of Interview Management for Your School
Implementing an interview management system can benefit your processes in many ways. Understanding how this management method can improve your admissions processes can help you decide if it suits your school and objectives.
1. Saves Time and Resources
Interview management helps you make the most of your available time and resources. You can better schedule interviews and track notes, applications, and student data for more efficient processes. Your interview management solution can help you streamline your interviews with:
- Automated and online scheduling: Managing several calendars and schedules can reduce interview efficiency. Your interview software will automatically create an online calendar with available interview slots. You can even set it to assign students interview slots, making appointments simple and efficient.
- Digital notes and forms: Your interview management solution can make it easier to take notes during interviews and keep your documentation organized. The program will attach everything you need to the appointment slot, helping keep everything you need in one location. You can record students’ responses as you speak with them and feel confident that you and other faculty members can find them easily.
- Centralized student profiles: A more centralized approach lets you better manage the interview process. With interview management software, you can easily access student profiles to get a sense of the person you are about to meet. This process helps you better connect with students and make stronger decisions for their admissions.
This method also helps you switch to a paperless approach. With all your resources kept digitally, you can reduce the time you need to print and sort through paper files and forms and access everything you need online instead.
Online resources and a centralized approach improve your school’s organization, making it easier to locate necessary forms and track application progress.
2. Increases Communication and Collaboration
Communication is crucial to the interview process, from establishing an interview time to following up. Interview management focuses on streamlining communication for better user experiences. With an online calendar, families can select the interview slot that works best for them, eliminating the back and forth to schedule a time that suits everyone. Automated features can send out alerts when someone signs up and regular reminders of upcoming interviews.
The admissions process is a collaborative effort. You need to work with other administrators and faculty teams to decide which students to admit. Many schools also divide their admissions teams into smaller committees to better manage their workload. Interview management lets you store everything in one place, so it’s easy to access notes and forms that other faculty members submit.
3. Creates a Better Family Experience
Families often have a lot to manage during the admission process. Creating a more streamlined and straightforward interview stage can create a positive experience with your school and faculty members. With simplified features and functions, an interview management solution can make it easier for your families to prepare for student interviews.
Automated features and increased visibility help you run the interview process smoothly, giving your families confidence about joining your school community. Easy-to-use features, personalized follow-ups, and individual accommodations can ensure they see everything your school offers.
Other Tips to Improve Your Interview Process
Interview management is a great way to boost organization and resource use at this stage of the admissions process. However, you can implement other habits and techniques to strengthen your interview step further.
1. Consider Virtual Interviews
Virtual interviews are a great way to reach more students and boost efficiency. Offering phone or video calls makes it easier for out-of-state students to apply and commit to your school. Many students have working guardians, making it challenging to find a time to come in for an interview. Online interviews respect every family’s situation while allowing you to get to know the student and assess their compatibility.
2. Incorporate Your Teachers
Every interviewer approaches the interview preparation and questioning process differently, but the goal of finding the best students is the same. You can better understand prospective students by asking questions beyond what the administration values. Involving your teachers can help you find students that match your learning environment and school values.
Ask your teachers what traits and priorities they believe make a student successful. You can even request situations based on real-life scenarios they have encountered to assess how students respond.
3. Let Students Ask Questions
While interviews help you get to know your students, they also help those students understand you better. Leave some time at the end of the interview for students to ask their questions. They might have specific concerns about the application process that you can address, helping keep them on track. They may also have questions about academic programs, social opportunities, and school culture. Your interview time can ensure they are applying to the right school for them.
Giving students the chance to ask questions can also highlight how invested students are in the application and admissions process. Students eager to ask questions show they care about their place at the school and are genuinely interested in your offerings. When you’re facing tough decisions, you can use this enthusiasm to fill your school with passionate individuals.
Streamline Your Admissions and Enrollment Process With Ravenna
When you want to develop a stronger interview management strategy, you need the right tools. Ravenna ADMIT is a comprehensive application software solution that can help you handle several essential processes, including interviews. ADMIT helps make scheduling easier and more visible with a virtual, centralized system highlighting available appointments and attaching student forms and data to interview slots. With paperless and automated functions, you can increase your efficiency and organization for better student and family services during administration.
Ravenna Solutions offers a full admission and enrollment suite to help you streamline every step. Whether you need a solution for enrollment or selecting students for financial aid, Ravenna has something that can help.
Request a demo today and discover how Ravenna Solutions can improve your admissions and enrollment processes at your private K-12.
