Russell Group Universities
Realistic media interview simulations as part of senior university recruitment.
This case study describes Hawkeye Media's work with universities and executive recruitment companies on vice-chancellor selection. The exercise gave selection panels an additional view of how candidates communicated in a challenging interview setting.
The brief
The work involved universities in the UK and Ireland. Working with the university and its executive recruitment company, Hawkeye Media designed scenarios and delivered interviews intended to be rigorous, realistic and fair.
The purpose was to reveal differences in how candidates responded to questioning relevant to senior university leadership. The interview needed to reflect the responsibilities of the role and follow the candidate's own answers.
How Hawkeye Media helped
Hawkeye Media developed the scenarios and conducted the simulated media interviews. The interviews were filmed and made available to the selection panel with detailed analysis.
This gave the panel material to consider alongside the other elements of its recruitment process. The published feedback highlights questioning that responded to the candidate, together with the pressure of answering without complete facts.
Client feedback
the line of questioning was realistically aggressive, and was tailored very specifically to the candidate’s responses.
Chair of a selection panel at a Russell Group university
The panel chair described the exercise as a worthwhile part of the assessment process, offering insight into performance under pressure. The comments highlight the realistic questioning and the challenge of responding when complete facts are not available.
Planning similar preparation
For a recruitment brief, agree what the simulated interview is intended to explore and how the panel will use the recording and analysis. The responsibilities of the post should shape the scenario and the level of questioning.
Explore Executive recruitment interview assessment and Media training.
Discuss an interview simulation for your selection process
Share the senior role, the recruitment timetable and what the panel needs to explore. We will discuss the scope of a relevant media interview exercise.