Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-08-2006 ‎(special-finance director)‎ — reading text

Additionally, credit, educational and criminal background checks have been run so there should be no surprises if a candidate is selected as Finance Director. The interview is an opportunity for both the City and the candidate to learn about each other and to determine how well they will be able to work together. It is also an opportunity for the City to evaluate the candidates' management abilities and to decide if the candidate would be a good finance director for the City. As such, both the City and the candidates should act professionally and in a manner that will impress the other party while learning what they can. Since all the candidates are capable of performing in the role as Finance Director, the focus of the interview should be on determining who is the best fit for the City, the staff and the community. Some candidates will have more experience than others. Some have special areas of expertise that others do not. Some have better instincts and some are simply more capable than others. While some may make more mistakes than others, they may also hit more home runs. Again, the key is to determil\e which candidate will have the best chemistry with the City. No matter how technically sound a candidate may be, if he or she cannot build and maintain a strong working relationship with the Mayor, City Council and staff, he or she will not last long as the Finance Director. Of course, experience and expertise is critical and should not be overlooked. Possible Interview Questions The questions on the next few pages may be useful in ferreting out the information that you need. There are undoubtedly others. The point is to ask the questions that you feel will give you the best idea of what the candidate believes, how he/ she will work with you and with the staff and whether or not he/ she is good match for the City. Further, given the variety of legislation covering civil rights and discrimination, questions into a number of areas should be avoided during the interview process. Consequently, following the suggested questions is a listing of areas that should be avoided. 0___ 1 _&'' 7 Possible Interview Questions The following questions are divided into three groups. The first set contains standard introductory questions covering an individual' s background, management style and experience. The second set is designed to provide information about how the candidates will interact with the City' s elected officials and staff on particular issues that may be of concern to the City. Set In should always be asked at the end of the interview. Since time will not permit asking all the questions, you should select the ones that are most important to you. The last four should always be asked and five minutes should be left at the end of the interview to ask them. Question Set I: 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why are you interested in working for the City of Fort Walton Beach? 3. What is your management style? 4. What would your staff say about you as a manager? 5. What would your elected officials say about you? 6. Have you fired people? How did you handle it? How did you feel about it? 7. What do you think your strengths are? 8. What do you think your weaknesses are? 9. What has been your biggest success? Tell us about it. 10. What has been your biggest failure ( or mistake) of your career? What did you learn rrom it? 11. What would you do the first six months in the City of Fort Walton Beach? 12. What do you believe to be the challenges and opportunities facing our City? How are these likely to change in the future? 13. Is there anything else you would like to tell me? Question Set II: 1. Explain what you believe the role of the Finance Director to be in the City of Fort Walton Beach and how it differs from the role in other cities. 7 n___ .., _&" Possible Interview Questions 2. As Fort Walton Beach' s Finance Director, how do you view your relationship with the Mayor and City Council? 3. How will you go about building a strong relationship with the Mayor and City Council? How will you maintain it? 4. What information do you think the Mayor and City Council need to have concerning your operations and on- going projects? 5. How will you keep the Mayor and City Council informed? 6. What kind of direction do you expect to get "from the Mayor and City Council? 7. What will you do if you feel the Mayor and City Council have not made it clear how they want the staff to precede on a particular issue? 8. What do you do when your views of how to handle a situation differ from those of the Mayor and City Council? 9. What will you do if one particular City Council Member disagrees with how you believe a situation should be handled? 9. What will you do when a City Council member contacts a member of your staff and tells himlher to do something? 10. How many people reported to you in your last job? 11. How do you keep your staff informed of the elected officials' priorities? What do you intend to do differently if you are appointed Finance Director here? 12. To what extent do you believe contact with citizens and citizen' s groups is important? How do you typically handle this responsibility? Do you feel that you need to build relationships with the community? 13. What kind of relationship do you want to have with the senior managers and the rest of the staff and how will you establish it? 14. How will you go about identifying the organization' s strengths and weaknesses as well opportunities for improvement? Once you have identified them, how will you go about making changes? 15. How will you approach the short and long range planning process? What system do you use to set goals and objectives? 7 n_~_ '") _&'' Possible Interview Questions 16. What will you do if you feel an employee is not doing his/ her job in a manner you feel is satisfactory? 17. What do you do when you observe an employee who works for another department director who is not doing hislher job the way you think it should be done? 18. What was the most difficult situation you faced as a government employee? How did you handle it? What did you learn trom it? 19. Describe a situation where you have had ro build a team to solve a problem. 20. What areas of your skills/ professional development do you want to work on at this point in your career? 21. Tell us about the professionaUraining you have taken in the last year. 22. Has the government you work for won the GFOA' s Distinguished Budget Award? If not, why not? 23. Has the government you work for won GFOA' s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting? If not,why not? 24. Explain GASB 34 to us and tell us about your efforts to implement it. What were the major difficulties? 25. Explain GASB 45 to us and tell us what its impact was/will be on your government. 26. What do you see as the challenges facing finance departments 20 years rrom now? 27. Are you willing to take calculated risks? 28. What kind of decisions did you make in your last job? 29. What kinds of decisions are difficult for you to make? 30. What personal skills do you feel are necessary for a Finance Director to be successful? 31. If the candidate is in transition, why did he leave his last job? 27. Describe your experience in dealing with State agencies. 28. Describe your experience obtaining grants. What agencies would you go to look for grants? What kind of grants would you look for the City? n___ A ~ C"7 Possible Interview Questions 29. Are there other external sources of funds ( beyond grants) that you would seek out? 30. Have you ever been involved in initiatives to contract out City services? Tell us about it. Did these efforts succeed? 31. Describe the kind of organization you would like to work for. If you could change one thing in your current job, what would it be? 32. As a Finance Director, who do you view as your customers? How will you interact with them? 33. How do you respond when a resident walks into City offices and wants to meet with you concerning some issues that he or she may have? 34. What do you see as the primary drawback to being the Finance Director of City of Fort Walton Beach? Question Set ill: 1. If you are selected as our choice to be the next Finance Director, what sort of a compensation package do you expect? 2. If you are selected, when are you available to start work? 3. Is there anything else you want to tell us? 4. Are there any questions you would like to ask us? n___ c ~ C"7  Areas Where Questioning Should Not Be Pursued The process of interviewing and selecting an applicant for an open position is no longer a simple matter of conducting a casual, albeit in depth, conversation with potential candidates in the hopes of learning their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. The advent of the various civil rights laws makes the average interview seem like a process with ftaught peril. However, keeping in mind certain basic rules will facilitate the process and avoid future problems. In most instances, asking inappropriate questions may raise an inference of either discrimination or retaliation against a particular candidate. In other instances, such as those involving issues of mental or physical health, inappropriate questions are presumptively discriminatory. As a result, the interviewer must avoid the questions relating to the following: 1. Political affiliation, views or voting history. 2. Religious beliefs or practices. 3. A candidate' s race. 4. A candidate' s age. 5. A candidate' s national origin or ancestry. 6. A candidate' s family and whether or not they would be willing/able to join them in the new City. 7. A candidate' s desire to have children or raise a family. 8. Pregnancy and other gender- related issues. 9. Sexual orientation or sexual practices. 10. Marital status or personal, private