Presentations that candidates give at the interview often cause the greatest amount of interview anxiety, but the survey results indicate that they may not be particularly important in the hiring decision. Several respondents commented that presentations are required only of upper-level candidates or for positions in which presentation skills were considered particularly important, such as library instruction positions. Other meetings noted as important include those with department faculty outside of the library and formal meetings with staff and team members with whom the candidate would be working. Informal meetings with staff were found to be very important by only 11 respondents, but even this figure shows that each portion of the interview process may be important, no matter how informal or peripheral it seems. However, many institutions noted that although the library director or dean of the libraries makes the final decision, this is done only upon the recommendation of the search committee.
Libraries spend a considerable amount of time on the hiring process.
The average length of time for the hiring process is 41 days from the time the first candidate is interviewed to the time that the successful candidate is contacted. The average number of days between the interview with the first candidate and the last is 26 days. There is an average of 16 days after the interview with the last candidate before the successful candidate is contacted. In an extreme case, one library reported 281 days between interviewing the first candidate and notifying the unsuccessful candidates. In some cases, candidates are uncertain as to whether it is appropriate to contact the library after the interview to find out if a decision has been made.