Our Rector Search: The Vestry’s Interview Prep

When it comes to the Vestry’s candidate interviews, every effort must be made to provide a consistent experience across all candidates so that we’re able to compare apples to apples. To that end, the Vestry’s candidate interviews will be highly structured. Each Vestry member reviewed interview questions on topics that include Spiritual Gifts, Personal Theology, Building Trust, Managing Stress, Preaching, Setting Expectations, and Leading Through Mission, Vision, and Values.

All of the questions are open-ended and behavior-based, predicated on the understanding that past behavior indicates future performance. They prompt a candidate to provide answers that dig deeper to reveal actions and results. Here are some examples:

1. Tell us about a time when a parishioner’s obvious spiritual giftedness led you to ask them to lead a significant ministry. What did you do to convince the person to take on this role and what ultimately resulted?
2. Tell us about a time when you knew your preaching style needed some improvement. How did you know, what action did you take to improve it and how did you know you were doing a better job of preaching afterwards?
3. In your experience, what is the most effective way to ensure synergy between parish initiatives and what staff invest their time on? What steps do you take as rector to keep the two aligned?
4. Not everyone agrees with decisions made by leaders. Tell us about an unpopular decision you had to make and how you gained acceptance from the vestry or a committee that was responsible for helping you carry the decision out.