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No, perhaps it does happen somewhere (if so that is the employer's
loss, which I'll explain below) but what we are saying here is that
even if the principal thinks they "know who they are going to hire",
it's always possible that as they conduct interviews they discover that
a different candidate -- you, perhaps -- is actually a better fit for
the position. In fact, I have seen THAT happen (the reverse of what
you're asking about) more than once. The administrator went into
interviews "expecting" to hire a particular candidate but ended up
hiring a different candidate after conducting the interviews. (In fact,
the first time it happened in my experience, I was the person who ended
up getting hired... I was told later, after I had the job, that
everyone including the administrator fully expected a different
candidate to get the job and instead they decided to hire me.) So the
point is that even if you as an administrator know you want one
candidate, it's never a definite thing because you may turn out to want
a different candidate even more once you've interviewed them. The
administrator or hiring committee has to have objective and fair
criteria and keep an open mind, and can never be SURE of who will be
hired until the whole process is complete.

I am not sure why the original poster was asking this question but my
response is to remind them that it's NOT a definite thing even if they
think it is prior to interviews, and they need to proceed accordingly
(fairly, objectively). Not only is that what the law says must be done,
but an administrator could be missing out on the opportunity to hire an
excellent employee if they go into a set of interviews with a closed
mind regarding the final outcome.

On 6/21/13, So that really happens then??? wrote:

> I have driven up to 5 hours and paid for a hotel room for an

> interview, and it's very possible the principal knew who they were

> going to hire anyway and I was just there as an "interview quota"

> they have to get in, then get a call the next day saying they filled

> the position with someone else (who is the person they KNEW they

> were going to hire anyway?) Is this how it works?

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> On 6/21/13, lca wrote:

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>> On 6/21/13, ctadmin wrote:

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>>> On 6/21/13, hh wrote:

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>>>> If you were interviewing to fill a spot and you already

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>>>> knew who you wanted to hire, when would you interview that

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>>>> person?

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>>>

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>>> I would set up interviews with all of the qualified candidates

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>>> and include that person along with everyone else. I would

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>>> keep an open mind. Sometimes you'll be surprised to find

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>>> that there is another candidate who is more qualified and

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>>> better suited for the job

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>> I agree with ctadmin. It's terrific that you already know that

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>> you have at least one candidate who is known to be a great match

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>> for this position. That person may or may not end up being the

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>> BEST candidate once you've gone through the interview process.

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>> Who knows, you might end up with several other excellent

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>> candidates as well! So it makes no difference that you already

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>> know one candidate is an excellent match for your needs. You

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>> interview that person along with everyone else who is selected

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>> for interviews and ultimately if that person is still the best

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>> choice at the end of the process then they get the position.

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>>

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