My college currently has a search for two new faculty members, and a pool of six finalists has been selected for on-campus interviews. Today I had a 30-minute meeting with the first candidate, and I’ve been scheduled to have similar meetings with the other five finalists. This is a new type of meeting for me, so this morning I was a bit nervous: “What should I ask these folks?!” In the end I decided that I’ll ask each person an opening question — “Why do you want to come to UW-Parkside?” — and then chat about differences between UW-Parkside and their current institutions. I’ll also give them plenty of time to ask me questions, and will leave time for the candidate to take a break before the next appointment in their hectic schedules. This plan worked well with the first candidate today, so I think that I’ll stick with it!