Andy 0:04
Welcome to the HigherEdJobs Podcast Ask the Expert edition. I'm Andy Hibel, the chief operating officer and one of the co-founders of HigherEdJobs.

Kelly 0:12
And I'm Kelly Cherwin, the director of editorial strategy. Today we're happy to have Kathleen Hermacinski back with us. Kathleen is the associate vice president of human resources and Title IX coordinator at Illinois Wesleyan University. She previously served as director of human resources at Eureka College and is an active leader in CUPA HR, where she completed the Ignite program and now serves as president-elect of the Illinois State CUPA HR board. She also contributes to HigherEdJobs as a human resources expert and a recurring podcast guest. Kathleen, thank you so much for joining us again today.

Kathleen 0:44
Always a pleasure to be here, Kelly.

Kelly 0:46
So our question from our listener today is: During the interview process, what's the most appropriate and professional way for candidates to ask about an institution's work-life balance culture, and how can they read between the lines to understand what the balance really looks like on campus? Kathleen, what do you think about this question?

Kathleen 1:02
I love all of your listener's questions for the record. This one is a little bit tough because I don't think there is such a thing as work-life balance. It's one of those terms I think... personally, I use work-life harmony because there's no such thing as a balance. But either way, it's a good question that I really do appreciate. Candidates don't always feel comfortable asking about work-life balance directly in the interview process. So the most professional approach I can offer is to ask about the practices that reveal it.

For example, a question you can ask is, "What does a typical week look like during the academic year?" If this is a faculty member or somebody in student affairs, they may want to know about midterms or homecoming. If it's somebody going into more of a financial role, they may want something about when the volume is in the summer.

Another question you can ask is, "How does the team handle workload when things get busy?" Look for the nonverbal cues when you ask that. Are there faces being made? Are there nudges or eyes across the room, like, "Oh, maybe the team might be burned out."

You can also find questions around leadership and values. For example, "How does leadership model balance for teams?" If they have an awesome answer, that's something they're actively talking about. But if they're like, "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure," that could be a yellow flag.

I always recommend asking for real examples because culture is easier to demonstrate than to describe. While you're listening, like I mentioned, read between the lines. Consistency across interviewers matters. Pay attention to tone and body language. Listen for coded language like, "We're like a family," or "We all pitch in," or "It's a fast-paced environment." These can signal blurred boundaries or chronic urgency, which may not be a good fit for everyone.

Finally, I would suggest observing the search process itself. When are you receiving emails? Are they at odd hours or during traditional business hours? How are people communicating with you during the hiring process? This is often the truest reflection of the culture you'll be joining.

In short, I recommend in your interview to ask about expectations, systems, and real behaviors, and let the answers and how they're delivered tell you what balance or harmony really looks like on that campus.

Kelly 3:35
I love this advice. I like the fact that you're suggesting asking different questions to get signals. I was just thinking, when I was working on campus, we had a committee that was... I can't remember if it was called a work-life balance committee, but I would suggest, if a candidate was comfortable, asking: "I'm really interested in joining committees. What type of committees do you have on campus?" And then to your point, maybe they would say, "Oh, well, we have an XYZ committee, we have a yoga planning committee," whatever it might be. Then you can put your investigation role on and see if it's in alignment with what you're hoping for.

Kathleen 4:37
And to the opposite of that, because I'm... Kelly, I'm with you. I want to jump into a new organization and get involved and be on committees. But not everyone's like that, and maybe they want to understand if the culture or the balance to be expected is different and they don't want to. We shouldn't assume what everybody wants in terms of work-life balance.

Some people want to work, and that is where they find their joy. Their joy is pouring everything they have into work. There are some individuals for whom work is just to pay the bills and have a fulfilling career, but they are more focused on personal or family life.

Work-life balance or harmony is different for every manager, for every employee, for every faculty member. It's important to not assume what that balance looks like and to have conversations with your employees as well.

Andy 5:48
I love where this conversation has gone. For me, I'm going to pull a few nuggets out. First, I really like the idea of evaluating the process itself. I'm a big fan of that. Look at how the employer is conducting the process to see what their actions mean.

I'd also flip that around. Look at your own candidacy and see what your actions show about your interest. You want to be assertive and show you're interested, but you don't want to be aggressive or seem demanding.

Kathleen 6:33
I agree.

Andy 6:34
In Kelly's comments, part of this is asking questions like the ones you both suggested, which get into nuance and reality. I'm a little more bold. If you're asking those questions, I think it's appropriate to ask the interviewer about their own experience with the culture. "How has the culture supported you? Your family? Your values? Your career?" See where the conversation goes.

If they say, "Well, we get holidays off," and that's their first answer, I think that tells you everything. To me, that's not even a yellow flag. That's a red flag.

Kathleen 8:18
One question I personally like to ask when I'm interviewing for a position is: "What has been your experience at this institution? From when you started your career here, how has it been?" And when you have longer-term employees who have been around 10, 15, 20, 30 years, you can see their career trajectory. You can see how they talk about different departments. If they've floated between departments. You get a sense of work-life balance, but you can also see where growth opportunities are.

So this turned more into a recruiting interview answer from me, and I apologize. But anytime you can ask small questions to get more nuggets of information to make a better informed decision, I recommend it.

Kelly 9:09
I couldn't agree more. You both summarized it really well. I love making it about that person and their experience. Very well said and a great conversation. Thank you, Kathleen, so much for joining us today.

Kathleen 9:22
Thanks, Kelly. Thanks, Andy.

Andy 9:24
Thank you, Kathleen, and thank you for listening. If you have questions for experts like Kathleen, please feel free to email us at podcast@HigherEdJobs.com
or send us a direct message on X @HigherEdCareers. Thank you for listening, and we look forward to talking again soon.

9:47
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