Ozo Process

Over the last three days, I have been busy in the Herzl Camp office conducting Ozo interviews. Wow… how times have changed. For years, there have been rumors of people being chosen because of who their parents are, how much money they donate, and what side of the river they live on. What I can tell you now… that is about as far from the truth as possible.

When Anne Hope asked me to be part of the interview process, I did not realize how times have changed. I assumed we would hear everyone out in their interview, even though the board and Anne had already decided who we would be hiring. Again… I was wrong. Herzl Camp has changed their process, and for the better. For those of you, like me, who were skeptical all those years… allow me to tell you how it is done.

Each candidate submits an application along with an essay, a project, and contact information for references. All of those are done in a “blind” process. Names are removed, and a number is assigned to each candidate. Then there are three different panels consisting of Herzl’s full time staff as well as current and former people in the Herzl community who evaluate and score the documents. One group scores the application, one scores the project, and yet another scores the essay. Again, there are no names in these documents, giving everyone a fair chance. References are also submitted giving a fourth score to each candidate.

The fifth and final score is the interview. This is the only part of the process that is not blind, as each person comes in to meet with the interview panel, face to face. Those who are out of town have an equally fair interview via speakerphone. There are approximately 6 categories of questions, each which have 8-10 questions related to the topic. In the interview we ask different questions from the categories, although some obviously repeat. Each answer is then scored at the end of the interview.

Those five scores are then entered into a master spreadsheet and the top 14 boys and the top 14 girls are selected to be that year’s Ozrim.

As always, there will be people who think that the process is somehow unfair. I am here to tell you that it is EXTREMELY fair, and Herzl has done everything they possibly can to make this process fair and even. In fact, it is so fair, that there is no pre-screening. By that I mean that EVERYONE gets an interview. Each person who applies is given an equally fair chance to prove why they are the best candidate for the job.

Because of the amazing experience Herzl Camp gives its campers year after year, everyone wants to be an Ozo. Like with any job, not everyone will be selected, but I commend Herzl for creating this process, proving all those skeptics wrong. What I also know is that the 2010 Ozrim will be an amazing group and I cannot wait to see them in action!