Title: TASK: Job Posting
Course: US Election 2020-Leuphana-Copy > Section: 2. The Candidates

[fa-info-circle]  In this task, you will:

- familiarize yourself with the candidates’ personal and biographical backgrounds through online research
- prepare and act out an interview with the candidates using their background information.

The aim of this task is to stage an interview with each candidate. Each year candidates come together for three presidential debates, in addition to the vice presidents, who also participate in a debate. The debate asks each candidate questions in regard to key issues, policy, and their future plans as President.

In a debate, candidates can address their opponents directly, can build off one another’s statements and are limited in the amount of time they have to address each question.

1. Choose key issues  [fa-comments-o]

As a class agree on two or three key issues you would like to further explore. These key issues will be the issues discussed in an interview.

2. Research the candidate's background  [fa-book]   [fa-comments-o]

You will be given a role either as a moderator or a candidate and one of the key issues you selected as a class to prepare (a single moderator can be chosen or multiple moderators, in which case the role would change with every issue or candidate). Imagine the candidates are applying for the job as U.S. President and the audience is a committee of people who choose which applicant is best for the job. To choose the best applicant for the job, a cover letter, resume and an interview would help a firm or company decide, which candidate is the best fit for the job. However, in this activity you have one opportunity to pitch yourself as the best candidate or as a moderator, one opportunity to help figure out who is best suited for the job. More information about the roles can be found here. Regardless of your role, it may also be helpful to have additional information about the job, consider the job description below (see resource "1 Job Posting") to help you best prepare for the interview.

Moderator(s): As a moderator it is your job to ask the candidates questions. Your task requires coming up with pre-determined questions for each candidate during the interview. Make sure the questions are tailored to the candidate and specific to the issues.  Additionally this role will require some spontaneity in formulating questions, although the candidate may share lots of information, they may also move on quickly to avoid a topic.  Lastly, it is important you stay as neutral as possible while interviewing the candidates. Try to avoid personal bias or actively favouring a candidate during the interviews, the questions should be equally difficult for each candidate. Remember as an interviewer, you "asked" both candidates to come in for an interview and believe they are the two best qualified candidates.

Candidates: Research your candidate’s background with a focus on your key issue. While researching consider the following questions:

- What experience do they have that could help them get the job as the U.S. President in regard to your key issue?
- Consider how the candidate has voted, spoken or acted in regard to the key issue in order to build a strong argument showing why they should be elected.
- What experience does the candidate have or what personal relationships / contacts / knowledge help the candidate’s argument that they are the right person for the job.

When completing your research, get together with the other students representing your role and brief each other on your findings. Support each other in selecting good talking points and arguments for the role-play.

[fa-info-circle] Useful tips:

Knowing how many responsibilities the President will have, consider what experience they have thus far that could be beneficial while in office, especially in relation to the key issues you decided on as a class. For example:

- Do the candidates have experience with policy?
- Do they have a sibling, child, partner or are they themselves effected by the policy of a key issue?

Research your candidate and their experience with the key issue. Prepare yourself for the interview. You don’t know what questions are going to be asked, just as you wouldn’t during an interview and similarly to the candidates during a presidential debate.

An important difference between an interview and a debate is the competition. During a debate you know your competition, and can address them directly, in an interview setting, you don’t know who you are up against. For this reason, your interview should only focus on the candidates own experiences, rather than on personal jabs, accusations, or comparisons in regard to the opposing candidate’s experiences or person.

3. Interview: Role-play [fa-eye]   [fa-comments-o]

After researching your key issue in regard to your candidate, have a moderator, who has written pre-determined questions focusing on the key issues you selected as a class, interview each candidate separately.

[fa-info-circle] Useful tips:

While interviewing, it is important to consider how you are speaking. Interviews are a formal setting and therefore require formal speech. To learn more about speaking formally and prepare your language to best fit an interview, take a look at the handout "3 Speaking Formally" below. To practice using formal vocabulary for your interview check out resource "4 Speaking Formally (matching game)."

4. Discussion and Reflection  [fa-comments-o]

After conducting each interview, talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate in regard to the key issues. Each candidate has a very different background, making them unique. Based on their own perspectives, built through their upbringing, professional experiences, and personal lives they will fulfill their duties as President very differently.

Although it is extremely difficult to objectively determine who is best for the job, based on personal beliefs and bias. Consider who is best for the job, based solely on experience, education, and personality.

[fa-question-circle]   Questions

- What made this task difficult?
- Were you surprised with how much more experience one candidate had in comparison to another?
- What role did the candidate’s education play in your decision?
- Did each candidate win one key issue?
- What would your candidate need for you to feel more confident in their ability to govern or rule in regard to your key issue?
- As a single-issue voter, what experience, votes or opinions make one candidate so strong, in regard to these key issues?

Resources for this task

1 Job Posting (handout)
Source | 2020
text

2 Every Political Leader On Every Issue
OnTheIssues.org | 2020

website

3   Speaking Formally (handout)
Source | 2020

text

4   Speaking Formally (matching game)
Source | 2020

game

5 What does Joe Biden Believe?: Where the Candidate Stands on 8 Issues
PBS.org | 2020
website

6 Where President Trump Stands on the Issues in 2020
PBS.org |  2020
website