Faculty Recruitment and Hiring

Authorization to Search—Preparing to Search

Authorized searches for regular tenure-track and tenured positions in the College of Liberal Arts are determined in consultation with units as part of the annual budget planning process. Collegiate approval is required before faculty-line searches may begin.

The degree to which a search is successful in attracting a large and diverse pool of excellent candidates is strongly influenced by the care that goes into making the decisions that are codified the online position requisition. The selection of search committee members, the crafting of the position description and preparation of the selection criteria, and the development of an advertising and recruitment strategy all contribute to laying the foundation for a successful search.

Search Committee

The College of Liberal Arts requires that a search committee be appointed for all searches for faculty and academic staff. A diverse search committee will provide a valuable dimension to committee deliberations and sends a strong message about the commitment of the unit, the college, and the University as a whole to diversity and excellence in recruitment efforts. If a unit is unable to create a diverse search committee from among its own faculty, staff, and graduate students, it should consider inviting a colleague from outside the unit to serve on the committee. The role of the search committee is advisory to the hiring authority. The search committee screens and evaluates applicants, and recommends candidates for further consideration by the hiring authority. Applicant files are not open to the faculty until candidates are identified as finalists and approved by the college.

Position Description

A position description should be broad in its conception to avoid too narrow an initial pool of candidates. Units should avoid crafting a position description in a fashion that will de facto exclude candidates or that would discourage qualified candidates from applying. The position description provides an opportunity to signal the unit’s, college’s, and University’s values and commitment to diversity, and the language in the position description should be crafted to appeal to as diverse a group of potential candidates as possible. Avoid essential qualifications that might narrow the pool or discourage outstanding candidates from applying or that might prevent the search committee from considering a high-caliber candidate who does apply. For example, a broader pool of applicants may be possible if the essential degree or experience is required by the appointment date rather than at the time of application.

Required and Preferred Qualifications

Required qualifications are specific attributes required to perform the duties of a position successfully and are used to determine which applicants are minimally qualified to hold a position. Required qualifications must be job-related, demonstrable and measurable. Required qualifications are attributes that cannot be acquired through training normally provided on the job, but not so unique that it is unlikely that anyone in the applicant pool will have them.

Preferred qualifications are used to measure an applicant’s amount and quality of education, experience, knowledge and skills as they relate to the specific duties of the position. Preferred qualifications are used to refine the applicant pool to determine which candidates will be interviewed and ultimately referred to the hiring authority for further consideration. Preferred qualifications must be established as part of the full position description; they must be job-related, ranked by importance to the position, measurable or demonstrable during the selection process, and free of bias. The hiring authority must make clear to the search committee the unit’s expectations regarding the application of specific preferred qualificaitons before the search committee begins evaluating application materials.

Advertising and Recruitment Strategy

The ability to identify, attract, and maintain an excellent and diverse pool of qualified candidates depends on the extent, quality, and variety of communication and media used to inform potential candidates; the coordination and timely placement of advertisements and other announcements; and the recruitment strategy of the search committee.

Search committees are expected to make extensive use of electronic and web-based media in recruitment efforts. Print ads, electronic postings, list-servs, discussion groups and direct mailings all contribute to an effective recruitment strategy. To extend resources, units may wish to consider placing abbreviated advertisements directing the reader to the complete position description on the departmental web-site. Complete position announcements for all regular faculty searches will be posted on the University’s Employment web-site. The college encourages units to employ aggressive recruitment and advertising strategies. In addition to established, traditional advertising venues, units are encouraged to consider publications geared toward historically under-represented groups.

Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action

The University is required under federal law to establish hiring goals for women and racial minorities when their representation in the University workforce is less than their representation in the local or national labor pool. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action maintains Faculty Workforce and Goal Reports for units across the University. The data provided in the reports can help hiring authorities and search committees identify whether there is a female or minority goal for the position being filled, develop an effective search plan to designed to reach under-represented groups, and determine the adequacy of the applicant pool composition.

Links to the Faculty Workforce and Goals Reports, EO/AA’s Recruiting Resource List, and other recruitment- and employment-related resources are available on the Employment Advising page of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action’s web-site.

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