Equal Opportunity In Hiring
UNI is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment, retention, and advancement of employees without regard to age, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other basis protected by federal and/or state law.
- Tips on Narrowing the Applicant Pool
You have posted a vacant position and now have a stack of applicant materials. Where do you start? Often, it can be a daunting task to go through so much material. Below we provide some helpful tips to make the process easier and even more legally defensible.
First, make sure to begin with the job description of the position. This description will provide an objective basis for your decisions. A good job description defines what the essential job functions are and, therefore, what skills and abilities are required elements and which are preferred. These important requirements should have also been listed in the advertisement(s).
Next, consider creating a chart to help keep organized and to provide an easy comparison among the candidates. Below is an example:
Applicant A Applicant B Applicant C Education Requirement Years of Experience Requirement Required Skills Preferred Skills Use the job description and job ad to focus on the minimum requirements of the job and rate each candidate in terms of how well they meet each factor.
- Other Items to Consider When Hiring
Be consistent. For example, if one person is eliminated for typos, application errors, or a poorly written cover letter, then everyone with errors or poor letters must be eliminated from consideration.
Student employment and/or volunteer experience does not count as professional experience unless allowed for in the advertised requirements. If it is allowed, it counts at half time.
Do not make assumptions about people's income levels or what may appear to be excessive qualifications for the job. "Overqualified" is not a valid reason.
A candidate's location is also not a valid reason for disqualifying an applicant. While a department may not want to spend money on travel to bring in candidates, it is not a reason to not consider a candidate. Consider using phone screens to narrow your interview pool to fewer on-campus interviews.
Consider conducting phone screens. If you did telephone screens to gather more information from candidates and a candidate did not present themselves well, then note this in your scoring rubric. If you did telephone screens and a candidate told you they were no longer interested after hearing more about the position, then note that as well.
Create a pool of second tier candidates. If you have identified a candidate that meets the stated requirements but does not rank as high as those you would like to interview, consider them for a second tier. Should it be necessary to return to your applicant pool to identify more interviewees, you could make a selection from the small number of applicants whom you have considered second tier.
By doing these things, you can make the process easier and also protect yourself further from potential liability. If an individual files a discrimination complaint in the hiring process, you will have additional documentation that your decisions were based on job relevant criteria.