Welcome to Search Committee Orientation. By taking search committee orientation training online, you will be certified for one year (12 months) as a search committee member. This means that you will not have to be certified each time you are on a search committee for a period of one year.
Let’s discuss our Agenda.
We’ll start off with the purpose and responsibilities of search committees. Next we’ll discuss the Search Committee Process, specifically the request to hire form, the position posting information, the EEO Hiring record and the search committee materials
search committee materials.
Next we will discuss the concept of confidentiality as it relates to searches. We will then discuss how to conduct effective interviews by discussing types of interview questions as well as the concept of “fit”
Why do we need search committees?
The purpose of search committees is to support equal employment in hiring decisions, and seeks to achieve racial/ethnic and gender diversity among the staff and faculty. Minimizes the possibility of undue influence that can unfairly skew the search process.
The state of NJprovides every state employee with a work environment free from prohibited discrimination or harassment
EEO is the right that all individuals have to be considered for employment based on no other reason than their merit. If you are qualified then you will be considered, maybe not hired, but considered, solely on merit.
The first step in a search is the appointment of a search committee. The committee members should be individuals who understand the requirements of the position and who are committed to the goals of the department college and the university.
The point of the committee is to have a fair representation of the areas that the position will involve. For example, if a manager of a department will work with many different departments, then the search committee should be comprised of representatives from those departments.
Another example, if you are conducting a search for a new faculty member, members of the department and/or faculty members of an affiliated
department should make up the search committee.p p
In addition to seeking to create an inclusive pool of candidates, the search committee, in conjunction with the hiring party, is responsible for selecting candidates for interviews, conducting interviews, completing all necessary documentation on the search, and recommending candidates for
Now let’s discuss the search process. As a search committee member you may not be responsible for completing the request to hire form but you should be aware of what it takes to effectively complete this very important step in the search process.
To initiate the process, you must first complete the request to hire form.
Once the form has been completed, it MUST be signed by the supervisor, the department approval, and the appropriate VP or Provost.
Once the advertising venues have been determined, the form must be signed by the Director of OED, Dr. Johanna Velez-Yelin
Once the request to hire form has been completed and approved, the ad for the position must be posted. Some posting ideas include but are not limited to:
Professional journals, the Chronicle of Higher Ed, Diverse, Hispanic
Outlook, the RU website, higheredjobs.com, listservs of related organizations represented in the department, and word of mouth.
Now that the job is posted, the process continues with the Hiring party selecting committee members.
The next step in the process is to ensure that all search committee members are certified. As I stated earlier, if you are certified either in person or online once per every 12 months, you can serve as a search committee member for those 12 months.
At this point in the process, the Request to Hire form has been completed and approved, the position has been posted, and the committee members have been certified.
Now resumes are being received. Send ALL applicants the link to report their EEO status; this is not just for those that meet the requirements or will be interviewed.
Whether by hard copy of email, ultimately the responsibility of sending the EEO forms belongs to the chair of the search committee.
Search materials are maintained by the search committee chair and submitted to OED at the end of the search. Search committee members should be aware of all the materials submitted with the form.
To find the forms needed to comply with EEO, go to www.rowan.edu/equity There are formats of the EEO Data Record that can be sent to
candidates/applicants:
-Hard copy – download and print to mail out to applicants -Electronic – the link can be sent by email. This is the preferred method since the return rate is usually between 62 67%
method since the return rate is usually between 62-67%. Suggested wording for the email:
Dear Applicant,
Your application to the position of ______ has been received. As employees/government contractors, we comply with
As employees/government contractors, we comply with
government regulations and equal employment opportunity responsibilities. Solely to help us comply with record keeping,
Completion of this form is required at the conclusion of all searches.
All documents requested are required and the search will not be certified as EEO compliant until all required documents are submitted.
Once the chair of the committee signs that the search followed EEO
guidelines he/she also signs line 9A At this point the packet (in its entirety) guidelines, he/she also signs line 9A. At this point the packet (in its entirety) goes to the next level of management for review and signature. This
Participating in a search committee requires a commitment of both time and effort.
As a search committee member you should attend all meetings. However if you do miss one meeting, (one is the most allowed), you cannot vote on the particular candidate that you missed.
Lately we have had a lot of immigration questions. According to the Attorney General’s office, the only thing you can ask is:
Under immigration, we have the right to ask “are you legally able to work in the US”
Once a candidate, always a candidate: this status changes only after someone is hired. The rest of the applicants will always be candidates. If you “bump” into a candidate do not discuss anything pertaining to a search, even years after.
For example, a search committee was formed and eventually recommended a candidate for hire. 5 years later, one of the search committee members ran into another candidate that they interviewed during that process. The search committee member said to the former candidate “oh what a mess that
search was” . The OED received a call that week questioning the validity of the search by the candidate.
If a candidate calls and asks for accommodations for the interview, we will accommodate them without medical documentation.
If the candidate asks about accommodations on the job, refer them to OED website for the whole policy.
Questions should be developed prior to interviews. Formulate questions based on what the job requires not on what you perceive as a potential limitation of the candidate to do a job.
All candidates should be asked the same questions unless they are resume specific or follow up to a response. When developing questions, stay away from race, sexual orientation, religion, politics, family, marital status, age, etc. And any topic that could be perceived as being indirectly tied to a protected class- such as “how do your husband and kids feel about NJ? “ There are 19 protected classes about which questions cannot be asked. For more information on protected classes, see NJ Policy Prohibiting
Discrimination in the Workplace at www.rowan.edu/equity.
Additionally, develop what the committee expects as an appropriate answer so that everyone on the committee has the same expectation of what is a good quality response.
For the interview itself: focus on the requirements of the job. Remember, you are l ki f th b t lifi d did t t b t f i d
looking for the best qualified candidate not a new best friend.
Remember the importance of “fit” – your gut reaction doesn’t fly in a court of law. You need to be able to define “fit”- find quantifiable questions, for example, “what is your philosophy of management? Where do you see yourself at Rowan?
When you are in informal settings with candidates, be aware of your reactions both y g , y verbal and non verbal- for example, if the candidate arrives early to the interview and you are making small talk, remember the 19 categories! Nothing is off record! Don’t ask about their kids, spouse, etc…!
Common pitfall- marital status is a protected class, we need to remember that. If the candidate is waiting in the hall and you strike up a conversation asking about their spouse and if they are happy about the move, know that it can be misperceived
d b d i and be used against us.
Safe topics: weather, drive in, how do you like the campus
The interview phase of the search committee process is critical. Be sure to describe the requirements of the position at the very beginning of the interview. We need to ensure that they understand that the role they are interviewing for is very explicit. For example, if we were interviewing for a Director of Residential Life and that position included a 1 bedroom on-campus apartment, the candidate must understand there are no exceptions-they must live on campus in a 1 bed room.
Make sure you ask “do you understand what the job requires”
The Hiring Manager can request that the rationale is included with the recommendation
Note: if the candidate is provided an Open Forum (for example, higher level management positions) then you must know how many people attended each session so that you can be sure that there is only one evaluation per participant. Evaluations become part of the EEO hiring record.
participant. Evaluations become part of the EEO hiring record.