Hiring a new team member is one of the most important responsibilities for supervisors.  This toolkit will provide all the tools and resources that hiring manager will need for every phase of the hiring process—from assessing your department’s needs and submitting a position description, to evaluating candidates, conducting interviews, and making an offer. MICA’s hiring process is designed to be thorough, inclusive, and well-supported, ensuring you have everything that you need to make informed, confident hiring decisions.

Phase I: Preparing for the search

Position Assessment 

Before you begin your search, assess the business needs of your area. A recently vacant position is the perfect opportunity to review all the other positions and their roles and responsibilities. Whether you are filling an existing position or creating a new one, carefully consider the job description. Solicit feedback from your team and other positions that interact with the position. Request job descriptions from Human Resources if not available in Workday or create a new job description if requesting a new position to be created. The job description template is available here. 

• How will this position help fulfil organisational needs

• If this is an existing position, ensure that the position description still matches these needs.

• What combination of skills, knowledge, and qualifications would the right candidate possess?

 

For existing positions, ensure that you have approval from your supervisor to implement changes to position responsibilities. If requesting a new position to be created, ensure that you have your supervisor’s approval and budget approval from Finance and Human Resources. 

Selecting a Search Committee

A search committee of at least three individuals is required for all searches for senior level positions. Search Committee members must be able to share insights, challenge assumptions and bring lessons of experience from other perspectives, disciplines and organisations. The committee should include employees who:

• can provide unbiased, objective, and constructive feedback on candidate selection

• can bring unique and broad perspectives to the committee

• are knowledgeable in the area/field/responsibilities of the vacant position

 

As the hiring manager and search committee chair, you must meet with the search committee prior to reviewing applications to discuss the search objectives and set expectations. In addition, you should make sure their committee understands their role in the process. This includes ensuring availability for interviews, taking interview notes, and completing post-interview evaluations. You should also review MICA’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity. Search committees should be comprised of the supervisor for the position, career-based experts, and people who have consistent interaction with the role and could provide beneficial screening and interviewing guidance.

Search committee members are not automatically notified by the applicant tracking system when they are assigned to a search committee. It is the department’s responsibility to communicate to each member their respective role in the search. All search Committee members must submit signed copies of Appendix VIII Search Committee Charge document to the Office of Human Resources. 

 

Search Committee Kick-off Meeting

Search committee members typically kick off the search with a meeting that consists of:

• Introduction of search committee members

• An overview of the search process

• The charge from the hiring manager (in person if possible)

• A review of confidentiality and EEO considerations

• Description of the duties, responsibilities, and expectations for search committee members

• Introduction of the designated search consultant to the committee

• Establishment of a search timeline and search process planning

Phase II: Recruitment and Selection

Submit job requisition

After obtaining the required approvals, submit the job requisition request in Workday. Instructions are here. Human Resources will support you as you develop your recruitment strategy and timeline:

• Where will you post the job (i.e., job boards, professional associations, industry-related websites, etc.)?

• How long will the job be posted?

• Past issues with filling this position, if applicable

 

Recruiting and selecting the right candidate takes a planned and strategic approach. It is important to attract a diverse-array of qualified applicants for your position, and equally important to select the right candidate who will succeed in the position. 

Different perspectives, backgrounds, and lived experiences lead to new ideas and innovations. Ensuring our campus community consists of employees from various backgrounds and experiences broadens viewpoints, knowledge, and approaches from which new discoveries are made.

Screening and Interviewing

The search chair is responsible for communicating with search committee members their role in the search process. You are also responsible for developing a timeline for your search, identifying dates for applicant review, phone screenings, in-person interviews, and a start date. Best practice is to plan for approximately 40 days from opening of the job announcement until acceptance of offer.

 

Applicant review and screening

The search committee should review applicants, including their resume, cover letter, and any other documents provided during their application. The focus of the search committee’s review should be on the candidate's qualifications in relation to what was stated in the required/minimum qualifications in the job description. Completing the review using the posted job description is necessary to ensure a consistent and equitable review of candidates. The committee should consider how candidates contribute value to MICA’s overall mission, to include both professional and personal experience. When evaluating candidates, the committee should focus solely on candidates’ qualifications, experience, and alignment with the role’s requirements. Factors unrelated to the job, such as personal opinions or social media activity, should not influence the evaluation process. 

Search committee members must narrow the applicant pool to approximately 8 - 10 potential candidates and proposing and defending their top candidates is one way to assess candidate viability. Often, committee members will agree on several candidates and can debate the merits of candidates selected by fewer committee members. Search committee members must document why a candidate has been eliminated from further consideration. The search committee chair provide the rankings to the Office of Human Resources for any compliance or audit review.

Scheduling interviews

The interviewing process is an opportunity to sell candidates on joining MICA as well as allowing the search committee a chance to more thoroughly evaluate the candidates’ credentials.

Schedule interviews once candidates have been screened and top candidates are identified. It is up to you and the search committee to decide how many candidates you interview based on the job’s required and preferred qualifications. Candidates that do not make it through initial screening should be dispositioned in Workday. 

Candidates must go through the following interview stages:

1. Initial interview via video conference or phone where candidates are furthered narrowed down. To 2 - 4 candidates.
2. On campus interviews: done with the top candidates. It is up to you and the search committee to decide if you need second on-campus interviews to decide on a final candidate. Candidates must meet with the search committee, potential key colleagues and the hiring manager. Coordinate all travel and lodging arrangements with the candidate.

 

Provide candidates with a detailed schedule that identifies each interviewer, including the interviewer’s name and position. Keep the same format for each candidate and allow an equal amount of time for each candidate to answer questions. Consider offering a campus tour to familiarize the candidate with all that MICA has to offer. 

If any candidates make you aware of a disability accommodation needed during the interview process, contact the Office of Human Resources immediately.

Develop interview questions

It is important to ask appropriate questions throughout the hiring process to ensure an equitable experience for all candidates. Hiring managers and search committees should refrain from asking broad questions regarding personal interests and activities, as it may require the candidate to disclose private information such as their political affiliation and/or religious beliefs. Avoid discussing personal matters with candidates, however, if such personal information is disclosed by the candidate, that information should not be considered in your hiring decisions. Questions should be based on job duties, qualifications, and competencies. It is integral that the committee use the same set of questions for each candidate. Interview questions or comments made during the interview should be job related.

Title VII protections apply equally to all employees and applicants. Different treatment based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic can be unlawful discrimination. We recommends asking behavioral or situational interview questions, where you ask the candidate to provide an example of how they behaved or would behave in different situations. Technical/ competency based questions should also be asked to help the search committee evaluate each candidate’s qualifications.

During the interview, be sure to engage candidates. Introduce committee members and provide an overview of the position. This is your opportunity to discuss the work hours for the position, benefits, office culture, etc. Remember to allow time at the end of the interview for candidates to ask questions.

 Committee members are encouraged to make notes on the answers to all questions and to submit them to the committee chair for inclusion in the search file. Brief notes that capture the essence of each response can be especially helpful if a search process is challenged. Investigators may not have to involve committee members in an investigation if search-related documents are comprehensive and explain the rationale behind selection decisions.

 Review Appendix VII Guidelines for Interviewing and contact your HR representative if you need help with interview formats, questions, etc.

Phase 3: Selecting and Hiring a Candidate

Following the interview, solicit feedback quickly from interviewers to ensure that thoughts and impressions aren’t forgotten (or confused with other candidates). Consider utilizing a survey tool like Qualtrics to gather feedback.

 Although you’ve already solicited feedback from all interviewers (many of whom were likely search committee members), it’s always helpful to get the search committee together one last time to discuss and compare all candidates. Consider ranking the candidates in case your first choice doesn’t work out. Important questions to consider:

1. Have they demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the job duties outlined in the job description?
2. Do they have previous work experience that relates to the role you are looking to fill?
3. When reviewing departmental needs, can this candidate fulfill the current needs of the department?

Conduct reference checks

Reference checks are a critical part of the selection process that could give you insight into the candidate’s current and past performance. The search committee must conduct reference checks on the top three candidates. The hiring manager is encouraged to personally call supervisory references.

 Questions to the references must be job related. Disregard information that is clearly unrelated to the position requirements. Information obtained in a reference check is completely confidential, but may be subjected to a court order.

Offer

Move the selected candidate to Offer stage in Workday. The Office of Human Resources will complete a compensation analysis to determine the selected candidate’s hourly rate or annual salary. HR will make the offer to the candidate and provide confirmation of acceptance of offer and start date.

Ethics and Confidentiality

MICA provides equal opportunity with respect to all employment practices, including recruiting, interviewing, selection, and employment, and administers such practices without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, or religion. In order to ensure a fair and equitable search process, committee members should maintain accurate records and notes, and understand this information is public record. 

Search Committee members should not enter the search process with any pre-conceived notions of a final candidate. Finally, all information should be kept confidential within the committee and the Office of Human Resources.

Hiring Checklist

• Complete a position assessment
• Draft or update the job description
• Obtain approvals from your supervisor, HR and Finance (if applicable)
• Submit the job requisition all approvals in Workday
• Contact Human Resources to discuss your recruitment strategy and timeline.
• Review and disposition applicants with consideration to candidates that meet and/or exceed the defined qualifications
• Schedule initial screening and narrow down the candidat pool
• Schedule and conduct at least three in-person interviews 
• Send the Interview Evaluation Questionnaire to search committee members; each member should complete an evaluation for each candidate they interview  
• Complete at least three professional reference checks for the selected candidate using the Reference Check Form
• After a selection has been made, move the selected candidate to the offer stage in Workday.
• Ensure that HR sends regret letters to non-selected candidates in Workday.