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Chapter 5: Search Activities Recruitment

Recruitment

Questions a search committee or hiring officer might wish to answer before launching the search are:

1. Who will really be interested in the position?
2. Where exactly should we look for candidates?
3. What advantages can UIC offer to attract applicants?
4. Whom do we know, especially from under-represented groups, to recruit for this position?

The answers to these questions will dictate the search methodology.



Internal Candidates

For administrative or professional appointments, the hiring officer or search committee should determine whether an internal candidate or candidates offer sufficient advantages and warrant special consideration.

It should take less time for someone already employed at UIC to train for a new position for which he or she is qualified. An inside candidate from an under-represented group helps meet an additional objective: advancing women and minority individuals on UIC's academic staff. OAE views internal candidates favorably and can often accommodate this approach by permitting limited searches (limited to the unit, campus, or University) or even, where equal opportunity standards can be met, by waiving the search requirement altogether.

To find candidates on campus the following can be done:

1. Post announcements in departments where candidates with acceptable qualifications are likely to be found.
2. Advertise in the gratis campus publication UIC News.
3. Solicit nominations from the campus community.

Ensure that all candidates are given fair consideration and are evaluated by the same criteria.

External Candidates

Faculty positions will invariably require the solicitation of candidates from a national pool. Furthermore, administrative positions, especially where the internal candidate pool is small and not diverse, would be best filled by an external candidate. External candidates can bring needed expertise to the campus, fresh perspectives, and new areas of research to a department.

To find candidates off campus, try the following:

1. Consult with the appropriate unit or units on campus for direction and recommendations.
2. Use the Encyclopedia of Associations available in the reference section of the campus's two libraries (and on the UIC Electronic Reference Shelf) to contact appropriate professional or academic organizations.
3. Contact the women's and minority affairs offices of the American Council on Education in Washington, DC., telephone: 202-939-9390 (women) and 202-939-9395 (minorities) to help with recruitment of qualified female and minority applicants in colleges and universities.
4. Use OAE's large data base of both female and minority organizations and individuals to establish contacts.

Use personal contacts to help identify individuals for the position. Personal contacts can be extremely useful. A couple of pointers:

1. Telephone calls placed to persons able to recommend individuals can, but need not, be scheduled or announced in advance by letter or other means of notification. Search committee members should actively participate in the recruitment process and be encouraged to place calls.
2. Nominations may be invited. Self-nominations are usually honest indicators of interest in the position. However, beware of nominations from other institutions made to get rid of someone.

Streamlining the Recruitment Process

Below are some recommendations for streamlining the recruitment process:

1. Invite inquiries about the position and have a full position description prepared to dispatch in response to such inquiries.
2. Invite and consider only résumés and CVs suited to the position. Send all applicants a written response and an Equal Opportunity Information Request form coded for the search.
3. Discourage unsolicited letters of recommendation and consider only applicants whose reference letters have been received.
4. Ensure that only essential information is initially submitted. As the pool of potential candidates shrinks, additional information may be requested of candidates.
5. Discuss salary expectations with applicants and indicate the level of compensation being offered for the position.

Advertising

Announcements of academic openings must meet certain standards. Advertising to the campus is a minimal requirement, one which is met by the Job Guide in UIC News and by the "UIC Academic Employment Opportunities" listing on the Internet (http://www.uic.edu). Advertising beyond the campus must be approved in advance by OAE. At present, local searches at the Chicago campus require as a minimum that an advertisement be placed by the hiring unit in the Sunday classified section of the Chicago Tribune. National advertising, a requirement for most administrative and faculty positions, must be handled by the hiring unit.

While ad length and level of descriptive detail are departmental prerogatives, all announcements, including informal ones intended for limited posting, should contain:

Position rank or title
1. Minimal qualifications for application
2. The contact person's name, address, and phone number
3. The federally mandated statement that the University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer (minimally EEO/AA)

In job descriptions, advertisements, announcements, and other recruitment texts, additional and more persuasive language about the University's commitment to equal opportunity and diversity is encouraged. The following are examples:

1. The University of Illinois at Chicago has a strong institutional commitment to the principle of diversity. In that spirit, it is particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of people, including women, members of ethnic minorities, and differently-abled individuals.
2. The successful candidate will have demonstrated commitment to recruiting and retaining an ethnically, culturally diverse faculty and staff.
3. UIC is strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity and actively encourages applications from and nominations of women, persons of color, and members of under-represented groups.
4. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated proven ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with diverse groups and individuals.

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