RECRUITING PROCEDURES
AND RESPONSIBILITIES
| The Recruiter's Role | |
| Canceling or Placing a Position on Hold | |
In addition to helping you find the best candidates for your open positions, your Recruiter is also a valuable resource who is available to answer your questions about Vanderbilt policies and procedures and state and national employment requirements. Your Recruiter can offer recommendations and information that will help insure that you are in compliance with the regulations monitored by the Opportunity Development Center (ODC). They may also be considered your doorway to Human Resources, providing contact information and insight into additional services. Don’t hesitate to make use of the knowledge and skills that are available to enhance the employment experience for you and your staff.
Quick Summary of Recruitment Procedures
- Hiring Official - Completes PMF and forwards for appropriate signatures. PDQ should also be completed for creating new or reclassifying existing positions.
- Recruiter – Receives PMF, contacts hiring official if clarification of needs is needed, enters position into Recruiting Solutions and posts position on Vanderbilt Jobline
- Recruiter – Screens applications and recommends best candidates for the position to Hiring Official by forwarding candidate information
- Recruiter- Completes SAR for all candidates not forwarded to hiring manager
- Hiring Official– Reviews applications received and schedules interviews with those in whom he/she is interested. Those Hiring Officials who have received Targeted Selection training should discuss with the Recruiter the role the Recruiter will play in the interview process.
- Hiring Official - Redirects candidates who attempt to apply directly to department to complete online application through HR
- Hiring Official - Notifies recruiter if more applications are needed.
- Hiring Official – Notifies candidates in whom he/she is NOT interested that they are no longer being considered for position (email or letter through post)
- Hiring Official - Selects candidate to hire
- Hiring Official – Requests salary recommendation from Recruiter for candidate whom he/she is considering hiring
- Recruiter– Completes salary recommendation – responds with results to Hiring Official
- Hiring Official – Obtains references on candidate including most recent VU supervisor if candidate is current or past employee
- Hiring Official - Notifies Recruiter to begin background check if offer of position to candidate is inevitable
- Recruiter - Obtains signed Background Consent Form from candidate
- Recruiter – Begins background check – notifies Hiring Official with results when completed (if does not pass, Hiring Official moves to next candidate – Recruiter will notify non-eligible candidate)
- Hiring Official or Recruiter – Makes offer to candidate (conditional on results of background and reference checks)
- Hiring Official – Notifies Recruiter of new employee’s Start Date
- Hiring Official – sends PAF to payroll, arranges for Orientation for new hire
- Recruiter – Closes position
- Hiring Official – Completes online SAR for all candidates whose applications he/she has received from Recruiter.
- Recruiter – Archives position
- Recruiting cannot begin until a signed PMF has been received by the Recruitment Department
- A copy of the signed PMF will be forwarded to the Hiring Official when it is received by Recruitment
- Applications will automatically be sent to the person initiating the PMF unless otherwise specified on the form. If someone other than the initiator should receive the applications, his/her name should be noted beside “Reports to Staff Position” on the PMF form or written under “Special Requirements” at the bottom of the form.
- The electronic SAR will be listed under the name of the person who receives the applications.
- At the recruiter’s discretion, a position may be held from posting until an appropriate job description is provided. Providing your own job description will help ensure that you receive more appropriately qualified applicants and will make your position stand out from others with the same title. It will also limit the applicants sent to you by your recruiter to only those who truly meet the description you provide.
- If a position does NOT have a schedule of 1st shift, Monday-Friday it is advantageous to note the hours and days on the PMF so that they may also be posted with the job description. Doing so may save a great deal of time by deterring candidates who are unwilling to work 2nd or 3rd shifts, part-time or on weekends from applying.
- All open positions must be posted for a minimum of 5 calendar days prior to an offer being made to a candidate. This includes any term or temporary positions that will last for 3 or more days.
- With few exceptions, recruiters will include "Apply-by Dates” on job postings. These dates indicate to the candidates the last day on which applications will be accepted for a position and act as notification to candidates of a limitation to each job opportunity. The Apply-by Date is determined by the Recruiter and is based on past experience of time needed to receive a fair representation of available candidates. Suggestion: If specific conditions exist where the length of posting makes a difference to the Hiring Official, he/she can note on the PMF the number of days the position should be posted (must be at least 5). If at the end of the posting period, an appropriate candidate has not been found, the Apply-by Date can be extended.
- Vanderbilt policies on minimum requirements for any position cannot be changed in the job posting. However, preferences can be listed to your specifications. For example, Vanderbilt requires an Office Assistant IV to have a high school education/GED and 3 years of experience. To this information you could add, “Some college strongly preferred” in order to draw the applicants you want.
- If details within a job posting need to be changed, the 5-day posting requirement must start over.
- For each day that a position is posted, the number of applications received increases. If a Hiring Official fills a position, wants to put one on hold or needs to cancel it, the Recruiter should be notified immediately. This helps keep the Recruiter, candidates and hiring managers up to date on the status of the position as well as maintaining accurate records required by Vanderbilt.
Screening and Viewing Applications
- Applications are screened by recruiters to insure that the Vanderbilt minimum requirements for the position are met by the candidates, that the information available indicates that the candidate has the work ethic valued by Vanderbilt, and that Hiring Officials have access to the best of the candidates without being overwhelmed by applicants who are not qualified for the position, not eligible for hire, or not a “top” candidate. Suggestion: If the applications you receive are “missing the mark,” tell your Recruiter! The better the Recruiter’s understanding is of your needs, the smoother the process is for everyone involved.
- Most candidates will include resumes with their applications. However, not all will do so. If you find a blank resume attached to the e-mail sent to you by your Recruiter, try opening the second attachment that should also be included. It will be a copy of the completed application and will have information about past work experience and education. Surprisingly, it is often in-house candidates that do not include a resume and they are often the most qualified for open positions.
- Additional information about any candidate is often available in the body of the email that you receive from your Recruiter. Before going straight to the resume, scroll down the email page to view references, interview notes, and/or brief notes directly to you from your Recruiter. This information can often make a significant difference in your understanding of the candidate.
- After reviewing the resumes referred by the Recruiter, Hiring Officials who have completed the Targeted Selection training should contact their Recruiter with the names of those candidates they wish to interview. The Recruiter will then conduct an interview with each of these candidates using the Targeted Selection method of interviewing. The Hiring Official and the Recruiter should discuss the dimensions to be covered by the Recruiter. Results of the Recruiter’s interviews will be forwarded to the Hiring Official with further discussion occurring as needed.
- At the Hiring Official’s request, Recruiters will provide or arrange for a salary recommendation for any candidate. A copy of the candidate’s resume and the position for which they are being considered will be needed by the Recruiter to perform this function.
- Salary recommendations are based on education, experience and job requirements in addition to the internal equity of the department and University/Medical Center as a whole. Quality of skills, experience and education is also considered. Based on these factors, the Recruiter will provide a salary range within which the Hiring Manager can decide upon an offer for the candidate. If a recommendation does not meet the salary a Hiring Official would like to offer a candidate, possible changes in the recommendation should be discussed with your recruiter.
- Specific steps for completing electronic SARs can be found at http://hr.vanderbilt.edu/temp/toolbox/SAR.htm
- The completion of Self-Audit Reports (SARs) is required by ODC and used as evidence that the hiring practices mandated by the government have been followed and meet EOE and Affirmative Action requirements. Neglecting to meet this requirement could result in restrictions, large fines, or ultimately, the loss of funding.
- The department is responsible for completing an SAR for every application/resume that the department views. To ensure that all recruitment and hiring requirements are met, any candidate that approaches the department directly must be asked to complete either an online application or a hard-copy application which can be obtained at any of the Vanderbilt Recruitment Offices.
- A completed SAR is due on every position within three weeks after a position has been closed. After three weeks, the position will be archived which will render the online SAR inaccessible to the Hiring Official. If this occurs, paper SAR forms must be obtained from the Opportunity Development Center (ODC) and mailed back to them upon completion.
- A User Name and Password are required to access each Hiring Official’s SAR account online. These can be obtained from your Recruiter. Many Hiring Officials have multiple SAR Accounts, one for each division or center for which they hire or have hired in the past. Each will have its own User Name and Password.
Canceling or placing a position on Hold
- Canceling or placing a position on Hold may be necessary for several reasons. Please discuss the action with your Recruiter to determine the best course of action.
- If a department decides to reclassify a position after it has been submitted to Recruitment, the original position must be cancelled. Please notify your Recruiter as soon as possible if this situation occurs so that no further applications are received for a position that no longer exists.
- A position may be placed on Hold if a department wants to postpone the hiring of any candidate. However, no position may remain on Hold for an extended period of time. As positions on Hold still have to be managed by the Recruiter, it is up to the Recruiter to set the period of time that he/she will keep a position on hold. This period is usually between 2 and 3 months. After the set period of time has passed, the position will be cancelled. When reactivating a previously opened position is not an option, a new PMF must be submitted.
- Background Checks are required on all employees who are hired into Medical Center staff positions and into University Administration staff positions from outside of Vanderbilt. Background checks are required for some in-house candidates. Discuss the details of the transfer with your recruiter to ensure that procedures are followed correctly.
- Background Checks obtain information on Education, Social Security, and criminal convictions.
- Background check consent forms may be faxed or emailed by recruitment to the candidate or may be picked up at the HR Express Office. The completed form contains personal information and should be faxed or hand delivered only to Recruitment by the candidate. It should not be returned to the hiring department.
- The process for completing a background checks takes an average of 3 days for non-international candidates. Verifying the education of international candidates can often be a lengthy process. If a copy of the candidate's diploma, translated to English when appropriate, is provided to Recruitment, it may be accepted as conditional verification of required education so that the hire of the candidate can move forward. Official verification is still required and will be pursued by Recruitment.
- If an employee is hired without first passing a required background check, that employee is required to complete a background check upon discovery of the ommission. If information that indicates the employee is ineligible for hire is obtained, the employee must be dismissed from their position immediately. Instructions on how to appeal this decision will be provided to the employee.
Vanderbilt University is committed
to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.
HR Express 2525 West End Ave Suite 218 Nashville TN 37203 Hours M-F 7:30 - 5:30 Last Updated: October 19, 2009 |
 |