Employee Hiring Process

1. Hiring supervisor will notify Human Resources of pending vacancy (replacement or new position).
2. Hiring supervisor will complete a Request to Hire Form, attach an updated job description and return the paperwork to HR.
3. HR will circulate Request to Hire form for all necessary signatures.
4. When all approvals have been obtained, H.R. will post it on the Molloy website, www.higheredjobs.com diversejobs.net, and the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. HR will work with hiring supervisor to decide where else the job should be advertised. Ads in any discipline or field specific publication or website will be paid for by the hiring department, all others will be paid for by Human Resources.
5. In all cases, the position will be posted for a minimum of five days to ensure that internal applicants have had the opportunity to apply.
6. HR will meet with hiring supervisor to determine the level of screening to be completed by Human Resources.
7. Hiring supervisor will assemble a search committee* consisting of hiring supervisor, other appropriate members of the department, someone from a related department, a representative from HR, and a member from a diverse background. An odd number of people is recommended to aid in decision making.
8. The search committee and/or hiring supervisor in conjunction with HR (when a search committee is not required) will review all qualified applicants and decide which should be granted a preliminary interview. As a general guideline, 5-8 candidates is a good starting point.
9. It will be HR's sole responsibility to screen candidates for salary, hours and other job related requirements and schedule interviews at the committee's convenience.
10. At the first search committee meeting, the HR representative will discuss the university's commitment to Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in its hiring. Committee members should bring their calendars and all subsequent committee meetings should be scheduled.
11. The search committee and/or the hiring supervisor in conjunction with HR will conduct interviews. In consultation with his or her supervisor, the hiring supervisor will make a final decision based on the committee's recommendation and notify HR. At the appropriate Vice President's discretion, the candidate may be asked to return to Campus for a second interview.
12. HR will send a Reference Waiver form to the chosen candidate and upon receipt, contact and document 2-3 references.
13. HR will extend an offer and send a formal offer letter detailing salary, title and start date. Salaries should only be quoted by HR. Chosen candidate should return the signed original to HR on his or her first day of work.
14. Upon acceptance of the offer, HR will notify in writing all candidates who interviewed but were not selected. HR will also complete all affirmative action paperwork.
15. Chosen candidate should visit HR office on first day of work to complete employment paperwork.

If any questions arise at any point during this process, contact the Office of Human Resources at 516.323.3050.

* Positions where an employee is responsible for personnel and/or budget(s) require a selection committee.

All tenure track searches will be national and will follow best practices for recruiting diverse candidate pools.  An excellent resource is Stewart, Abigail J., and Virginia Valian, (2018) An Inclusive Academy: Achieving Diversity and Excellence, MIT Press.  Copies can be made available to any search committee member.  Search committee members and chairpersons are appointed by the Dean in consultation with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. 

The Position Description and Posting: The position description should be drafted by the chair of the search committee; it is the document that prospective job candidates review to discern whether their background and experiences qualify with what the department is seeking from its applicant pool. 

• It should be as broad and include as few required qualifications as possible.  PhD, MFA., required certifications/licenses (in the latter case eligibility to achieve licensure whenever possible) The more qualifications or requirements included the narrower your pool is likely to be. 

• The Dean should review position descriptions prior to sending them to the Provost’s Office as part of the request to hire process. The Provost will review the position description and discuss any concerns with you prior to approval for posting. 
• Upon approval, Human Resources will assign a representative as the point of contact for the search committee chair. 

All searches are advertised by Human Resources on the following sites: 

• Molloy University Website. 
• Chronicle Jobs. 

• Diverse Issues in Higher Education. 
• Higher ED Jobs.com. 
• HERC. 
• Any professional organizations and/or disciplinary job boards – as identified by the Dean. 

Other recruitment avenues that should be pursued by the Search Committee Chair: 

• Posting announcements on LinkedIn, with links to the position in ADP. 
• Emails to graduate directors of graduate programs, especially those programs producing large numbers of minority and women candidates, with the ad attached. 
• Active recruitment at conferences and with colleagues around the country. 

Application Materials for all candidates for tenured or tenure-track positions should include: 

• Curriculum Vitae. 

• Letter of application. 
• A research/artist's statement. 
• A statement regarding their teaching philosophy. 
• A specific diversity statement that responds to the following: Molloy University values contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We ask that applicants comment in a separate statement about how their research, teaching, and/or service in the past, present, and/or future could contribute to these values. 
• The names and contact information for 3 current references. 

The Search Committee: 

• Committee membership should be as diverse as possible and should include individuals with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise.  
• All committees should include a trained equity advocate (list available from HR), and a minimum of at least three other tenured, clinical, or tenure-track faculty members. 
• All committee members, including the equity advocate, must be present for all search committee meetings and interviews. Recording of interviews and meetings is not a substitute for participation. All members must be present.  
• Search committee members should agree upon the evaluation criteria and commit to keeping it at the forefront of the search process.  

• Search committee members need to maintain a strict level of confidentiality to protect the privacy of the candidates and to preserve the integrity of the search process. It is each committee member’s responsibility not to discuss any details of the search with non-committee members.  
• If a search committee member is well acquainted with or has a conflict of interest regarding an applicant, the member must:  

• Notify the search chair and the committee of the nature of the relationship; and recuse themself from the entire committee if unable to perform an objective and equitable review of all candidates; or  
• Recuse themself from the evaluation and interview of only the known applicant, with the agreement of the chair and committee. 

Guidelines for Reviewing Candidate Pools 

• The search committee meets to evaluate candidate CVs and identify all minimally qualified candidates e.g., appropriate degree based on the agreed upon evaluation criteria.  
• At the first meeting of the search committee, prior to the review of any candidate, the Equity Advocate will provide a review of DEI best practices and their role on the committee. 
• Strive for inclusion.  
• Assume candidates are willing to relocate if they have applied. 
• Cultivate an interest in those that will bring something new – not reproduce something that already exists in the unit. 

• When there are gaps in knowledge of an applicant's background – research it to fill in the blanks with facts.  
• Human Resources will utilize and review data from the ADP system and other sources as well as feedback from the Equity Advocate to analyze and ensure an equitable process was followed in identifying these candidates. 

Interview Process 

• Committees should develop a core set of questions for all applicants that will elicit the necessary information to make an evaluation of the candidates’ qualifications and allow an equitable comparison of the candidates and submit to Human Resources before the first interview. To ensure equity, the interview experience should be consistent, providing the same opportunities to each candidate. 
• Committee members should review the Topics to Avoid (Appendix 2) to be aware of questions that are unlawful or otherwise inappropriate and should not be asked during the interview. Accordingly, the same questions that are inappropriate or unlawful during a formal interview are also inappropriate and unlawful in a social or less formal interview session with an applicant. 

Preliminary Interviews 

• Once the search committee has settled on a group of candidates for preliminary interviews (usually 5-7), these candidates, along with a brief written rationale, should be forwarded to the Dean for their information and review.  
• Preliminary interviews should be conducted via zoom or teams. 
• Preliminary interview appointments are scheduled by staff in the Dean’s Office with a copy of confirmed candidates to their HR contact. The Dean’s office can delegate to Department Chair or Program Director as appropriate. 
• Should include an introduction of the candidate to the interviewers and describe how the interview will be conducted. 

• Should open with a question the applicant can easily answer and establish a relaxed tone for the interview from the beginning.  
• Include open-ended questions to encourage the applicant to give full, detailed responses and should avoid leading questions or statements that suggest the response the applicant should give. 

On-Campus Interviews 

Obtaining approval 

• Once the search committee has settled on a group of three unranked candidates to bring to campus, these candidates, along with a brief written rationale, should be forwarded to the Dean. 

• The Dean should approve the shortlist and send it to Human Resources for review and scheduling.  
• Arrangements and appointments are set up by HR with the candidates and the members of the search committee. 

On campus Interviews of candidates under consideration should include: 

• A research discussion open to faculty and students (advertised to relevant faculty and students). 
• A teaching demonstration open to departmental faculty and students. 

• Interviews with faculty in the department. 
• Interview with faculty from other departments who may share areas of teaching/research. 
• Interview with the Department leadership.  
• Interview with the Dean. 
• A tour of campus and meal with a diverse group of Molloy community members. 

• Q and A session with a member of the Human Resources Department. 

Search Waiver Process 

• Occasionally there may be a compelling reason to waive a national search in favor of a local search or an internal hire.  On these rare occasions, a formal request that provides the critical business reasons and justification why you are not able to search must be made in writing on the Search Waiver Request form. The waiver process request must be approved by all of the following listed below:  

• Chair/Program Director 
• Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs 

• Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion 
• Assistant Vice President of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator 

Interview Expenses 

• Interview Expense and Relocation Policy  

Reference Interview Guidelines 

• The Search Committee should contact several listed references for the finalist.   
• Ask the reference to verify dates of employment, job responsibilities, and job performance. All questions must be job-related.  
• Use the interview as an opportunity to learn more about the candidate rather than to have the reference merely summarize what he or she wrote in a letter of recommendation. 

• Ask specific, pointed questions but also give the person being interviewed an opportunity to furnish further information (“Is there anything else you believe the search committee needs to know?” “Is there anyone else I should call?”).  

• In talking with a supervisor, ask if the person would rehire the applicant.  

• Documented with detailed notes on each reference interview conducted. 
• Summarize and submit to Dean and Human Resources. 
• Candidate Evaluation Attendees at research talks and teaching demonstrations (including students) should be asked for feedback.  The mechanism for feedback should be structured (Appendix 3). 
• Discussion of the candidates should focus on the selection criteria. 
• Should not rely heavily on fit. Instead, should focus more on strengths and cultural add, and what new factors a candidate may bring to Molloy. 

Identified candidates should be forwarded to the dean along with a rationale based upon the selection criteria. 

Salary Calculation  

• The Dean has the maximum budgeted salary for the position for use in discussing salary expectations with finalists.  This maximum may not be exceeded without prior approval and should not be used as the beginning point for negotiations. 
• After review and clarification (if necessary), the Dean will forward the materials to the Provost’s office for review, discussion, and final approval for hire. 
• The Dean makes the verbal offer to the final candidate including rank, title, and salary. 

• Official letters of offer will be centrally generated by the Provost’s Office. 

Sponsorship 

• The University provides visa sponsorship to enable scholars to enter the U.S. and to remain employed at Molloy for the time required to fulfill the intended purpose of the visit. 
• In general, the University provides visa sponsorship for post-doctoral researchers and faculty members only.  
• If you are uncertain whether an individual’s appointment would be eligible for visa sponsorship, please reach out to Human Resources to discuss further.  

Documentation of the Search  

HR will maintain the following records of the search for three years:  

• a copy of the position announcement.  
• a copy of all advertisements announcing the position.  
• a list of where the position was posted.  
• a summary of efforts made to develop a large, diverse pool of applicants. 
• copies of sample letters sent to applicant's core questions used in the interview. 

Post-Appointment  

The selected candidate must attend an Onboarding Session with the Human Resources Office prior to the start date of employment. At this session, newly hired faculty members receive access and instructions to receive their Molloy ID, parking permit, email address and access to Canvas and/or other applicable software.  

As per federal regulations, the new faculty member must visit Human Resources or affiliate offices within the first 3 days of employment to complete the federal 1-9 form documenting employment eligibility. 

New Faculty Orientation  

New Faculty Orientation is conducted each August, prior to the start of each academic year. This orientation is conducted to introduce new faculty to the Molloy Community and expose them to the Molloy Mission, key resources, employee benefits and other supports available to them in their new role at Molloy.