Hiring Guidance
Best Practices for the Recruiting and Hiring Process
Introduction
This page aims to provide hiring authorities and hiring committees across campus with guidance on how to attract candidates and assess qualifications that relate to advancing the campus mission, which includes creating and supporting campus environments where everyone matters and all can thrive. When making hiring decisions, CU Boulder is prohibited under both federal and state law, as well as university policy, from considering as factors race, color, national origin/ancestry, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, political philosophy, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and other protected characteristics. CU Boulder must comply with all state and federal nondiscrimination laws, which include addressing biases and barriers during the search process to ensure a level playing field for all job candidates so that its hiring decisions are based on merit as set by the job requirements. This guidance includes best practices for recruiting, evaluating candidates, and making hiring decisions.
Forming a Hiring Committee
Formal search committees are not required for most positions at the University of Colorado Boulder, though a hiring committee or team is often utilized to assist with candidate evaluation. When assembling a hiring committee, hiring authorities should seek to create a diverse and broad hiring committee to ensure a balanced perspective. One option to consider is asking those who will work or interact with the eventual hire, even if not part of the hiring unit or team, to serve on the hiring committee. This includes students, as there is no prohibition on allowing students to serve on a hiring committee. Individuals from outside a hiring department or the university may be invited to serve on a hiring committee to share insights, challenge assumptions and bring lessons of experience from other perspectives, disciplines, and organizations. The guiding principles for selecting those on a hiring committee should be identifying individuals who have the necessary subject matter expertise related to the position to make informed decisions when reviewing application materials, evaluating and responding to interviews, and making recommendations.
Beyond the hiring committee, departments and hiring authorities should consider identifying a neutral search contact for candidates to contact with general questions. This contact can also provide information about employee resources, employee resource groups, programs/events on campus and in the community, or information about living in the area. Candidates can ask this neutral party questions that they may not be comfortable asking the hiring committee or search chair. Additionally, questions from candidates may provide information that should not be revealed to the hiring committee or considered as part of the evaluation of the candidate, such as family status or disability information. This contact can also support the candidate with accommodation requests or provide technical support on tools the candidate may be unfamiliar with during the search process, including uploading documents when applying.
For staff searches, the assigned recruiter from the Talent Acquisition team can serve in this role. In most cases, faculty and research faculty searches do not have an assigned recruiter from the Talent Acquisition team to act as the neutral point of contact. If it is not possible to designate someone not on the committee to serve in this role, a committee member or search chair can serve in this role, and it should be made clear to candidates that information or questions shared with this designee will not be considered in the hiring decision. The Talent Acquisition Team can serve in this role for faculty and research faculty by request.
All hiring committee members are bound by the same rules of confidentiality. Information about specific candidates, including application materials and who has applied to a job posting, should not be disclosed to anyone who is not on the hiring committee or is not part of the supervisory upline for the position. The confidentiality of candidate information extends until candidates are identified as finalists, at which time those candidates’ information and materials can be shared with others, such as for department-wide interviews, open forums, job talks and presentations, or voting on faculty candidates. Candidates should be informed when their information is shared more broadly to ensure they are prepared for their candidacy to become more public. Confidentiality, to the extent possible, is still expected at this stage and only those involved in candidate evaluation should have access to candidate information. For candidates who are not selected as finalists, it is expected that their information remains confidential in perpetuity.
Job Posting and Job Description
When creating the job posting, use inclusive language that appeals to as broad an audience as possible. The job posting must avoid terms that may exclude certain groups or indicate any type of preference based on a protected class. The Talent Acquisition team can review your job posting and, along with their professional recruiting experience, use additional writing tools to ensure job postings appeal to a broad pool of candidates. For staff positions, the job posting will be based on the position description that has been reviewed and updated by the Position Management and Compensation team within Human Resources. Faculty and Research Faculty should use prior job postings or job descriptions as a starting point for creating a job posting.
Factors that will be used as criteria in evaluating candidates during the selection process should be listed in the job posting, which should define the objective job-related criteria used throughout the search process in evaluating candidates. The stated job requirements should define minimum and preferred qualifications objectively. All job requirements listed in job descriptions and job advertisements must be job-related and necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position. These job requirements must be legitimately related to the duties of the role and cannot be a proxy for race or other protected class characteristics. This means not only that the university is prohibited from attempting to determine or elicit protected class information during the search process, but also that using otherwise lawful, non-protected class information simply as a substitute for protected class characteristics, such as race, is prohibited.
Job postings should avoid overly burdensome requirements that may create barriers for candidates. Examples include unnecessary or unrelated degree requirements if work-related experience would suffice (such as for most staff positions) or listing physical requirements that are either inaccurate or unnecessary for the role. Minimum requirements should be consistent for similar positions on campus and are defined based on the position's duties for all staff positions per the salary equity requirements of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA).
As required by the EPEWA, job postings must clearly state the salary range and benefits that will be provided. This also ensures transparency and attracts a wide range of candidates because they do not have to guess the expected compensation. The salary range listed spans the lowest salary and the highest salary that the hiring department reasonably believes it will offer for the specific position. Any other monetary compensation, such as benefits, bonuses, or moving expenses, must also be included in the job posting. While specific amounts of additional compensation and benefits do not have to be provided, the university must at least describe the nature of the benefits and what they provide. Additionally, the EPEWA also requires that the job posting include an application deadline that is a good-faith estimate of when the application period will close. While the job posting cannot solely use language such as “open until filled,” it can provide an initial or priority consideration date for applications.
All University of Colorado job postings, approved by all campuses and System administration, will include the following language: CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Outreach
Hiring committees and hiring authorities should seek to recruit a pool of qualified candidates that is as broad and robust as possible. While CU Boulder job postings are already distributed widely when listed on the CU Job site, departments and hiring teams should consider additional outreach efforts to ensure wide distribution of the job posting. Targeted outreach to specific sources and organizations is allowed, such as gender-specific or identify-specific sources, but must not be the only outreach activities that are used.
Outreach efforts a department can engage in include:
● Asking current department faculty, staff, and students to identify potential candidates and sending personal invitations to apply. Personal invitations are acceptable as long as no special consideration or promises are made to those candidates.
● Sharing with networks of people in the professional field or academic area of discipline.
● Identifying and sharing with relevant professional associations, websites, or organizations.
● Identifying where people in this discipline/profession come together (professional meetings, conferences, lecture series, etc.) and sharing the job posting at these events.
● Identifying where experts in a specific discipline or field work, such as strong departments at other universities, and inviting those experts to apply or share with their networks.
● Identifying student programs, affinity groups, employee resource groups, and placement offices at other universities and institutions, including identity-based universities and colleges, as long as that is not the sole source of outreach efforts and no special consideration or promises are made to those candidates.
Screening Applications
When reviewing applications, hiring committees should screen candidates based on the objective job-related criteria stated in the job posting and avoid comparing candidates against each other. Committees should use an evaluation rubric to track each application and document job-related notes to assess whether candidates meet the minimum and preferred qualifications for the position. For this reason, job qualifications must be clear, objective, and non-comparative relative to the other candidates. The hiring committee should understand the qualifications in full (e.g., definitions of “relevant degree” or “related field”) before evaluating any applications and apply the criteria consistently for each candidate throughout the hiring process. Documenting the reasons why candidates do not move forward in the search process is essential if the search is challenged. Ratings and evaluations can be entered directly into Avature for all searches.
Hiring committees should take steps to ensure focus is on the job-related objective criteria identified for the position when reviewing applications. Although focusing the evaluation of candidates on job-related objective criteria should ensure an equitable review of candidates, it is further recommended that each application be reviewed by the full committee, when possible, to ensure all aspects of the committee’s subject matter expertise is considered for each candidate. If exceptions are made, such as when there is a large number of candidate applications, it is recommended that each application be reviewed by at least two committee members.
Any factors that will be used as criteria in the rubric for evaluating candidates should have been listed in the job posting. While each hiring committee member will independently evaluate each candidate, using a rubric ensures that each candidate is evaluated based on the same criteria. A recommended practice when evaluating candidates is to use a “yes/maybe/no” evaluation rating (or a similar “green/yellow/red” scale) rather than a numerical ranking. A numerical ranking can create a false belief that the individual with the highest score is more qualified and that candidates below the top score are unqualified or otherwise not well-qualified candidates for the position.
Interview Questions and Process
Hiring committees must ensure that all interview questions are job-related, do not elicit protected characteristics, and do not delve into information employers cannot legally ask about. Examples of illegal questions include questions about age, arrests or criminal convictions, birthplace or citizenship, financial information, language skills (unrelated to the ability to perform the job duties), marital or family status, physical or health information, or religion. If you have questions about the legality or use of specific interview questions, the Talent Acquisition team can review and suggest interview questions for you. The Talent Acquisition team will provide interview questions for all staff searches, in collaboration with the hiring team.
Hiring committees should develop a set of consistent core questions to ask each candidate based on the job requirements and duties identified in the job posting. Candidates should be asked behavioral-based questions, eliciting specific examples of experience related to the job-related objective qualifications for the position. Behavior-based interview questions are designed to assess prior work experience as predictive of future performance. By asking behavior-based interview questions, hiring teams can avoid evaluating candidates based on less reliable philosophical or theoretical answers from candidates. To the extent possible for equity purposes, all interviews should include the same interviewers to ensure that all candidates have the same interview experience and are consistently evaluated and compared by the same set of committee members. If a hiring committee member must miss an interview, they should not participate in discussion and evaluation about the missed candidate’s interview.
Although the same set of core questions should be asked of each candidate, the hiring committee can ask follow-up or specific questions of each candidate based on prior interview answers or information from the application materials. These questions should be used to shore up any information gaps and ensure that the hiring committee fully understands the candidate's relevant experience. The follow-up questions should be used for greater understanding and must follow all other interview guidance related to legal and job-related inquiries. If during the interview, information related to protected class status is disclosed by a candidate, it should not be used in assessing the candidate as it is not relevant to the person's qualifications or ability to perform the job duties. Candidates may offer this information without prompting, and hiring committees should ignore the disclosure and remain focused on the predetermined job-related interview questions.
Allowable inquiries include exploration with candidates on how their prior work experience has created and supported environments where everyone matters and all can thrive. This can be done as a stand-alone question or as a follow-up question if this information is relevant to the question and was not fully addressed in the candidate's answer.
The interview process itself must be open and accessible to all candidates and incorporate universal design principles. Such practices are intended to minimize barriers for candidates and make it accessible for people with a broad range of characteristics and abilities. Examples include providing captioning and posting the interview questions in the chat feature for video interviews and providing printed copies of the interview questions for candidates during in-person interviews. It is not recommended that the hiring committee share interview questions in advance; however, sharing with candidates topical areas that will be covered in the interview is helpful, as well as what the format of the interviews will be and type of questions that will be asked (i.e. behavioral interview questions). This enables candidates to prepare examples of the work they have done and to understand that the committee may probe and ask for more examples and details during the interview.
In advance of in-person interviews, a representative of the hiring committee should provide logistical details about parking and location, and if possible, designate a guide to meet with each candidate and take them from each interview space to the next. Candidates should be provided with a contact person to make accommodation requests as needed. To the extent possible, it is helpful to provide information on accessible parking, pathways, and building entrances; and provide application materials in an accessible format. It is also important to include breaks during longer or multiple interview sessions; provide water and identify bathroom access; provide access to a lactation space if necessary; and provide a point of contact for candidates if they have any questions or issues that may arise. If candidates require accommodations, hiring committees can consult with Human Resources and/or the Office of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator.
Hiring Decisions and Recommendations
As indicated above, whether a hiring committee is making a hiring decision or referring a candidate to a hiring authority, CU Boulder is prohibited from taking into account factors such as race, color, national origin/ancestry, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, veteran status, marital status, political affiliation, political philosophy, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, and other protected characteristics. The hiring recommendation must focus on a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities as they relate to the job criteria as stated in the job announcement. When citing reasons for the hiring recommendation, the hiring committee or decision-maker must be able to identify a rationale based on information provided either in the application materials, during the interview process, or through our reference check process. As outlined in the campus background check policy, reference checks are required for all final candidates and should be conducted before an offer is made. Reference checks should be related to the position description or job posting and be consistent for all candidates. Assumptions or stereotypes cannot be used in making hiring recommendations or in other candidate decisions.
Committees should also ensure that their candidate evaluation and recommendation are not based on any of their own cognitive biases about a candidate or their background. Rationales such as the need to increase the diversity within a specific field or to reflect the demographics of the population—whether it be the student population or a geographic location—are not job-related and will not suffice to justify a hiring recommendation or decision. A hiring recommendation or decision cannot be motivated in whole or in part by any protected class characteristic.
As required by the EPEWA, the final salary offer must be made within the parameters of the salary range included in the job posting. Salary setting should be made based on allowable factors, including the candidate's specific job-related experience and internal equity. Human Resources can assist in finalizing an offer.
Candidate Care
It is important to remember that during a search process, candidates are evaluating CU Boulder as much as the hiring committee is evaluating them. Creating a positive candidate experience amplifies the reputation of CU Boulder broadly and increases the likelihood that a candidate will accept an offer of employment. A positive candidate experience also increases the likelihood that they will refer others to jobs at CU Boulder and that they will apply again to CU Boulder even if not selected during the current search process.
As such, either the search lead, the department, or the assigned recruiter from Talent Acquisition should communicate the stages of the search process and timelines that will be followed so that candidates know what to expect at each step of the search process. In the event that search timelines are extended, updates should be provided to candidates on the status of the search. When a hiring decision is made, the candidates not selected should be informed in as timely a manner as possible. This helps reduce candidate stress and ensures candidates have a positive experience.
Additionally, all communication with candidates should proactively guide how candidates can request accommodations throughout the search process. Beyond legal requirements, such actions demonstrate the department’s commitment to inclusivity and creating a welcoming environment for all candidates.
Conclusion
By following these best practices, hiring authorities can ensure a fair, consistent, and equitable hiring process that incorporates the campus’ mission of creating and supporting campus environments where everyone matters and all can thrive. This document serves as a guide to help hiring committees and authorities legally and effectively consider candidate qualifications and make decisions based on merit without discriminating based on personal characteristics or identity.