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SESSION 2547

DOES HIRING NEED TO BE A CRAPSHOOT?

Dr. Warren R. Hill Weber State University

Abstract The hiring decision is probably one of the most critical decisions we make in higher education. This is true whether we are hiring faculty or staff. A wrong hire can create problems that can ripple far beyond the hiring unit while a good hire can do wonders for a program. This paper discusses the hiring process and what we can do as faculty and administrators to help assure that the people we bring into our institutions are going to help us become better. Included are ways to increase the size of the applicant pool, how to reach minorities and women, how to evaluate the applications you receive, how to conduct your interviews, and how to do reference checking. Finally, there is an overview of what you should be looking for in the final selection process.

Introduction There are two very critical times in the employment relationship between a faculty member and his or her institution, the time of hire and the time of granting tenure. As Gmelch and Miskin put it, "No other decision your department will make will be as important as the selection of a faculty colleague.” 1 Another important point about the hiring process is that "Despite significant expenditure of human and economic capital, most academics have received no formal training on how to conduct a faculty search." 2 This problem is exacerbated by the fact that many departments typically conduct searches very infrequently and thus lack experience in doing searches. Because administrators tend to have more experience with hires, the administrator's role becomes critical in the hiring process.

The question that this paper seeks to address is how to reduce the uncertainty in this very critical process. There are several important steps in the hiring process, which if done well, should reduce the uncertainty and help to find the best candidate for a particular position. This paper will review each of these steps and look at some of the elements of these steps that can be applied in any hiring circumstance. These include the position description, advertising, the initial screening process, the interview, reference checking, and the final offer. The basic elements of each of these steps will be reviewed and outlined and are based upon the processes used at my institution and upon my personal experiences.

Defining the Position There are a number of factors that need to be taken into account when the position description is written. These include such things as whether this is a tenure track or non-tenure track position, what specific expertise is being sought, and what kind of experience is desired. Experience could include both teaching and employment experiences. For a faculty position, normally the level and types of degrees are also important factors.

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Hill, W. (2005, June), Does Hiring Neet To Be A Crapshoot? Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15249