Recruitment and Selection Resources

At the heart of Oregon State University (OSU) are the dedicated individuals who contribute to its vibrant community. As we envision a university where all members feel welcomed, nurtured, and empowered to reach their highest potential, we are committed to ensuring that employees embody the mission, vision, goals, and core values of the institution, reflecting the diversity of the communities we serve.

Every position at OSU is critical in achieving the collective institutional objectives. With each recruitment, we seize the opportunity to enhance the community and exemplify the university’s values of accountability, diversity, respect, and responsibility. Our commitment is demonstrated by applying fair, legal, inclusive, and effective hiring practices. 

This page provides resources for the various types of recruitment and and selection that take place at Oregon State University including Competitive Recruitment, Internal Search Options, and Search Exceptions. 

For guidance regarding student employment, please visit the Student Employment Liaison and Supervisor Resources page. 

Competitive Recruitment

Oregon State University (OSU) has a long-established practice of filling most employment openings by conducting competitive searches open to all qualified candidates. Opening recruitment opportunities to the broadest audience possible allows the university to benefit from the vast experiences and diversity available.

The resources presented below are available to offer support and guidance for conducting a competitive recruitment at OSU. Each unit or college may possess its own search requirements or guidelines. Please consult with your department for clarification.

Get acquainted with OSU’s hiring procedures and policies, or update your understanding of search protocols:

  • OSU Search Committee Training: Gain access to Search Committee Training, covering essentials like Search Compliance and Fundamentals. Note that an OSU login is required for access.
  • Search Advocate Program: Explore the details of OSU’s search advocate program— whether you wish to become an advocate or seek one for your upcoming search.
  • Search Excellence: Equip yourself with guidelines and tools essential for navigating the intricacies of the search process from beginning to end emphasizing excellence at every stage. 
    • Search Roles: Review the roles and responsibilities for search committee members. 
  • Position Development: Delve into this webpage for guidelines and tools that facilitate the creation of a well-defined position description and organizational chart. It covers crucial aspects such as classification and compensation information, appointment guidelines, and more.
  • General Information: Navigate through a variety of recruitment resources encompassing OSU’s Hiring Philosophy and Principles statement, advertising strategies, affirmative action considerations, criminal history checks, dual career support, dual status insights for students and employees, and an overview of state and federal employment laws.
  • Online PD & Recruiting System (PeopleAdmin 7): Access the Online PD & Recruiting System through this link, accompanied by helpful guides to assist you in smoothly navigating the entire process.
  • Faculty Recruitment Toolkit: Tailored for tenure-track search committees and administrators, this resource provides essential tools and guidance for successful faculty recruitment.
  • Instructor Pool Guidance: Obtain insights and guidance on requesting an academic year instructor pool posting and navigating the hiring process from an instructor pool.
  • Appointment Guidelines: Learn more about resources and guidelines specific to various appointments types.
  • Toolkit for Inclusive Excellence in Recruitment: This toolkit provides guidance on developing position descriptions that demonstrate how the position contributes to the equity and inclusion goals of the institution, and the development of diversity, equity, and inclusion interview questions. 

Familiarize yourself with the tools made available to the search committee and search support:

Develop and execute an outreach strategy to attract a diverse pool of qualified applicants:

  • Recruitment Advertising and Outreach Tools: Explore this collection of advertising and outreach tools designed to enhance your recruitment efforts. From strategic planning to execution, these resources are tailored to make your outreach more effective.
  • Recruitment Resource Guide (EOA Distribution List): Discover insights and guidance in this comprehensive guide, providing assistance in developing a robust advertising plan for your position. It also includes essential listserv information to streamline your outreach. Please note: this resource must be utilized in all external competitive searches.
  • OSU Job Announcement Taglines: Incorporate the Equal Opportunity in Employment tagline into your job announcements, reinforcing OSU’s commitment to fairness and inclusivity.
  • Talent Acquisition Support: For personalized sourcing support, reach out to Claudia Hamilton via email. Claudia’s expertise can be instrumental in identifying and attracting the right talent for your needs.
  • HR Strategic Partners: Your assigned HR Strategic Partner is a valuable resource for additional recruiting strategies. Feel free to contact them to explore customized approaches and solutions that align with your recruitment goals.

Resources for conducting interviews that positively promote employment opportunities at OSU:

  • Veterans Preference Employment Procedures: Delve into the procedures and FAQs associated with veterans' preference in the hiring process, offering clarity and guidance for fair and inclusive recruitment practices.
  • Screening Applicants: Gain insights into the initial screening process with a detailed outline complemented by examples, ensuring a thorough understanding of the procedures.
  • Applicant Disposition Worksheet (ADW): This essential resource is necessary for effectively managing candidate dispositions throughout the recruitment process. The HR Recruitment Specialist will send an ADW to the search chair post the completion of the full consideration date and/or closing date.
  • Interviewing: Equip yourself for interviews with a comprehensive guide covering preparation, welcome package ideas, checklists, question development, guidance on inappropriate questions, interview conduct, and tools for effective evaluation. This section serves as a holistic resource for a successful interview process.

Delve thoroughly into the candidate's history through the process of conducting reference and background checks:

  • Reference Checking & More: Learn the intricacies of conducting a thorough reference check, complete with sample questions and guidelines for verifying credentials, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of candidates.
  • Degree Verify: Streamline the verification process for credentials, including degrees, licenses, and certifications, by using the Degree Verify website.
  • General Background Check Information: Gain a comprehensive overview of background checks, motor vehicle history checks, and sexual misconduct reference checks, ensuring a thorough understanding of the various components involved in the vetting process.

Congratulations! You’ve selected a finalist for the position and are ready to make an offer, hire and onboard the newest addition to the team:

  • Making an Offer: Present your recommendation to the hiring manager and initiate the process of requesting an offer letter, ensuring a smooth transition from candidate selection to the onboarding phase.
  • Communicating to Applicants: Establish clear and considerate communication with applicants who will not be invited to interview or have not been selected to progress further in the recruitment process. Maintain transparency and professionalism throughout the communication process.
  • Integrating the New Employees: Before the onboarding process, pose essential questions to yourself for seamless integration of new employees into the organization. This proactive approach ensures a well-organized and welcoming onboarding experience for the new team members.

Internal Search Options

In limited circumstances, an internal competitive search may be required to fulfill university or department needs. Please review the options below for requirements specific to each search type.

Internal competitive searches are appropriate where OSU-specific knowledge is necessary for success in a position and where it seems probable that more than one current employee is minimally qualified. Internal competitive searches are open to all internal candidates.  They are university-wide opportunities and not unit specific.  Internal searches will rely heavily on established minimum qualifications for the position type.  Any changes to established qualifications or significant additions will require justification. For internal competitive searches please indicate you would like to recruit for a Competitive/Internal search on the appropriate Posting Request Form located under the Prepare section on this page or the A-Z list.  If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].   

Requests for intradepartmental searches are reviewed by the Executive Director of University Human Resources (UHR) in collaboration with the assigned HRSPs.  They will evaluate the appropriateness of the search requests. Intradepartmental searches are specific to a College, Administrative Unit or Department. They are appropriate where a position will be created using existing FTE due to budgetary limitations. These searches can also be used when a large re-organization or reduction in force has taken place, and a pool of impacted employees exists. Remaining positions will be subsequently advertised for external search. Intradepartmental searches are not posted to the UHR Career website. For intradepartmental search requests please contact your HR Strategic Partner who will work with you and the Executive Director of UHR on reviewing this request. 

Targeted/focused searches are typically used for hiring executive-level and college administrative positions (director-level and above) and target a group of uniquely qualified internal candidates. The hiring unit will be required to submit a justification outlining the process they will follow to their HR Strategic Partner for review and approval/consultation. Targeted and Focused searches are not posted on the UHR Career website. For targeted and focused search requests please reach out to your HR Strategic Partner. 

Search Exceptions

On occasion, there are circumstances in which non-competitive searches are appropriate and align with the university’s strategic mission and values. Departments requesting a search exception should work with their Human Resources Strategic Partner and review the categories below to determine if their circumstances align with potential exceptions.

Direct Promotions or Lateral Movements

Direct Promotions or noncompetitive lateral movements can occur when 1) an employee is the only available qualified individual within the potential hiring pool, 2) a demonstrated business need exists to hire internally, 3) retention of a valuable employee or 4) to support succession planning. If the unit cannot establish if an individual is the only person qualified, conducting an internal search or contacting possible internal applicants for interest is advisable. When evaluating requests, departments must establish:

Business need:  The department must establish a compelling reason to limit the hiring pool.  The pool could be limited to OSU or down to the department level, but it must be clear. Details of business needs may contain budget demands, partner relationship considerations, and timeline; it must clearly state how the established needs narrow the potential hiring pool.  Note: delays in the department's efforts to fill a position do not constitute a reasonable business need.

Uniquely qualified: Once the department has established that they are seeking a search exception due to a uniquely qualified candidate they must outline the compelling reasons. They may cite qualifications, skills, professional experience, achievements, contributions, specialized training and knowledge, and interest in the position. Departments should be explicit about the appointee being the only individual in the potential candidate pool who is qualified for the position. Uniquely qualified does not mean best qualified. The individual must be the only person who could be considered for the position from the potential hiring pool established by the business needs.

To discuss promotions please contact the Classification and Compensation team at [email protected].

Expansion of Duties Promotions (i.e. reclassifications or realignments) are used to recognize someone who has taken on greater responsibility and complexity in their duties due to institutional need and when the unit/department is not backfilling the position or reassigning significant or essential functions of the existing position. The department must be able to document what duties were added, at what time, why the employee was selected over others to receive additional responsibilities, and whether that selection was equitable based on business needs. A reclassification is generally a promotion but may also be a demotion or reduction in duties; both occurrences should be recorded as a reclassification for reporting purposes. A realignment occurs when an individual has been performing the work for some time and their title is changed to reflect this.  Sometimes this includes pay changes and sometimes it does not. The Classification and Compensation team will have oversight to approve or deny promotional requests. Administrative Title Changes with no promotion will remain in UHR with Classification and Compensation and are a part of a waiver process. To discuss promotions please contact the Classification and Compensation team at [email protected].

Waivers

EOA will continue to have oversight over the waiver process and work collaboratively with University Human Resources (UHR) and, when appropriate, Academic Affairs to make the appropriate placement and seating of waived employees. All waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis. For waiver requests please speak with your HR Strategic Partner. They can assist with navigating the internal process steps within your hiring unit and navigating the process with EOA.  External and Internal waivers are discussed in more detail below. 

External Exception Waivers

The waiver types listed below are for external candidates only. 

Acquisitions take place when OSU takes over a contract from another employer and maintains the work.

Examples:

  1. PI brings existing employees from an existing funded lab that is transferred to OSU.
  2. Partner institution on a grant steps away from a contract; their employee continues their previous work on the grant but is now under OSU employment.

These waivers occur where the department or unit would not open a similar position if it were not for the availability and extraordinary unique qualifications of the appointee. These appointments should create unique opportunities that advance OSU’s mission and vision. Examples may include but are not limited to leading researchers who offer strengths that would advance the strategic needs of OSU and/or the hiring department, relocation of self-funded leaders in the field, and visiting faculty members.

The proposed appointee has been designated as a Principal Investigator (PI) in an OSU Grant.

This category is used when an employee must be placed into a position in 1 week or less, or the university will have no other way to deliver mission-critical services. These waivers are conducted in consultation with UHR.  Where an emergency hire is approved, it will almost always be on an interim basis, followed by a timely competitive recruitment.

Examples:

  1. An instructor becomes unavailable one week before classes begin.  There is only one person available who is qualified to teach the course.   
  2. A vessel leaves for sea in three days, and a crew member is unavailable. 

*Emergency circumstances do not include a lack of succession planning on the part of the department.
 

A dual career hire is an offer of academic faculty professorial employment (e.g., tenured, tenure-track or, on rare occasions, modified professorial categories) to the spouse/partner of a prospective OSU employee. This type of hire is considered when the proposed position would not otherwise exist but is only possible given the candidate’s unique qualifications and their ability to meet or advance a college need or opportunity. The evaluation process for the candidate must thoughtfully engage faculty and students in a substantial consideration process and may vary depending on whether the professorial role is tenured/tenure-track. Funding strategies can vary and should be addressed with the leading spouse/partner’s college and Academic Affairs, as necessary. 

There are similar situations that require a waiver that include placing a “trailing spouse” into a fixed-term faculty, and on the rare occasion administrative position. In these cases, the prospective employee for a professorial or tenured administrator position, will not accept an offer unless their spouse/partner is offered a position. These requests will be reviewed by University Human Resources (UHR) and EOA but do not require Academic Affairs approval.

Internal Exception Waivers

Rarely a department or university wide shortfall requires employment reductions. Where possible, alternative positions may be offered to preserve employment. These requests must establish the unique qualifications of the appointee relative to others considered for position termination.  If multiple employees may be qualified, a limited internal pool may be considered in consultation with the Executive Director of UHR, the appropriate HRSPs and EOA.

Occasionally an employee struggles with a portion of their position but provides enormous value in other areas. Where there are options for reassignment of duties that benefit both the department and the individual, a reclassification into a lower-level position to allow the individual to continue to serve OSU with their strengths may be considered. This situation should be evaluated and assessed by the Executive Director of UHR.

If an employee is unable to perform the duties of their position due to disability and it is determined that they could reasonably perform the duties of another available position, a waiver of competitive search or a reclassification may be considered. While this review will be conducted by UHR, EOA must be consulted.