Search & Screening Guide 2024

Send all materials to IFAS Faculty Recruitment
Email: IFAS-HR@ifas.ufl.edu
Phone: 352-392-4777
Fax: 352-392-3226

(undergoing revisions July 2023)

Pre-search preparation

• Details

  Pre-Search Preparation

  Dept./Center Personnel Liaison Initiates

  Tenure track positions: The IFAS SVP and the IFAS Deans require you to utilize the Search Advocate Program. After the Dean has given informal approval of position to unit leader, the unit leader assembles the search committee and sends IFAS HR (Dana LeCuyer) the names of 2 potential Search Advocates. The unit leader and search committee create the position announcement and consult with the Search Advocate during creation/editing process. Sample Criteria Matrix below.

   

  Non tenure track positions: utilizing the Search Advocate Program is optional at this time. You are encouraged to use the Criteria Matrix when crafting your position announcement.

   

  All searches: consider scheduling the search in reverse (when do you want to hire, interview, screen, launch) to build in enough time for each stage of the process.

   

  Position Announcement Template

  Criteria Matrix (Excel)

  Things to watch out for:

  • remove gendered language (use ‘their’ instead of his/her, etc)
  • use the criteria matrix to develop the description
  • consider broader requirements (is university teaching experience required, or could other types of teaching experience meet the needs of the position, etc).

Step 1 - Paperwork

• Tenure/non-tenure track searches

  Dept./Center Personnel Liaison Initiates

  Submit below documents electronically to IFAS HR to obtain Dean/SVP signatures (forms are used for both tenure and non-tenure track positions):

  • Position detail form (MS Forms) and Instructions/required info
    • Submit this form to request clearance to proceed with a faculty search (tenure or non-tenure track). The Deans and IFAS Finance will give go-ahead to proceed with filling the position. Units may choose whether to proceed with the rest of the search guide steps while waiting for the Deans' and Finance's approval.
  • Position Announcement - will be reviewed by lead Dean before posting to Careers

   

  • For a tenure-track faculty search, the VP office (via the IFAS Budget and Finance office) will reimburse your department up to $2000 for search-related needs (advertisements, travel). General advice is to consider what aspects of a search can be handled on Zoom and when to best bring in candidate(s) for in person meetings, etc. 

   

• Unit Leader Searches
  • Position detail form (MS Forms) and Instructions/required info
    • Submit this form to request clearance to proceed with a faculty search (tenure or non-tenure track). The Deans and IFAS Finance will give go-ahead to proceed with filling the position. Units may choose whether to proceed with the rest of the search guide steps while waiting for the Deans' and Finance's approval.
  • Position Announcement

   

  Committee members are invited to serve by the SVP's office.

   

  The SVP's office will reimburse up to $3000 for advertisements. SVP's office will cover the cost of interviews but the departments will be in charge of arranging travel, scheduling, etc.

   

• Step 1 - Postdoc searches

  Advertising post doc positions is optional. If you know who you want to hire, you can move straight to the hire process without a search.  Effective March 14, 2022 - please see the procedure for Screening all non-advertised Research and Research Support Hires .

   

  If you do want to advertise a postdoc position, please send the following to the IFAS HR team for the PageUp posting:

   

  • Position description with minimum/preferred requirements, closing date, and required application materials (you may want to use the position announcement template on our search guide and delete the bits in the ‘duties and responsibilities’ section that don’t apply.
  • General funding information (state? Grant?)
  • Salary
  • Names of those that will need access to the applicant pool
  • Closing date or posting period (minimum posting is 14 days)

1st Search and Screen Committee meeting

• Details

  Dept./Center Personnel Liaison Initiates

  IFAS HR (Dana LeCuyer) attends 1^st committee meeting prior to advertisement of position to discuss HR perspective and search and screening committee questions.

  See Committee Meetings section for more information.

Training and helpful links

• Details

  Committee members must have taken the faculty search and screening training within the past two years. To re/take, login to MyTraining at mytraining.hr.ufl.edu and search for course code GET251.

  Non-UF search committee members will need to be added to myUFL as a Person of Interest and create a Gatorlink in order to view the training. To initiate, have outside committee member take GET251 at mytraining.hr.ufl.edu , then send UF-ID and training certificate to dlecuyer@ufl.edu for security role and applicant pool access.

  Hiring at UF Toolkit

  Review prior to first search committee meeting:

  • Unconscious Bias - What to Do About It in the Search and Recruitment Process
  • Project Implicit
  • Roles in the Search Committee Process
  • Search Committee Member Responsibilities
  • UF/IFAS Branding Guidelines - UF/IFAS For All

   

• Immigration Considerations

  The IFAS HR Immigration Specialist can answer questions from the committee or candidates regarding immigration/visa concerns. Please be aware that they cannot answer specific questions pre-verbal offer, but can answer general questions about UF processes and timelines.

   

  The only questions that can be asked of candidates pre-verbal offer regarding their work authorization/eligibility are included on the application form:

  • Are you a US Citizen or eligible to work in the US?

  • Will you need sponsorship now or in the future?

  These questions are asked of all applicants and are non-disqualifying.

   

  If the committee does ask those questions again during interview stage, the best practice is to ask all candidates being interviewed the same questions.

  Nothing should be asked regarding nationality

   - No = What country are you from?

   - No = What country are your parents/family from?

   - No = Where did you get your accent from?

   

  Tenure track positions only:  SVP’s office gives $5000 towards immigration costs.  The department can match up to that amount, if they choose.

   

Posting to PageUp

IFAS HR initiates

IFAS HR will post approved position on Careers at UF and obtain requisition number to be placed in all other announcements. Faculty positions are automatically advertised in HigherEdJobs (replaced Chronicle effective 2/1/2023), Insight Into Diversity, and Inside Higher Ed.

• For other ad venues, committees have the option of working with JobElephant to simplify and expedite outside advertising after the position has been posted to Careers at UF. Please visit JobElephant for more details.

Committee meetings

• Meeting minutes

  Minutes must include: 

  • date
  • names of committee members & guests present
  • topics discussed (broadly)

   

   

• Public meeting notices

  Search and Screening Chair initiates

  Public Meeting Notice in a dept/center location that has public access. Also send meeting details to dlecuyer@ufl.edu for electronic posting. Post 3-7 days prior to search committee meetings

• UF Public Comment policy

  If we have guests at committee meetings; the committee must grant opportunities for public comment before all major decision points in the process - For example: Criteria for selection, which candidates to interview, to send to the hiring authority, etc.

  UF Public Comment policy
  a. Individual will have 5 minutes to speak
  b. Chair may reduce this to 2 minutes if needed
  c. Aggregate time for all public comments at a meeting need not exceed 15 minutes
  d. A representative may be required if many people representing the same group or faction seek to comment
  e. The public does not have the right to debate with or interrupt the committee

References

• Reference timing and method

  The committee should check references prior to inviting candidates for the final round of interviews. As far as how much before, that is each committee's choice. The committee can choose to check references for all candidates, only the long list, only the short list, etc.

  Some committees choose to conduct phone reference checks - this is fine for the selection process, but please keep in mind that we will need traditional letters for the hire packet (see below)

  To request and collect reference letters using the reference tool in PageUp, contact Dana LeCuyer in IFAS HR with applicant names and deadline for reference letter submission.

  Committees also have the option of collecting letters outside of PageUp.

  Committees may check references listed by the applicant at their convenience. For top candidates, the committee may also wish to contact people that the applicant did not list as a reference. IFAS policy is that the candidate be notified before anyone they did not list on their application is contacted regarding their candidacy. 

   

   

• Reference documentation for eventual hire packet

  A minimum of three reference checks are required for the hire packet. Best practice is to collect three traditional reference letters, whether collected during the initial reference checking or (if initial checks were done via phone), during the offer process.

  Documentation of phone reference checks now requires a list of the questions that were asked AND the responses. Our recommendation is to collect letters at least on behalf of the final candidate in order to prevent hiring delays.

Short list

• Short list

  After the final Search and Screen Committee Meeting establishes short list of candidates; submit the short list form to Dana LeCuyer for review BEFORE candidates are invited for on-campus interviews.

 Interviewing

Tenure track positions: interview with all 3 Deans, regardless of TRE split.

Non-tenure track positions: interview in the Deans' offices as appropriately aligned with the TRE split noted in the position description.

• Helpful Links

  Note - interviews may be recorded (with candidate's permission - Florida is a two-party consent state with the recording of audio). Best practice is to include notice of the intent to record in the interview invite itself. Please be aware that any recording made becomes part of the public record.

   

  Communication about Zoom Interviews

  For Hiring Managers and Search Committees: Guide for Conducting Meetings and Interviews Using Zoom

  Keep Zoom Secure

  Interview Process for People with Hearing Loss (interpreting services)

   

  Information on UF and Gainesville

  Guide to Greater Gainesville

  Experience Gainesville in 60 Seconds

  Dual Career Services for Faculty

  UF Benefits

  Moving and Relocation Guide

• Interviews - tenure track faculty

  On-campus interviews should include the same basic itinerary for all candidates:

  • Interview with the departmental search committee
  • Individual and/or group interviews with departmental faculty and other relevant stakeholders
  • Individual interview with the department head
  • Individual Interview with the Dean or designee
  • Teaching demonstration to students/faculty
  • Meeting with students in the department or program
  • Other meetings as appropriate to the position
  • Tour of the campus and area
  • Meals with department members or other invitees

   

• Unit Leader Searches

  Sample Itinerary

  Day 1:

  • Breakfast with Search chair and other related stakeholders,
  • Seminar: "XXXXXXXXX"
  • Meeting with Unit leaders
  • Lunch with search member and faculty members
  • Meeting with stakeholders
  • Meeting with dept staff
  • Meeting with IFAS Deans, Elaine Turner (Teaching), Robert Gilbert (Research), Andra D. Johnson (Extension)
  • Meeting with Dept graduate students
  • Dinner with Dr. Angle

  Day 2:

  • Breakfast with XXXXXX and other stakeholders
  • Meeting with off-campus faculty
  • Meeting with research faculty
  • Meeting with Associate VP; Jeanna Mastrodicasa, Associate VP for ICS Chris Vivian, IFAS CFO Meena Thiyagarajah, Senior Associate Deans Tom Obreza & John Davis, Associate Deans Michael Gutter, Saqib Mukhtar, Al Wysocki, Joel Brendemuhl, & Damian Adams, Director of IFAS HR Denise Bogart, Executive Director of Development Cody Helmer, and Daniel Cromer, IT Director
  • Catered lunch with  Dept faculty
  • Meeting with Dr. Angle    
  • Meeting with teaching faculty
  • Meeting with extension faculty
  • Tour of Dept on-campus facilities with XXXXX Interim
  • Dinner with Interim Dept. Chair, other stakeholders

   

  Other itinerary options:

  • Benefits meeting with Debbie Sellers (IFAS HRD&I)
  • Time to meet with local realtor
  • Interview with the departmental search committee
  • Individual and/or group interviews with departmental faculty and other relevant stakeholders
  • Individual interview with the SVP
  • Individual Interview with the Deans
  • Seminar
  • Meeting with students in the department or program
  • Other meetings as appropriate to the position (stakeholders) off campus faculty
  • Tour of the campus and area
  • Meals with department members or other invitees

   

Managing the applicant pool

• Closing/Opening to new applicants

  Search and Screening Chair initiates

  Once the apply by date has passed, the position can be closed to new applicants at any time (email Dana LeCuyer).

  Things to consider:

  While many positions are posted as open until filled with an 'apply by' date - would-be applicants often take the apply by date as a hard deadline. If the committee is still actively recruiting when the 'apply by' date passes, best practice is to contact Dana and move the date further back.

  Closing a position to new applicants is not final. If needed, the position can be reposted; the minimum reposting period is  7 calendar days.

• Communicating with applicants

  To maintain parity among all the finalists, no meeting or engaged response should occur between committee members and applicants outside of announced meetings. If a committee member is contacted by an applicant, redirect questions to the Chair of the Search committee. The Chair of the Search Committee is restricted to logistical questions and what information is readily available to the public in the posting, the department's website, etc. Any additional information an applicant wants can be gathered at the time of the interview or by other means not involving the committee.

  If, however, an applicant raises a question that the committee and chair feel should be answered, sending the same information to all candidates in that group will maintain parity.

  For specific guidance for a particular situation, please don't hesitate to contact IFAS HR (Dana LeCuyer).

Offer Process

• Pre-offer (updated January 2024)

  Hiring Authority in Department initiates

  For REC Directors - discuss final decision on candidate for position offer with the relevant academic department chair prior to contacting Deans.

  IMPORTANT NOTE:

  Upon submission of this form, UF/IFAS HR will contact the candidate to complete the Research/Research Support screening process (if applicable) and the relevant Dean(s) for their approval

  - tenure track: all Deans regardless of TRE split

  - non-tenure track: Dean(s) according to TRE split in position description).

  Pre-Verbal offer form (MS Forms, Gatorlink login required):

  - requires upload of candidate CV

• Offer letter (updated January 2024)

  Hiring authority initiates

  Offer letter: Please submit the Request to Initiate Offer Letter (faculty) (Microsoft Forms, Gatorlink login and copy of unit letterhead required). Once the form is submitted, UF/IFAS HR will draft the offer letter. A copy will be sent to the unit for review before UF/IFAS HR enters it into Docusign for official signatures.

  Please note - to avoid delays: if through negotiations, salary and/or startup differs from the approved pre-verbal offer form, an updated pre-verbal offer form must be submitted for review/approval.

  Please see the Faculty Offer Letters policy page for information regarding position updates prior to the hire ePAF.

  Note - if the search has not already been closed to new applicants, it will be closed at this point.

Closing the Search

Search and Screening Chair initiates

Submit Careers at UF Closeout Form to Dana LeCuyer (contact info above)