Staff Recruitment Procedures

**Online posting and recruitment is required for all positions working at least 20 hours a week, except for those of a very temporary nature. Please contact HR for further information.**

IMPORTANT: For audit purposes, ALL search related materials not housed on the online site (i.e. interview notes, reference checks, etc.) MUST be maintained in your office for three (3) years from the date of hire. This applies to ANYONE involved in the applicant review/hiring decision.

Recruitments must follow all of the following steps:

  1. Complete the Request to Recruit form online when you are ready to begin recruiting for a new position or a current vacancy. Requests should be submitted by Mondays at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next weekly approvals meeting. Amber Pritchett will notify you once you have received the necessary approvals to recruit for your open position.
  2. All non-faculty positions must have a new or updated Position Description (PD). As of July 8, 2024, supervisors must use the new online portal to create or update a PD for their direct reports. Please access the Position Description page for further information and directions.
  3. Once the updated PD has been finalized and approved OR if no updates are needed, then you can create the Job Requisition within Workday following the associated Job Aid. Job Aids related to Recruiting can be found in Canvas. If you still have trouble after reviewing the related job aid, then please reach out to Amber Pritchett to schedule a time to discuss.
  4. After the Job Requisition is submitted, Human Resources will list your opening on the online careers site and can discuss the best advertising sources to utilize. Please complete the Job Board Options Form and return to Amber Pritchett.
  5. All jobs must be posted for a minimum of five (5) days before an employment offer can be made to an applicant.
  6. Before you begin reviewing applicant materials, it is extremely important that you review the information provided online in the Supervisor’s Toolbox.
  7. Begin to review your applicants in Workday. For applicants to be considered for the position, they MUST apply online through the jobs.mercer.edu website. Job Aids related to Recruiting can be found in Canvas.
  8. You may set up interviews for your applicants at any time; however, all applicants who apply within the first 5 days of the position being posted must be reviewed and considered for the position. If you feel your candidate pool is satisfactory, then you may ask HR to place the posting on hold any time after the 5-day minimum posting requirement.
    1. Before conducting interviews, please refer to the Interview Do’s and Don’ts regarding restrictions on the types of questions you may ask.
    2. Reimbursement for travel costs incurred for an on-campus interview are at the discretion of the hiring department/Dean, but must be consistently applied to all applicants in that particular stage and must be disclosed to the applicant at the time they are invited to interview.
    3. Once you have a list of candidates you want to interview, please reach out to Nasana Graham to review the applicant pool and assess the potential hire in light of our Affirmative Action Plan goals and objectives.
  9. Unofficial transcripts may be requested from finalists as part of the recruitment process for positions that require a degree. The hiring department requesting the unofficial transcripts must inform the candidates that they need to redact any personal or private information including, but not limited to, social security number, birthdate, race, or gender before submitting the unofficial transcripts. Official transcripts will still be required from the employee after they are hired and this will be outlined in their offer letter.
  10. If a background check is required for this position (as stated in the posting), then the consent form(s) will be sent to the candidate once they are moved forward to the Offer stage within Workday. They should NOT complete the form(s) within your office. If the position requires travel as an essential function, in order to determine if the applicant would be insurable by the University carrier, please have your top applicant(s) obtain their 7 year Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) and complete an Approved Driver Application, which will be turned in to Donna Towns in the Payroll and Benefits Office.
  11. Check references for your top finalist(s) prior to making an offer. You may use this reference form as a guide, but it is not required.
    1. Before checking references, please make sure the applicant has given their permission to contact their references either as stated on their application or by asking them directly.
    2. If your top candidate is a current Mercer employee, you MUST speak with the current supervisor before an offer of employment can being extended. You are also strongly encouraged to contact Human Resources to schedule a time to come to the HR office to review the employee’s prior performance evaluations.
  12. When you have selected your top candidate and prior to extending an offer, you will need to move the candidate forward to the appropriate Offer stage within Workday as outlined in the associated Job Aid. Offer requests must be submitted by Mondays at 5 p.m. for inclusion in the next weekly approvals meeting.
  13. Once the Offer request is submitted in Workday, HR will request background check information from the candidate, conduct a compensation analysis to determine an appropriate salary, and will obtain the necessary approvals for you to make the offer.
  14. No offer of employment should be made until you are notified by a member of the HR staff that you are approved to extend an offer at the approved salary.
  15. After receiving a verbal acceptance and determining a start date, contact Amber Pritchett to initiate an official letter of appointment. The offer letter will be sent electronically to the candidate for them to confirm in Workday. This will also launch their Onboarding Portal within Workday where they will need to complete their necessary employment forms. It is required by law that the I-9 be completed by the employee on or before the first day of employment.
  16. As a professional courtesy, the hiring manager or a member of the search committee should notify interviewed candidates directly that another candidate was selected and to thank them for interviewing. HR will trigger a notification from Workday to all candidates once the position has been filled.
  17. You must complete the dispositioning within Workday for every applicant as outlined in the associated Job Aid. For questions, please contact Nasana Graham.
    1. It is imperative that you review the minimum qualifications as stated in the job posting and that the reason code you select for candidates who are “Declined” is based on these minimum requirements. After declining a candidate, select the appropriate Reason from the dropdown list.
    2. All applicants who were interviewed (including by phone, Zoom, or in person) should be moved “Forward” to Interview and then “Declined” with a Finalist reason code selected. After declining a candidate, select the appropriate Finalist reason from the dropdown list.
    3. For those applicant(s) who declined an offer, please notify Amber Pritchett.
  18. For audit purposes, ALL search related materials not housed on the online site (i.e. interview notes, reference checks, etc.) MUST be maintained in your office for three (3) years from the date of hire.