University Human Resources

Recruit and Evaluate

Breadcrumb

Meet the UHR Team

Recruit and Evaluate

Brown University strives to provide its staff with a challenging and rewarding work environment that welcomes differences, fosters learning, and values collaboration, creativity and diversity.

Diversity of the applicant pool begins with broad outreach and well-placed ads to attract qualified applicants. Open positions posted on Brown’s Career Site are also fed to other job sites including:

  • abilityJOBS
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Diverse Issues in Higher Ed
  • EmployRI
  • Higher Ed Jobs
  • Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
  • Indeed
  • Inside Higher Education
  • Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
  • LinkedIn
  • RecruitMilitary 

If a position is determined to be underutilized, external advertising is required. Hiring departments are responsible for advertising costs. 

Hiring managers are responsible for:

  • Developing a strategy to reach the target audiences necessary to produce a diverse pool
  • Monitoring applications to ensure that targeted outreach is yielding candidates with the appropriate qualifications 
  • Requesting an interim pool report from a Recruitment Coordinator to determine if there is a diverse pool based on candidate self-identification and whether additional outreach is necessary

For recommendations and assistance with advertising, please contact our partners at JobElephant.

Diversity Recruitment Resources

In partnership with the Office of Institutional Equity & Diversity (OIED), University Human Resources is committed to supporting our hiring managers in their efforts to recruiting selecting and retaining a diverse workforce. The concrete, achievable steps on this page will help you advance Brown's mission of developing a community that "embodies the social and intellectual diversity of the world."

Developing a Recruiting Plan: Five Action Steps

Developing a sound recruiting plan begins with a thorough assessment of your department to put your goals into action. 

Understanding that diversity has many dimensions will serve as a foundation for developing an effective recruiting plan. Begin by reviewing Unconscious Bias as a first step toward increasing awareness about inherent biases and stereotypes and the impact they have when hiring top talent at Brown University. Here are additional action items:

Job descriptions form the basis of Brown’s recruitment advertising and directly shape a candidate’s understanding of the position. Hiring managers should intentionally design job descriptions to attract a wide array of applicants and ensure they match the job for which you are hiring. A well-written job description should describe major responsibilities and essential functions, but it is not merely a list of job requirements. Consider a focus on how a potential candidate will contribute to the overall mission of your department.

best practices in writing inclusive job descriptions

Job description contain the qualifications and criteria for the role and standardize expectations for job performance. Review the following guidelines to create inclusive job descriptions:

  • Ensure minimum qualifications are aligned with the responsibilities. Be selective about identifying minimum required qualifications as this may influence the diversity of the applicant pool.
  • Separate essential from non-essential qualifications.
  • Carefully consider whether preferred qualifications are justified (e.g., consider whether candidates need to have an advanced degree for success in the position).
  • Use inclusive, flexible language conveying that candidates with comparable transferable skills or knowledge can be considered (e.g., associate’s degree or equivalent education and experience).
  • Carefully review language to eliminate unintentional bias.  Avoid using his/her pronouns; instead, use “the incumbent.”
  • Avoid modifiers or criteria with gender-associated qualities (e.g., dominant, assertive).
  • Include a departmental commitment to diversity. (e.g., experience working with a diverse population).
  • Focus on desired ability or skill instead of personal trait (e.g., instead of mature, cooperative person, ask for ability to work effective as a team member).
  • Write clearly, using common words and avoiding jargon and technical language

In addition to sourcing candidates through traditional methods, you should also target professional organizations and agencies devoted to building a diverse workforce. Review an interim pool report provided by UHR to assess the diversity of the applicant pool prior to initiating interviews. Consult these resources for more broad-based recruiting:

  • Colleges, Universities, and Technical Schools
  • Facebook Groups
  • Federal, State, and Local Government Agencies
  • Higher Education and General Advertisers
  • Local Organizations
  • Job Specific Recruiting Resources

Examples of Local Organizations

To ensure the right candidate is selected, effective screening and evaluation require communication, collaboration, and cooperation among the selection team. To reduce individual bias or blind spots, assemble a diverse selection team and require all involved in the search process to complete the Unconscious Bias online module. Additional guidelines include:

  • Providing the selection team with the job description and clear, consistent guidelines for evaluating each candidate’s background, skills and experience
  • Discussing with the selection team, prior to reviewing applications, how each required qualification or competency will be evaluated – consistency is key
  • Focusing all screening on the content of the resume rather than the style
  • Using a rubric to evaluate all applicants
  • Creating a structured, formal interview protocol that includes the same job-related interview questions – complete the Interview Preparation Guide to develop questions based on the competencies required for the position.
  • Avoiding questions designed to solicit information about the candidate’s race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, or family/ childcare situation
  • Checking assumptions around body language and consider culturally influenced behaviors (e.g., minimal eye contact may be a culturally influenced behavior and not an indicator of lack of interest)
  • Providing all candidates with clear, consistent information about the selection process
  • Requesting the selection team provide strengths and areas of improvement for all interviewed applicants

If departments are invested in recruiting diverse candidates, it is important to have a plan in place for checking references. Brown discourages checking references on candidates for staff positions until the hiring process is nearing completion. Here are some additional guidelines to ensure your top candidate is the right match for the position and Brown University:

  • Use consistent core questions for all references contacted
  • Obtain the candidate’s consent to contact references prior to making contact
  • Base ranking decisions on the applicant’s ability to successfully perform the job as evidenced from only the resume, references, interviews, and other job-related criteria
  • Ensure the desired salary constitutes a competitive offer developed by using market data and internal equity practices not based on the candidate’s current salary

Where to Advertise

If you have any other recommendations for advertising please reach out to employment@brown.edu.

 

Meet the UHR Team