csusm staff and mpp interview and selection … and selection guidelines page 2 during the...

CSUSM Staff and MPP Interview and

Selection Guidelines

Office of Human Resources

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Introduction ________________________________________ 1

Pre-Recruitment _____________________________________ 1

Recruitment ________________________________________ 6

Screening __________________________________________ 9

Interviews ________________________________________ 10

Selection/Offer of Employment _________________________ 13

INTERVIEW AND SELECTION GUIDELINES

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INTRODUCTION

CSUSM seeks to recruit, retain and engage highly talented and diverse employees who will

advance the mission of CSUSM. The CSU is committed to maintaining an inclusive community that

values diversity and fosters tolerance and mutual respect. Together, we strive for educational equity

and seek to promote a fair and open environment for the exchange of ideas. The purpose of this guide

is to assist the hiring manager and participants of a search committee involved in the selection of

personnel. It is important that members of search committees comply with established campus

policies and consult with the Office of Human Resources before deviating from established protocols

designed to ensure each recruitment is based on fair and open competition and equal opportunity.

The recruitment process for staff and administrative employees at CSUSM incorporates all federal

and state regulations, CSU collective bargaining agreements, CSU system policies, and University

policies. Many components of the recruitment process are mandated by these regulations and

policies. The search process has five phases: pre-recruitment, recruitment, screening, interviews, and

selection/offer of employment. (NOTE: Recruitment of MPP positions reporting to the President or a

Vice President should follow the procedures outlined in the Senior Administrative Appointment

Policy).

PRE-RECRUITMENT

The primary responsibility and initiative for launching a recruitment lies with the hiring manager.

The hiring manager convenes the first session of the search committee (if applicable), outlining the

characteristics and responsibilities of the position, identifies the required and preferred qualifications

of candidates, and establishes a deadline for the search committee to forward recommendations.


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During the pre-recruitment phase an HR Analyst is assigned to oversee the recruitment and advise the

hiring manager on the process, including formation of a search committee. The HR Analyst will work

closely with the hiring manager/search committee chair to ensure selection committee members

comply with established campus policies and HR processes; and also will assist in the development of

an appropriate position vacancy announcement. The HR Analyst will set up a meeting with the hiring

manager and/or search committee chair to discuss recruitment procedures, posting requirements,

guidelines for legally permissible employment inquiries, salary hiring range, and the hiring manager’s

expectations regarding assistance by HR during the process. As soon as the hiring manager is ready to

fill a vacancy, they will need to complete and submit a personnel requisition to the Office of Human

Resources (OHR). The personnel requisition will need to be signed by line management as determined

by each division’s signature matrix. Upon receipt of the fully executed personnel requisition, the HR

Analyst will provide the hiring manager and search committee members with an electronic candidate

selection folder (e.g. via BOX) which contains all forms required for the selection process. The folder

consist of the following:

1) Copy of Requisition

2) Checklist for searches

3) Vacancy Announcement

4) Ads with locations and dates of placement

5) Search committee roster

6) Interview questions

7) Completed/signed Applicant Rating Form


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8) Completed/signed Interview Rating Form

9) Assessment and results (when appropriate)

10) Reference check questions and notes (when appropriate)

Formation of the search committee and required diversity training:

When determined that a search committee will be utilized, the hiring manager will consult

with the HR Analyst to identify search committee participants. The hiring manager/search committee

chair and search committee members, working alongside the HR Analyst, are responsible for the

initial recruitment, candidate screening, and identification of finalists.

CSUSM is committed to maintaining an inclusive community that values diversity and fosters

tolerance and mutual respect. To that end, search committee members must complete search

committee diversity training to be eligible to participate (completed within the previous 24-month

period). The training must be completed before search committee members review any application

materials. Search committee members are encouraged to attend the instructor-led diversity training.

To register for instructor-led training and view next available training dates visit:

https://www.csusm.edu/equity/resources/searchcommittee.html. Search committee members also

have the option of completing online training modules “CSU Searches and Recruitment in the CSU”

online through Skillport.

Searches and Recruitment in the CSU:

Module 1: Searches and Recruitment in the CSU

Module 2: Searches and Recruitment in the CSU

https://www.csusm.edu/equity/resources/searchcommittee.html


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The online training modules can be accessed via the Employee Training Center:

1. Go to http://www.csusm.edu/etc/

2. Click on “Skillport Login” and login using your campus credentials

3. At the Skillport homepage, select "Browse the Catalog". Locate “Systemwide Custom Content”

OHR will review and/or provide any requested report to the hiring manager verifying eligibility status

prior to each search.

Role and Responsibilities of the Search Committee Chair:

Normally, the first person to be selected for a search committee is the chairperson, who is usually

appointed by the hiring manager to which the selected candidate will report. The committee chair is

responsible for the following:

Consult with the Office of Human Resources to review the search process.

Schedule and direct all search committee meetings.

Serve as a contact person and help maintain all records associated with the search process.

Conduct or assists with reference checks (when appropriate).

Serve as liaison between the search committee members and candidates.

Assess and discuss conflict of interest issues with the hiring manager and HR Analyst.

Advise the hiring manager of finalists’ strengths and weaknesses.

Maintain record of all search committee meetings.

Ensure completion of required recruitment documents.

http://www.csusm.edu/etc/


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Search Committee Members:

Generally, search committees are comprised of staff and faculty (on occasion individuals outside

of the university may serve on the search committee) who have a vested interest in the function

served by the position. For example, in the selection of a recruiter, it might be advantageous to

include a few of the primary recipients of the service provided by the recruiter position. For

administrative positions, persons who will be subordinates, peers, and/or superiors of the person

selected should serve on the search committee. The composition of all search committees should be

well balanced across gender and ethnicity. Search committee members should not be related by

kinship, personal relationships, or be engaged in business ventures with persons who apply for the

vacant position. It is incumbent upon a search committee member to disclose when such a conflict

arises. Upon having knowledge of any conflict of interest with a committee member, the search

committee chair should discuss the matter with the hiring manager and HR and take appropriate

action. Search committee members are responsible for the following:

Attend all meetings scheduled by chair.

Assist in establishing a timeline.

Assist with the vacancy announcement and determining advertising sources, when requested.

Assist with the development of interview questions, when requested.

Participate in all interview sessions.


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Note on Confidentiality:

All committee discussions and deliberations are privileged information. It is the responsibility

of each member not to discuss any of the candidate’s information or provide any type of update on

the status of a recruitment to any non-committee person within or outside of the University during or

at any time after the recruitment process has concluded. For questions regarding confidentiality of

the recruitment process, please contact the assigned HR Analyst.

RECRUITMENT

In order to demonstrate a good faith recruitment effort, the recruitment plan should include

specific steps to ensure a broad outreach effort is practiced. The following list of actions should be

considered and, where appropriate, implemented in the recruitment planning and execution. (Note:

the goal is to reach as many well qualified candidates as possible, not grant any sort of illegal

preference.)

Ensure plan assists in the outreach to and attraction of a diverse pool of well-qualified

applicants.

Determine a strategic recruiting approach, which may be non-traditional in nature, to conduct

a broad recruitment.

Work with a diverse group of current employees to determine what information would be

attractive and relevant to applicants.

Provide opportunities for candidates to meet with members of the organization, including

individuals who have common interests with the candidates.


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Advertising the Vacancy:

The position announcement is posted in accordance with the posting requirements of the

appropriate collective bargaining agreement, if applicable. It also forms the basis for advertisements

of the position as well as for the screening criteria. It is both a key recruitment tool and a mechanism

for defining the pool of people who might apply. The position announcement should be consistent

with the position description which includes the duties and requirements of the position. All required

qualifications should relate directly to an essential job function and be considered necessary for

operations. Any overly restrictive list of required qualifications may unnecessarily limit the potential

pool of applicants, and may remove some strong candidates from further consideration.

Internal Postings:

The hiring official may decide to only consider candidates that are current CSUSM employees.

All open bargaining unit positions will be available for viewing on the CSUSM careers website for a

minimum of 14 days. The posting must indicate that the position is only open to current CSUSM

employees.

Application Acceptance Period:

Hiring managers have the ability to choose from two application acceptance period options. Below is

a description of each option:

1) Specific Deadline – A specific date that meets the minimum posting period (14 days for

bargaining unit positions) can be designated by the hiring manager. All applications received

on the specified day are considered for review.


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2) Open Until Filled – Open until filled indicates that the hiring manager is accepting applications

until the position is filled. The hiring manager will still designate a “first review date,” and

there is no guarantee that any applications received after the first review date will be

reviewed.

Potential applicants are required to submit an online application, cover letter and resume through

CSUSM’s Applicant Tracking System, iCIMS. The applicant portal can be accessed via the CSUSM

Careers page: http://www.csusm.edu/recruitment/staffmppcareers.html. In consultation with HR, the

hiring manager should determine if the vacant position requires a local, regional or national search.

Executive level positions or very specialized positions may require a regional or national search. The

publications listed below are used as part of CSUSM’s standard advertising and are of no cost to the

hiring department:

The hiring manager may also pay for additional advertising on other publications/web sites (e.g.

Monster, CareerBuilder, HigherEdJobs, Chronicle for Higher Education, etc.). The Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (EEOC) considers the following to be barriers to equal employment

opportunity in recruitment and hiring: failing to advertise widely, recruitment practices that overlook

Publication/Site URL

CSUSM Website http://www.csusm.edu/recruitment/staffmppcareers.html

CSU Careers https://csucareers.calstate.edu/

Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

http://www.hercjobs.org/

American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education

http://www.aahhe.org/

Insight Into Diversity http://www.insightintodiversity.com/

Employment Development Department

http://www.edd.ca.gov/jobs_and_training/Online_Job_Center.htm

http://www.csusm.edu/recruitment/staffmppcareers.html


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or fail to seek all qualified individuals, and reliance on informal networks of recruitment or word-of-

mouth. Only OHR is authorized by the University to place job vacancy announcements.

SCREENING

The screening process begins with a review of the application materials submitted by each

candidate, which may include a letter of interest/cover letter, resume, either letters of

recommendation or a list of references, and other materials that may have been identified (e.g.

supplemental application). The HR Analyst will screen applicants based on the minimum education

and experience requirements listed in the vacancy announcement. Candidates who meet the

minimum requirements are then forwarded to the hiring manager and/or search committee for

review. Evaluating candidates for interviews must be in accordance with pre-determined selection

criteria, considering only the information provided in the application. Applicants who fail to meet the

pre-established minimum requirements will not be considered. Additionally, this stage is vital in

deterring and preventing potential bias (implicit or explicit) related to a candidates protected (or

potentially protected) status. After identification of candidates who meet the minimum qualifications

listed in the position announcement, the search committee will complete a screening based on pre-

determined selection criteria to narrow the remaining applicants to finalists. To assist in narrowing a

large applicant pool, committee members may separately review the applications using additional

agreed upon criteria (e.g. preferred qualifications), and then reconvene as a committee to identify

finalists. For certain positions, the committee must honor applicable collective bargaining agreement

requirements pertaining to preferences to be afforded to qualified internal CSUSM applicants within


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the applicable bargaining unit. The HR Analyst will make the hiring manager/search committee aware

in advance should any applicant meet this criteria.

An Applicant Rating Form (ARF) (Attachment A) is an evaluation tool used to assist in objective

decisions and documentation for the nomination of semifinalist or finalist groups. The ARF is to be

completed by the hiring manager and the entire search committee. Each candidate should be rated

for each selection factor using the following guide:

1) Does Not Meet (DNM): Candidate does not meet the required selection factor

2) Meets (M): Candidate meets the required selection factor

3) Exceeds (E): Candidate exceeds the required selection factor

It is especially important that every applicant active at any given stage of the process receive the

consistent treatment and consideration. Personal knowledge of a candidate’s background should not

be considered for the interview selection process if the information cannot be sustained by

application materials.

INTERVIEWS

The goal of the interview process is to identify and select the best qualified applicants, based

on the position’s required and preferred qualifications. Applicable collective bargaining agreements

(CBAs) may include preferences afforded to qualified internal CSUSM, the HR Analyst will assist the

committee through that process when applicable. It is generally recommended that committees

interview at least three applicants for a position, unless the pool lacks a sufficient number of qualified

applicants. Interviews are inevitably artificial situations. Hiring managers/search committee members

should treat even the strongest reactions/first impressions of candidates as a working hypothesis. The


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Office of Human Resources and the hiring manager will conduct in-depth reference checks and

background checks for those who move forward in the search process.

For consistency purposes, all members of the search committee are required to participate in all

interviews of all candidates. To ensure a fair assessment of all candidates, if a search committee

member misses any one candidate’s scheduled interview, that member is no longer eligible to

participate in the search process.

Interview Questions:

Interviews should be conducted in a structured format with a set of pre-established list of

interview questions. Follow-up questions can vary depending on the applicant’s response to the

pre-established interview question. Proposed interview questions should be submitted to and

approved in advance by the HR Analyst. The Office of Human resources will maintain a bank of

interview questions, including appropriate behavioral based and experiential based scenarios.

Interviews should always include behavioral or experiential based questions. One of the best

predictors of future performance is past performance in similar situations. These questions ask

applicants to relate how they handled previous situations that required the same skills and abilities

necessary for effective performance of the potential job.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and regulations, as well as many individual state

laws, prohibit discrimination against applicants on the basis of basis of race, color, religion, national

origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital

status, age, disability or veteran's status. All questioned asked must be non-discriminatory, job related

and designed to help establish the applicant's qualifications for the position. Despite careful


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preparation and question selection, some candidates will volunteer in formation that is not applicable

to the interview or the screening criteria. Do not pursue or make a note of such information.

Reasonable Accommodation:

Applicants invited for an interview may request a reasonable accommodation at the time of

their interview. If an applicant needs assistance or an accommodation to interview because of a

disability, please contact the HR Analyst for assistance. Employment opportunities will not be denied

because of the need to make a reasonable accommodation for an individual’s disability.

To prepare interview questions, hiring managers should refer to the knowledge, skills and abilities of

the position description. The Office of Human Resources can provide samples and suggested

interview questions around each topic area.

Interview Format:

After the candidate has been welcomed, each member of the interview group should identify

themselves by name, title and department. Group interviews typically start quite formally. However,

the most effective interviews are those that develop and move from formal speech making to give-

and-take dialogue that engages both the candidate and the interviewers. At the conclusion of the

interview, the candidate should be provided with an opportunity to ask (a limited amount of)

questions or provide a final definitive statement about their candidacy.

Interview Documentation:

The hiring official and/or search committee will complete an Interview Rating Form (IRF)

(Attachment B) at the conclusion of the interview process. The hiring manager and/or search

committee will rate each candidate based on the pre-determined selection factors. A single form


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signed by the hiring manager or search committee chair must be completed as part of the search

process record. Each candidate should be rated for each selection factor using the following guide:

1) Does Not Meet (DNM): Candidate does not meet the required selection factor

2) Meets (M): Candidate meets the required selection factor

3) Exceeds (E): Candidate exceeds the required selection factor

SELECTION/OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

Once the hiring manager has completed the recruitment process steps and a candidate is

selected, the hiring manager obtains approval to move forward with an offer from the Office of

Human Resources. The HR Analyst will review the nomination documentation to ensure that it is

complete and meets the University’s hiring practices. This documentation and review process is

required by CSU policy, state and federal law. Furthermore, the Office of Human Resources is

responsible for addressing any charges related to these processes (e.g. allegations of discrimination

through the office of DFEH, EEOC, grievances, etc.).

The HR Analyst, along with the hiring manager/search committee chair, will establish the

parameters of the terms and conditions of appointment once the top candidate has been selected;

under no circumstances should anyone who is not authorized to negotiate these terms make any

formal or even informal offers or promises to a candidate. The HR Analyst or hiring manager may

negotiate and present the formal offer to the selected candidate. Matters that might be negotiated

would include compensation, relocation/moving expenses and other terms of the appointment such

as start date. The HR Analyst will work with the hiring manager to identify the hiring range and

appointment salary. The salary assessment will include an analysis of applicable market data,


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assessment of the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities against the overall requirements, an

internal assessment of salaries of existing employees, funding abilities, etc.

All offers of employment are contingent on a satisfactory background check including, but not

limited to, employment verification, education verification, reference checks and criminal record

checks. The background check process can take 5-7 business days to complete and a candidate cannot

start employment until this process has been completed. Failure to satisfactorily complete the

background check may affect the application status of applicants.

Search Completed:

After a search is completed and offer has been accepted, the Office of Human Resources

(OHR) will inform candidates who have not been selected for the position. This process may be

completed via email/electronically or verbally. The HR Analyst is available to confer with the hiring

manager regarding special circumstances in which an internal candidate(s) are best notified through

alternate means (e.g. a meeting or phone call prior to receiving the official notice). OHR will retain

search records for each position per CSU policy, state and federal laws. For questions regarding this

guide or any HR recruitment practices please contact the Office of Human Resources at (760) 750-

4418.


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APPENDIX:

Checklist for Searches

Item No.

Status Open/ Close

Assigned To

Description Target Date

Close Date

Notes

HM/HR Review current position description – skills & qualifications

HM Complete personnel requisition

HM/HR Plan recruitment process (e.g. Ads, hiring range, supplemental applications, search committee, etc.)

HR Posts position

HR Screens applicants and electronically forwards screened application materials to hiring authority or search committee

HM/SC Forwards ARF to HR - Recruitment and request approval to interview selected candidates

HR Notifies Hiring Authority or search committee of approval to schedule interviews

HM/SC Schedules interviews and advises HR Analyst of dates/times of scheduled interviews – conducts interviews

HM/SC Determines final selection and provides HR with completed and signed IRF, and justification and recommendation for hire memo

HR Reviews strength and weaknesses memo and hiring recommendation and ensures consistency with completed IRF. Provides hiring authority or search committee with approval


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to make verbal offer with salary limits

HM/SC Extends verbal offer to candidate – notifies HR of accepts of verbal offer

HR Coordinates criminal background check

HM Generates Personnel Action Notice (PAN)

HR Sends welcome email & appointment letter to selected candidate and NEO information

HR Sends regret letters to unsuccessful candidates

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