For Search Committees

When added as a search committee member, you will receive an email from ub-hr@buffalo.edu with details about the posting. Use these steps to access applicant information in UB Jobs.

1.     Use your UBIT credentials to log in to UB Jobs.

2.     Once on the site, click the User Group dropdown menu at the top right of the screen and select Search Committee Member.

3.     Click on the Postings drop-down and select the appropriate position type for your posting.

4.     Scroll through the postings click on the Title of the position for the search you are serving on.

5.     Click Applicants to access applicants and their application materials.

6.     Click the applicant’s Name to view their application or click the Documents you are trying to view to view the documents directly.

A thoughtful, intentional search plan is key to finding the best candidates. A great way to plan your search is using reverse order to plan the timeline for your recruitment. Start with the date you want your candidate to begin working and work backwards including all key milestones the search will require.

Keep in mind that the minimum posting period for each position type is predefined. Use the posting periods below and the key milestones of the search to develop a timeline.

End of Internal Posting Period: If an internal candidate is identified before the end of the internal posting period, the external posting period can be canceled. The end of the internal posting period is the last day to cancel the external posting period.

End of External Posting Period: At the end of the external posting period, the search committee should decide whether the applicant pool is sufficient or if additional outreach is needed.

Interviews: The search committee can begin interviewing immediately after the position is posted. Starting interviews right away will help minimize the time spent interviewing candidates and can help shorten the posting timeline.

Recommendation for Hire: After the search committee has interviewed candidates, they must deliberate and decide who they would like to recommend for hire.

Hiring Proposal Submission: Once a recommendation has been made, the hiring manager will need to submit a hiring proposal for approval in UB Jobs.

Hiring Proposal Approval: An offer of employment can only be extended after the hiring proposal has been approved. Once the hiring proposal has been approved, the department can contact the candidate to offer the job.

Offer Accepted: When the candidate has accepted the offer, the department can coordinate a start date and begin making onboarding preparations.

Date to be Filled: The date to be filled is the start date for the candidate who has accepted the position.

Determine where advertisements for the posting will be placed. Utilize a variety of print or web advertising and listservs to reach the largest possible applicant pool.

The university’s affirmative action statement is required on all postings. Be sure to include one of the following statements on all external advertisements:

“University at Buffalo is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and, in keeping with our commitment, welcomes all to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities.”

 - Or -

"As an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer, the Research Foundation will not discriminate in its employment practices due to an applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and veteran or disability status."

• Identify national pools of qualified candidates for the field as a whole and for subfields for which you are considering hiring
• Identify institutions that are successful in educating women and/or underrepresented minority doctoral or post doctorates in your field or subfield. These institutions become a great recruitment source

The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) has compiled a table of local census data by profession that can be used to determine what your applicant pool should look like.

• Learn about successes and challenges in recruiting underrepresented candidates from previous searches. Talk with the search chair from successful searches to learn about what made them successful.

• Contact the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for assistance
• Include an external diversity advocate on search committees
• Highlight diversity throughout the language used in the vacancy announcement and all other advertisements
• Send notifications to minority and women’s professional interest groups regarding all new vacancies
• Place ads in targeted journals and on specialized websites 
• Reach out to discipline-based organizations
• Advertise with publications, web sites and professional organizations that specialize in the recruitment of diverse staff members
• Attend national and regional meetings

A search committee is responsible for advertising a posting, reviewing all applicant materials and recommending the best candidate to fill a vacancy.

Look for key characteristics when identifying search committee members:

• Demonstrates good judgment
• Savvy about people
• Can discern talent who know and insist upon high quality work
• Known for their personal integrity
• Performs independently
• Devoted to the goals of UB
• Willing and available to assume the committee assignment

Value employees that take on a search committee role by:

• Acknowledging and commending their efforts
• Demonstrating respect and confidence in their decisions

The details related to the search must be kept strictly confidential including:

• Applications and resumes
• Any related search documents
• Information, such as names of references
• Completed screening materials or tools
• Responses to interview questions
• Conversations or comments made in search committee meetings

Search committee training is key to getting the search committee ready to interview candidates effectively. Have the search committee complete these trainings as part of their preparation for the search.

In addition to search committee trainings, search committee members should familiarize themselves with university policies and federal laws related to recruitment and employment.

It is important that all the search committee members know their role in the search and are prepared to review applicants. Make sure to cover the following issues in the first search committee meeting to ensure that the committee is ready to do their job:

• Thank the committee members for their time and commitment
  
• Introduce the members of the committee to eachother
  

• Review the essential characteristics of the position
• Discuss the position and qualifications listed, update the posting as needed
  • Carefully consider the qualifications that actually matter to the position and articulate those criteria upfront
  • Criteria should be specific, measurable and tied to the skills, experience and expertise required for the posted position
  • Avoid criteria that artificially narrow the pool
• Set clear expectations of the search committee members
• Detail the expected outcome
• Inform the committee of the deadline

The search committee can play a key role in advancing UB’s commitment to equity and inclusion. Greater diversity of views enhances group performance.

Diversity includes:

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Gender
• Gender identity and expression
• Age
• Socioeconomic status
• Veteran status
  
• Disability status

• Share the timeline and expectations of attendance and confidentiality
• Discuss how to find applicant materials
• Plan how the candidates will be evaluated based on criteria established in the posting
• Describe the process the committee will use to generate the candidate shortlist and determine who will be interviewed
  
• Talk through how the search committee will take steps to mitigate bias from their search
• Discuss internet searches
• Discuss what approvals are required and when they are needed throughout the process
• Discuss how the search will be concluded

Not all applicants will be a candidate for a posting. Develop a plan as to how you will work through the applicant pool to identify the qualified candidates for your posting.

Creating selection criteria helps to ensure each applicant receives a fair and equitable review during the search process. Your plan should include determining:

• How the committee will screen applicants initially 
• Which applicants meet the required qualifications
• Which applicants will be considered
• What characteristics will move the applicants to the interview stage
• How do you define education, experience and competencies that may be generic on the posting
• How the candidates values align with UB's mission, vision and strategic plans

Translate your critical goals into observable measurable items to rank candidates.

Review all applications to ensure candidates meet the minimum qualifications on the posting. Disqualify candidates that are not qualified immediately. Provide feedback on the candidates by categorizing the candidates into:

A Group – meets all the minimum and preferred qualifications

B Group – meets all the minimum qualifications and some of the preferred qualifications

C Group – meets some of the minimum qualifications and some of the preferred qualifications

After the applicants have been organized into groups, you will need to determine which applicants you are selecting to interview.

• Review the applicants beginning with the A group and then the B group and select or deselect applicants to potentially interview.
• Develop and submit a list of candidates to recommend for interview
• When approved, schedule candidates for the initial interview
• Discuss which candidates will be moving to the second interview step.
• Develop and submit a list of seriously considered candidates for second interviews which should all be in-person interviews.
• When approved, schedule seriously considered candidates for interviews.
• Discuss the results of the interview with the search committee and make recommendations to the department head on the ranked candidates for the position.

For competitive classified positions, HR provides list eligible candidates who have taken the civil service exam and are reachable based on their score. Applicants can also apply for transfer, reassignment, or reinstatement.  

Applicants who apply directly to the posting must fit into one of the following categories to be considered:

Transfer: Transfer applicants must have a current permanent appointment with a minimum of 1 year of service in a position of the same or transferable title. This includes applicants who are applying from outside of UB but work in the same title at a different state agency.

Reassignment: Reassignment applicants must hold the same title at UB. This includes applicants working at UB in a different department under the same title. There is no minimum length of time a person must work in order to be reassignment eligible.

Reinstatement: Reinstatement applicants are former state employees requesting to return to a title they used to work in (or a transferable title). This includes applicants who used to hold a state appointment but have separate from state service.

Human Resources can review these candidates to ensure they meet eligibility requirements before making them available to the search committee for review. Please get in touch with your Workforce Recruitment and Position Specialist
if you would like HR to review candidates for a competitive classified posting.

It is important to provide candidates with clear and timely communication throughout the search process. Keep candidates informed of their application status and of any changes made to the search timeline.

Human Resources has developed email templates that can be used to provide candidates with updates related to the search process.

A great way to communicate clearly with candidates is to send out letters and information packets to candidates selected for interview.  Consider including the following:

• Time, place and format of the interview
• Detailed itinerary including names of interviewers
• Contact information including cell phone if applicable
• Background on department, school/college, UB and WNY
• Travel arrangements or direction to the location of the interview
• EDI contact information that a candidate can use if needed for accommodations for a disability
• General information on benefits

Interviewing your applicant is an opportunity to learn as much as possible to make an informed decision. Use interview questions that relate directly to the selection criteria you have developed.

Additional interviewing resources are available through University Libraries.

There are some interview questions that are illegal to ask. Make sure that the members of the search committee are aware that they cannot ask these questions.

• That’s an unusual name. Where is it from?
• Are you a U.S. citizen?
• How old are you?
• What is your date of birth?
• When did you graduate?
• Are you married? Engaged? Divorced?
• With whom do you live?
• Do you plan to have a family? When?
• Do you have children?
• What are your childcare arrangements?
• How tall are you?
• What is your weight? (questions about height and weight are not acceptable unless minimum standards are essential for the safe performance of the job.)
• Do you have any disabilities?
• Please complete the following medical history.
• Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, for what condition?
• Have you had a major illness in the last 5 years?
• How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?
• When did you lose your eyesight? How?
• Have you ever been treated for a mental condition?
• Have you ever been treated by a psychiatrist? If so, for what condition?
• Are you taking any prescribed drugs?
• Have you ever been treated for drug addiction or alcoholism?
• What organizations or groups do you belong to?
• Have you ever been arrested?
• If you were in the military, were you honorably discharged?
• What is your current salary?

The interview process allows both the search committee to assess candidates’ qualifications and the candidates to assess their interest in employment at the University at Buffalo. Candidates’ impressions of UB will be influenced by the consideration, competence and sincerity of each of the search committee members.

• Plan consistency in the interview including same questions, setting, time allotment and interviewers
• Allow the committee to make the best comparisons, ensuring that each candidate is treated fairly and minimizing unconscious biases
• Utilize behavior-based interviewing techniques to separate candidates who skillfully answer interview questions from candidates who skillfully display their quality on the job
• Assess the answers to questions to be sure there is no disparate impact on applicants in protected classes and that the questions are essential to judge an applicant’s qualifications
• Resist the urge both to label any given candidate as ‘most promising’ and draw conclusions on candidates prematurely
• Avoid making assumptions based on perceived race, ethnic background, age, disability, veteran status, marital or familial status, sexual orientation or religion
• Ask only for information that can legally serve as a basis for the hiring decision

When inviting candidates to campus, you may want to consider one or a combination of the following:

• Meet with the search committee
• Meet with students, faculty and/or university personnel
• Give a presentation
• Enjoy a luncheon or dinner

Be sure to provide all candidates with contact information for any special arrangements or accomodations that may be needed, including parking and building access.

All commitee members should be included in evaluating the active applicants.  When conducting initial interviews: 

• Develop a standard set of questions to ask all applicants and metrics to evaluate responses
• Eliminate candidates that should not be considered further

Be sure to obtain permission from the candidate before contacting references. Ways to collect reference information include:

• Develop a set of standard questions to use with phone reference checks
• Request reference letter submissions

• Consider only the candidate’s ability to perform the essential function of the job; do not make assumptions based on perceived race, ethnic background, religion, marital or familial status, age, disability, sexual orientation or veteran status.
• Ask for feedback forms previously circulated to interviewers
  
• Ensure that the discussion of the candidates remains focused on the search criteria and evidence about the qualifications of the candidates for the position.