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Search and Screen Best Practices

Search and Screen Best Practices

Strategies for a successful search

Indiana University policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

We expect searches and candidate evaluation by a search committee for nearly every faculty, academic, and staff position on campus.

To find the best candidate for a position, search committees must ensure that applicant pools are as broad as possible. Search committees should use multiple search strategies and multiple forms of advertisement and announcement. Position announcements should be free of bias language and clearly distinguish between required and desirable qualifications.

Required language

Indiana University requires that all employment announcements advertised outside the university contain the following wording:

"Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services, and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information."

Search and Screen Best Practices

Form a search committee comprised of at least three members who are position experts, managers, human resources and academic representatives.
Designate one person who will act as committee chair.
Recruit in unique ways and through diverse channels.

Use rubrics that reflect the content of the position description and departmental needs and standardize evaluation across candidates.
Evaluate each applicant and application based upon the information they provide, don’t “Google” the candidates.
Interview questions should be consistent with all candidates, and all questions should be free of bias.

Learn more about interview questions (make interview question PDF a page on the website?)

Dispositioning candidates is critical

Dispositioning is the process of accurately documenting the status of applicants throughout the hiring process. Dispositioning decisions in real-time is important, since dispositioning at the end of the search process may lead to inaccuracies. In addition, proper dispositioning:

Ensures compliance with required recordkeeping and reporting.
Helps to demonstrates a fair, efficient and legally defensible hiring process.

Watch HR Education Series: Dispositioning Candidates in TAM

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information.

The Annual Security Reports, containing policy statements and crime statistics for Indiana University campuses, are available through Public Safety and the IU Police Department websites at protect.iu.edu/police-safety/annual-reports/index.html. A paper copy will be provided upon request from Public Safety at iups@iu.edu