Recruiting Information for Managers
Process for hiring a new employee
Process for hiring a new employee
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Position request and Job Description Form
When you realize you need to hire a new employee, the first person to call is your HR Officer. They will support you in submitting the position through HireTouch, HLS’s position management system. The form you complete in HireTouch will depend on whether you are hiring a replacement for an employee who is leaving, or a new headcount to your staff. Once submitted, the request goes through a review and approval workflow with HR & Finance before it is posted in the Harvard Careers portal. You will be updated on the status of your request via email during the review and approval process.
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Meeting with the Recruiter
Once your HireTouch request is approved, the job will be posted in the Harvard Careers portal and you will be sent a notification email with the requisition number. Your Recruiter will contact you to schedule a meeting to review the job itself, sourcing strategies, candidate success criteria and establish an effective search process.
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Candidate Screening
The Recruiter initially screens all applicant resumes and shares those that meet the basic qualifications and established criteria with you. You will access resumes directly in the Harvard Careers portal. Resume screening will be a continuous process as long as the job is actively posted. The Recruiter can conduct initial phone screen conversations to ensure that you are interviewing only viable candidates. 5-7 phone screens are recommended to narrow to 3-5 candidates to move forward to the interview stage.
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Interviews
Your Recruiter can work with you on strategies to conduct an effective interview and provide resources to help you prepare, including sample interview questions. Keeping the candidate experience in mind, please aim to minimize the number of trips they need to make to campus during the interview process. Leveraging technology by conducting interviews via the Zoom platform in the first round is an excellent option, particularly for out of town candidates. As a best practice, we recommend interviewing 3-5 candidates during first round interviews, then narrowing to the strongest 1 or 2 finalists for the 2nd/final round interviews.
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References
Once you identify a finalist, reference checks will be conducted via SkillSurvey, a digital feedback tool. The SkillSurvey report includes both qualitative and quantitative data to support final decisions on moving forward with a hire. The typical turnaround from the time the candidate submits their references is 48 hours.
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Hiring Decisions
Once the references are completed, the Recruiter will collaborate to support your hiring decision. As soon as we have reached a decision, the Recruiter will call and extend an offer to the candidate, contingent upon background checks in accordance with Harvard University guidelines.
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Finalizing the Offer
Once background checks are complete, a start date is finalized and a formal offer letter drafted. HLS offer letters are now sent via e-mail to our incoming new hires. They will also receive a helpful checklist that contains important information, such as campus maps, key dates, resources, where to register for benefits orientation, parking and transit information, and where and when to get their Harvard ID. This checklist is also customized for each new hire to include the date and time of their New Hire Tour and IT Services Orientation. As the hiring manager, you will be copied on this e-mail. Please be sure to take a chance to review the offer letter and familiarize yourself with the dates on the new hire checklist.