Recruiting & Hiring

NOTE: If you are recruiting a straight replacement of an existing position that has been recruited within the past year AND has no changes to salary grade/pay table, job code, or job duties/responsibilities, skip down to Obtaining Approval & Posting.

Consult with your Executive Office HR contact regarding your business needs and proposed staffing plan. Executive Office HR will provide consultation and guidance on appropriate employment classes and job codes. For this meeting, please come prepared to discuss the following items.

During the position development stage, you should assemble a draft position description that captures the duties and responsibilities, reporting structure, required skills and experience, and other relevant position details. Utilize the Classified Staff Position Description Template (docx) or Professional Staff Position Description Template (docx) to draft your position description. You may also elect to revise an existing position description for a similar position type. Please reach out to the Executive Office HR team for examples of past/current position descriptions.

Do not include advertising language in the text of the position description form. Prior to posting, UW Total Talent Management (formerly UW Recruiting Services) will include the required UW advertising language. Please consult with the Executive Office HR team if you have specific language that you would like to include in the final posting.

Diversity is one of the six values at the University of Washington that guides institutional goals for students, staff, and faculty. In support of the UW’s commitment to inclusive excellence, we encourage all managers to review the Staff Diversity Hiring Toolkit as you prepare for your recruitment. This toolkit offers checklists, resources, and further guidance on how to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

Before you begin the position development process, be sure that your planned salary range has been reviewed and pre-approved by your VP-level unit approver or Kim Dinh, Senior Director for Finance, HR, and Administration. Consult the HR Hiring Approval Flow Chart (pdf) to confirm who needs to approve your salary range.

Be aware that “resources” are not just limited to salary and benefits, but space assignment, operational expenses (IT, software, equipment, supplies), professional development and training, and travel.

For new or revised positions, consider any impacts on job duties/responsibilities for existing positions or if it will impact existing team structures or reporting lines.

Consult Executive Office HR if this will be an open recruitment, limited recruitment (open to UW employees only), or closed recruitment (direct hire for a fixed term or limited appointments only).

Once the position development steps are fully completed, submit a Hiring New Staff Form with all associated documentation attached.

Refer to the Recruitment & Hiring Forms page for guidance on documentation that should be uploaded with the request form.

Refer to the Hiring Timelines page to determine the lead time required for posting or hiring.

Application materials will be received initially by Executive Office HR. Per the preferences of the search committee, the materials may be forwarded to the search committee members via email, or search committee members may be granted UWHIRES Workbench access to the hiring requisition to view the materials directly online. The vetting process is different depending on the position’s employment program:

Classified Staff positions – Applications are initially vetted by Total Talent Management. Only applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be forwarded to Executive Office HR. When considering candidates, contract classified candidates (they will appear on the requisition with Promo, Lateral Transfer/Move, or Voluntary Demotion) must be considered before non-contract-classified candidates. At least one bargaining unit applicant per job requisition must be granted an interview for bargaining unit positions. The contract stipulates that “where the skills, abilities, and experience of the vacant position are considered equal, the Employer will offer the position to a bargaining unit applicant.” The contract also provides that “applicants from the bargaining unit who possess the essential skills but are not offered the position may request an explanation, written or oral, as to why the position was not offered.”

Professional Staff positions – Total Talent Management will complete an initial review of all applications. Applicants who meet eligibility and position requirements will be forwarded to the Executive Office HR team. Discuss with Executive Office HR team if you feel your recruitment would benefit from an additional pre-screening by the Executive Office HR team.

Prior to screening resumes, all search committee members should consult HR’s guidelines on Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry.

Please note that all screening and interview documents and notes are subject to a 3-year retention period (10 years for positions at the Director level or above) following the conclusion of any search, regardless of whether a hire was completed. Please be aware that any discussions, meeting notes, rubrics, or ranking criteria either in paper or email form will be collected and filed and subject to public records requests within that retention period. Any written or typed notes should comply with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry. Do not take down any notes or make any comments that do not align with these guidelines.

For competitive recruitments, all applicants must be subject to the same review and interviewing process.

Each candidate should be interviewed by the same person(s)/panel and be asked the same questions. All members of the interview panel should review and be familiar with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry before conducting interviews.

Aside from inquiring about the candidate’s skills and experience, be sure to cover the expectations of the position such as the expected schedule, typical duties and responsibilities, and physical requirements (if applicable).

Allow time for the candidate to ask questions for each interview panel. In order to provide accurate information to the candidate, be sure that you are knowledgeable about the position details, including:

• Benefits Eligibility – most classified and professional positions at 50% FTE or more and for a period of 6 months or greater are eligible for some type of benefits. Provide the candidate with the UW Total Benefits PDF for further details: Classified Staff Benefits Summary (pdf), Professional Staff Benefits Summary (pdf)

• Time Off Accrual and Usage Policy
  • For Classified Staff positions, refer to the union contract for full details on time off accrual and usage: SEIU 925 Contract, All Other Labor Contracts
  • Professional Staff Program – Time Off and Holidays

Communicate with the candidate about the expected recruitment timeline and next steps. Ask how soon they would be able to start if offered the position. Well-qualified candidates may be interviewing for other positions and have other options to consider, so be open about your recruiting time frame in order to manage expectations.

Effective July 28, 2019, employers are prohibited from inquiring an applicant’s wage or salary history or requiring an applicant’s prior wage or salary to meet certain criteria. Find more information on the Washington State’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) .

Learn about Interviewing Courtesies for Individuals with Disabilities and disability accommodations. Do not inquire about a candidate’s disabilities or whether they would require reasonable accommodation during the interview process.

Upon completing interviews, conduct reference checks for your top candidate(s). Please follow the reference check guidance which includes information on seeking references on internal employees. References should all be based on professional relationships—individuals who have worked with the finalist in a professional setting and are familiar with their day-to-day work and overall performance on the job.

Plan on conducting at least three professional reference checks, with at least one of those references being the current supervisor (or most recent supervisor if not currently employed).

Utilize the Telephone Reference Check Form (DocX) in order to document the conversation. You may ask additional questions not included on the form (such as attendance record), but be sure to ask the same ad-hoc questions for all reference checks, especially when conducting checks for multiple candidates. Once again, all inquiries must comply with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry guidelines. We recommend that each reference check be conducted with at least two search committee members present in order to ensure the accuracy of notes and records of the call.

Please Note: If the finalist is a current or former UW employee, please alert Executive Office HR. They will work with central HR to request a review of the candidate’s official personnel record. UWHR will provide a summary of any documented performance or employee relations issues that occurred over the last three years of the candidate’s employment at the UW. This personnel record check is required before any offer can be extended to current or former UW employees.

Final Candidate Disclosure 

Effective October 1, 2020, the UW is required to ask final candidates who are not already UW employees to sign a statement disclosing whether they:

• Are the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct in any current or former employment
• Are currently being investigated for sexual misconduct at any current employer
• Have left a position during an investigation into a violation of any sexual misconduct policy at any current or past employers

For any positive response, final candidates are required to provide an explanation of the situation and additional steps may be required. The Executive Office HR team will initiate this Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Statement process with the UWHR Recruiting Office once reference checks are completed and before the official hiring offer can be made. A hire will not be finalized until the completed and signed declaration is received.

Sexual Misconduct Verification 

Effective July 1, 2021, the UW is required to request in writing that the final candidate’s current or former Washington state postsecondary educational institution employers disclose whether the candidate:

• Is the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct
• Is currently being investigated for sexual misconduct
• Has left a position during an investigation into a violation of any sexual misconduct policy

The request must include a copy of the declaration and statement completed by the final candidate.

The UW may request all documents and information in the candidate’s current or former personnel, investigative, or other files relating to any sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment. Final candidates may be asked to execute additional forms required by their current or former employer(s) to release such information to the UW.

For full details, please consult Total Talent Management’s webpage on Sexual Misconduct Disclosure.

Once the reference checks are fully completed and you are ready to proceed with an offer, contact Executive Office HR with your planned compensation offer and proposed start date. The Executive Office HR team will submit the offer in UWHIRES for approval. Do not extend any verbal or written offers to the finalist until Executive Office HR confirms approval of the compensation offer.

The Executive Office HR team will advise you once the salary offer is approved and then you can make the offer to the finalist. Inform the finalist that the offer is contingent on satisfactorily passing a criminal background check. Once the finalist accepts, contact Executive Office HR and they will work with Total Talent Management to initiate the background check process. It is not our unit’s practice to issue formal offer letters to be signed by the new hire.

Once the background check is cleared and the hiring is completed, a hiring confirmation letter will be drafted by Executive Shared Services and forwarded to the direct supervisor of the position for final signature and delivery to the new hire.

If the finalist is a current UW employee with no break in service, consult with Executive Office HR to verify if a background check is still required. Turnaround time for background checks can vary from a few days (for new hires that have only lived in Washington State) to several weeks (for individuals who have lived abroad in recent years).

The position start date cannot come before the completion of the background check. As a result, it may be necessary to shift the proposed start date in order to accommodate the background check timeline.

Once the background check is fully cleared, the hiring will be completed in UWHIRES and routed to Workday to initiate the onboarding process.

As with Classified or Professional Staff positions, please consult with Executive Office HR on Developing Your Position before submitting any hiring requests.

In addition to the items outlined in the Position Development process, familiarize yourself with the requirements and restrictions regarding student employment, including the following.

Student must be enrolled at the UW and meet the following minimum credit requirements (not including correspondence credits) in order to be eligible for student employment:

• Undergraduate students – 6 credits
• Graduate and professional students – 5 credits
• Ph.D. candidates working on dissertations – 2 credits
• Granted “on leave” status

Academic Student Employees, which include Tutors, Readers/Graders, Staff Assistants, and Research Assistants, are in a separate employment program from hourly student assistant positions. All ASE positions are governed by the contract between the UW and the United Auto Workers (UAW) and thus follow a separate criteria for eligibility and compensation. If you plan to hire an Academic Student Employee (ASE), additional enrollment requirements may apply, depending on the nature of the position. Please consult with Executive Shared Services for further guidance if you intend to hire an ASE.

Students are limited to 19.5 hours per week when classes are in session. Be aware if your student is working multiple positions at UW as the 19.5 hours limit is cumulative across all UW positions. Provided that there is an urgent business need for additional hours, students are eligible to work above the limit during finals weeks, school breaks, or when “on leave”, which is defined as:

• Undergraduates – For one quarter immediately following a quarter in which the student was enrolled for at least 6 academic credits, including summer quarter unless the student has graduated.
• Graduate and Professional Students – When the student has applied for and been granted such status by the Dean of the Graduate School.

In the event that a student (whether intentionally or not) works above the 19.5-hour limit in a given week, the UW is still obligated to pay them for all hours worked. However, it puts the University out of compliance with the hourly limit policy. Be sure you are actively communicating with your student employees regarding work schedules to avoid work-hour overages.

By state law, it is mandatory that anyone working a 5+ hour work shift is given the opportunity to take a minimum of a 30-minute (unpaid) break.

Student employees have a set range for hourly rates, which may be adjusted in accordance with minimum wage requirements and pay determination guidelines set by the UW Compensation Office. Academic Student Employee positions have separate pay scales determined by the UW/UAW contract. Consult with Executive Office HR for guidance on the correct compensation rate.

Once you have consulted with Executive Office HR, complete a Hiring New Staff Form with all associated documentation attached.

Student job profiles typically do not require an open recruitment. If you have identified a preferred candidate, be sure to note the candidate’s name when completing your Hiring New Staff Form.

Departments hiring graduate students are required to request that the prospective student employee complete the sexual misconduct declaration in the Sexual Misconduct Declaration Tool prior to receiving an offer of employment. This includes all academic student employees covered by the UAW collective bargaining agreement and any prospective graduate student employee hired into a graduate student job profile.

Before you make any offer of employment, notify EOSS if your finalist is a graduate student, this includes Academic Student Employees, as well as any Graduate Student, recruited into a Student Assistant (non-ASE) job code. EOSS will reach out to the finalist to initiate the Sexual Misconduct Declaration process with UWHR. Based on the completed statement, UWHR will reach out to the Graduate School and the hiring department should there be any result necessitating further review.

For full details, please consult Total Talent Management’s webpage on Sexual Misconduct Disclosure.

Direct Hires for student assistant positions do not require an open recruitment. You may extend a conditional offer to your preferred candidate based on the position details pre-approved in your form. Once accepted, you may move to the background check stage.

Open Recruitments may be done informally via email announcements or formally via Handshake.

NOTE: ASE positions have additional requirements in accordance with the UAW contract. Please consult with Executive Office HR for guidance on how to manage those recruitments.

As with staff positions, all student hires in the Executive Office should also undergo background checks prior to officially starting work. In order to initiate the process, the student should complete and sign the Criminal Conviction and Civil Finding History Self-Disclosure and Authorization Form (pdf). The completed form along with the following information should be forwarded to Executive Office HR:

1. List of residence(s) outside of WA state, or United States, in the last 3 years (city, county, state, country)
2. Citizenship status

Turnaround time for background checks can vary from a few days (for new hires that have only lived in Washington State) to several weeks (for individuals who have lived abroad in recent years).

Position start dates cannot come before the completion of the background check. As a result, it may be necessary to shift the proposed start in order to accommodate the background check timeline.

Once the background check is fully cleared, the hiring will be completed in UWHIRES and routed to Workday to initiate the onboarding process.

Contingent Worker is a Workday classification referring to an individual who is not paid by the UW, and thus not considered an “employee.” They include contractors, vendors, and consultants, among others. The Contingent Worker designation allows these individuals to obtain NetIDs, parking passes, Husky Card, and access to other UW systems.

If you need to contract a Contingent Worker, please consult with Executive Office HR for guidance. Depending on the type of access needed for the Contingent Worker, a background check may need to be completed.

Volunteers are individuals who donate their services to the University without receiving compensation or academic credit and are thus not considered UW employees or interns. Volunteer assignments are typically short-term in nature and very limited in scope of duties, such as staffing an event. Unlike Contingent Workers, volunteers do not need UWNetIDs or access to UW systems.

Volunteer work must be authorized, in writing, prior to the work beginning. If you plan on utilizing volunteers for your unit’s work, contact Executive Office HR for further guidance on the authorization process.

Depending on the scope of duties handled by the volunteer, a background check may need to be completed before the volunteer assignment may begin. Volunteers are also considered mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect. As volunteers are not entered into the Workday system, and thus are not prompted to complete this training, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that all volunteers complete the online training for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse of Neglect.