Recruitment Timeline and Resources

Follow the steps for best practice including minimising excessive criteria, avoiding exclusionary language, using "plain English," using the gender decoder to check your advert wording, and incorporating EDI responsibilities into the role.

Also, consider whether particular fields attract diversity to help with your person specification and job advertising. For example, if Clinical Psychology research tends to be more diverse than Experimental Psychology, understand why Clinical Psychology attracts diverse applicants and how this may be shared practice. This is useful if you want to recruit quickly and provide the opportunity internally to aid career progression.

Lastly, consider using other means to advertise such as secondments or Accerlate Leadership for Professional Services roles. This is useful if you want to recruit quickly and feel the need to provide the opportunity internally to aid career progression. 

Use the UCL job description template.

HR processing and redeployment

Use this time to think about where to advertise for the widest candidate reach, agree your panel, arrange for a Fair Recruitment Specialist (opens in a new tab)to join the panel, book in time for shortlisting and book the interview date in panel members' diaries - the interview date should be included in the advert.

Redeployment candidate assessment

Ensure that any redeployment candidates that meet the essential criteria are invited to interview - follow the steps relating to shortlisting and interviewing. Where candidates do not meet the criteria provide them with clear feedback related to how they met (or did not meet) the essential criteria for the role.

External advertisement

Make sure you advertise the vacancy as widely as possible, using social media, job sites designed to target diverse candidates, and role-specific external advertisers. Use the advertising period to prepare a shortlisting grid for scoring candidates and plan your interview questions and ideal answers.

Shortlist candidates

Panel members should agree on how they will assess, using facts and avoiding assumptions, and looking for strengths rather than weaknesses. The panel should use grid scoring matrixes to ensure consistency. The panel chair should review all scores and identify inconsistencies/outliers using a standardised shortlist grid. Consider positive action (opens in a new tab) if appropriate.

Invite candidates to interview and reject candidates not shortlisted

Candidates should be given clear guidance regarding the interview structure and duration, including details of any test or required presentation. Candidates should be asked if they require any reasonable adjustments. During this time the panel should finalise the questions and agree process and how candidates will be assessed.

Interview candidates

Have a consistent process for interviews. Follow interview best practice guidance, including for online/telephone interviews if appropriate. Assess candidates in a pre-agreed, fair and equitable way and be mindful of biases.  Consider positive action if appropriate. Also read UCL's interview guidance.

Outcome and offer

Salary offers should be based on skills and experience and be consistent with the rest of the team. You should check if any reasonable adjustments might be required in the workplace. Follow best practice for offering unsuccessful candidates constructive feedback by reading the feedback guidance.