2. Announcing the Position
Announce the Position
All job advertisements are legally required to refer to USC’s non-discrimination and affirmative action policy and carry the tagline: “USC is an equal opportunity employer and educator, proudly pluralistic and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding candidates of every race, creed, and background.” Beyond that, job ads should use proactive language, signaling our recognition of the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion (see Appendix 3). Some proactive cues can include:
“The University is responsive to the needs of dual-career couples. Women, minoritized individuals, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.”
“The University is committed to ensuring access to and equity in its employment opportunities, programs, and services for all qualified individuals and has developed policies, procedures, practices, and training to further this commitment.”
“Although we seek applicants in the general area of XXX in several broad areas of interest, including XXX. In general, we prioritize the overall originality and promise of the candidate’s work rather than the sub-area of specialization.”
Considerations for Advertising the Position
- Professional Organizations and Affinity Spaces
- Journals with a record of publishing the intersection of your field and equity
- Social media
Grow the Applicant Pool
As noted in the University of California-Los Angeles recruitment strategy, “Actively search. Don’t Passively Sort.” Consider these seven steps to grow your pool of candidates instead of just hoping that they will show up and something good will happen:
- Contact affinity groups such as the Society of Women Engineers or the Association of Black Sociologists.
- Ask faculty and graduate students to help identify strong candidates, including women and minority candidates.
- Contact mentors with a track record of mentoring underrepresented students for faculty positions.
- Contact colleagues at other institutions to seek nominations of students nearing graduation or faculty interested in moving laterally, making sure to request references to minoritized and women colleagues.
- Create a list of local post-docs and contact them.
- Contact faculty at other institutions, particularly women and minority faculty, who may be under-placed.
- Task all committee members with making at least three such communications.
Every search committee member should contact former colleagues, previous mentors, past students, prospects, and affinity organizations. Keep a shared spreadsheet and hold each other accountable
Note
“Women and minoritized faculty candidates, like all candidates, wish to be evaluated for academic positions on the basis of their scholarly credentials. They will not appreciate subtle or overt indications that they are being valued on other characteristics, such as their gender or race. Women candidates and candidates of color already realize that their gender or race may be a factor in your interest in their candidacy. It is important that contacts with women and minority candidates for faculty positions focus on their scholarship, qualifications, and their potential academic role in the department.”
The University of Michigan Handbook for Faculty Searches and Hiring