Non-Academic
CALS Hiring Process
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Position Justification Form: Supervisor sends Position Justification Form to fill position to
Dept. Manager and CALS HR Rep.
Justification and SPD Review:
o Justification is sent to the College for review and consideration. With College approval,
can then proceed with search and hiring process.
o Review and update SPD (job description).
 If the position is new; has not been reviewed in over 5 years; has significant
changes; and/or the level needs to be changed, the job description needs to be
reviewed and approved by the CALS HR Position Review Team. Higher level
exempt positions must be reviewed and approved by the University
Compensation Office and or Pier Review Team.
Posting Position: CALS HR will need posting information and ad text to complete activation of
job posting on the Jobs at Cornell website which is completed through the Taleo system.
o CALS HR can send sample job posting to hiring supervisor for review if requested.
o Once information is returned and ad is approved, CALS HR will activate job req and
posting through Taleo.
o The Dept. has the option to post ad on other listservs or posting sites, but will need to
share information with CALS HR to add to search record information.
Applying to Postings:
o To be considered a candidate for posted positions, applicants must apply online through
the Jobs at Cornell site http://hr.cornell.edu/jobs/.
Conduct Search:
o Applications
 Prior to closing the posting, an EEO report must be run by HR to make sure that
the candidate pool meets compliance. Approval to close the search without
meeting compliance will need to be obtained from the Director of CALS Human
Resources.
 Applications are received online through the University's Taleo system.
 Applications and cover letters will be shared with Search Committee Chair or
hiring supervisor by CALS HR for review and consideration.
 Sort out candidates—
1. Not qualified or will not fit your business needs
2. Possible/potential/maybe
3. Yes--very interested in talking with
o Phone Interviews
 If you have a good number of applicants (i.e. 6-12) that you are very interested
in, phone interviews can be conducted to narrow down who you'd like to bring in
for campus interviews.
o On-campus Interviews
 It is recommended that 4-6 people are interviewed (you can always do more or
less depending on the situation). This gives you a good number for comparison
as well as best choice for making a selection for your position.
 Please keep notes and a list of questions that you will ask each candidate.
 CALS HR is available to assist and/or participate with the interviews.
o Reference Checks
 Once you've selected a top candidate you will need to contact references.
 A reference check is required before a candidate is offered a position.
 You will need to contact a minimum of 2 and one needs to be the most recent
supervisor.
 Reference checks can be done on all final candidates if you chose. This feedback
can assist you in making the final decision for hire.
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Position Offer
 Once you have selected a candidate you'd like to make an offer to, contact CALS
HR with the name of the prospective hire.
 HR will assist with an approved salary offer range within the College guidelines.
This offer range is based on the candidate's experience, current salary rate (if
employed by Cornell), range of other employees in the same title within the Dept
as well as Campus-wide, and our regional mid-market salary rate.
 Once approval has been received, you can make a verbal offer.
 If accepted, you make an agreement for start date and include any special
transition plans.
 Share the hiring agreement information with CALS HR so that an offer letter can
be prepared and sent to you for finalization and distribution.
Close Search:
o Rejection Letters
 Call those applicants who were actually interviewed to thank them for
participating and inform them that an offer has been made to another candidate
and accepted. A confirmation rejection letter will be sent by HR through the
search system.
 HR will send rejection letters to remaining candidates in the pool through the
search system.
o Close University Search Record
 The following information must be provided to your CALS HR Rep:
 Who had phone interviews on what dates (if applicable)? Include any comments.
 Who had on-campus interviews (1st, 2nd, etc) and on what dates? Include any
comments.
 A brief explanation of why interviewed candidates were not selected for hire.
Please use specific reasons based on job qualifications. (This info is only
required for those applicants who were actually interviewed.)
 What references were contacted for what candidates? Please include full contact
information and any comments.
 Your complete file from the search needs to be turned in to CALS HR so that it
can be filed in the Central Search File. Please include all notes, emails,
questions, reference feedback, etc.
Hiring Process:
o The candidate must return a signed acceptance of the written offer/appointment letter.
o Candidate must provide additional information as well as confirm their preferred email
address. The instructions are included in the offer letter.
o CALS HR will then initiate the hiring process within the Workday system.
o The new employee will receive an email at their preferred email address that will contain
information on how to activate their Cornell network ID, activate their University email
account, and schedule their onboarding appointment. The onboarding appointment can
be scheduled for a date prior to their first day of work on a voluntary basis but must
take place no later than their third day of employment.
o Candidate needs to take the following information to Onboarding:
 Passport OR 2 other forms of ID (typically Driver's License and Social Security
card or birth certificate).
 For direct deposit: a voided blank check or deposit slip.
o At Onboarding, the new employee will sign up for a Welcome to Cornell session,
benefits, obtain parking/transportation permits and/or passes, get their picture ID card,
etc.
o Keys, security authorization, orientation are done within the Dept.
o IF Temporary appointment—new hire MUST come to the CALS HR office to complete
hiring paperwork.