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For guidance on interview documentation, please visit

Review shortlisted applications - allow time to familiarise yourself with the candidates application form / CV / cover letter in advance of the interview.

Prepare your questions – questions should be based on the essential and desirable criteria. Prepare these in advance and decide which panel member is asking which questions. The format of the selection process should be consistent for all candidates.

• Question or evidence requested needs to relate to the skills, experience and qualifications outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification.
• Questions should be competency based as much as possible – for example “Please tell us about a time where you successfully completed a complex project working across multiple disciplines”
• An ideal number of questions would be 6-8
• Record the interview questions in advance within the hub, or use the interview notes pack located in the Hiring Manager toolkit.

Chairs should be clear on their responsibilities - refer to below section titled; 'Responsibilities of the Chair'.

All panel members please read the section below titled; 'Equality and diversity guidelines for panel member'.

Don’t be late – keep to your interview schedule timings, and allow sufficient time at the end for candidate questions

Introductions - Remember to fully introduce the panel and set out the agenda of the interview. The Chair should explain that the University is committed to equality and diversity throughout the entire selection process.

Recording notes -

• For further information, please visit – all records must be kept for 12 months following the interview process for all candidates, longer for successful candidate
• The Chair must complete final page of the Interview Pack

Right to Work check – It’s essential you check candidates Right to Work in the UK documentation. Please refer to the 

Academic/Professional Qualifications - If you have specified academic and/or professional qualifications in the essential criteria of your Person Specification, it is essential that you take certified copies of these at interview.

For guidance, please refer to

Responsibilities of the Chair

General

• Promote fairness and open competition at every stage
• Ensure that key decisions around candidate selection are objective, based upon the person specification and that these decisions can be justified
• Ensure the University's Equality and Diversity policy is adhered to and that no discriminatory behaviour takes place
• Be aware of the University’s Codes of Conduct
• Be the University’s lead witness should a selection decision be challenged in an employment tribunal.

Selection panel

• Ensure correct selection panel composition (including mixed gender)

Shortlisting

• Ensure that selection decisions are taken against the person specification and in line with the University’s equal opportunities standards

Interviews

Ensure:

• All panel members conduct a fair, objective and confidential assessment of each candidate’s suitability for the role
• Assessment criteria, processes (interview questions/tests/tasks etc.) and feedback are fair, reliable and consistent
• Panel’s consensus score and interview notes for each question for each candidate is recorded in the Recruitment Hub
• That evidence of a candidate’s Right to Work is certified before an individuals' first day at work and as soon as possible after a candidate has accepted an offer of employment.

Offers / feedback

• After interview, the Chair or nominated panel member should make the offer to the successful candidate***
• An offer of employment should be made subject to standard pre-employment checks
• Once an offer has been accepted, contact the unsuccessful candidates and notify them of the outcome and provide feedback (ideally within 2 working days of the interview)
• For internal candidates - unsuccessful internal candidates should be able to receive verbal / face to face feedback if requested

***Additional points to consider if appointing international candidates:

The UK operates a new points-based system for the Skilled Worker Visa and this now applies to EU as well as non-EU candidates.  If you plan to offer the role to an international candidate who will need a visa to work in the UK please contact your recruiter before making the offer. We will need to check the job and candidate are eligible for sponsorship for the New Skilled Worker Visa or the Global Talent visa.

Deciding starting salary

• The Chair and/or Recruiting Manager should discuss the starting salary to be offered to the preferred candidate.
• Normally this should be the bottom point of the salary scale. If there is evidence to support someone being offered a salary which is higher than the bottom of the band please refer to this guidance: . Your HRBP/Advisor can also be contacted for advice.

The University has a duty to ensure that job applicants are not subject to discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, civil partnership status, trans-gender status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, disability and age.

Decisions on recruitment and selection should be based on objective, job related criteria. The University seeks to ensure best practice and in so doing ensure compliance with relevant legislation.

Where can I find the University policy on equality and diversity?

• Equality and diversity policy.
• Further information can be found on the equality and diversity website and on the equality and diversity online resource.

What practical steps should we take to reduce unfair treatment?

Advertising: careful consideration should be given to the wording used in job adverts to ensure that they are not written is such a way that stereotypes or encourages people to believe that the position is only suitable for certain groups of people. Consideration should also be given to which media is used for advertising in order to ensure that applications from some sections of the community are not excluded or limited.

Person specification: your criteria for selection should relate to the requirements of the job, relevant qualifications and relevant experience. The person specification should be drawn up objectively, taking care to ensure that all the criteria included are appropriate and relevant to the performance of the job in question.

Criteria used in recruitment may sometimes amount to indirect discrimination against people in certain groups, eg women, overseas nationals or people in a particular age group. Indirect discrimination occurs where a requirement applied to all job applicants has a disproportionate adverse effect on members of one group compared with another. Unless the criterion in question can be shown to be appropriate and necessary for the effective performance of the job, it will be unlawful.

Shortlisting: when shortlisting takes place, it should be undertaken consistently and against the objective criteria set out in the job description and person specification. It is recommended that a record is kept of the criteria under which job applicants are shortlisted.

Interview: if you are the Chair you should advise your panel to keep to topics that are relevant to the selection process. Marital, family, domestic and age-related matters are likely to be irrelevant and could lead you unwittingly into unfair discrimination eg asking questions about childcare arrangements, in particular when interviewing female candidates, may be interpreted as direct sex discrimination.

The University take gender bias in recruitment seriously.  We have a policy of having male and female staff on the recruitment panel, and require all panel members to be trained in recruitment and selection.

The article below can help to raise awareness of gender bias in academic recruitment.

Scientists at Yale conducted experimental research into the gender bias of academic recruitment panels in science faculty.

It was found that both men and women on the recruitment panel are significantly more likely to rate a male candidate as more competent and hireable than an identical female candidate, and to offer a higher starting salary and more career mentoring  to the male candidate compared to the female candidate. This research shows that there is gender bias in the recruitment of academic staff. The researchers show male and female staff were equally likely to demonstrate this bias.

Is there any University training on this?

There is both online and  training available. Only staff who have completed the University's recruitment online training course are ‘licensed’ to be on a recruitment panel. For staff the online Recruitment and Selection course can be accessed via your . If you have not been automatically loaded onto the course you can self enrol via the catalogue.  Panel members who are not University employees are still required to complete the online training and will need to be given an external LearnUpon account, please contact peopledevelopment@exeter.ac.uk to request access. This is important as the University would be liable if a claim is made against you following a selection process and training has not been completed by a panel member.

What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?

Direct discrimination: treating one candidate less favourably then another purely on the grounds of their age, disability, gender, race etc without justification.

Examples:

• Not employing a woman because of concerns that she may want to start a family
• Not considering a person with a disability without looking at whether they meet the selection criteria and whether any reasonable adjustments can be made.

Indirect discrimination: operating a practice, criteria or provision that applies to everyone, but that indirectly (whether intentionally or not) puts some groups or individuals at a disadvantage compared to others without justification on other grounds.

Examples:

• using word of mouth and informal networks as the primary source for academic appointments is likely to disadvantage groups who are currently under-represented at this level, eg black and minority ethnic (BME) or female candidates
• including a specific academic qualification in the selection criteria excludes those who have achieved an equivalent standard of knowledge and skill through other, equivalent routes. 

Women and BME staff are under-represented in my area. Can I select a candidate on that basis to improve the balance?

No. That would be positive discrimination (ie treating those from under represented groups more favourably to the exclusion of others) and that is unlawful. However, positive action is allowed. You are permitted to encourage applications from under represented groups eg

• include statements such as “We encourage applications from women and ethnic minorities, who are currently under-represented in this part of the University” in adverts
• target advertising to reach under-represented groups.

Disability confident employer

The University is committed to interviewing all applicants declaring a disability who meet the minimum essential criteria for a job vacancy. It is the responsibility of the recruitment panel to ensure that any disabled applicant who meets the minimum essential criteria is offered an interview.

Panel members should also be aware of the duty to make reasonable adjustments for any candidate with a disability. Examples of reasonable adjustments could include:

• changing the interview location for an applicant who has mobility difficulties
• ensuring there is no background noise for a candidate with a hearing impairment
• allowing an applicant with a learning disability to be accompanied by a helper at the interview.

For information on how to verify Right to Work (including how to verify when an interview has taken place remotely), please refer to the

For guidance, please refer to