Creating A New Position
How do I create a new position?
Creating a new, regular Office/Service or Managerial/Professional position requires developing a job description in the electronic PeopleAdmin system. Approvals are documented within PeopleAdmin at https://employment.unl.edu/hr. Suggestions on preparing the job description are available What do I do when I want to create a temporary position?
Temporary positions are defined as positions having a continuous duration of less than two years. Internal approval procedures will depend upon departmental instructions. All positions requesting wages above the threshold for approval without HR, currently at $15.00, require a description of the duties to be performed by the temporary worker and the anticipated wage/salary. Send requests to hrclasscomp@unl.edu. Temporary positions may be filled with or without posting on the university website. Posting a temporary position requires submission of a requisition through PeopleAdmin at https://employment.unl.edu/hr.What must be done to change a temporary employee to a regular employee?
If the temporary employee is filling a vacant, regular position with a classified position description in the PeopleAdmin system, the process will begin with the submission of a requisition to fill that position on a regular basis. If there is not presently a classified regular description, the process will begin with creating a position description in the PeopleAdmin system. When a temporary is filling a vacant, regular position, a competitive search is necessary to select an employee for the regular position. If the temporary was hired as the result of an advertised search and the duties have remained relatively the same, a request to waive a new search may be considered after the requisition is approved by Human Resources. EAD will consider search waivers for M/P positions and HR will consider search waivers for O/S positions.Changing a Job
When should I consider reclassifying a position?
Jobs grow and change and supervisors have latitude to assign new duties. Consider revising the job description when those changes impact the work or the performance of the work. Salary increases based on addition of duties, assignments, or employee competencies will require a revised position description.How long does it take to classify/reclassify a position?
The time frame will vary based on the nature of the request. Classification decisions are communicated to the Hiring Managers through the PeopleAdmin system.
Filling a Vacancy
When is the deadline for requisitions for opening positions?
Unless you are trying to meet a newspaper advertising deadline, there are no deadlines for requisitions. Sufficient advance time must be allowed for obtaining all necessary approvals and HR processing of the requisition.We want to reopen a position we advertised 3 weeks ago, what do we do?
If fewer than 60 days have passed from the time that the HR requisition was approved, we can reopen it to recruit additional candidates. In order for unit leadership to reassess the vacancy situation, requisitions that are older than 60 days should be reissued for approval.What are my options for advertising for replacement?
University positions will be advertised in one of three ways:
- Department Only*—open to those within the department who are current regular part-time or full-time employees hired through a competitive search process (not temporary employees).
- University Only*—open to all university employees, including those from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Central Administration (including temporary employees).
- External—open to everyone, both university and non-university applicants.
*Requires HR or EAD approval prior to posting.
Do I have to advertise in the newspaper?
Newspaper advertising is determined based upon the needs of the department to attract qualified candidates. Newspaper advertising is not required. The requesting department is to be billed by the newspaper(s) for the cost of the ad.Screening and Interviewing
Are we required to interview all applicants for an Office/Service position referred by Human Resources?
It is expected that a hiring unit will interview all applicants referred by Human Resources as qualified applicants for the position. If the hiring unit determines that one or more of the candidates are not suitable for the position, they should submit a written request to the appropriate HR Facilitator to accept them from the list of candidates. Additional candidates may also be requested by submitting a written request to the HR Facilitator.May a department screen their own applications for an Office Service/Service position?
Many departments have opted to screen their own applications for O/S positions. This is a delegation approved by department, not by individual position. Departments interested in participating in delegated screening should submit a request to the Director, Compensation & Employment.What should I do when I'm interviewing an applicant and they are self-disclosing information such a marital status, religion, etc.?
When an applicant voluntarily offers such information it is a good idea not to write this information down and guide the interview away from such disclosures into topics specifically related to the job.We have interviewed the first group of applicants for our Office/Service vacancy. If we request a second group of candidates, can we still hire someone from the first group?
Yes. Looking at a second group of referred applicants only broadens your choices; it does not eliminate the eligibility of candidates in the first group.We have tried unsuccessfully to schedule an interview for one of the applicants. What do I need to do?
Send the candidate a letter indicating your desire to schedule an interview. You should indicate a deadline to respond in order to be considered for the position.I had a "no show/no call" applicant for an interview. What do I do?
You may try to contact them to see if there was a communication problem, an unavoidable conflict or an attempt to reschedule. However, if they do not respond to your phone calls/messages, and you have given them a reasonable period of time to respond you may consider them withdrawn.
Reference Checks
Do I have to do reference checks on all the applicants?
Reference checks are required and part of the university recruitment policy on the top candidate. An applicant has checked "no" on their application form pertaining to checking references with their current employer. What should I do?
In most cases, the employee does not want the current employer to know that he/she is looking for another job, which is understandable. Once you are certain this person is your top candidate, you should contact that person and tell him/her that a job offer is contingent upon reference checks with previous employers and ask permission to contact the current employer. Typically, a candidate will agree to this knowing that a job offer has been made. If they still decline to allow you to do reference checks, you may want to reconsider your decision to hire the candidate.
Applying for Employment at the University
How old does an applicant have to be to apply for a job at the university?
An applicant must be at least 16 years of age to be eligible for employment at the university. Does an applicant have to submit a new application every time they want to apply for a position?
No. They may use an application they have on file in the system. To access that application, they must first identify the specific job posting they want to apply for. They will then be given the opportunity to use/edit that application to apply for a desired job posting.
Post-Hiring Status
When can an employee start their benefits (health/life/dental insurance)?
The first day of the first full-month of employment. If hired on the first day of a month, then benefits will begin that day.When can employees start tuition remission?
Full-time regular employees must be in pay status on the first day of classes to be eligible.When can a temporary employee receive a pay increase?
HR cautions managers that the pay of temporaries be kept in an appropriate relationship to the pay of regular employees who perform similar duties. Temporary employees' pay may change when the work that they are performing changes similar to a reclassification of a regular position. Longer-term temporaries' pay may be increased on July 1st with concurrence from HR.A new employee of less than six months (still on original probation) has been granted approval to apply for another position, how will a transfer affect his/her probation period?
When an employee is appointed to another position "outside" the department before the six-month probationary period is completed, the original probationary period will begin anew. If the appointment/transfer "within" the same department, the probation will continue from the original date of hire.
Salaries
What salary can I offer to the top candidate in my search pool?
Prior to posting a position a hiring rate or hiring range is approved by the appropriate levels of internal approval. To hire above this hiring range requires consultation with Human Resources and written approval by the appropriate hiring levels within the organization, including dean/director and vice chancellor.