Recruitment & Hiring Policy

Policy Statement

Duke is committed to ensuring a fair and equitable recruiting and hiring process that results in the appropriate match of skills, knowledge, experience, and job requirements.

When planning a staff recruitment, a hiring supervisor should ensure the job description is up-to-date, determine if the position has an affirmative action hiring goal, and then begin the recruitment process by considering priority and internal candidates. The hiring supervisor should consider and interview all qualified priority and internal applicants - especially those who are on redeployment, layoff, or return-to-work status.

Recruitment/Hiring Process

The recruiting and hiring process includes:

Identifying and attracting qualified applicants while increasing the representation of members of protected groups in the Duke workforce;
The provision of a strong priority given to qualified Duke staff in all hiring decisions and particularly for those who face the loss of a position due to a reduction-in-force, layoff (or have faced a layoff within the previous 12 months), or disability/Workers’ Compensation;
The encouragement of the career growth and professional development of current staff.

Posting Vacancies & Filling Jobs

All approved, vacant positions must be posted for a minimum of seven calendar days on the Duke Careers website. The Talent Acquisition and Recruitment office electronically posts new vacancies so that all eligible staff may be informed of job opportunities at Duke. Departments are encouraged to advertise vacant positions beyond the stated minimum seven (7) day posting period.”

Waiving the Duke Posting Requirement

Duke's posting requirement may be waived for the following two reasons:

When a qualified return-to-work, redeployment, or layoff-status priority candidate is identified for selection.
The position can be posted within the department only for seven calendar days so as to allow an internal promotion if staff are qualified and meet the respective job group's hiring goals.

Waivers are approved by the entity or department Human Resources representative and the Vice President for Human Resources or his/her designee, the Assistant Vice President, HR, Talent Acquisition and Recruitment. Consideration will be given where circumstances demonstrate good reasons for a waiver in the best interests of Duke and where the department has a successful EEO utilization record. If a waiver is approved, the department must consider all qualified staff in the department before selecting a staff member for promotion and should be able to provide documented evidence to support the selection.

Recruitment Advertisements

When a recruitment advertisement is placed, the advertisement will include information regarding compliance with federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to equal opportunity. All advertisements must state that Duke is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Interviewing

Hiring supervisors are responsible for the interviewing of applicants for vacant positions in their respective departments. The candidate pool should be sufficient enough to enable selection of several qualified, diverse, and interested applicants for interview. If this goal is not achieved, the hiring supervisor should contact the recruiter to discuss further recruitment efforts.

The candidates considered for interviews should include - but need not be limited to - qualified staff on layoff or reduction-in-force, staff returning from instances of worker’s compensation or disability, and those candidates who will advance Duke's goals for diversity - including those candidates who would help Duke meet its affirmative action goals.

If they have not yet done so, applicants contacted for interviews should be asked to complete Duke's application process online.

Offer of Employment

Hiring approvals vary by schools, entities, and departments at Duke. A hiring supervisor should check with his or her school, entity, or department for the specific hiring approval requirements before making any offers of employment. If all approvals are not obtained, the Vice President for Human Resources or his/her designee, the Assistant Vice President, HR, Talent Acquisition, may declare an offer of employment invalid or subject to reversal.

A job candidate's offer of employment is conditioned by his or her proper completion of Duke's online application, satisfactory reference checks (where applicable), and satisfactory pre-employment qualifications - including background checks, education verification (where applicable), credentials (where applicable), governmental sanction checks, health screenings, and/or drug and alcohol screenings. The Form I-9 is also required for all hires. A new Form I-9 must be completed for hires, including employees rehired by Duke, within 3 business days of the date employment begins. The form must be completed by the employee and a Duke representative from the hiring department. A new Form I-9 is not required when an employee transfers positions within Duke University and Duke University Health System with no break in service.

All offers of employment should be in writing and should be accepted in writing. Offer letters should contain all information necessary for the candidate to understand the salary, benefits and requirements of the position. The offer letter should include:

Salary and any additional financial considerations
Amount/type of relocation benefits, if applicable
Position title, department name
Start date
Any contingent background checks required prior to start date
Orientation information
Contact person for pre-arrival period (in addition to the hiring official)
Request for written acceptance or rejection of the offer

Examples of employment offer letters are available on the Managing@Duke web site.

Policy Number: 02.01