Hiring
Below is our hiring process and resources to ensure all applicants receive fair and equal opportunity. We are here to assist you with the University’s hiring process and the actions required to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations (e.g., statutes relating to equal employment opportunity, etc.).
How to Hire
Student hiring is a collaborative effort between Career Services, Financial Aid, Human Resources, and the hiring department. Career Services will assist with job postings. Financial Aid will provide funding and regulations for the College Work Study program. Human Resources will collect hiring paperwork if the candidate passes the background check. Use the steps below when hiring hourly student assistants.
1. Post Position
You, the hiring manager, will post the job on Handshake. For information about posting, refer to the Career Success Center.
2. Screen Applications
You will review new applications for minimum qualifications and experience. There is no minimum for the number of applicants that must be selected for interview.
3. Interview
It is recommended that you allow candidates 24-48 hours of notice for their interview and notify them of the following:
- Title of Position
- Location of Interview (physical address, building, office number)
- Parking instructions (if necessary)
- Contact name and call back number
- Interview logistics
The same questions should be asked of all candidates and it is recommended that interviewers utilize a matrix to score candidates.
4. Make an Offer
You will make an offer contingent on a background check at least 10 days after the post was posted. Upon acceptance of the offer, discuss and come to agreement on the work schedule.
Contingent on Background Check
If the background check results have not yet been received, the offer will need to be conditional and contingent upon a successful background check.
Work Limits
Hourly Students cannot exceed 28 hours per work week across all of their positions. International students are limited to 20 hours per work week.
5. Request a Background Check
You, the hiring department, will complete the background check request online through MySam.
Login to MySam6. Hiring Paperwork
If the candidate passes the background check, Human Resources will collect hiring paperwork and create an electronic personnel action form (EPAF) to create the employee's job record.
7. Select the First Day of Work
Students may begin working when their hiring paperwork is complete.
Human Resources will provide assistance with hiring graduate assistants. Use the steps below when hiring for a graduate assistant position.
1. Obtain FTE Approvals
You, the hiring manager, must obtain approval for FTE appointments over a total of .50 FTE from the relevant Academic Dean.
2. Post Position
You will post the job on Handshake. For information about posting, refer to the Career Success Center.
3. Screen Applications
You will review new applications for minimum qualifications and experience. There is no minimum for the number of applicants that must be selected for interview.
4. Interview
It is recommended that you allow candidates 24-48 hours of notice for their interview and notify them of the following:
- Title of Position
- Location of Interview (physical address, building, office number)
- Parking instructions (if necessary)
- Contact name and call back number
- Interview logistics
The same questions should be asked of all candidates and it is recommended that interviewers utilize a matrix to score candidates.
5. Check Enrollment
You need to find out how many credit hours the best candidate is enrolled in during the fall and spring semesters. If the best candidate is enrolled in under 6 credit hours, you must obtain approval. For non-academic areas or grants, reach out to us (Human Resources). For academic areas, reach out to The Graduate School.
6. Make an Offer
You will make an offer contingent on a background check at least 10 days after the post was posted. Upon acceptance of the offer, discuss and come to agreement on the work schedule.
Contingent on Background Check
If the background check results have not yet been received, the offer will need to be conditional and contingent upon a successful background check.
Work Limits
Graduate Assistants are limited to 20 hours per work week regardless of citizenship status.
7. Request a Background Check
You, the hiring department, will complete the background check request online through MySam.
Login to MySam8. Hiring Paperwork
If the candidate passes the background check, Human Resources will collect hiring paperwork and create an electronic personnel action form (EPAF) to create the employee's job record.
9. Select the First Day of Work
Graduates may begin working when their hiring paperwork is complete.
HR Staff Specialists coordinate with the hiring departments to fill faculty and staff positions. Use the steps below to hire for a staff or faculty position.
1. Review Job Classification
Prior to posting a vacancy, please review the job classification to ensure it accurately reflects the position's duties, essential functions, and the educational and experience requirements.
2. Request to Fill a Position
If you do not have substantial changes to request to the job description, initiate a posting replacement action to replace a vacancy for an existing FTE. If you need to request substantial changes to the job description to an extent that a reclassification may be required, please initiate the modify staff position action in the University’s employment system (PeopleAdmin).
PeopleAdminUser Guide3. Post Position
A Human Resources Specialist calls the hiring manager to review posting options with you prior to posting the position.
- Questions to Expect
- Are you willing to accept additional experience as a substitution for the education required?
- Are you willing to accept additional education as a substitution for the experience required?
- Are you willing to include related fields for any required education and experience? We will need you to provide the related fields.
- Would you like to include disqualifying screening questions and ranking criteria?
4. Advertise
All faculty and staff positions are posted on the SHSU PeopleAdmin website, with the Texas Workforce Commission, Inside HigherEd and the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. In addition, faculty and executive staff positions are posted with the Chronicle of Higher Education. You may advertise available positions in other places, upon approval from us. To pay for advertising space (digital or print), consult with Procurement & Business Services.
- What to Include
If you plan to advertise the vacancy in additional publications, you must include the following.
- Instructions on where to apply
- Our EEO/AAP Statement. “Sam Houston State University is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Smoke/Drug-Free Workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or gender identity or expression. Sam Houston State University is an “at will” employer. Employees with a contract will have additional terms and conditions. Security sensitive positions at SHSU require background checks in accordance with Education Code § 51.215.”
- Recruiting Help
Need help filling your open position? Human Resources can help with hard-to-fill and executive positions. Contact Heather Varela to request recruiting services by emailing hvarela@shsu.edu or calling her at 4-4458. Services will be provided if your position is eligible and approved by our Associate Vice President of Human Resources and Diversity, Rhonda Beassie.
Hard-to-Fill refers to positions that:
- Require specialized qualifications (i.e. technical skills)
- Require knowledge specific to government, state agencies or higher education
- Require specific level of education within a particular geographic location (i.e. rural healthcare settings)
- Are unable to attract minimally qualified applicants over several months
- Executive refers to the position's occupational category indicated in PeopleAdmin
Executive refers to the position's occupational category indicated in PeopleAdmin.
5. Screen Applications
As new applications are received, the hiring manager will review them for minimum qualifications. Review the application/resume for the candidate’s education and experience, then compare each to the requirements under the “Education & Experience Requirements” section of the posting. You must interview at least 3 applicants.
- Calculating Experience
- If a candidate indicates they have worked part time at a job, and the number of hours worked is 20 or more per week, count the total time of employment.
- If the candidate worked part-time less than 20 hours per week or have not indicated the number of hours worked per week, count the total time of employment and divide it by 2.
- If you are accepting additional education in lieu of required experience or additional experience in lieu of required education, the following equivalency rules apply.
Degree Equivalency
DegreeExperienceAssociate's 2 years Bachelor's 4 years Master's 6 years College Hours Equivalency
HoursExperience30 undergraduate 1 year 60 undergraduate 2 years 90 undergraduate 3 years 120 undergraduate 4 years 18 graduate 5 years 36 graduate 6 years - Veteran's Applicants
If you select seven or fewer applicants for an interview, one qualified veteran’s preference applicant from the pool must be interviewed. A qualified veteran’s preference applicant is any applicant that meets the qualifications for the job as stated in the job posting and who self-identify as being eligible for Veteran’s Preference on the application. If you select more than six applicants for an interview, at least 20% of the number interviewed must be qualified veteran’s preference applicants. If there are no veteran’s preference applicants in the qualified applicant pool, there is no requirement to interview a veteran.
6. Interview
If an applicant meets the minimum requirements and you would like to interview them, change the workflow status of the applicant in PeopleAdmin to “Recommend for Interview.” If the applicant does not meet minimum requirements or you do not wish to interview them, please send an email with the requisition number and list of applicant names to HR in order for appropriate communication to be sent to the applicants.
- Scheduling
Please allow candidates 24-48 hours of notice for the interview and inform them of the following:
- Title of position
- Location of interview (physical address, building, office number)
- Parking instructions
- Contact name and call back number
- Interview logistics
- Matrix & Questions
Hiring manager must prepare interview matrix and questions. You may use our matrix template or create your own. You need to create job specific questions.
- Plan to open the interview with rapport‐building questions that will put the candidate at ease. Ask the candidate to take 2-3 minutes to share an overview of their education, skills, and reason for applying.
- Analyze the work-related qualities that are important for someone to possess in the position and design questions that will help determine whether a candidate has those qualities (e.g. working within short deadlines, multi‐tasking, constant change of direction, etc.).
- Instead of giving hypothetical situations, ask how the candidate actually handled a similar work situation in the past.
- Avoid asking close‐ended questions that only require a “yes”, “no”, or one-word answer.
- Do not include any questions related to race, creed, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, child care, health issues, etc.
- Conducting
Introduce yourself (and committee, if applicable) at the start of each interview. Explain how the interview will be conducted. The same questions should be asked of all candidates. All interviewers should complete an interview matrix for each candidate which includes interview questions and answers. Allow the candidate time to ask questions. For best results, use the 80/20 rule – applicant talks 80% of the time and interviewer talks 20%.
7. Check References
Introduce yourself to the reference, provide the nature of the call and have a set of questions for the reference.
- Questions to Ask
- How long have you known X and in what capacity?
- Describe the candidate’s overall work performance in terms of skills, qualities and contributions to your organization.
- What are X’s professional strengths and areas for development?
- What are X’s unique professional qualities?
- How would you compare the performance of X with that of others who have held the same job?
- Please describe overall work/performance in terms of attitude, dependability and trustworthiness.
- Is X someone you would hire (again)?
- Why did X leave your organization?
- Is there any additional information that you feel we should know in considering (x) for employment?
- Who Are References
- References provided by the applicant on the application
- Supervisors listed in the employment history section of the application – Remember to first notify the candidate before contacting their current supervisor to give the candidate an opportunity to notify their supervisor
- Previous SHSU supervisors, if applicable
8. Complete Hiring Evaluation Checklist
In alignment with our Workforce Diversity Plan, complete the Hiring Evaluation Checklist.
9. Request Offer Approval
Email Human Resources at employment@shsu.edu with the following information to get approval for the offer you'd like to extend to the selected candidate.
Email us with:
- Requested Hiring Salary
- Requisition Number
- Candidate's Full Name
- Desired Start Date
- Completed Hiring Evaluation Checklist
- Completed Interview Matrix for Staff Positions
10. Extend the Offer
Offers can only be extended after Human Resources has given approval and should be offered in the monthly amount. All offers are contingent on a background-check – be sure to emphasize this if you have not yet received clearance. Upon acceptance of the offer, discuss and come to agreement on start date for candidate. This date can be any date that both candidate and hiring department agree upon.
- Accepting a Counter Offer
If the candidate counters on the offer and hiring department is able to increase amount, contact Human Resources. Human Resources must approve any change in salary offer before candidate is notified.
10. Wait for Background Check
Human Resources runs a background checks upon receiving requests to hire. Background checks usually take 2 to 3 business days but may take up to 10 business days.
We will email you the results. If their background is not a risk to the university, we will let you know they are “Recommended for Hire” so you may proceed with the hiring process.
11. Hiring Paperwork
If the candidate passes the background check, we send and collect hiring paperwork using the email you provide in your New Hire Request.
12. Submit EPAF
Human Resources will create an electronic personnel action form (EPAF) for staff and student positions to create their job record and set them up on our payroll system. For faculty positions, Human Resources will notify the hiring manager or administrative staff to create an EPAF through Banner.
13. Prepare for First Day of Work
Prepare the employee's workstation and send them instructions for their first day.
Refer to Finance & Operations Human Resources Policy HR-20 for employee qualifications and hiring guidelines.
International
International Program provides guidance for the university to hire international workers in conformity with federal immigration laws. International candidates, international employees, and hiring managers should review the related policy and reach out to our International Coordinator for guidance.
Read PolicyMeasuring Qualities with KSAs
KSAs are knowledge, skills, and abilities that a person must possess in order to perform the duties of his or her position. KSAs are listed on each position’s job description and serve as a guide for applicants, employees, and departments to evaluate and assess a person’s likelihood for success in a job.
Knowledge. The subjects, topics, and items of information that an employee should know at the time he or she is hired or moved into the job. Knowledge represents bodies of information that are applied directly to the performance of work functions.
Skills. Technical or manual proficiencies which are usually learned or acquired through training. Skills should be measurable and observable.
Abilities.The present demonstrable capacity to apply several knowledge and skills simultaneously in order to complete a task or perform an observable behavior. Abilities may also relate to personal and social attributes which tend to be innate or acquired without formal instructions. Abilities are enduring talents that can help a person do a job.
Here's a few examples:
- Clerical
- Knowledge of office procedures and of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and arithmetic.
- Knowledge of records administration and maintenance techniques and procedures.
- Knowledge of inventory control principles and methods.
- Skill in data entry with minimal errors.
- Ability to accurately prepare and maintain records, files, and reports.
- Ability to maintain records of materials, supplies, time, and work performed.
- Communications
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Skill in editing documents for correct grammar.
- Skill in giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Skill in communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Skill in talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Ability to communicate effectively in both oral and written form.
- Ability to handle difficult and stressful situations with professional composure.
- Ability to maintain effective interpersonal relationships.
- Ability to understand and follow instructions.
- Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving
- Skill in collecting and analyzing complex data.
- Skill in analyzing and organizing technical data.
- Skill in using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Ability to process information logically.
- Ability to recognize, analyze, and solve a variety of problems.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment in making critical decisions.
- Financial/Accounting & Budget
- Knowledge of generally accepted accounting procedures and principles.
- Knowledge of budget control methods, policies, and procedures.
- Ability to prepare financial and accounting records.
- Ability to analyze, consolidate, and interpret accounting data.
- Ability to compile, organize, interpret, and communicate accounting data and results concisely.
- Ability to manage a budget and work within the constraints of that budget.
- Managerial or Supervisory
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Skill in monitoring/assessing the performance of self, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Ability to plan, implement, and evaluate programs.
- Ability to direct and organize program activities.
- Ability to establish goals and objectives.
- Ability to establish program goals and objectives that support the strategic plan.
- Ability to effectively plan and delegate the work of others.
- Ability to plan, assign, and/or supervise the work of others.
- Ability to train others.
- General
- Skill in managing one’s own time and the time of others.
- Skill in completing assignments accurately and with attention to detail.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet close deadlines.
- Ability to analyze, organize and prioritize work while meeting multiple deadlines.
- Ability to analyze and prepare documents, reports, and correspondence.
- Ability to process and handle confidential information with discretion.
- Ability to review work for accuracy.
- Ability to work evenings, nights, and weekends as necessary.