Recruitment and Selection Guidelines During COVID-19

The University recognises that its employees are fundamental to its success. Effective recruitment and selection assists in the ability to attract the best talent, retain, and to recognise the value of DCU employees.

The recruitment and selection procedures are designed to ensure our process is planned, organised and conducted in a way that supports an objective and transparent assessment of every candidate which results in the selection of the best candidate based on their merits and abilities.

The Human Resources Department continues to deliver the important recruitment and selection services across the University during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All recruitment and selection activities are being implemented in accordance with the DCU Recruitment and Selection procedures.

Interview Methodology

In the interest of safety of candidates and our staff, all face to face interviews have been postponed at this time. Alternative arrangements utilising a range of the latest technologies and methodologies have been, and will continue to be, put in place to support the delivery of our recruitment campaigns during this unprecedented period. The main technology being deployed for interviews is Zoom.

Selection Boards Composition

As per the DCU Selection Boards Composition policy, a formally constituted Selection Board must be convened for all advertised positions in excess of one year duration. The composition of each remote interview board should be reflective of the normal Selection Boards Composition for face to face interviews. This policy continues to be implemented, however flexibility may need to be applied for some competitions. Any deviation from this, must be discussed and signed off by the Human Resources Department.

Teaching Assessment

As part of the interview and assessment process for academic posts, candidates being assessed for Assistant Professor and Associate Professor posts may be required to make a teaching presentation to the assessment board. Candidates for Professor or Full Professor posts may also be required to deliver a presentation, the nature of which will be determined by the particular post. Further information is contained within the DCU Teaching Assessment policy. The University has put in provisions to ensure the teaching assessment presentations can occur via Zoom.

Use of Zoom

The University recognises that while Zoom/Video calls are a very useful interviewing tool, it can present its own issues. In particular, the use of zoom requires more focus compared to face to face interaction.  To mitigate against this situation, the University suggests the following:

• Ensure no more than four interviews using zoom occur per day
• Incorporating good breaks into the interview schedule
• As with any other interview, do not schedule outside of normal business hours, including lunchtime

Related Documentation

In conjunction with this document, staff members involved in the recruitment and selection process should be familiar with the recruitment and selection policy on the DCU HR website.

Contacts

This document will be reviewed and owned by the HR Department.