Posting-specific questions

Posting-specific questions are an option in the online recruitment system. They may be used to assist with screening and ranking applications.

Consideration of job seekers
VCU strives to attract diverse, well-qualified applicants to fill vacant positions. In order to assist schools and units in screening applications, there are appropriate ways to narrow the pool through a standard approach to considering job seekers; sample strategies are below. These guidelines may be particularly helpful in situations where large applicant pools are anticipated due to the nature of the position, length of posting time, a job series recruitment, or other specific business need. However, there are instances where applicant pools are anticipated to be so large that it is not efficient to consider all applications received. On occasions where Schools and units expect an extremely large volume of applications due to
the nature of the position, the length of posting time, a full job series recruitment, etc., there are appropriate ways to narrow the pool through a standard approach to considering job seekers; not all applications must be reviewed. Decisions about the way an applicant pool will be reviewed should be documented in the recruitment plan for a position. Sample strategies are below.

Indicate a priority date
When a high volume of applications is expected, schools or units may identify a priority date by which applications submitted will be reviewed, and those submitted after that date may or may not be considered. This date should be published for all applicants to view; any applications received by the
priority date must be considered. If a review of the priority candidates does not result in a sufficient, qualified pool to move to the next recruitment round, schools or units may use a consistent approach to review additional applications. For example, the search committee or hiring team may consider all applications submitted the day after the priority date or within five days of the priority date. In this example, once the second date is determined, all applications submitted on or by that new date must be considered.

Use supplemental questions to score applicants’ qualifications
Using supplemental questions to screen applicants’ qualifications based on a position’s minimum hiring standards is strongly encouraged. When this functionality is used, applicants who are not minimally qualified will be eliminated from the pool, eliminating the need for manual review. Supplemental questions may also be used to determine whether job seekers meet the preferred hiring standards of the position. Questions about preferred qualifications may not be used as disqualifiers; however, they may be assigned a point value. For positions with large applicant pools, schools or units may opt to review only applications with a specific point total or above. For example, if a threshold of 75 points is established, all applicants who earn a score of 75 or greater must be considered. If a reasonable applicant pool is not obtained by reviewing only those with 75 points or more, the threshold may be lowered. If this is the case, all job seekers who meet the lower threshold and above must be considered. Once a reasonable applicant pool is determined, the remaining applications that were not considered due to their scores may be removed from the pool.