Faculty Hiring Manual 
Section 2: Getting Started

2.1 Defining Priorities

Hiring Units at Rutgers vary significantly in size and composition, and disciplines confront distinct issues related to recruitment and hiring. Nevertheless, there are general approaches and best practices that can be adapted to any Hiring Unit. These include:  

• Creating hiring plans that highlight the University’s commitments to academic excellence. They should meet at least once annually as a department or unit to discuss hiring priorities with a view to recent or known upcoming retirements, resignations, and new directions or subfields in the discipline or field.  
• Conducting broad searches to attract a robust pool of qualified applicants. 

As part of regular discussion regarding hiring, Hiring Units should discuss the desired research and instructional areas that specific positions will fill, including curricular and enrollment needs both currently and in the future, desired fields and subfields of research, goals and expectations for how the positions will advance the department’s academic priorities, any additional functional roles for specific positions within the department’s organizational structure and mission, leadership succession, mentoring and professional development support for candidates hired into new positions, desired ranks for positions, with discussion of how and whether other ranks might fulfill academic and clinical needs, as necessary, and the implications that filling specific positions might have for future hiring priorities. 

Before beginning the hiring process, Hiring Units should consult with their Chair and/or Dean, as well as UHR, about any requirements, policies, procedures, and practices that regulate the hiring process.