The recruitment process

1.1 Identification of the need – is recruitment necessary?

Before starting a recruitment process, a needs analysis must be conducted, which should be based on the department’s or office’s/section’s plan for skills supply.

The questions that need to be answered include the following:

• What tasks need to be performed
• Will there be any changes in the staff group in the near future that need to be considered straight away?
• What is the current financial situation?
• What is the current skill set of the staff group, and how does it need to develop in relation to changes in and outside the university?
• What is the gender distribution within the staff group? What can we do to balance any existing gender imbalance?

Is recruitment necessary?

You also need to consider whether recruitment is necessary in order to satisfy the need, and whether the need is short- or long-term.

• Can tasks be redistributed within the department/office (within the scope of relevant employment contracts)?
• Can the need be addressed by managing employees within the university?
• Can staff be seconded from another department/office? Is it possible to increase hours for part-time employees?

For short-term needs, it is possible to use contracted staffing agencies. If you are interested in this, please contact your HR partner.

In cases where there are ongoing redeployment investigations, employees who have priority rights, or employees in need of redeployment within the university, the HR department will provide information about this.

The manager is responsible for ensuring that the needs analysis is carried out. The HR partner can assist in this.

1.2 Appointment of a recruitment team and planning of the recruitment process

Start early in the process by appointing a recruitment group; then the participants can potentially take part in the development of the recruitment profile and in the planning of when the different stages of the process ahead should occur.

The HR partner is responsible for ensuring that a recruitment plan is completed, after discussions with the recruiting manager.

1.3 Preparation of a recruitment profile

When writing the recruitment profile, it is important that you only include requirements that are genuinely relevant to the position, so that suitable candidates for the position are not excluded. These requirements and desirable qualifications will then form the basis for the entire selection process.

Carefully consider the knowledge, experience, and personal qualities required for the position. The ability to work well with others should be a criterion in all recruitments. The university’s appointment procedures state that good collaborative skills and other suitability required to perform the job duties must always be an assessment criterion.

You are responsible for preparing the content of the recruitment profile, by means of the help text provided in the template for the relevant recruitment profile. The HR partner is responsible for ensuring that the advertisement is legally compliant and correctly formatted. They also provide assistance in the analysis of requirements and qualifications.

If necessary, consult with the HR partner about the appropriate title for the position.

1.4 Besta code

The Besta code is a classification code used for all public-sector employment. The HR partner is responsible for determining the classification in consultation with the recruiting manager.

1.5 Information to the staff organisations

Your HR partner will notify the staff organisations about the recruitment profile for MBL negotiations, if applicable. If the staff organisations wish to participate in the recruitment process, they must say so no later than at the MBL negotiations.

2.1 Writing an advertisement

Writing a relevant and effective advertisement requires both time and careful thought.

Content of the advertisement
The advertisement is based on parts of the needs analysis. The recruitment profile templates provide a clear structure with headings and help text to assist. At the beginning of the advertisement, there is a fixed text that is the same for all ads. This is followed by a description of the department where the position is based and the recruitment profile that was previously prepared. You can find both the fixed introductory text and space for specific descriptions in the advertisement templates.

What makes us an attractive employer
In addition to describing the position, the advertisement should also highlight why the position and specifically our workplace are appealing. Consider how you can describe our workplace to spark interest and showcase what we can offer our candidates. A pleasant work environment, interesting tasks, good work-life balance, job security, and flexibility are examples of factors that are important when choosing an employer.

Language in advertisements
Advertisements must always be published in Swedish. An English version of the advertisement can be published as a complement to the Swedish one. Given sufficient notice, the Communications Office can assist with the translation of a recruitment profile or recruitment advertisement.

2.2 Publication of the advertisement

For each recruitment, it is important to consider which channels are best to use. Who is the target group, and how and where can it be reached? Is the target group actively looking for jobs, or do they need to be actively sought out? What attracts the target group?

It can be helpful to involve subject representatives or other staff to analyse which channels the advertisement should appear in.

Advertising platforms
As a default, the advertisement should always be posted on Lnu.se and published on the Swedish Public Employment Service’s job portal, Platsbanken. When the advertisement is published on Platsbanken, it is also posted on the European job portal, EURES.

In Reachmee, you select Platsbanken and Euraxess for the digital publication of your advertisement. For advertising in other media (online advertisements and printed media), contact your HR partner.

Application period
The application period should normally be at least three weeks. When advertising in foreign press or professional journals, more time is required, and the application period should therefore be up to six weeks. It is important to note that in the case of international recruitment, the minimum advertisement period in Sweden and the EU is ten days for a work permit to be granted.

Cost
The cost of the advertisement is covered by the respective department or office.

2.3 Distribution through networks

As a manager, or alternatively a subject representative, you are responsible for raising awareness of the vacancy within the department or office. You are also responsible for promoting the vacancy in other relevant networks and encouraging your colleagues to do the same.

Laws and regulations for advertising

A public authority that is hiring an employee must, in some appropriate manner, inform the public so that those interested in the position can apply.

However, if there are special reasons, it is not necessary to anounce the vacancy. The following situations are considered to constitute special reasons:

• when reassigning an employee at risk of redundancy to a vacant position
• when hiring someone who has claimed the right of priority for increased working hours
• when hiring someone who has been made redundant (and is covered by the Transition Agreement) or someone with a disability, referred by the Public Employment Service.

Nor is it necessary to announce the vacancy in cases of nomination to a professorship.

3.1 Selection methods

There are several different selection methods, and some of them are part of all recruitment processes, such as the review of application documents, interviews, and reference checking. For permanent teaching positions, an external expert evaluation and a trial lecture are also conducted.

Work samples can be used to evaluate practical skills. If you plan to use a work sample, you need to make sure that all candidates are given the same conditions, decide at which stage of the process it will be used, and determine how the results of the work sample will be assessed.

Plan early in the process which methods to use. How will you determine whether the applicants meet the requirements and identify the best candidate?

3.2 Objective selection

The selection must be made on objective grounds, meaning merit and competence, with competence being given the highest priority.

The term “competence” refers to the applicant’s suitability for the position and includes:

• theoretical and practical education
• personal qualities (ability to perform, professional skills, ability to work well with others, etc.)
• professional experience (knowledge and experience).

The term “merit” refers to the number of years employed in the public sector. Merit can only be considered when two candidates are judged to have equal competence.

The evaluation of the applicants’ qualifications is based on the requirements and merits specified in the recruitment profile. An overall qualitative assessment must be made of these.

Keep in mind that it is only after you have interviewed the candidates, taken references, and handled any work samples that the candidates’ personal qualities can be assessed. The personal qualities to be evaluated are the ones listed in the recruitment profile.

Remember that candidates should be treated equally and that their competencies should be measured in the same way.

For further details, see Section 3.3a if you are recruiting with an external expert evaluation, and Section 3.3b if you are recruiting without an external expert evaluation.

3.3a Selection with external expert evaluation

External expert evaluation
Linnaeus University uses an external expert evaluation process to assess suitability for employment and promotion cases as described in the appointment procedures. The task of the external experts is to provide the preparatory bodies with a basis for decision-making. The evaluation should be based on the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria specified in the recruitment profile and the university’s appointment procedures.

To expedite the recruitment process, you can begin the work of identifying potential experts as soon as the recruitment profile has been ratified. Keep in mind that both sexes should be represented, and consider how to avoid potential conflicts of interest before contacting the experts. The decision on the experts is made after the application period has ended.

Interview
After the expert evaluations have been submitted, the preparatory body proposes which candidates should be invited for an interview and a trial lecture.

To help you prepare for the interviews, the university has an interview guide with example questions that you can adapt to match the requirements and qualifications in the recruitment profile. From an equal treatment perspective, it is important to ask all candidates the same questions.

Trial lecture
The purpose of a trial lecture is to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their teaching abilities in practice. The trial lecture is based on a subject proposed by the recruiting head of department. Make sure to provide the candidates with clear instructions regarding subject scope, time, available equipment, participants, etc.

A trial lecture can be open to students, colleagues from the department, and other attendees who wish to be present. If needed, experts can also be asked to attend the trial lecture.

3.3b Selection without external expert evaluation

Shortlisting
Once the application deadline has passed, the selection process begins for the candidates to be invited for an interview.

Start by reviewing the application documents. First, eliminate ineligible candidates, meaning those who do not meet the requirements stated in the advertisement. They are not eligible for the position and, therefore, cannot proceed in the process.

The manager is responsible for ensuring that the shortlisting is carried out and decides which candidates should be eliminated, in consultation with the relevant HR partner. You are encouraged to use the assessment matrix template (only available in Swedish, under the name “Bedömningsmatris”) in the selection process. There are also tools for selection in ReachMee. The HR partner can also provide support in the shortlisting process.

Who should be invited for an interview?
Candidates who meet the requirements and possess the greatest number of the desirable qualifications should be invited for an interview. If there are internal applicants who will not be invited for an interview, you should call them and inform them of this.

Interview
To help you prepare for the interviews, the university has an interview guide with example questions that you can adapt to match the requirements and qualifications in the recruitment profile. From an equal treatment perspective, it is important to ask all candidates the same questions.

3.4 Reference checking

Once the selection has been made and there is one or two top candidates, it is time to check references. The reference check should be tailored to the requirements and qualifications specified in the recruitment profile and what has emerged during the selection process. If possible, at least one of the referees contacted for a candidate should be a former manager of the candidate. If the provided referees do not offer satisfactory answers to unresolved questions, others may be contacted. The recruiting manager or HR partner will check references, and there is a reference check template available in the university’s interview guide for support.

4.1 Steps prior to the offer

Background checks
Before a candidate is offered employment, a check of degrees and other qualifications (or some other type of background check) should be conducted, if warranted after the interview and reference checks.

Work and residence permits
Check whether the candidate being offered employment has or needs to apply for a work or residence permit before a decision on employment is made.
Read more about work and residence permits here.

4.2 Job offer

The recruiting manager offers the final candidate the position. At this point, it is important for the manager to be clear that the offer will be followed by an official decision that can be appealed.

4.3 Employment decision

The employment decision is made in accordance with the scheme of delegation. The decision is an official decision.

The HR partner posts the employment decision via the recruitment system ReachMee and informs all applicants that the position has been filled.

4.4 Employment contract

The recruiting manager continues discussions with the final candidate to enter into an employment contract. This usually takes place after the appeal period has expired.

The employer must always provide written information in the employment contract regarding the terms of employment, such as salary and duties. It is also important that the employer specifies the type of employment (temporary position, special fixed-term position, probationary employment, permanent position, etc.).

According to the Employment Protection Act (LAS), the employment contract/employment information must be provided in writing within one month from the start of the employment.

The HR partner prepares the employment contract and sends it to the manager and the candidate for digital signing. At the same time, a welcome letter is emailed to the candidate.

4.5 Posting the employment decision

The HR partner posts the employment decision via the recruitment system ReachMee and informs all applicants that the position has been filled.

Once the recruitment is complete, the important work of introducing your new employee begins. The induction process starts even before the employee’s first day. You can read more about the induction here (Swedish only).