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Once you decide who is most qualified for the job, there are many steps you need to take to get the applicant hired and settled into the workplace. The following checklists and instructions explain what you or your HR contact need to do to complete the hiring process.

Note: If you are interested in trimming down the number of standard employee processes that a hiring manager needs to complete for new employees, we strongly recommend that your new employee's first day of employment begin at New Employment Welcome and Orientation. Conducted by Human Resource Services (HRS), the orientation is a one-stop-shop that provides your new employees with a comprehensive introduction to employment and benefits at The University of Texas at Austin and provides them with the opportunity to complete many items on the New Employee Checklist, saving you time. Pre-register your new employee to begin their first day of employment at New Employee Orientation.

Your Handy Hiring Checklists

1. What to Do as Soon as You Decide Whom to Hire

Write an offer letter and make an offer of hire—if you used the student/non-benefit-eligible application form and learned that the applicant you want to hire has a misdemeanor conviction or a felony conviction, contact Staffing and Career Management before making this offer
Request a criminal background check if the position is security sensitive (note, all staff and faculty positions are security sensitive)
Complete a recruiting summary for the position
If the applicant doesn't live locally, you may want to complete the relocation services request
If the applicant you want to hire is disabled and self-discloses any accommodations they will need, work with Staffing and Career Management and Equal Opportunity Services to ensure that the accommodations are reasonable and can be met by the university

2. What to do Before the Employee Begins Work

Help your new employee complete many items on the New Employee Checklist by making sure their first day of employment begins at the New Employee Welcome and Orientation, offered each Monday (except holidays)
- Register your new employee for New Employee Orientation through TXClass (EID required)
- Complete the orientation pre-registration form and fax it to 512-232-3524 by noon on Wednesday before your new employee’s scheduled orientation session, and hand carry the original to the Human Resource Service Center lobby, NOA 2.200, any time before their scheduled orientation session
Create an appointment and a new employee record if needed or send a request to the appointment creator in your department using the Staff Transaction Request (EID required)
If the employee will need mainframe access, create a *DPUSER logon
Request authorizations for all applicable mainframe applications and Web systems
Request that the *DEFINE office manager place the new employee on any necessary desks and views
Create the beginnings of a performance appraisal

3. What to do On or Before the Employee's First Day of Work

The Employee Compliance Guide Acknowledgement Form should be printed, signed by the employee, and placed in the department file.
Have the employee complete the following items from the New Employee Checklist, if they were not able to complete them at the New Employee Welcome and Orientation.
- Have the employee sign Section 1 of the Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) Form on or before the first day of employment. The hiring department must complete Section 2 by the employee's third work day. Send the original I-9 form with a copy of supporting documents to Human Resource Services J5600 and keep a copy in your department file. Refer to the I-9 Resources page for departmental representatives for more information.
- New male employees between the ages of 18 and 25 must sign the Selective Service Eligibility and Verification Form no later than the first day of employment. If the employee cannot sign the online form, the paper form should be printed, signed by the employee, and mailed to Human Resource Services J5600. Keep a copy in the department file.
- Have the employee sign the Ethics Statement “Standards of Conduct and Political Activities” Form online. If the employee cannot sign the online form, the paper form should be printed, signed by the employee, and mailed to Human Resource Services J5600. Keep a copy in the department file. This form is also available in Spanish: Ethics Statement in Spanish.
Remember to keep all of your notes and materials from the entire recruiting effort for three years, and refer to the Office of Accounting's Records Management Web site for information about records retention.

How to Write an Offer Letter

Use one of the following Microsoft Word templates to help you write an offer letter:

Outside applicant offer letter template for classified employees [MS Word*]
Outside applicant offer letter template for code 1000 employees [MS Word*]

* requires Microsoft Word or Word Viewer

How to Request a Criminal Background Check

The university conducts criminal background checks on all applicants who are hired for security-sensitive positions, which includes all classified and administrative/professional (code 1000) positions. To find out which faculty positions require background checks, contact the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

The Background Check should be completed after an offer is made and before the employee begins work. A background check is initiated when the hiring department submits the Background check Form and so the first step is to determine which form to use, the Faculty/Staff Background Check Form or the Affiliated Personnel Background Check Form.

The Faculty/Staff Background Check Form should be used for the following:

Classified
Administrative/Professional (Code 1000)
Faculty
Consultants
Casual Employees (stagehands, facility workers, event workers)
Contractors
Camp/Program employees
Student Employees (Required for positions that include patient care, child care, or direct access to information resources or information resource technologies or to pharmaceuticals, select agents, or controlled substances; access to cash, checks, credit cards; optional – at this time—though encouraged for all other duty assignments.)

The Affiliated Personnel Background Check Form should be used for the following:

Volunteers
Visitors (secure locations)

Completing the Background Check Form

The person for whom the background check will be conducted (referred to as “applicant”) should complete the top portion of the form, and then return the form to the hiring department.

Identification verification of the applicant is required. The information completed by the applicant should be verified against a valid I.D., or the applicant can use the Applicant Identification Verification Form if they are not able to complete the verification in person with the hiring department. It is very important for the hiring department to review the form for accuracy (see Address Discrepancy Guidelines for more information) and complete the bottom portion of the form. Incomplete forms will cause a delay in the background check process.

Required fields to be filled out by the department on the Background Check Form

Identity has been confirmed by hiring department checkbox and Hiring department witness. (You may leave these fields blank if the person for whom the background check is requested has attached the Applicant Identification Verification Form.)
Job Title of hire *Staff/Faculty Form only
Recruiting job number (if applicable) *Staff/Faculty Form only
Reason for request *Affiliated Form only
Department name and Accounting Unit Code
Department account numbers with sub-accounts ending between 50-59 should be used. If you aren’t sure which account number to use, contact the accounting manager for your department.
Department Contact
Department Contact Phone
Department EIDs (up to 3 different EIDs may be entered)
Authorized signature for department

Send the completed form to Human Resource Services, Mail Code J5600, or fax to the confidential fax line at (512) 475-6883.

If you used the student/non-benefits-eligible employment application form to hire the candidate, include a copy of that form with the request. The original application form should remain in the employee file at the hiring department.

If you have any questions regarding background checks you may call the Human Resource Service Center at (512) 471-4772.

How to Complete a Recruiting Summary

Once your recruiting effort is finished, you will need to do a Recruiting Summary. You'll do this online through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS) using the ER3 command. The purpose of the Recruiting Summary is to document the individual(s) you hired and why, by listing all of the skills, abilities, education, and behaviors demonstrated in the interview that made them the "best qualified" to do the job. You will also then reflect all other candidates that were not selected against the individual(s) that you did select. If you want help completing the Recruiting Summary, contact your Staffing and Career Management representative.

How to Create a New Appointment

If another person in your department handles appointments, you'll use the online staff transaction request (EID required) to request creation of the new appointment. If you're the person who handles appointments for your department, use the *DEFINE system to create the new appointment.

Note: If you try to create the appointment but get a message that the person you're trying to hire isn't in the applicant pool, this probably means that the applicant never completed an online application. This often happens when people apply for positions through out-of-town advertisements or by submitting resumes directly to the hiring manager. You should work to get the desired applicant in the computer system as soon as possible, because the candidate you offer the position to must be listed in the online Recruitment and Position Manager before the appointment can be completed. If this happens, call the Human Resource Service Center for help at 512-471-4772 or 1-800-687-4178.

How to Deal With Phone Calls from Applicants You Don't Hire

If you get a call from an applicant who you didn't hire, refer to the recruiting summary for help responding to the inquiry. You'll want to read from the recruiting summary document, tell the applicant why he/she was not selected and why you selected the individual you did. You shouldn't provide any more information than this. If the applicant is not satisfied with your answer, recommend that they give a member of the staffing consultant team a call to discuss the situation further at 512-471-4772 or 1-800-687-4178.