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Appointment

Notifying unsuccessful (interviewed) applicants

It is good practice to notify candidates who were short-listed for interview but who were subsequently discounted from the selection process as soon as possible after the interview.

Applicants who were considered suitable for the position but were ranked as second or third on the list should be notified only after the preferred candidate has accepted the offer. The unsuccessful applicants may be advised by telephone or in writing (sample letter) or if appropriate in the case of internal applicants, in person. Constructive feedback should be provided to applicants if requested.

Providing feedback to candidates

For internal candidates, feedback is especially important if the University is to achieve its staff development objectives and also to avoid discouraging staff who have unsuccessfully applied for a senior position or a position in a non traditional work area.

Feedback, provided by the Chair or nominated committee member should not include the disclosure of any material given to the university in confidence, such as referee reports or details of other applicants. The feedback should focus on the candidate's performance and application in relation to the selection criteria, particularly any specific areas where the candidate requires further development.

Staff should be encouraged to incorporate development initiatives in their performance management plans to address the identified areas of improvement.

For external candidates, the provision of constructive feedback contributes to the profile of the university and may encourage unsuccessful candidates to apply for advertised Monash positions in the future.

Retention of paperwork

University policy requires that the Chair holds the original set of applications and referee reports for six months, in strict confidence. After this, the documents should be destroyed in an appropriate manner. The Chair should also ensure that copies of applications and referee reports held by committee members are destroyed at the end of the selection process.

In accordance with the Monash University's Privacy policy, staff should not use documentation collected during the recruitment and selection process for any other purpose. Therefore, in the case where selection committees wish to retain the resume of a certain candidate for consideration for future job vacancies, the consent of the candidate should be obtained. This can be done at the time the candidate is advised that they have been unsuccessful, either over the phone or in writing (see sample letter).