Recruiting a Diverse Pool
- Engage in ongoing efforts to locate promising scholars from underrepresented groups. For example, consider resources such as:
- Which institutions produce the highest numbers of Ph.D. recipients from underrepresented groups by discipline? Diverse Issues in Higher Education (https://diverseeducation.com/)
- STEM – Institute on Teaching and Mentoring (https://instituteonteachingandmentoring.org/)
- At the very beginning of the recruitment process, discuss outstanding candidates nationally and internationally that would be ideal for the position, even if they do not appear to be movable. Prioritize this list as a committee.
- Make personal calls and invitations to targeted PhD students, postdocs and faculty colleagues. In some situations, such as endowed chair searches, the call may convey a desire to hire that specific individual. So be very careful to avoid conveying a sense that they’ll receive special consideration.
- E-mail the job description to colleagues, peer institutions, organizational/professional society listservs, other relevant publications for the discipline(s) and employment websites that attract diverse audiences (See list below).
- Actively search for candidates at professional meetings, call colleagues and ask for candidate names. Consider hosting a targeted reception or event at your discipline’s major conference or meeting.
- Consider using the unit’s lecture or seminar series as an opportunity to invite potential future applicants to campus
Resources Regarding Constructing a Diverse Pool
Job Posting Sites
Here are possible employment websites to post job ads, some of which focus on recruiting diverse applicants (PDF Version):
Advertising Website | Cost* | Comments about this Site |
Current Rates can be found at here. | This has a tremendously wide circulation. Vitae is the jobs website. | |
$345 for up to 60 days for single jobs. Other options available here. | Next to the Chronicle of Higher Ed, this is THE place to post a faculty position (65% of their site visitors are female and 31% are from underrepresented groups). | |
Complimentary for OU faculty job ads. | Job Site associated with the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE®), housed at OU | |
$210-$425 for a single ad (depending on posting time and other options) - $85 to include a diversity Add-on that sends the announcement to 1 million job seekers from underrepresented groups; Free job posting for graduate students or post-docs. | Primary audience of the site consists of faculty members and graduate students at institutions of higher education; other users include private and public funding agencies, law firms, and academic institutions. | |
$295 | They offer an “Affirmative Action Link” package to attract diverse audiences to your announcement. | |
$305-$705 (depends on number of ads and number of days) | Prime location for reaching diverse audiences for academic positions. | |
$369 - $4509 | Underrepresented groups including those based on race, ethnicity, gender, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBT groups, among others. | |
$0 (OU is a subscribing member) | The REGISTRY is committed to connecting women and minorities with tenure-track faculty positions in institutions of higher education. | |
$180-$800 | Particular emphasis on attracting talented science, technology, education and medical savvy men and women. | |
$279-$449 | Broad audience, not just academically-focused | |
Member pricing: $149-$299; Nonmember pricing: $249-$399 | Per their website: “Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action, the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of affirmative action, equal opportunity, and diversity.” | |
Membership required; $375 - $1700. | Emphasis on dual-career positions and resources | |
$400-$1,200 (depends on the size of the ad and location within their publications) | This site is a top hit for web searches using the keywords "minority", "diversity", and "postdoc" so publishing here will educate this targeted audience about your job posting. | |
$125-$4,500 (unlimited) | IMDiversity.com was conceived by The Black Collegian Magazine, now known as Diversity Employers Magazine, which has provided African-American college students with valuable information on career and job opportunities since 1970 | |
$265-$365 | Faculty, administrative, and professional positions; fellowships and internship positions | |
National Organization For The Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers | $300-$750 | Must be a member to look at job announcements |
Members: $450-$700; nonmembers: $600-$850 | Targeted group | |
$299-$599 for members; $399-$699 for nonmembers | Every package sends out job postings to 5,800+ African Americans in Higher Education with additional perks for upgraded job packages | |
0-5,000 students: $800 5,001-15,000 students: $1,500 15,001+ students: $2,000 | Must be an institutional member to post a job | |
$335 and higher, varies with number of job postings | Sole Hispanic educational magazine for the higher education community, and those involved in running institutions of higher learning | |
$100-$3,000 (depending on membership) | HACU partners can post their job vacancies or a link directly to their own employment pages | |
$185-2,200 | “Created specifically for diversity recruiters who are looking for instant access to TCJ’s unique online audience, the TCJ Job Board puts you directly in touch with a wide range of qualified and interested candidates.” The journal states that it has over 24,000 readers primarily in the field of higher education. | |
$75-$625 | Far broader than an academic audience | |
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) – Winds of Change | $299-599 | STEM fields focused |
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science | $309-699 | Definitely worth advertising with this site given the reach to a diverse population |
$305-$750 | Very broad audience; cost structures are variable – needs careful consideration of goals for advertising | |
Starting at $265 for 60 days | Increasing in reputation for reaching women in academia | |
$399 - $849 | Increasing in reputation for reaching women in science | |
$100-$175 | Limited audience, but an example of what might exist in other disciplines | |
$350-$3500 | NAAAS serves “as a resource for scholars in the field who desire information and support for research related to the African and African American, Hispanic, Latino(a) and Chicano(a), Native American and Asian experiences” | |
$220-$430 | An audience of women in engineering and technology | |
$0-100 depending on membership status | Faculty and Administrators in Higher Education; great for leadership position searches |
* Websites should be consulted for updated prices and other options, such as unlimited postings (which will inevitably cost more).
Many of the websites require registration. The suggestion is to identify a single person in the department who will serve as a contact for this registration and who can also keep up with payments if the job ad will need to remain on the site longer than 30-60 days (what most sites use as the standard time-frame for position announcements).
Some sites required job seekers to have an account to search positions; others enable job seekers to search without accounts. Departments should think carefully about their goals and populations they would like to reach in choosing places to advertise.
The 3rd column in the above table includes information from experienced users who have advertised via these websites. Additional comments are welcome.
