Quick Guide to Best Practices in Art Information Job Recruitment
Introduction
As a society, ARLIS/NA believes in the unique importance of art information professionals. Our JobList is a key service for both job seekers and hiring institutions. Providing clear information about salaries, the terms of employment, and the hiring process is important for equity and helpful to employers and employees alike.
This document is a quick guide to best practices in art information job recruitment intended for hiring managers and human resources professionals. For background research and further guidance, please consult ARLIS/NA’s Best Practices in Art Information Job Recruitment report.
Job Posting Essentials
1. Salary Transparency
Salary transparency allows employees to have open knowledge of, and discussion about, how much all employees earn. Listing the salary and/or salary ranges allows both job seekers and hiring institutions to better focus their time on positions/candidates that are a good match, and is one action employers can take to reduce gender, class, and racial discrimination in the salary negotiation process.
- Include a salary, salary range, or clear links to institutional ranges on your job posting.
- List any benefits and relevant links to learn more.
- To determine if a salary range at your institution is in line with similar salaries locally, consult field-wide salary surveys and/or local living wage recommendations to determine appropriate ranges for positions.
2. Interview Process and Contact Information
- List a contact person for questions about the posting or state in clear terms if the employer does not wish to be contacted (i.e. “do not contact”).
- Provide information about the interview process, accessibility, and the format in which interviews will take place (i.e. phone, video platform, group interview in person, etc.) either in the posting itself or in the initial contact to candidates selected for an interview.
- For the purposes of accessibility, employers should provide instructions on how candidates can request accommodations if needed.
3. Employment Terms
- Be clear about employment terms, such as if the position is full-time, part-time, limited term, remote or on-site, and the expected duration such as the start/end date if the position is a contract.
- Specify whether the position is tenure-track and/or union eligible, if applicable.
4. Professional Work Experience and Educational Requirements
- State the relevant minimum number of years of work experience required, and be clear about whether graduate education is an acceptable substitute.
- When possible, employers should convey a willingness to consider experience with transferable skills in order to open positions to a more diverse candidate pool.
Additional Recommendations and Resources
- Include the expected work hours per week.
- Include clear information about the institution’s location and/or employee’s work site, and whether telecommuting or hybrid work is an option.
- Use gender-inclusive language, including gender-neutral pronouns, and writing that does not perpetuate stereotypes or biases.
- Do not ask applicants about criminal histories until a conditional offer of employment is made. Fair Chance Hiring is one tool to prevent employers from treating all criminal convictions as a pre-emptive disqualification that effectively discriminates against minority applicants.
- Environmental Scan
- Drake, Alexa. “An Employer’s Guide to Using Gender-Inclusive Language in the Workplace.” G2 LearnHub, June 23, 2020.