Interview Process - Research Staff
Arranging Interviews
Following your shortlisting meeting, please ensure that you have completed one copy of the shortlisting decision form for submission to the Recruitment Team. The shortlisting decision form which is submitted should reflect the collective view of the recruitment panel on each candidate. This includes decisions on whether they meet/did not meet each of the selection criteria, the decision on whether to shortlist/hold/reject, and the reason code for rejection (where appropriate).
Recruitment panel chairs should also ensure that a full and complete list of any Conflicts of Interest raised the shortlisting meeting are included on the second tab of the shortlisting form.
The completed shortlisting decision form should then be emailed to recruitment@maths.ox.ac.uk so that the team can arrange interviews and notify candidates as appropriate.
To assist with the arrangement of interviews, the body of your email should contain the following information:
- Confirmation of the date and general timeslot for interviews
- Notification if any panel member has specific commitments/times to avoid during the day
- Whether interviews will be held remotely or in person. (For in-person interviews, the standard process is to invite all UK candidates. Candidates from overseas can be invited to interview in person if there is money in the grant to cover travel (and accommodation if required)).
- Duration of the interview (including specific elements):
- The standard format for PDRAs is 10min research presentations + 20mins questions, but do let us know if you prefer a format that differs from the standard
- Content of the research presentation:
- The standard is for candidates to give a presentation on their current research, aimed at a general audience of mathematicians, to last no longer than 10 minutes.
- You may prefer a presentation format that is tailored specifically to your research project, such as in this example for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Topological Data Analysis of Lung Cancer:
- Ahead of the interview, the panel would like you to prepare a short presentation in which you outline your research interests in a maximum of three slides, before using the remainder of the presentation to outline how you would use TDA to study 2D images of lung cancer.
- Any further information which should be included as part of the interview invite, such as courtesy elements (for example, for College associated posts, whether candidates will be offered a tour of the College).
Once this email has been received, the Recruitment Team will draft a schedule and write to candidates to confirm attendance. Should any candidates withdraw, we will be back in touch to enquire whether hold candidates should be invited in their place, unless an order has been agreed in advance at the shortlisting meeting (this is recommended).
When the timetable is confirmed, a final version will be circulated to all recruitment panel members.
This will contain the link to an online Interview Pack, which contains the following;
- The applications and references for all shortlisted candidates
- A folder containing the research presentations
- A copy of the job description as published
- An Interview Record Form for recording your notes on the day
If the interviews are being conducted in person, the email containing the timetable will also provide further information as regards the interview room, the arrangements for collecting candidates, when lunch and refreshments will be provided, as well as notes on the technical set-up for the day.
If remote, the timetable will include the Teams link for each interview and a separate link for a panel meeting room where the panel will conduct confidential discussions.
Determining interview questions
Ahead of the interviews, the panel should arrange to convene to discuss the running order of questions. If a convenient time is not available, questions can be agreed via email circulation. These should address the selection criteria as outlined in the job description. For examples of previous questions used in PDRA interviews, please contact the Recruitment Team who will be happy to help.
Selecting a successful candidate
Once your interviews have concluded and you have identified a successful candidate, the panel chair should contact the candidate via telephone or email to let them know that they are recommending the candidate be offered the position. Note that this does not constitute a formal offer, which can only be made by the Head of Department, Head of Administration, or HR.
In the conversation that follows, you should aim to agree on a starting date with the candidate wherever possible. Please consider during your discussions the latest possible starting date of the grant (ensuring that any starting date proposed is ahead of this time), and the timings around visa applications. In particular, note that the standard processing time for a visa is three months and that a candidate will need to provide proof of qualifications to begin the process, which at the very least includes an academic reference from the home institution to confirm that their thesis has been submitted for examination. If the candidate requires ATAS clearance, the end-to-end process can take up to six months.
For more information email @email.
Note that the department operates a strict policy as regards the starting salaries for research appointments. The principle that underpins the policy that determines the appropriate salary-scale grade and point is one of parity across the department between postdoctoral researchers and between research fellows. The starting salary will be calculated by HR in accordance with this principle of parity and included within the offer letter.
Conditional Offer
Once your first-choice candidate has indicated that they would like to accept the position, please contact the Recruitment Team with their name and proposed starting date. We will then issue a conditional offer letter to the candidate. You should also indicate how you would like HR to correspond with the remaining candidates – i.e. rejected if non-appointable, or kept on reserve until the offer is formally accepted.
Completion of Recruitment Exercise
On completion of your recruitment exercise, the Recruitment Team will send across a Recruitment Report for your completion.
View or download a sample copy: