Recruitment of a doctoral student (PhD)

Content:

• Distribution of responsibilities
• Needs analysis
• Preparatory committee
• Timetable

Distribution of responsibilities

In a recruitment, the head of department/equivalent has the ultimate responsibility and is the one who will make the formal decision to recruit. Without approval from the head of department/equivalent, the recruitment may not be carried out.

However, the process for hiring and admitting doctoral students varies from one faculty to another. At some faculties, the teacher proposal committees (LFN)/admission committees have the main responsibility for doctoral recruitment and there may be a special handling process to be followed. In other faculties, the department itself is responsible for most of the doctoral recruitment and an HR function should always be involved as administrative, labour law and professional recruitment support.

Needs analysis

The department should always analyse the need and probability of accepting and employing a doctoral student before starting the recruitment process. Questions that should be asked are, for example, whether there is sufficient funding, conditions for supervision, and whether there should be work tasks included in the employment. 

When a recruitment involves international cooperation with other universities, funders or other partners, the regulations regarding global responsibility should also be considered by completing the checklist for global responsible engagement.

Go to the checklist for global responsible engagement (Staff pages)

Use the needs analysis template to analyse the needs and conditions for the recruitment and admission of a doctoral student.

Template: Needs analysis doctoral student (Word 37 kB, new tab)

Preparatory committee

When a doctoral student is recruited, a preparatory committee must be compiled in accordance with Lund University's admission regulations for third-cycle education, Chapter 4.

The group works together on needs analysis, requirements profile, interviews, and selection. Remember to handle any conflict-of-interest situations that may arise during recruitment.

Admission procedure for third-cycle education at Lund University (PDF, new tab).

Timetable

How long a recruitment takes is difficult to say as it depends entirely on how easy or difficult it is to find suitable candidates and the time spent preparing for the recruitment. In the case of doctoral recruitment, you also need to take into account time for admission and in the case of international recruitment, time is also needed for any residence permits, application for a personal identity number, relocation, etc.

Use the timetable to structure and plan the recruitment work and to get a clear overview of who does what and when.

Template: Timetable doctoral student (Word 38 kB, new tab)

Content:  

• Requirements profile
• Vacancy announcement
• Selection questions
• Vacancy channels 

Requirements profile

The next step in the recruitment process is for the recruiting organization to produce a requirements profile as a basis for the advertisement. The requirements profile should be based on the needs analysis and the university requirements profile template should always be used. 

The requirements profile should contain clear information about:

• the organization in which the employee will be located
• entry requirements and postgraduate subject
• qualification requirements and merits regarding education, experience, knowledge and skills
• any work tasks (departmental duties) to be performed
• possible areas of responsibility

Consider whether there are more people than the review panel who should participate in the requirements profile work. At this stage it is a good idea to get input from, for example, current doctoral students, colleagues, or others who are affected by the employment. 

Template: Requirements profile doctoral student (Word 51 kB, new tab)

Vacancy announcement

The vacancy announcement should be based on the requirements profile and should be designed in a clear and measurable way. A well-written and clear advertisement increases the chance of getting the “right” candidates and a manageable search field.

The vacancy announcement should always

• be advertised on the university’s and the employment service’s website
• advertised for at least three weeks
• advertised in Swedish
• advertised in English via Euraxess

The vacancy announcement is created in the recruitment system by the HR function in consultation with the recruiting manager. The HR function is responsible for ensuring that the advertisement follows the university’s templates and regulations and that it is written in a way that appeals to the applicants.

Selection questions

In the recruitment system, it is possible to use selection questions, which can facilitate the work of selection at a later stage. There are also examples of ready-made vacancy announcements that can be used as a starting point. Contact your HR officer for support regarding selection questions and how to design the vacancy announcement.

Vacancy channels 

Once the vacancy proposals has been finalized, it is important to consider how it will be disseminated. What is the target group and how and where can it best be reached? 

Several vacancy channels can be accessed via the recruitment system, other sites should be used via our contracted advertising agency.

Contact your HR support to get help with which vacancy channels might be appropriate

Content: 

• Selection procedure
• International staff
• Interviews
• Tests and work samples
• Reference checking
• Compile

Selection procedure

The selection of candidates is to be based on the qualifications mentioned in the vacancy announcement. This is to clearly see which candidates fulfil the specified requirements, but also to make an objective, equal and non-discriminatory selection.
The focus should be on merit and skills, and candidates who meet the requirements of the advertisement will be selected in the first instance.

All applications must be read in full and the whole selection board should be involved in the assessment of the applications. The recruitment system provides several ways of sorting and scoring candidates, otherwise the selection matrix may be helpful. Contact your HR function for assistance in your selection management.

Selection matrix template (Word 14 kB, new tab)

International staff 

When appointing international staff, the individual may require a residence permit to work in Sweden. Extra time for applying for a residence permit should then be included in the process. Extra time for applying for a residence permit should then be included in the process. It is important that the documentation submitted to the Migration Agency is complete and correct, otherwise there is a risk that the processing time will be even longer.

Keep in mind that it is illegal to employ a person from a third country before they have a valid and correct residence permit!

Updated information, templates and checklists on residence permits and appointing international staff can be found here (in Swedish) 

Interviews

The aim of the job interview is to assess the candidate’s education, experience, knowledge, and competences (ability, skills, and approach) in relation to what is described in the vacancy announcement An equally important purpose is to inform the candidate about the workplace and the conditions and expectations of the position. Remember to provide a positive but realistic picture of the workplace and work duties so that the candidate’s expectations match the reality.

Interviews are most effective if they are standardised and structured. This means the questions are predetermined and all candidates are asked the same questions. In this way, we can treat all the candidates equally and avoid discrimination. At Lund University a competence-based interview technique is used. 

Contact your HR officer for support in the design and implementation of the interview.

Interview guide template (Word 126 kB, new tab)

Tests and work samples

A good complement to the interview is to use work psychology tests and work samples. At Lund University, several testing tools have been procured and your HR officer can provide more information about tests, work samples and other selection instruments.

Read more about tests and work samples

Reference checking 

References should always be checked as it is a way of obtaining complementary information on the candidate, confirming information obtained during the interview as well as clarifying any remaining questions. The focus should be on evaluating the qualifications specified in the vacancy announcement. References are only obtained at the final stage of the recruitment process and the candidate should always be informed about which references you are taking.  

Use the reference checking template and contact your HR officer for more information on reference checking.

Reference checking template (Word 18 kB, new tab)

Compile

Be sure to make a structured assessment of the final candidates based on the information obtained during interviews, reference checks and any testing. It is important to consider the extent to which the candidates live up to the advertisement. Feel free to use the assessment matrix. 

Template assessment matrix (Word 58 kB, new tab) 

Content:

• Statement
• Admission
• Salary setting
• ID and residence permit checks
• Decision on appointment
• Feedback
• Introduction
• Renewal of employment 

Statement

Before a decision of employment is made the department/equivalent must prepare a statement. The statement is to provide a clear account of how the selection process was conducted and which qualifications were decisive in the choice of candidate. 

Mall: Yttrande doktorand (Word 116 kB, ny flik)

Admission

When the statement period has expired, the doctoral student shall be admitted to the doctoral program. Admission shall be in accordance with the university's admission regulations for doctoral education and the local admission processes at each faculty/equivalent. 

Antagningsordning för utbildning på forskarnivå vid Lunds universitet (PDF, ny flik)

Admission of doctoral students must always take place before an employment decision is made.

Salary setting

Salaries for doctoral students shall be set in accordance with the faculty's doctoral student salary scale. The department's salary proposal must be submitted by the salary-setting manager, in accordance with the delegation scheme at the relevant faculty/equivalent, via the HR function. 

Salaries may NOT be offered to candidates before they are approved by the head of department/equivalent and the faculty/equivalent.  

ID and residence permit checks

Before an employment decision is made, an ID check must always be carried out on the person to be employed to verify identity and the right to reside and work in Sweden. 
The candidate must therefore provide a copy of a valid ID (passport or international ID card) and potential residence permit. This is handled in the recruitment system by the HR function in consultation with the recruiting manager. 

Decision on appointment

It is important to be aware that oral agreements are valid. Therefore, the recruiting manager and head of department/equivalent must always check with the faculty/equivalent (often via the HR officer) before a final offer of employment and salary can be sent to the candidate. An decision of employment can be appealed, but only by the candidates who applied for the position (read more about appeals).

The decision on appointment is created in Primula by the HR officer in consultation with the recruiting manager.

Feedback

It is important that candidates who do not receive employment at Lund University get a positive impression of Lund University as a workplace. Therefore, all candidates who have been interviewed at Lund University should receive verbal feedback as to why they were not offered the position. Candidates who have not been interviewed are to be notified via the recruitment system.

Introduction

First impressions of the workplace can be crucial to the future work performance and relationships with colleagues. A good introduction to the new workplace creates a sense of well-being and belonging. It allows the new employee to settle in quickly which is a benefit for the organisation both in human and financial terms. 

It is mainly the recruiting organization that is responsible for the new employee’s induction. Use the university’s introduction process with associated templates and support materials when introducing a new employee. 

Introduktion av nya medarbetare vid Lunds universitet

Renewal of employment 

The first employment as a doctoral student may be valid for a maximum of one year and the employment may then be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time. The renewed employment does not need to be advertised, but the renewal must be handled in the recruitment system according to a special procedure. 

Please contact your HR function for more information on renewing a doctoral student's contract.