recruit-process

Recruitment Process

Centralized Recruitment and Diversity Issues
Policy on the Use of Gift Funds for Recruitment Activities [SDs 1/18/95]

Centralized Recruitment and Diversity Issues

In 1991 a program began for central advertising for NIH recruitments of students and postdoctoral fellows through the Office of Education (now the Office of Intramural Training and Education). Advertisements are placed in scientific journals and posted on the Internet, with on-line applications available. Since 1994, tenure-track positions are similarly advertised.

NIH is an equal opportunity employer. Every advertisement should include the statement: NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.

General Procedures for Recruitment
- All advertising must be submitted to the Office of Intramural Training and Education: all tenure-track ads must be approved by the DDIR.
- Multiple recruitment ads may be utilized.
- Print ads are available through magazines such as Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine and other professional journals.
- Electronic Ads are available through Science, Nature, and The New England Journal of Medicine.
- Direct Mail Ads will be sent to former participants in NIH programs such as MARC students and HHMI scholars.
- National meetings may also be used as a recruitment tool through the NIH booth sponsored by the Office of Intramural Training and Education.
Student Programs

Descriptions of all student programs are available on the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education Web site. Information on this site is now being advertised electronically, in print, by mail, and at student meetings.

Information on these programs is also disseminated by visits to colleges and medical schools and by participation in national meetings.

In addition, the Office of Intramural Training and Education provides guidance to students throughout the process of selecting and applying for research experiences that meet their interests and career plans. Assistance is also provided to facilitate students' relocation to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
Postdoctoral and Clinical Training Positions

These positions are advertised nationally in print and on the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education "NIH Research and Training" web site. Candidates are directed to the web site via print ads in Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, Cell and other professional scientific journals. Direct links have been established to the NIH web site from the electronic classified advertisements of Science, Nature, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Candidates without access to the web site are referred to the Office of Intramural Training and Education and are supplied with a hard copy of the Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Opportunities and a list of the vacancies.

In addition, positions are advertised through direct mail to former participants in NIH-supported programs, for example, MARC grantees in combined degree programs, former HHMI research scholars' and recipients of minority supplements.

These positions are also advertised through participation at national meetings.

Staff in the Office of Office of Intramural Training and Education provide guidance to candidates for postdoctoral and clinical training by discussing career pathways and NIH research opportunities, assisting them in locating positions in their area (s) of interest, directing them through the application process, and providing housing information.
Tenure-Track Recruitments

All tenure-track positions are advertised nationally and open to everyone. For further information, see Search Process For Tenure And Tenure-Track Investigators.

Policy on the Use of Gift Funds for Recruitment Activities [SDs 1/18/95]

IC unconditional gift funds may be used to pay for dinners for scientists being recruited formally for intramural positions, i.e., tenure and tenure-track, as well as the meals of NIH employees: postdoctoral trainees, who accompany that person, may also be funded by this mechanism. It is understood that such dinners are "working meals," and discussion centers on NIH-related employment and science. This creates an opportunity for additional needed work-related discussions that could not be done as effectively at another time.

It is appropriate to set limits on the number of people attending such recruitment dinners, generally 5 to 6 total, and on the amount spent per person, generally $20 to $25.

All such activities are at the discretion of the IC Director, who has final approval authority.

The common widespread practice of NIH employees paying for official recruitment dinners could be interpreted as augmentation of appropriations.

Updated 4/11/2006