ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2003 / 523

C o l l e g e  & R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s

Using an executive search firm 
to fill faculty library positions

One library’s story

by Marcia Stockham, Ron Ratliff, and Jean Darbyshire

T raditionally, filling faculty positions at Kan­sas State University Libraries (KSUL) has in­
volved appointing a selection committee, coordi­
nating everyone’s calendars for meeting times, 
and sifting through résumés and cover letters. 
The process could take months by the time 
applicants were screened, references called, and 
candidates invited for an interview. It wasn’t un­
usual to lose good candidates to other univer­
sities or to close searches with no hires, in part 
because o f the slow process.

In early 2001 following strategic planning, 
KSUL n eed ed  to fill five faculty positions. 
Given that the process o f hiring one position 
can be quite time consuming, let alone five; that 
the pool o f prospective candidates is limited; 
and that two searches had been closed because 
of a lack o f qualified applicants, library admin­
istrators decided to try a new approach. The 
library turned to an executive search firm, The 
Morley Group,1 to help fill positions.

U sin g  an e x e c u tiv e  se a rc h  fir m
When the executive search firm was hired, a 
number o f traditional procedures changed. In 
consultation with the firm, the library drew up 
a position description and a blueprint that in­
cluded a list o f position specifications, qualify­
ing criteria, and open-ended questions. The can­
didates were required to address each point and

answer the questions on the blueprint, which 
probed their qualifications. (The firm recently 
rec e iv e d  approval fo r cop yrigh t o f this 
blueprinting process.)

The search firm recruited prospective candi­
dates, either from names the libraiy submitted or 
from the firm’s own resources, which included re­
searching similar institutions, cold calls, and solic­
iting applications over the Web. Once contact was 
made with an interested person, a résumé was re­
quested and representatives of the firm conducted 
a short phone interview. If the candidate appeared 
to be qualified and was still interested in the posi­
tion, he or she was asked to complete the blue­
print response. The search firm worked with the 
candidate to answer any questions about the posi­
tion or the process, and contacted the candidate’s 
references.

The search firm then forwarded the com ­
pleted blueprint response, résumé, and tran­
script o f reference calls to the library. The ma­
terials were distributed to the faculty recruit­
ment committee, deans, department heads, and 
members of the affected department for review. 
The recruitment committee consisted o f four 
to six faculty from different departments o f the 
library and was selected by the dean. The com­
mittee had 24 hours to look over the materials, 
which dictated the process move quicldy. Gen­
erally, the committee read the paperwork, for­

About the author

Marcia Stockham  is education librarian, Ron R a tliff is hum anities reference librarian, a n d  Je an  Darbyshire is director o f  
administrative services fo r the libraries at Kansas State University, e-mail: stockham@lib.ksu.edu, rrat@lib.ksu.edu, and  
jdarby@lib.ksu.edu

mailto:stockham@lib.ksu.edu
mailto:rrat@lib.ksu.edu
mailto:jdarby@lib.ksu.edu


524 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2003

warded comments via e-mail to the facilitator 
for summarizing, and decided whether to rec­
ommend to the administration that the appli­
cant b e invited to interview. The dean, after 
consultation, made the final decision about the 
invitation to interview. This process did not 
allow  for com parison o f candidates to each 
other, but rather, determined whether an indi­
vidual met the minimum qualifications for the 
job. If the candidate was acceptable, he or she 
was invited for an interview. If not, the search 
firm was notified and was asked for the next 
candidate.

Candidate interviews remained similar to 
those held before using the search firm. The 
recruitment committee participated in the pro­
cess, and also did much o f the planning to en­
sure the day went smoothly. For instance, the 
committee coordinated a reception where any­
one from the entire staff could m eet and ask 
questions o f the candidate. At least two mem­
bers accompanied the candidate to meals. There 
w ere also opportunities for the candidate to 
meet with administration and the members of 
the relevant department. After the interview, 
the committee had 24 hours to come to a con­
sensus about the candidate and make a recom­
m endation to hire or not to hire, listing 
strengths and weaknesses. This information was 
forwarded to the administration along with rec­
ommendations from various groups participat­
ing in the interview process. The dean made 
the final decision about whether or not to of­
fer the position to the candidate.

O ne c a n d id a t e ’s e x p e rie n c e
Initial con tact from the Morley Group was a 
cold call from one o f its representatives. The 
firm located names on library Web pages and 
called individuals to find further leads for pro­
spective candidates. In this case the candidate, 
by coincidence, was relocating to the Kansas 
State University area, and even though not cur­
rently in the job market, agreed to look at the 
positions available. After seeing one position 
that looked like a potential fit, the representa­
tive encouraged the interested party to send a 
résum é to the firm via e-mail. After initial 
screening o f the résumé, a complete blueprint 
and background information on KSUL was sent 
to the prospective applicant. The firm repre­
sentative then conducted a telephone interview, 
which gave the applicant an opportunity to ex­
pand on specific points o f the résumé and an­

swer general questions. At that point, the ap­
plicant was asked to complete the blueprint re­
sponse. This initial process p roceeded  very 
quickly because the same representative handled 
all aspects of the transactions, and all exchanges 
were done electronically or via the telephone.

Completing the blueprint response required 
a good deal o f time and careful thought. It was 
a very useful tool to refine and organize 
thoughts and look realistically at strengths, 
weaknesses, experiences, and ideas. The process 
allowed reflection and was good preparation for 
the eventual interview. Besides providing the 
opportunity for the applicant to answer ques­
tions, the blueprint served as a stimulus for the 
candidate to form ulate questions about the 
position. The finished document functioned as 
a pre-interview and was much more thorough 
than the usual cover letter and résumé. Once 
the blueprint was completed, the search firm 
reviewed it, sent the paperwork to the library, 
and asked for references.

The candidate’s overall positive experience 
with the search firm was due to several factors. 
First, the same representative was used for all 
contacts and was very good about answering 
the applicant’s questions or supplying additional 
information. All transactions were completed 
via the telephone or e-mail, which made the pro­
cess move quickly. The representative contin­
ued to provide information and feedback to the 
candidate up to and including the point of sign­
ing a contract with the library.

C o n c lu s io n
Over the course of several months KSUL filled 
all five positions and continues to use the search 
firm for hiring faculty. A major advantage to 
using the executive search firm is the amount 
o f time it saves the library staff. The firm re­
cruits candidates, reviews applications, screens 
out unqualified candidates, conducts reference 
interviews, and provides continuing communi­
cation with the applicant.

Other advantages include: providing complete 
application information at one time (résumé, blue­
print response, reference interview responses); re­
cruiting techniques that may result in larger and 
more diverse pools o f candidates; using the ana­
lytical approach of the blueprint that may result in 
a better fit of the candidate to the position; quick 
turn-around time, which may result in fewer losses 
of good candidates; and serving as an objective 
reviewer and source o f information for internal



C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2003 / 525

candidates. An executive search firm takes a pro­
active approach, which may be more aggressive in 
seeking talent. It can make contacts where the li­
brary cannot, often resulting in the desired out­
come of a more diverse workplace.

One o f the major perceived negative aspects 
o f using a search firm is that library staff are 
not allowed to compare candidates. Credentials 
and blueprint responses for only one candidate 
at a time were given to the library, and the can­
didate was evaluated on how well his or her 
qualifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities fit 
the blueprint criteria. If the first candidate met 
the criteria, the interview reinforced the paper­
work, and the consensus was that the candi­
date would be a good fit for the position, he or 
she generally received an offer. If the con sen­
sus was that the candidate did not m eet the 
qualifications, he or she was rejected and the 
search firm was asked for another candidate. 
This was a major change from the way hiring 
had been done before, and it took the staff time 
to adjust.

The library staff identified several other as­
pects o f the process that may b e considered 
disadvantages as well. First, recruitment seems

to be geared towards candidates with some ex­
perience, so the number o f entry-level candi­
dates may b e reduced, even though several of 
the positions filled were considered entry-level. 
The quick turnaround time for candidate re­
view moves the process along, but can also be 
difficult for som e library staff to adjust to b e ­
cause it is not always easy to drop other projects 
or daily tasks in order to review the paperwork 
o f an applicant. The recmitment committee and 
other library staff must still make local arrange­
ments for interviews. And, finally, the cost of 
such a service may b e prohibitive for many li­
braries, and warrants careful weighing o f ben­
efits against the expense o f using a firm.

Overall, the use o f an executive search firm 
was beneficial to KSUL in that it not only saved 
staff time and resources, but allowed us to find 
and hire qualified candidates. The time taken 
to develop the appropriate position description 
and blueprint questions resulted in a good fit 
with candidate and position.

Note
1. Visit T he Morley Group at http://www. 

themorleygroup.com for more information. ■

http://www