Managing Academic Lab Recruitment

A good marketing plan is essential if you want a shot at hiring top research talent, says Maurice P. Boland, acting vice president for research at the University College Dublin. One of the most important parts of the plan starts with internal university work: building infrastructure, and lobbying nationally for funding. "It comes down to how well the applicant perceives the program they are going into, and ... the infrastructure, and how well the applicant sees the leadership from the top," Boland says. Maurice P. Boland

Courtesy of Maurice P. BolandTo that end, the university's new president has set out an ambitious plan that makes life science research a high priority over the next five to 10 years. The university recently completed a new veterinary school and is building new facilities for its medical school. "There has been tremendous development taking place in terms of infrastructure, which makes it more attractive for researchers to come here," Boland says. Virginia Hinshaw

Courtesy of Debbie Aldridge/UC DavisWhen it comes to helping primary investigators recruit employees for their labs, research deans should roll up their sleeves and pitch in, because people are a university's biggest investment, says Virginia Hinshaw, provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California, Davis.Hinshaw pitches in by streamlining the paperwork involved in hiring; she also offers management training to principal investigators. "If your lab has a good reputation as a good place to work – challenging, but exciting – people like that," she says. "People do work in teams, so new members have to work and connect with your collaborators as well. Sometimes [recruiters] don't pay much attention to that."Hinshaw wants university scientists to use the campus as a recruiting tool. Her job is to help create a campus community that respects people, encourages diversity, and celebrates accomplishments. "When a primary investigator is recruiting, the whole group is recruiting," she says. "It is not a one-person enterprise. That's why we have to be attentive to the campus community." Eva Pell

Courtesy of James CollinsAs dean of the Pennsylvania State University's Graduate School and vice president of research, Eva Pell has a few road-tested hiring tips. Pell always wants to see the whites of the candidate's eyes, because that can communicate a lot about personal chemistry. "The most important thing you have to do is a serious reference check," Pell says. "You want to know where they got their degrees, who their mentor was, and whose lab they worked in. Those things are much more important to me that any special courses they took."Another tip: Be wary of people who seem too perfect. "I always wanted people who were very careful and not afraid to make mistakes," she says. "There is nothing scarier than a person who always wants to be right." Such people may be tempted to manufacture the correct answers.If you make a hiring mistake, whether it be that a person's chemistry does not fit with others, or the person cannot do the job, she says, correct it as quickly and painlessly as possible. "You have to help them leave and you move forward," Pell says. Steven Leath

Courtesy of North Carolina State UniversityWhen it comes to hiring, the biggest hurdle facing most university research deans is money, says Steven Leath, associate dean and director of research at North Carolina State University. The university is housed in the NC Research Triangle, which presents life scientists so many opportunities in the highly paid private sector that it's difficult for his principal investigators (PIs) to compete for employees. The selling point for new staff has to be quality of life, he says. That means constant improvement: new buildings, new equipment, and new and diverse community members.Experience has also taught Leath a few hiring lessons that he gladly passes on to his PIs. Checking every reference on an applicant's list ranks first. "If you know someone who doesn't seem comfortable giving you a full endorsement, that says something," he says.In academia, a person who travels from institution to institution could be a worry, he adds. "Look to see how long a person has been in the position and if it has been long enough to accomplish things," he suggests. "Are they on a publication or do they have an assigned role in research? These are all keys." Wayne Anderson

Courtesy of University at BuffaloGetting the best people for the lab means creating a great environment both inside and outside the university, says Wayne Anderson, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. "It's important when recruiting young people, because they require a significant amount of mentoring from their senior colleagues."An added enticement to life scientists is the university's policy of limiting the amount of nonresearch work required of new recruits. The idea is to allow new employees to get their feet on the ground. "If you get a person in and tell them they are responsible for this committee and this course, they don't have the opportunity to really focus on what they will be judged on at some point," their research, Anderson says.The university has also created program-wide centers of excellence. The centers employ doctorate-level scientists from several specialized technologies. While they work on their own projects, their primary responsibility is assisting the research faculty. "It is very critical to have state-of-art technology and the ability to use it" as a hiring tool, Anderson says. "Creating this centralized core capacity with the technology and an expert staff to manage, maintain, and run the technology, along with the funds to support it, has been a real strong recruiting factor for us." Centers of excellence work like "water fountain[s]" where scientists meet and talk about their research. This communication creates a community of scientists rather than a group of scientists working on isolated projects. All these factors are promoted to job candidates. "We need to function as a scientific community and not as a group of individual entrepreneurs," says Anderson.The community outside the university's ivory tower must also be inviting if you want to recruit the best of the best. The university is based in a low-crime area with good public schools, he says. "Housing costs are quite affordable. Those are factors we promote as well."Bob Calandra rotocal@aol.com is a freelance writer in Philadelphia.

Managing Academic Lab Recruitment

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