Hal Irvin Virginia Tech Human Resources October 18, 2011 Jobs at Virginia Tech Alumni Association Tuesday Evening Career Chat

Presentation Outline Overview of employee population/trends Information and support Range of available jobs Roles in hiring process 2

3 About Virginia Tech – Employee Numbers Teaching Faculty -1,655 Research Faculty Administrative/Professional- 1,087 Staff -3,511 TOTALS-6,896

Selective Growth During Downturn Seven budget reductions over last three years Very few layoffs despite cuts Strategy to offer retirement option to some – ~ 200 retired in summer of 2010 – and not fill behind in most cases As a result, employee numbers declined slightly except for one area Area of growth at Virginia Tech continues to be in research – research population increased by over 40% in last ten years

Why Work at Virginia Tech? Exciting place to work because of our broad teaching, research, and public service mission Talented employees from all walks of life and all educational backgrounds Excellent benefits Educational opportunities Professional development opportunities 5

Where Do You Find Our Jobs? We are on social media – on Twitter and Facebook – you can sign up for an RSS feed We even have job listings available for your mobile phone – 6

What Support Do We Provide? Lots and lots of information available on our jobs web site, including resume tips. For those who want additional information about the application process, we have Applicant Seminars on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursday of each month in Human Resources. Call for more information and to sign up. For those who don’t have a computer, we provide assistance in our office to help applicants complete the paperwork. Veterans wanting assistance can contact Christy Lowe at or 7

Do We Actively Recruit? For certain senior level jobs, we recruit extensively – make contact with prospective applicants to insure a high level pool We market our jobs through a variety of sources to attract a diverse and talented applicant pool We attend job fairs in the immediate area, around the state of Virginia, and in adjoining states 8

What’s Open Now? 228 jobs are posted currently 17 wage jobs 40 staff jobs 42 administrative/professional jobs 67 teaching faculty jobs 62 research jobs including our Transportation Institute, Bioinformatics Institute, and Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute 9

Amazing Variety of Positions Facilities and food service jobs Nurses and network engineers Accountants and administrative assistants Faculty in computer science and chemical engineering Professors in philosophy and public relations Researchers in plant pathology and poultry science 10

Who Makes Hiring Decisions? Not me! Decision making is decentralized at a large research university Hiring decisions are made locally Either a small hiring panel or small search committee More people and time involved for faculty or higher level positions 11

Keys to Success Focus on required and preferred qualifications outlined in job posting Customize your application submission to the job posting Insure the materials you submit address those qualifications Highlight qualifications in your cover letter and “tweak” your resume Find out all you can about the job 12

HR’s Role Manage the beginning and ending of the hiring process Insure fairness and equitable hiring and compensation practices Insure a welcoming onboarding process and maintain a positive work climate so we keep our talented employees 13

Your Role Do your homework Stay positive Think creatively about your skills and be open to opportunities If you are getting started in your career, remember how critically important it is to be open to learning 14

Questions

Thank you! Hal Irvin, Associate Vice President, Human Resources VT Human Resources web site: Monthly HR column: