Recruitment process at LJMU

All roles open to external applicants are advertised on the LJMU Vacancies website. This is often updated with new opportunities, so please check back on a regular basis.

We also advertise our opportunities via:

• LinkedIn
• X (formerly known as Twitter)
• jobs.ac.uk

You may also find advertisements on role-specific job boards and see us at local recruitment fairs or community events talking about our opportunities..

On occasion, we need to advertise roles internally. If we do not find a suitable internal member of staff, we then invite applications from external applicants.

To apply for one of our roles, you must submit an application via our recruitment portal by creating a candidate profile. The format of the application will depend on the role you are applying for. Often, it will be one of the following.

• Application form only: You will not be able to submit any supporting documents, so please include as much information as possible in the application.
• Application form with attachments: This will allow uploading of other documents such as a CV, list of publications, and so on.
• CV and Supporting Statement: This option is generally for more senior level roles at Director level upwards.

Select ‘Apply now’ on any of our vacancies to start an application.

The application form is the hiring manager’s first impression of you. They can only assess based on the information that you have provided.  Here are some tips that might help you write a strong application.

Do

• Tailor your application and supporting statement to the role you are applying for. A useful technique to ensure you cover all criteria is to use each criterion as a heading to structure your personal and supporting statements.
• Address all essential criteria highlighted in the Person Specification at the ‘Application’ stage. Otherwise, it is unlikely that you will be shortlisted for interview.
• Address any desirable criteria that you are able to.
• Provide specific examples of how you meet the criteria.
• Check you have submitted the application form before the closing date.

Don’t

• Assume that a hiring manager will know your skills and experience based on a previous job title.
• Use generic statements such as ‘I have good communication skills’. This doesn’t provide sufficient evidence of your skills.
• Leave applying until the last minute. The application may appear rushed and miss key details.

After submitting your application, the hiring manager and selected panel members will review it.

You will receive an automated email to confirm that your application form has been received. Please ensure you add @ljmu.ac.uk to your safe senders list. Check your Spam and Junk email folders in case any of our correspondence arrives there.

Approximate application timeframe
Our job roles remain live between two and four weeks depending on the nature of the role. The closing date will be visible on our adverts. To ensure fairness, late applications will not be accepted.

The selection panel will assess all applications against the essential and desirable criteria. This allows them to determine suitability.

Completing your application with the guidance above increases your chances of getting shortlisted. In a competitive field, hiring managers may use desirable criteria to reduce the shortlist further.

LJMU is a Disability Confident Employer that supports disabled candidates. We have a question on our application form that asks candidates to highlight if they have a disability. This gives the applicant the opportunity to say whether they would like to make the panel aware. If this is the case, and you meet the essential criteria for the role, you will be invited to interview.

Approximate shortlisting timeframe
We ask hiring managers to complete shortlisting within two weeks of the closing date. This will depend on how many applications we receive and may take longer than this.

All candidates receive an email about the outcome of their application. Due to the high volume of applications that we receive for our roles, it is with regret that we are unable to offer feedback at this stage. Please refer to our Application guidance in the section above for hints and tips.

Most of our hiring managers are now using our interview auto-scheduling tool. This gives you freedom to select a time slot that works for you. If the selection process involves more than one element on the day, we may provide a defined time slot.

Please note
If the date or times offered for interview are not convenient for you, we will always do our best to provide an alternative. However, this isn’t always possible so we cannot guarantee it.

All our interview panels will consist of at least two members of staff, including the Hiring Manager. You will receive notice of the panel members in your interview invite. You will answer competency-based questions that show how your experience is relevant. The interview will focus on the skills, knowledge, and experience required for the role.

We may ask you to prepare a presentation, take part in a skills test, or complete a psychometric questionnaire. If this applies to the role that you have applied for, we will notify you in the interview invitation.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for and do your best, if invited to interview.

Do

• Familiarise yourself with the requirements of the Job Description and Person Specification.
• Think of examples from previous experience that demonstrates meeting the role criteria. 
• Research LJMU and the department you are applying to work within, so you can show what you could bring to the role.

Don’t

• Leave yourself too little time to get to the interview.
• Be too keen to answer questions quickly – take time to think about your response – pauses are OK!
• Forget to turn off your mobile phone.

You may receive an invite for a second interview if any further technical knowledge or experience needs to be assessed.

You will always be advised of the outcome of your interview and be offered feedback.

If you get to this stage in our process, congratulations on your offer. You are exactly whom we are looking for to join our community of talented staff!

Once the hiring manager has been in touch with us to confirm the offer details, we will reach out to you with a written offer of employment. This includes details of the pre-employment checks required. We are conscious of our environment and this is sent via email. To see what you could receive, take a look at our benefits.

The following pre-employment checks are necessary for all candidates who will be joining LJMU.

• Two references. One must be your current or most recent employer. We will never contact referees without your prior consent.
• Medical questionnaire
• Right to work in the UK
• Evidence of Date of Birth and National Insurance Number. We only request this if it is not already provided as part of the above checks.

Depending on the role, the following checks may also be required.

• Qualification certificates, for any qualifications specified as essential on the person specification.
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This is only for eligible roles.

You will need to check and update the details we hold for you via our Onboarding Form. We are eager to onboard you as soon as possible, but we need to complete and verify all pre-employment checks before agreeing a start date.

Following completion of all the above checks, your new manager will be in touch with you to agree a start date. We will take into account any notice that you need to give to your current employer.

When the start date is agreed, we will confirm your appointment and issue your formal Confirmation of Appointment Letter and Contract.

If you have any questions between being sent your contract and your start date, you are welcome to contact either your new line manager or the named HR team member.