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CHM Undergrads - Recruiting, Interviewing, and Hiring Undergrads

Details about recruiting, interviewing, and hiring credit and hourly undergraduate students.

 Contents

Recruiting Undergrads

See: Current Undergraduate Student Applicants

  • Post a message to the Slack #undergrad_supervisors channel. To be added to this channel, contact Jane Lambert (jane.lambert@wisc.edu).
  • Inform Jane Lambert that you are hiring. She might be able to put you in touch with a student who is looking for work.
  • Review the CHM Ugrad Applicants Google Sheet. Contact undergrad_admin@chm.wisc.edu with the applicant's code to request the applicant's information (full application, resume, references, contact info, etc). 

Recruit Using UW Student Jobs Site

Instructions:

To recruit from the UW Student Jobs platform, post your position on the UW Student Jobs site. While it is preferable for you to post the position yourself (because then you have immediate ability to extend, end early, receive applications directly, etc.), Jane Lambert (jane.lambert@wisc.edu) will provide support as needed to prepare your job ad. See the UW Student Jobs resource on “How To Create a Job” for a detailed explanation of the job submission process.

Creating a Position on the UW Student Jobs Site:

  1. Navigate to https://studentjobs.wisc.edu/
  2. Post a Job > Post UW Positions. Log in to the Student Jobs platform
  3. My Dashboard > New Job
  4. Template > Student Help
  5. On the "Requisition Information" page, select/enter the following:
    • Division: "College of Letters & Science"
    • Department: "Center for Healthy Minds"
    • Campus Location: Type "AUWMSN" and hit enter. "UW Madison" will appear
    • DEI Statement

      The following is CHM's current DEI statement, which is subject to change. Please contact Lisa Wesley for assistance. (Updated: 5/10/2024)

      "The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds (CHM) is a leader in conducting science - in and out of the lab - on how to nurture emotional well-being in daily life, considering the complexity of our human experience. Because of societal inequities in science and academia, as well as the disproportionate harm that marginalized members of our society experience - such as  Black, Indigenous, People of color (BIPOC), people from poor and working-class backgrounds, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ and non-binary identities, etc.- we believe these identities must be centered in our work in order to fulfill a vision of a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world."

    • Department Overview

      Feel free to customize the following department overview to meet your needs:

      "At the Center for Healthy Minds, we've identified four core values that guide our work toward our larger mission of a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world. Each member of our community is responsible for upholding these values and embodying them in their work.

      1. Conducting our work with rigor
      2. Making an impact on the world
      3. Cultivating a prosocial workplace
      4. Improving diversity, equity and inclusion

      The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds (CHM) is a leader in conducting science - in and out of the lab - on how to nurture emotional well-being in daily life, considering the complexity of our human experience. Because of societal inequities in science and academia, as well as the disproportionate harm that marginalized members of our society experience - such as Black, Indigenous, People of color (BIPOC), people from poor and working-class backgrounds, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ and non-binary identities, etc.- we believe these identities must be centered in our work in order to fulfill a vision of a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world."

      • Hiring Manager: Enter the supervisor's name
      • Approval Process: SH: St Employment Hiring Rep & Admin Team only 
      • Student Employment Admin Team: Response must be "Student Employment Admin Team" or the job will not be posted correctly. 
      • Student Employment Hiring Rep: "Lisa Wesley"

Making an Offer Through the UW Student Jobs Site

  • After the Student Jobs Platform has approved your job, and after you have selected a candidate through the Student Jobs Platform, you will have the opportunity to make offers to students. 
  • Select "Onboarding Portal." This will prompt the student to complete their I-9, W-4, and direct deposit. 

Questions? Please contact Jane Lambert (jane.lambert@wisc.edu)

Post the position on the CHM website

You may request that the position be posted under "current openings." Email your request to Victoria Vlisides (vvlisides@wisc.edu). This is a good option if you have a long recruiting period; it might not be worthwhile for a short recruiting period.

Contacting Other Campus Departments

Email relevant departments and interest groups on campus to see if they can distribute via email newsletter or to check whether it is okay to post paper ads (with pull tabs for the contact info) on department bulletin boards.

  • For example, the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) is a good place to advertise for non-research undergrads. Send your job posting to SoHE Career Development (careers@sohe.wisc.edu)and they will include it in a weekly digest of current jobs/internships that they send to SoHE students.
  • Ask Jane Lambert to email your job opening to the UW-Madison advisors’ Google Group (Advisor-link), or join the Advisor-link email list yourself.

Email Current CHM Undergrads to See if They Know Others Who Are Interested

   

Interviewing and Hiring Credit Undergrads

Application Accepted:

  • Spring Semester: 10/1-3/1
  • Summer Semester: 2/1-7/1
  • Fall Semester: 3/1-10/15

2-Semester Rule

We expect that all of our research credit undergraduates will commit to at least 2 semesters of credit work (except for students who are participating in the Federal Work-Study program, and who are thus exempt from the 2-semester credit rule), before the option of pay is considered.

Credit Hours

A minimum of 45 hours of labwork/credit is required.

Interviewing

  • Review the Current Applicants KB or conduct your own recruiting to identify qualified students to interview.
  • Conduct your own interviews with your chosen qualified applicants.

Starting the Hire

To hire a student to work for Research Credit on your project or study, you must do all of the following:

  • Decide on your finalist and make your offer (don't forget to send notifications to other interviewees who didn't get the position).
  • Give Jane Lambert information on your new research credit undergraduate:
    • If this is your first time supervising a CHM undergraduate student:
      • Email Jane Lambert to notify her of your hire.
      • Jane will create a “Semesterly Undergrad Updates” Google Sheet for you to communicate the student’s name, email, and other information.
    • If you already are supervising other undergraduates:
      • Email Jane Lambert to notify her of your hire.
      • Update your Semesterly Undergrad Updates Google Sheet with the student’s name and other information.
    • After you contact Jane with the required information, she will:
      • Handle the logistics of getting the student enrolled in the course,
      • Contact the student to schedule an orientation where she will give the student general CHM expectations as well as instructions for completing the online mandatory trainings.
      • See this page for what is involved in orientation for Research Credit Student students.

Students CANNOT volunteer their time. 

Interviewing and Hiring Hourly Undergrads

Application Windows:

  • Spring: 10/1-3/1
  • Summer: 2/1-7/1
  • Fall: 3/1-10/15

29 Hour Weekly Limit

  • Per federal law, student hourlies cannot work more than 29 hours across all paid positions at UW-Madison. Overtime is not allowed.

6 Hour Continuous Shift Limit

  • Wisconsin law requires that students cannot work a single continuous shift of 6 hours or more. If they work 6 hours, we are required by law to give them a minimum 30 minute unpaid lunch break. This must be reflected on their timesheets as 2 separate shifts, for example, 10:00AM - noon as 1 shift, and 12:30 PM - 5:30 PM as another shift on the same day. Our employment practices are scrutinized by both the UW and the State; failure to provide and record proper break times may result in serious consequences for the labs.

Special Circumstances

  • There are special circumstances where there may be a cap or limit on the total number of hours that a student can work within a single semester or on a specific study. These limits are usually associated with a specific program, such as the Adolescence Center Summer Undergraduate Program, or funding related to the project.

No Minimum Hour Requirement

  • Note that there is no minimum or set number of hours that a student hourly is required to work for you. If you don't have any work for them this week, you are not obliged to have them come in. This is in contrast to students working for research credit, who do have a minimum number of total hours they need to work each semester.

Funding and Scope

  • Is there adequate funding for your study or project? Check with Brittany/Isa if unsure.
  • Are there any unusual restrictions associated with this position?
  • Is this position suitable in scope for a single undergraduate working full-time? Part-time? Does the position require multiple students?
  • Are there duties involved in the position appropriate for and undergraduate? Will they require special skills or experience?

Interviewing

  • Review the Current Applicants KB or conduct your own recruiting to identify qualified students to interview.
  • Conduct your own interviews with your chosen qualified applicants.
  • During the interview, explicitly state the CHM pay rate ($15/hr), 29-hours/week limit, number of hours per week, and total number of hours that you expect the position to entail. 
    • Ask if they will be working any other UW jobs at the same time; if so, the total hours for both UW jobs cannot exceed 29 hours per week.
  • If the student indicates that they are "work-study", confirm that they are a part of the Federal Work Study Program. Review the Federal Work Study KB page with the student. 
    • Note that Federal Work-Study students must still fill out an appointment form and all of the usual payroll forms.
    • They will be paid from lab funds for half of their work and federal work-study funds for the other half.
    • The division between their Federal Work-Study funding and our funding is handled by the UW HRS payroll system.
    • When the work-study funds run out, our funding will be used to pay the student's entire wages. There is no easy way to determine when this will happen, so always budget with the assumption that your study's funding will have to cover all of the student's wages

Starting the Hire

To hire a student to work for pay on your project or study, you must do all of the following:

  • Decide on your finalist and make your offer (don't forget to send notifications to other interviewees who didn't get the position).
  • Email Jane Lambert to notify her of your hire.
  • At least 7 calendar days before the proposed start date, the supervisor enters the student’s hiring information into the supervisor’s individual “Semesterly Undergrad Updates” Google Sheet. (If you are not a current supervisor and would like to make a hire, contact Jane Lambert at jane.lambert@wisc.edu.)
  • Supervisor sends a notification of intent to hire to Jane Lambert via a comment in the G-Sheet or via email.
    • The proposed start date that the supervisor enters into the G-Sheet is not guaranteed. Please wait to begin scheduling the student's time until you receive confirmation of the start date from Jane.
    • If a student is going to be working with minors they will need a criminal background check completed BEFORE this type of work can start. This can take 3-14 days so please plan accordingly.
    • Jane starts the I-9 process via HireRight, coordinates with Lisa Wesley (Human Resources) on the hire, and then confirms with the supervisor the approved start date of the student hourly.
  • Jane initiates an Asana onboarding checklist of the steps she takes to prepare the student's onboarding (e.g., authorize HIPAA training), and shares the Asana project with the supervisor.
  • Jane sends the student a Welcome email to schedule the orientation for the start date and to ask the student to fill out the CHM Ugrad Hiring Form

Students CANNOT volunteer their time. 

Also see: Pay Rates and Raises

Pay Rates and Raises

Pay Rates

The starting rate for student hourlies is $15 per hour. If you believe that the student you are interested in hiring has exceptional skills or experience, you can contact Jane Lambert to make a case for starting them at a higher rate.

Students assisting with certain types of research where the work is unusually stressful, or requires extensive training or advanced skills will be paid at a higher rate.

Raises

As the students gain experience and skills, you can make a request to Jane that their pay rate be increased. Raises are not automatic; they are not given for simply continuing to do the exact same job for multiple semesters, and they must be requested by you, the supervisor.

As part of your supervisory duties, you are expected to meet with your employees every 6 months (or after each semester of work) to review their progress in terms of gaining skills, showing leadership, and/or carrying out challenging tasks with little or no supervision. If you find improvement in these or related areas, you can request that their salary be increased, typically by $0.50 per hour.

Students CANNOT volunteer their time. 

Remote Work

CHM undergraduate students are subject to the following policies on remote work:

Student Hourlies

Research Credit Students

 



Keywords:
hire hourly credit ug undergraduate interview interviewing recruit recruiting volunteer vol volunteering pay wage 
Doc ID:
131962
Owned by:
Jane L. in Center for Healthy Minds
Created:
2023-10-06
Updated:
2024-08-29
Sites:
Center for Healthy Minds