Using CITES NetFiles in Support of a Search Committee

Is there an easier way to distribute files to my search committee?

Due to the amount of sensitive paperwork that must be distributed during a job search, search committee coordination can be quite time-consuming, particularly when some of the search committee members are outside the university community.

In such cases, CITES NetFiles guest tickets can be used to grant secure access to electronic documents, even to non-university employees. File access can be controlled by the search committee coordinator, and no contact with departmental IT staff is required. In fact, only the coordinator is required to have a NetFiles account!

Campus policies that govern the use of network and computer resources apply to use of NetFiles. The Office of the CIO has compiled a list of Information Technology Policies.

Basic organization

Begin by creating a folder in your NetFiles account and naming it something appropriate to the search. It is good practice not to use spaces in the name. (Spaces can create broken links later in the process.) This folder becomes the root folder of the search. Remember, this is the starting point for all committee members, so name it something they will recognize.

Put basic information about the search in the root folder. This is information such as the job description, interview questions, sample checklists, and University hiring regulations. If there is a lot of this material, give it its own folder to keep things tidy.

Under the root folder, create a new folder for each candidate using the candidate's last name for the folder. Within these folders put all the supporting documents for that candidate. At the very least, this include a cover letter and resume. Be careful to name each of these items starting with the last name of the candidate, so that committee members will always know what folder they are in simply by the names of the files. Here's an example:

SmithCover
SmithCV
SmithRef1
SmithRef2

By using this naming convention, it is even possible to put all the documents in the root folder. The documents will stay sorted by candidate, making it easy for committee members to find what they are looking for.

Granting access

Giving access to the committee members is accomplished by creating a NetFiles guest ticket. A ticket is really just a URL with a string of random characters added to the end to act as a key. Without the exact ticket, no one can see the information. Note that you cannot give access by copying and pasting the URL from the browser location bar; you must create a ticket.

To learn about creating guest tickets, see Using Guest Tickets.

Security

Your data is as secure as the ticket. Whoever has a copy of that ticket can get to the data! With that in mind, send the ticket only to members of the search committee. Limit the ticket to the expected duration of the search process, or two or three weeks beyond the close of the application process. Better to have a ticket too short than too long. You can always create a new ticket if the first was too short. If you think the ticket may have been shared outside the search committee, you can rescind a ticket by deleting it on the NetFiles TICKETS page (the same page you used to create the ticket). It's good practice to delete all tickets once the search is over. Deleting a ticket denies access to any ticket holders.

Communicating with the search committee

It is very likely that at least one member of the search committee will be unfamiliar with NetFiles tickets. It is a good idea to introduce the committee to use of NetFiles with a brief note such as the following.

We will be using CITES NetFiles as our repository for search-related documents. In order for you to access the necessary applicant information, you will need to use the following link: [Insert ticket link here.]

This link acts as a key to access the data repository for this search. It is intended for your use only. Do not send this link to anyone else.

Please keep this message handy so that you can easily access information as it is updated with new applicants.

I will be contacting you in the near future to schedule the first meeting of the search committee.

If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.

Troubleshooting

• If users cannot access the files: Make sure you paste the entire ticket link into the email message. If you accidentally leave out one character, it won't work. Sometimes links can get split onto two lines. Depending on the mail program people use, this can cause the link not to work. You may need to remind people to make sure they are using the entire link.
• If the search coordinator is denied access: When it seems as though you cannot save files, look to see how you have gained access to the NetFiles site. In the upper left corner, just below the CITES NetFiles logo, it should say Logged in as. If you are testing a ticket, it will say, Access through Ticket. Access through the ticket will not give you full access to your NetFiles account. Click Logout and log in using your NetID and password.

 

Special thanks to Craig Flowers of Veterinary Medicine Computing Services for the use of this scenario.