Recruiting and Talent AcquisitionCornell

Certificate Program

Interviewing is one of the most challenging aspects of management, yet many leaders never receive formal training in this critical skill. Without proper guidance, we make hiring decisions based on gut feelings and casual conversations, lacking clear direction on what to look for, what questions to ask, or how to evaluate responses. The good news? There are proven, evidence-based approaches that can transform your interviewing effectiveness.

In this course, Professor JR Keller draws on extensive research and real-world examples to provide a clear, three-step process for conducting interviews that enable candidates to shine while delivering reliable hiring decisions. Through practical frameworks and tools, you will design structured questions that predict job performance, create consistent evaluation methods, and implement proven interviewing techniques. The course demonstrates how to apply these principles to both in-person and remote hiring scenarios while minimizing the cognitive biases that often interfere with good decision making.

Whether you're an experienced hiring manager or new to interviewing, this course equips you with concrete skills to make better hiring decisions while creating positive experiences for candidates. You will develop efficient systems for managing multiple interviews, setting candidates at ease and evaluating responses objectively. By the end of the course, you'll be prepared to transform your hiring process from conversation based to competency focused, leading to better hires and stronger teams.

This course includes a year of free access to Leadership Symposium! These events feature several days of live, highly participatory virtual Zoom sessions with Cornell faculty and experts to explore pressing industry topics. Symposium events are held several times throughout the year. Once enrolled in your program, you will receive information about upcoming sessions.

Throughout the year, you may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete the certificate program.

The conversation around employee pay has changed over the years from one of base salaries, bonuses, and cash compensation, to a “total rewards” approach that seeks the right blend of monetary and non-monetary elements that will engage each employee while generating valuable business results.

Cornell University ILR School faculty Linda Barrington and Diane Burton are the thought leaders behind Cornell's prestigious Institute for Compensation Studies. This team of authors offers a learning experience that applies evidence-based, social science approaches to the field of compensation. This course will equip you with the tools and insights needed to apply a “total rewards” view to compensation that aligns with your organization's strategic goals and operational realities.

Organizations today face a multitude of challenges when it comes to effectively managing their talent. In mature markets, demographic trends are forcing companies to accelerate their efforts to build a pipeline of future leaders. In emerging markets, companies must develop talent strategies that are both nimble and effective at engaging and retaining key human capital. To achieve these goals, companies need an integrated, systematic approach to attracting, developing, engaging, and retaining critical talent.

Cornell University Professor Brad Bell offers a learning experience that challenges students to dig deeper into understanding their organization's key talent management challenges and uncovers solutions that can be used to overcome these challenges. This course adopts a systems view of talent management in order to demonstrate that various talent practices and processes need to be aligned to create effective solutions. It also examines current trends and cutting-edge thinking in the talent management field.

How does your organization determine how much to pay employees across their different roles? How do you balance the need to attract and retain talent with the need to promote internal pay fairness? It is crucial that your organization define clear answers to these questions.

Employee salaries are typically among the highest business expenses. Making compensation decisions in ways that attract the best talent and contribute to internal fairness is a major concern of human resource professionals. Some organizations have compensation structures in place, while others do not use them at all. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the use of compensation structures.

You'll start by exploring some of the philosophical concepts underpinning pay structures. You'll look at the decisions your organization will need to make before creating a pay structure. After you examine the philosophical and practical considerations, you'll see how to develop a pay structure. Professor Tae-Youn Park leads you through the process of building a pay structure for your organization, providing a step-by-step framework that you can bring back to your organization. He then gives you hands-on experience with developing a pay structure that matches both your organization's needs and its values. Along the way, you will discover how to collect, choose, and use market pay data.

Finally, you'll take a close look at some specific issues with pay structures. You'll discover how to use a pay structure to make decisions around employee pay. You'll explore the advantages and disadvantages of pay transparency. You'll end the course by identifying the various teams within your organization who need to be engaged to help manage pay structures effectively.

By the end of this course, you will be ready to make informed decisions about pay structures for your organization. You'll be able to assist senior leaders in articulating a pay philosophy and determining a pay transparency policy. You will also have the insights you need to advise senior management. Throughout the course, Professor Park weaves research-based information with practical advice so that you'll be prepared to guide your organization through the process of designing and managing compensation structures.

The following course is required to be completed before taking this course:

• Total Rewards Compensation

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The HR Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of human resources work. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the HR field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.