New Hire Employment Process

Job Acceptance and Confirmation Letter

Once an offer is accepted, Human Resources (HR) prepares an offer letter with details about the appointment. Copies of the letter are sent to the supervisor and placed in the new employee's personnel file.
 

Closing the Requisition and Notifying Applicants

A job offer is accepted, the position requisition is closed in Harvard Careers, Harvard’s online applicant tracking system. HR notifies applicants who were interviewed, but not selected, to let them know of the decision. Throughout the search process, applicants who are not selected for an interview receive automatically-generated emails from Harvard Careers to notify them that they are not under consideration.

Required Paperwork

If an employee is new to Harvard or has not held a job there within the past year, it is requested they come in before their start date (if possible) to fill out new-hire paperwork. The required paperwork includes:

• I-9 form
• W-4 federal tax form
• M-4 state tax form

Under federal law, all new employees must provide documents that prove their identity and employment eligibility. Employees who transfer to SEAS from elsewhere at Harvard generally do not have to complete new forms.

New Employee Orientation

Employees who are new to Harvard will be registered for Harvard's New Employee Welcome and Orientation. HR will also register all new employees (including internal transfers) for the SEAS New Employee Orientation. See the New Employee Orientation page for more information.

PeopleSoft and Harvard ID Number

Once an I-9 is cleared by Central Payroll (this may take a few days), HR enters the appointment into PeopleSoft. 

New employees will be notified of their HUID number when their appointments are active in PeopleSoft. Transfers, rehires, and previous/current Harvard students will have the same HUID number that they had previously.

Once the appointment is active in PeopleSoft, the new employee can obtain a photo ID card at the ID office (8th floor of the Smith Campus Center). There are occasional delays between systems, so it is best to call the ID office first to ensure that the new employee is active in the ID card system before going over (617-495-3322). The employee will also need to sign up for HarvardKey.

Email Account

SEAS email accounts are set up through IT. HR will work with the new employee to complete the Application for a SEAS Computer Account.

Security Access

PeopleSoft security access is managed through the HR office. Access to financial reporting systems is managed through the Finance office.
 

More Information

More information regarding new employees, including employee benefits, commuting, time reporting, and ID services can be found on the HARVie website.