Support with your online job application

You must first register for an applicant account, and then log into the online application form. Detailed instructions on how to apply are available on the University Jobs website.

Further support with your online application can be found below.

You may find it useful to have the following information to hand when you complete your application form:

• Details of your qualifications and training, including awarding bodies, dates of award, and results.
• Details of your employment history, including your dates of service.
• Your referees' names and contact details.

Yes - to do this, click 'Save for later' on the Application Checklist page. Your application will be saved and can be modified at any time up to the closing date for the vacancy.

When you are ready to continue with a saved application, simply log back into your account and click the 'My Applications' link on the left-hand side of the screen. A list of applications you have started will be shown. To continue with your application, click the 'view' icon. You will be returned to the Application Checklist page where you can continue with your application.

To delete an application for a vacancy you no longer wish to apply for, click the delete icon.

Once your application has been submitted it is not normally possible to make any amendments.

In exceptional cases, the recruiting department may be able to help with your already submitted application, for example to upload or replace a document to your application. Please contact the department directly, as per the job advert.

If you have submitted an application and no longer wish to be considered for the position, please contact the recruiting department directly with a request to withdraw your application. Please enter the following in the subject of your email: "Request to withdraw application for vacancy ID: [Enter vacancy ID]." 

To view a list of all of your applications, log into your account and click on the 'My Applications' link on the left-hand side of the page. 

To view an application you have already submitted, click the 'view' icon. You will be returned to the Application Checklist page where you can look through the sections you completed, or print a copy of your application form for your records.

We aim to inform all applicants by email on the outcome of their job application (normally, this will be a system-generated email). As each individual department is responsible for their own recruitment processes, the turnaround times for this will vary. Any specific questions regarding this should be addressed directly to the recruiting department.

You can view a printable summary of the information you have entered. Click the 'Printer Friendly' button on the Application Checklist page.

The summary will open in a new browser window. You can print this page in the same way as you would normally print a web page (in most browsers, go to the 'File' menu and choose 'Print', or use shortcut keys Ctrl+P in Windows, and Command+P on a Mac).

Once you have finished viewing and/or printing the summary, close the window to return to your application.

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications that we receive we cannot normally provide feedback at application stage.

Applicants who have attended an interview can request/will receive feedback.

We strongly recommend attaching all files as PDF documents as this will ensure that the appearance and format of your attachments are maintained.

However, the system will accept the following file types: .doc, .docx, .pdf (recommended), .txt, .xlsx and .rtf. Other file types will not be accepted.  A maximum of five files each up to 4MB in size may be attached, with file names of up to 25 characters in length.

It is essential that you check the following before you attach .doc and .docx file types: 

1) track changes is off; 

2) files are not password protected; and

3) documents are not read-only. 

Otherwise, there may be issues when processing your application.

Please check that you have followed the onscreen instructions on the 'Attach Documents' screen of your application. If you have adhered to this, but are still experiencing issues, this usually occurs when the document file name contains special/diacritic characters (including apostrophes or underscores), due to security reasons. Please review and amend your document; if this doesn't resolve your problem, we suggest trying an alternative browser, which may be more compatible with our software, eg Google Chrome.

If the problem persists, please contact our technical Recruitment Support team. Please include a screenshot of the error message if possible, and attach your files to the email for a faster resolution.

Typically, this issue occurs when one or more of the following is being entered in the application fields:

• Too many characters - reduce the text in the fields, bullet points. Carriage returns also use a lot of space.
• Special characters, including accents over letters.

Separate any addresses appropriately and divide the address over all of the address lines.

Certain browsers may also cause this error; we recommend Google Chrome. If the problem persists please contact our Recruitment Support technical team. 

Please include your name, the vacancy ID and a brief description of your problem.

This is normally caused by the system interpreting the data you are entering into the application form as a “system command” and the system firewall refuses to accept the submission of the data.

Please review your text for any brackets; remove these to resolve the issue. If the problem persists, please contact the Recruitment Support team, forwarding the data you are trying to enter. Please include your name, the vacancy ID and a brief description of your problem.

To copy a previous application to start a new application, simply follow these steps:

1. Log into your online applicant account
2. Click on 'Apply Now' to apply for a vacancy
3. The system will automatically detect if you have a previous application and will ask you if you would like to copy a previous application.

If you chose to copy an application it will copy across all of the information, except for the ‘Additional Questions’ and ‘Attach Documents’ sections, into your new application. You will need to complete these two sections before submitting your new application.

NB The system will only copy the details within the sections that were previously completed.

If the job is still being advertised, you will find the contact details at the bottom of the job advert:

If the job advert has already closed, and you have submitted/started an application for the role, simply log into your applicant account, open your application and click on 'Job Details' on the left-hand side menu:

The University’s vacancies can be found here. Alternatively, you can search for all vacancies on the Job Search page here.

There are certain circumstances in which we will waive the requirement to apply online, for example, where an applicant has a disability, which prevents them from using our software. Please email recruitment.support@admin.ox.ac.uk for more information about special arrangements which can be made in such cases.

If you require additional technical support with your online application, please contact recruitment.support@admin.ox.ac.uk. 

If you're trying to apply for a job as an internal candidate, please do so via the Internal Job Board in HR Self-Service. If you're trying to log into your applicant account via the University's Jobs page and are having issues, this may be because your account has been moved into HR Self-Service. More information can be found here.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept speculative applications. You can only submit an application for a specific job(s) currently being advertised on our website.

Each Oxford college manages its own recruitment, as each college is a separate employer. Current college vacancies can be viewed online.

Please contact the relevant college with any specific job queries.

Advice on who should provide references for you can be found on the 'How to apply' page, under the heading 'References'.

Please read the advice provided on 'Preparing for your interview' web page.

Please send your comments to recruitment.support@admin.ox.ac.uk. We thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

This is due to the security set-up, to ensure that your details are as safe as they can possibly be. Instead of using the 'Back' button, please follow the navigation structure within the screens. If you do use the ‘Back’ button and receive a web page expired message, press ‘F5’ on your keyboard and click ‘Retry’ to the warning message. This will take you back to the previous page.

Please refer to the University's policy on the retention of personnel records, for details.

If your question isn't answered above, please contact us as follows:

• for technical help, please email recruitment.support@admin.ox.ac.uk
• for questions about a specific job, please contact the recruiting department directly, using the contact details listed in the job advert.