Search the University of Oxford website or search for undergraduate courses (first degrees) or graduate courses (after your first degree).
Answers to frequently asked questions about the Oxford University job application process.
Find answers to common questions and queries on this page, including troubleshooting.
If your query is not answered, contact the hiring department or faculty listed on the job advert.
Click the 'Login' link on the left-hand side of the Job Search page. Enter your email address and password and click the 'Login' button.
If you have not registered or applied for an Oxford University role before, please follow the guidance on how to apply, found here.
If you're applying 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, find out more here.
1. Go to the 'Login' page and enter the email address you used to register for your applicant account.
2. Click on the 'Forgotten Password' link. A new temporary password will be sent to your registered email address. Please allow up to 15 minutes for this email to arrive.
3. Log in using the temporary password and you will be prompted to set a new password for your account.
To update your email, log into your applicant account, go to 'My Account', and enter the new email.
We advise that you inform the recruiting department (via email) about this change, to ensure they use the right email address for any future communications about your application.
Please contact the hiring department/faculty with any job questions.
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, log into your applicant account, open your application and click on 'Job Details' on the left-hand side menu.
Please follow the instructions on how to apply on the University Jobs website.
Existing staff: Existing University staff should apply via the Internal Job Board in HR Self-Service.
In most cases, the outcome of your job application(s) will be sent from a generic email address. To prevent these emails from filtering into your junk folder, please add [email protected] to your email provider's 'Safe senders list' (or equivalent).
Refer to the ‘How to apply’ section of the Job Description, which will confirm which documents need to be uploaded as part of your application.
When creating your CV/ completing the application, it is useful to have the following information to hand:
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.
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, which takes you to the Application Checklist page.
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 possible to make any amendments.
In exceptional cases, the hiring department/faculty 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/faculty 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/faculty directly with a request to withdraw your application. Please use the following email Subject line: "Request to withdraw application for vacancy ID: [Enter vacancy ID]."
Ensure you only upload the requested documents in the ‘How to apply’ section of the Job Description.
To avoid issues, please upload all files in PDF format. However, the system also accepts: .doc, .docx, .txt, .xlsx and .rtf. No other file types will be accepted. Ensure for .doc and .docx file types:
A maximum of five files, each up to 4MB, with file names up to 25 characters, are allowed.
If none of the steps above resolve your issue, contact our technical Recruitment Support team. Please include a screenshot of the error message, if possible, and attach your files, for a faster resolution.
Common causes include:
If the problem persists contact our Technical Recruitment Support team, including your name, vacancy ID and a brief description of the issue.
If you encounter a 'specified URL cannot be found' error, check for brackets in your text and remove them. If the issue persists, contact our Technical Recruitment Support team. Include your name, vacancy ID, and a brief description of the problem.
To copy a previous application to start a new application, simply follow these steps:
This will copy all the information, except for the ‘Additional Questions’ and ‘Attach Documents’ sections. 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.
We aim to email all applicants on the outcome of their job application. As each department is responsible for its own recruitment processes, the turnaround times for this will vary. Please address queries regarding this directly to the recruiting department.
Due to recent measures by Google and Yahoo to tackle spam and fraud, emails from our Recruitment system might be rejected or filtered into Junk/Spam folders. To help ensure you receive our emails, add [email protected] to your email provider's 'Safe senders list' (or equivalent). If you're expecting an email from us and haven't received this, please contact the recruiting department directly.
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.
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.
To view a printable summary, click the 'Printer Friendly' button on the Application Checklist page. This will open in a new window, which you can print as a standard web page (usually in the 'File' menu > 'Print', or using a shortcut: Ctrl+P in Windows, or Command+P on a Mac).
Once finished, close the window to return to your application.
The University’s jobs can be found on our jobs page. Alternatively, you can search for all jobs on the Job Search page.
Existing University staff: you can browse jobs, including internal-only vacancies, via your HR Self-Service account.
To set up new vacancy email notifications you must first register for an applicant account. Once logged into your account, navigate to 'My Account' on the left-hand side menu and scroll down to 'E-mail notifications'. Select your options as relevant, following the on-screen instructions, and click 'Save'.
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 contact the hiring department/faculty directly to discuss alternative options.
If you're an existing University staff member, please apply 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.
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.
How to submit feedback:
Thank you for taking the time to share your valuable feedback with us.
This is due to the security setup of the software. 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.
We undertake regular data clearing exercises of recruitment data. For this reason, your previous applications might not be available upon your next login. Please refer to the University's policy on the retention of personnel records.
If your question isn't answered above, please contact us as follows:
