CHAPTER 3

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

Commerce Department
Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
DPM5A/5B & DSK 5A/5B
Session 1:2021/2022
 Overview of
Recruitment & Selection
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Coursec Discuss the concept of recruitment in
01 organization
ontent 1. Define recruitment in organization
2. Explain the steps involved in recruitment
process
3. Interpret advantages and disadvantages of
internal and external recruitment

Elaborate the concept of selection in

02 organization
1. Define selection in organization
2. Explain the activities involved in selection
process
3. Discuss the most appropriate selection process
based on situational needs.
 RECRUITMENT
- Process of attracting individuals on a timely
basis, in sufficient numbers, and with
appropriate qualifications to apply for jobs with
an organization.
- R. Wayne Mondy-

- Process of attracting suitable people to apply

for job vacancies.
- Maimunah Aminuddin-

Ability will never catch

up with the demand
for it

-Malcolm Forbes-
 The Step Involved In Recruitment Process

b c d e
a Determine
Requirement Evaluate Choose Recruited
from HR types of sources and
alternatives to recruitment individual
planning or recruitment methods of
managers' i. Internal recruitment
requisition recruitment
ii. External
recruitment
 SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

fresh graduate,
pensioner,
Current unemployed,
employee employees of other
company etc

External
Internal

Are current employees who Are potential individuals who

would like to be considered for a might joint an organization to full
vacant position which arises fill a vacant position.
within the organization
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT METHODS
Employee audit or inventory

If the organization has a well manage, up-

to-date system of personnel records, the
human resource officer can check
through employees’ files to identify any
potentially suitable people.

Promotions and Transfers

Upward and lateral movements of employees

Job Posting & Bidding

A system in which the employer
provides notices of job openings and
employees respond by applying.
 METHODS OF RECRUITMENT

Campus Recruiment Exercise Unsolicited applicant files

❖ Educational institutions typically are a ❖ Many employer received unsolicited
source of young applicant with formal applications and resume from
training but relatively little full-time individual who may or may not be
work experience. good prospect for employment
❖ Some employers make regular trips to
these institution at appropriate times
to look for suitable trainees

EXTERNAL
Employee agencies and Search
Employee Referrals
Firm
- The recruitment Internet Recruitment
-Private employment - Internet is the most
efforts of an
agencies and search firm commonly used search
organization can be
operate in most cities. tactic by job seekers and
greatly aided by
These agencies do some recruiters to get word out
employees about
preliminary screening about new position.
potential
and put organization
candidates.
touch with applicant.
Campus recruitment exercise
• Educational institutions typically are a source of young applicants
with formal training but relatively little full-time work experience.
• Vocational schools, institutes of technology and universities all
provide a service to both students and employers by posting notice of
vacancies and setting up interviews for students about to graduate.
• Some employers make regular trips to these schools at appropriate
times to look for suitable trainees.
• For jobs where it is difficult to get people with the right skills, an
organization may offer scholarships to students undergoing training
and required to work with the company for a certain number of years.
Employee referrals
• The recruitment efforts of an organization can be greatly aided by
employee referrals or recommendations from the firm’s current
employees about potential candidates.
• In fact, word of mouth recommendation s are the way most job
positions are filled.
• By informing prospective workers of the existence of vacancies, a
source of applicants can be tapped at minimal cost.
• Employees recruited in this manner tend to become productive in a
relatively short time as they are comfortable in the organizational
with their ‘sponsor’ on hand to help them settle in.
Employment agencies and search firm
• Private employment agencies and search firm operate in most cities.
For a fee collected from either the employee or the employer, these
agencies do some preliminary screening and put the organization in
touch with applicant.
• Private employment agencies differ considerably in the level of
service, costs, policies, and types of applicant they provide.
• Employers can reduce the range of possible problems from these
source by giving job description and specification on jobs to be filled.
Unsolicited applicant and resume
• Many employers receive unsolicited applications and resume from
individual who may or may not be good prospect for employment.
• At the time they contact the organization, there may not be any
suitable vacancies but shortly after, a job may be available.
• These applicants can be contacted to see if they are still interested in
the job.
• The percentage of acceptable applicants from this source generally is
not high, it is a source that cannot be ignored.
Internet recruiting
• Internet is the most commonly used search tactic by job seekers and
recruiters to get word out about new position.

• Information on available vacancies can be placed on the site at almost

no cost.

• Major of the companies use their website to attract applicant.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal
and External Recruiting Sources
SELECTION
THE SELECTION PROCESS

“Selecting qualified employed is like

putting money in the bank”
 DEFINE SELECTION

▪ Selections involves choosing the most suitable candidate

from among a group of applicants. (Maimunah
Aminuddin,2011)

▪ Process of selecting the best or most qualified from a group

of applicants to fill a vacancy in an organization.

▪ Robert L. Mathis, John H. Jackson (2004), selection is

the process of choosing individuals who have needed
qualifications to fill jobs in an organization.
Steps in the selection process

1 Preliminary screening

2 Review of application form & resume

3 Selection test

4 Employment interview

5 Background &reference check

Selection decision or supervisory approval
6
Medical examination
7
Employed individual
8
Preliminary screening

• The sources of information which can be used to compare applicants and

see whether they match the position specification are:-
➢ application forms and curriculum vitae (CV)/ biodata/ resume
➢ reference checks
➢ tests
➢ interviews
➢ assessment centre activities
Review of application form and resume

▪ Most organizations require application forms to be completed because they provide

a fairly quick and systematic means of obtaining a variety of information about the
applicant.

▪ These documents will vary in style and content, which makes the process of checking
through them to find qualified candidates time-consuming and difficult.

▪ Application forms should be customized for different jobs and include only questions
relevant to determining whether the applicant is suitable for the job.

▪ Application forms serve several purposes. They provide information for deciding
whether an applicant meets the minimum requirements for experience, education
and so on.
Selection test

(i) Cognitive test

▪ Cognitive tests measure a person’s capacity to learn or acquire skills.

▪ Cognitive ability tests measure mental capabilities such as general
intelligence, verbal fluency, numerical ability and reasoning ability.
▪ Cognitive ability test can be develop to measure very specialized areas
such as reading comprehension and spatial relations, many experts
believe that the validity of cognitive ability test simply reflects their
connection to general intelligence.
▪ However, measures of general intelligence such as IQ have been shown
to be good predictors of performance across a wide variety of jobs.
(ii) Physical ability test

▪ In addition to learning about a job candidate’s mental capabilities,

employers frequently need to assess a person’s physical abilities.
▪ Particularly for demanding and potentially dangerous jobs such as
those held by firefighters and police officers, physical abilities such
as strength and endurance tend to be good predictors not only of
performance, but also of accidents and injuries.
▪ Physical ability test must be cautiously.
▪ Requirements for physical characteristics such as strength, agility,
height and weight were often determined by an employer’s
invalidated notion of what should be required
(iii) Work sample test

▪ Work sample test required the applicant to perform task that are
actually apart of the work required on the job.
▪ Like job knowledge test, work sample test are constructed from a
carefully developed outline that experts agree includes the major
job functions.
▪ Work samples have been devised for many diverse jobs: a map
reading test for traffic control officers, a lathe test for machine
operators.
(iv) Personality test

▪ Test that assess an individual’s characteristics such as

characteristics such as ‘friendly/sociable, ‘cooperative/able to
work in a team’ and ‘assertive/ firm’.
EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW

The employment interview is the most widely used method of

gathering information about job applicants.
It would be very rare for an employer to employ a person
without first having interviewed.
The interview is the most popular method probably because
many people believe that is possible to assess a person’s
character and abilities by meeting and talking to applicant
 Background and Reference Checks

➢ Organizations check the references of employees in a number of ways.

➢ Telephone checks are preferable because they save time and provide for
greater feedback but references via faxes, mail and e-mail also used.
➢ A better practise is to require applicants to provide names of referees.
➢ References are of so little value that they should only be used when
essential requirement for the job is an honest, non-criminal background.
 Selection Decision/ Supervisory Approval

• After interview have been completed, the committee will meet to

discuss the interviews

• Committee members will need to access the extent to which each

one met their selection criteria

• Evaluation tool to helpful in justifying decisions

• Make sure the decision is non-discriminatory, complies with

provincial & federal laws and hiring policies
Medical Examination

▪ Medical test is generally given to ensure that the health of

applicant is adequate to meet the job requirements.
▪ Nel et al. (2004) 5 reasons why employers require job seekers
to undergo a medical examination. These are:-
 To ensure that the applicant qualifies for the physical requirements of
the position discover any medical limitations of the applicant’s
 To establish a record and baseline of the applicant’s health
 To reduce absenteeism and accidents by identifying health problems
 To detect communicable diseases that may be unknown to the
applicant.
Employed Individual

▪ When a choice has been made, the selected candidate must

be contacted and offered the job.
▪ Preparing a letter of offer should not be delayed to forestall
the best candidates from being offered a job elsewhere.
▪ Most organizations will not want to send out a letter of
rejection to them straight away in case the chosen candidate
turns down the job offer in which situation the second on the
list will have to be contacted
 Job interview process
Planning the
interview
Establishing
rapport
Conduct
interview

Close

Evaluation
Conducting the interview

Ask questions and listen to the

answers
Interviewers should be able to assess
the candidates from the information
gathered.
Interviewers avoids stress techniques,
establish the report, ask the right
questions and listens carefully to the
answers.
After the interview

[Link] the applicants

[Link] choice of candidate.
[Link] applicants will rejected outright at this stage
Types of job interview

Types of job
interview

Structured Unstructured
interview interview
Structured interview

 Use fixed questions designed to assess specific

job-related attributes.

 More reliable and valid than unstructured ones.

 Best for determining organizational fit, motivation

and interpersonal skills.

 Especially useful for high-turnover jobs and less

routine ones.
Structured interview
▪ Ask the same questions-ensures fairness

▪ Interviewer listens (80/20 Rule)

▪ Candidate spends time relating past experiences

▪ Questions about desired competencies are the main

focus

▪ Candidates give specific, verifiable data

▪ Decision is based on the presence or absence of

specific competencies
Unstructured interview

▪ An unstructured interview has a topic area to be

explored but what gets covered is left up to the
respondent.

▪ An opening question might introduce the topic, I’d

like to get your perspective about the Ambassador
program. What would you like to tell me about it?

▪ Doesn’t require much planning

▪ Questions not prepared

Unstructured interview
▪ Interviewer relies on social skills to gain
information

▪ Interviewer tries to sell position

▪ Candidates tries to sell self and talks about

theory

▪ Resume is the main focus

▪ Decisions are based on intuition rather than

evidence of job-related skills
 Final Thoughts: Excelling at
the Interview
▪ Suggestions for making your interviews as
an applicant successful are:
 Do some homework on the company.
 Get a good night’s rest the night before.
 Dress appropriately.
 Arrive for the interview a few minutes early.
 Use a firm handshake.
 Maintain good eye contact.
 Take the opportunity to have practice
interviews.
 Thank the interviewer at the end of the
interview and follow up with a thank you note.