Realistic Job Previews are often described as a way for candidates to de-select themselves
from the recruitment and selection process. What are the advantages of this selection method
for the employer and potential employee alike?
Accepting the employment for a new job is becoming a crucial decision for everyone. Employee
faces or experience different hesitation after giving a perfect interviews for a new job in the
organization. The kind of hesitation which they experience is, “what if the actual job doesn’t
matched or fit with the interview leads on”.[ CITATION Mit18 \l 1033 ]. Due to the shortage of time
during the interview, most of the time employer have not enough time to explain the bad and
good aspect of the job in order to provide the candidate a richer or detailed description about the
Job and organization to make them perfect-match. [ CITATION Sak17 \l 1033 ]
There is tool in recruiting and selection process which can help both employee and employee
experience a good enough after accepting the job offer in the process of Selection, which is
named as “Realistic Job Preview”[ CITATION Lin18 \l 1033 ]. Realistic job preview name reflects
the meaning of its self, Realistic Job Preview consists of the both positive as well as negative
information about the position for which employee hired in order to make them aware about the
realistic view of employment with company.[ CITATION Jen \l 1033 ]
Many of the companies believe the importance and use of realistic job preview in finding an
ideal candidate for the organization with low level of turnover within the organization. on
Realistic Job preview many studies/research are done. One of research was made on the effect of
realistic job preview on the employee satisfaction and Employee expectation. [ CITATION Sar16 \l
1033 ]. This research mainly focuses on the relationship between the realistic job preview with
the employee’s satisfaction and employee expectations. Different survey has been used in this
research, there are different methods/tool used in this research to draw a conclusion such as
Anova Table and Correlation Co-efficient. The result indicate the positive relationship between
the realistic information which is being provided during the selection process and employees
satisfaction.
Realistic Job previous is not just only used in recruiting new employees on board, but also it is
useful when promoting any employee to the next level such as manager level. Most the time
considers promotion as a career advancement or growth within organization. [ CITATION BEN19 \l
1033 ]. No Doubt potential employee are promoted to next level of management but after
promotion most of the employee don’t handle their new responsibilities and duties. And the final
result would be ineffectiveness and less-productivity in their key role just because of the not
knowing the realistic view of new role in management. That’s why it is important for an
organization to make informal discussion with its employee which is going to be promoted and
both kind of information such negative as well as positive data is being discussed. [ CITATION
BEN19 \l 1033 ]
The process which is being used globally in order to develop the Realistic Job preview which
consist of both information negative as well as positive which are very important for the
candidate to analyze the job nature then make a decision regarding offer. Initial stage of this
process consists of the gathering of all information related to the job, after gathering every
information Job Description as well as Job specifications are being made. After this phase of
development all those unique characteristic are incorporated into the RJP. Which include all
working conditions, Risk related to Job, and other unique information of which candidate are
unaware. This phase of development is very important because all the information will is
provided through the RJP is unique and hidden on which basis candidate decides to accept the
offer letter/employment. [ CITATION Rea1 \l 1033 ]
Using the perspective of Cost/Benefits analysis, it is beneficial for any employer or organization
to explain a realistic view to the candidate either during the interviews or any formal meeting.
Using the realistic job preview will give an organization an ideal candidate, will save the cost of
hiring, selection and start-up cost.[ CITATION Ank08 \l 1033 ]. The realistic Job Preview will save
the time for recruiting managers, in the phase of final selection number of applicant will be
reduced and overall it would increase the retention among the newly hired candidates. [ CITATION
The \l 1033 ]. The information which is provided by the organization to the candidate ay include
the salary or pay, working conditions, culture of organization, time(late sittings), schedule
flexibility, related pressure, [ CITATION Mit18 \l 1033 ]physical environment, priority to job. These
are the most important elements which are to be disseminated to the employee which is going to
join an organization.[ CITATION MBA16 \l 1033 ]
RJP is being used since 1950s and now globally used by the recruiting companies as well as
recruiter within the organization. As per the U.S bureau of labor statistics, these turnover rate can
be reached to almost 75% annually in these industry. Today every employer is using realistic job
preview in order to save the cost and time related to the selection process and retain its
employees[ CITATION Mic12 \l 1033 ]. The objective of realistic job preview is not only to find an
ideal or best candidate for the job but also finding the match between organizational needs as
well as person who is applying for a job. Realistic Job Preview will help employers/organization
to push the best among all applicant while present from the wastage of time on those candidate
who don’t fit with organizational/Job related need.[ CITATION Mit18 \l 1033 ].
There has been reasserted done on the origin of the realistic job preview and its future
recommendation are also identified. The main purpose of that research was to present the
historical understanding of Realistic Job Preview in the Recruiting process.[ CITATION Joh14 \l
1033 ]. This study/paper main focus is to define the importance of realistic job preview and create
attention and interest towards this recruiting tool. This also define and describe the all those
limitation of RJP in the areas of phase of development, phase of presentation and in last phase of
implementation. As well as all those available alternative of RJP. The paper most importantly
defines and recommend the coming changes in future in RJP and also suggest the combination of
both RJP and ELP method in recruiting. [ CITATION Joh14 \l 1033 ].
There are number of method through which the realistic job preview is being conducted and
disseminated to either newcomer or potential employee which is being promoted to next level in
management. There all have their own pros and cons. [ CITATION Pra \l 1033 ]. One of the most
common method is Pre-application preview, information is available to the candidate who are
interested in any posted job. This happen when any organization call any candidate which meets
the criteria. The realistic information which is provided is pay scale, working hours, benefits,
responsibilities and role etc. another method is Booklets, these could be varying sophisticated,
but include both positive as well as negative information. The material could be the picture or
albums compiled by the employees working at organization or glossy organization broachers etc.
[ CITATION Rec \l 1033 ] . The most effective method for Realistic job preview is to use a
Structured Observation, in this method employee is giving chance to observe the view of job at
SITE. During the observation current employee and observer interact with each other for the
concept of work and all about the information needed for the observer. Another effective method
is Group Realistic Job Preview, all potential employee who are interested in job are divided
into 3 to 4 member of group, all the information is provided to each group and question/answers
are being made after all applicant which are remained in the group are being scheduled for the
interview.
Finding a dream job is crucial, according to research conducted, many were only expecting
something better about their existing professions or careers. They were striving to improve their
careers. About the same proportion agreed on the job they did to be somewhat optimistic is
prime challenge as they were not satisfied. These all things were before the concept of realistic
job preview, after implementation of realistic job preview applicants or employees have got
advantage of finding their dream job. [ CITATION Ell17 \l 1033 ]
Candidates with aspirations and dreams are concerned about their job and when they are not
getting enough information from concerned employer, they somehow get disheartened and this
mismatch leads to job dissatisfaction and less of commitment. Realistic job previews provide
candidate with the positive and negative aspects of the company and hence it will help
employees to understand their workplace more clearly. [ CITATION MKS13 \l 1033 ]They have then
distinction to choose that whether they fit in or not. When company provide realistic job
previews, employee feels belonging to the company and also they feel satisfaction working over
there. They have got aspects of their career growth, they can assume their position in the
company after a long time period and they feel committed to the organization as it gives them
feel of honesty and integrity. [ CITATION BBo14 \l 1033 ]
During the recruitment process, applicants have a broader sense of a position. They have realistic
expectations of jobs and a greater loyalty to the organization. They respond more efficiently to
the duties of the job. They have proper knowledge of cultural dimension that’s why they don’t
like to do a cultural clash. They have positive attitude towards organization, and it gives them
pleasure working with the team. They seem to end less often, and work for organization for
longer time period, possibly due to increased quality of work life. [ CITATION Bre16 \l 1033 ] . After
all, it's pretty important that new hires know what they're looking at when they take a new job.
Applicants who are not involved in that level of work will exit the interview process earlier by
being upfront about concerns and specifications. This allows you to push through the best
applicants while keeping you from wasting time on applicants who do not match your
requirements. [ CITATION Bei13 \l 1033 ]
Most of employees feels disengaged, about as much share indicated they planned to pursue a
dream job or management experience. Now as companies are providing realistic job preview
most of them feel related to other employees and create a support system or network for their
convenience. A realistic job preview offers workers the advantage of knowing the full essence of
the job, the organization and the company's economic prospects. The professionals may have
sufficient understanding of the job and does not check for replacements. The employees can
understand the complexity and the advantages and disadvantages of the job. They function better
than the candidates who have earned exaggerated data.[ CITATION Had12 \l 1033 ]
Jobs seekers would like to know about both the organization as well as the position of the role,
particularly what past and present staff have to say. This knowledge can be difficult to access,
particularly because you do not know anyone who has worked or works there. Not suddenly,
insider information is difficult to obtain. While the career boards and job-oriented blogs of today
give some visibility into the enterprise and its working environment, indeed gives greater
visibility through the organization engages. If company itself provide information in realistic job
previews, it will cater the loyalty of employees well. The person, knowing exactly how to deal,
takes up the task. This greatly decreases work-related conflicts and hence prevents the employee
from being too overwhelmed. If a Realistic Job Preview is published, the applicants only apply if
they recognize that they will fulfill the requirements and take an educated decision. [ CITATION
Phi11 \l 1033 ]
Along with employee, employers also has advantages of realistic job previews. Recruitment or
hiring is a very lengthy process for employers too, and it consume their efforts, time and money.
As the work preview explicitly outlines the corresponding negative facets of the position, no
uncertain discomfort is encountered by the new employees. Taking up a career recognizing that
on unpredictable shifts he is supposed to work. So he is not stressed by working extra or
overtime hours and he would not think leaving of the company for the same thing. The skilled
workforce that applies is well informed of the work and turnover is poor by giving a Realistic
Job Preview. Thus, the cost of poor recruit is lowered. The individual views the organization's
Realistic Job Preview as an expression of integrity. The confidence of the employment contract
thus increases, thereby enhancing the employee's corporate citizenship actions. [ CITATION Jen16 \l
1033 ]
Realistic job previews provide a significant glimpse into the Recruitment process from the
viewpoint of the company. Retaining decent folk and enhancing the competence of its workers is
important. Production can be improved if Realistic Job Preview is able to keep the talented with
happiness. As they reveal the entire detail to the applicant, it builds a positive reputation. It is
another aspect that might enable the employees to cooperate for them might really be productive
for company. [ CITATION Vul18 \l 1033 ]
The standard of applications will improve, while decrease the occurrence of applicants. This
implies that as there is a greater fit between the employee and the work, people will become
more conscious of the job and more prepared to continue the job. This is presumably attributed
to reduced standards, one of the established implications of being subjected to a realistic job
preview. It is a big disappointment to waste time in applying for a position that will not fit,
although having a better understanding of such a job you want will just make applicants more
enthusiastic. As such, the realistic job preview is expected to have a positive effect on the
background of candidates.
Data suggests that employees are more loyal to the organization, who have had a practical career
preview. It is because they explain what's going on, have a clearer view of the firm's social
traditions, and the challenges that employees encounter. This might be more obvious-people
would be more comfortable when hopes equal practice. Employees who already have a realistic
job preview have healthier expectations regarding their chosen career, and would be more loyal
to the organization only as result. Likewise, employees tend to do well because of greater
satisfaction, loyalty to the organization, and compliance with the expectations of the work.
Therefore, while the practical work projection is likely to decrease the number of candidates,
their efficiency will be higher and their contribution to the enterprise productivity and
commitment to stay, would also be higher once they reach the firm. In the human nature, having
a practical glimpse of the work is often likely to improve the experience of the candidate.
[ CITATION Dea12 \l 1033 ]
Realistic job preview is a way to find a real and effective job for an employee, meanwhile, it
becomes an integral part for the employer to find a suitable candidate for its organization. It
gives advantage to both parties to choose wisely for their betterment. Employee work at
organization with loyalty and commitment as he or she has received an honest preview of job in
the form of realistic job preview. At the same time, it adds value for the organization to find a
candidate with the honesty and commitment. It provides benefit to the organization in the form
of productivity, low attrition ratio and increased profitability.
Pros and Cons for RJP:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
During the recruitment process, applicants May lead to the bad impression on a Job as
have a broader sense of a position. They have well company.
realistic expectations of jobs and a greater
loyalty to the organization.
Respond more efficiently to the duties of the Working conditions changes with the time
job. too time consuming as well as costly
Have proper knowledge of cultural dimension RJP doesn’t analyze the expectations of the
that’s why they don’t like to do a cultural candidate. Only focuses on Job preview.
clash.
For Employers, the cost of poor recruit is Time and cost related to RJP
lowered
The confidence of the employment contract
thus increases, thereby enhancing the
employee's corporate citizenship actions
Greater fit between the employee and the
work
This greatly decreases work-related conflicts
and hence prevents the employee from being
too overwhelmed.
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