Chapter-6 (Selection)

Selection:
The Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidate for the vacant
position in the organization. In other words, selection means weeding out
unsuitable applicants and selecting those individuals with prerequisite
qualifications and capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization.
  Stages of employee selection
1) Resume screening:
Now that you have wrapped up the application phase of the employee selection
process, you have a collection of resumes or CVs to sift through and filter those
deemed suitable for a screening call. What you’ll need to do now is go through
resumes one by one, whether manually or software-assisted, and identify prime
candidates.This is one of the most traditional employee selection methods to
move candidates to the next step by identifying and disqualifying those who don’t
quite fit what you’re looking for.

There may be hundreds – in some cases, thousands – of applicants

for a single job. There are numerous ways to filter resumes:

 Background:
This is a practical side of the selection process; you’re looking for the background
that qualifies a candidate for the position you want to fill. You’ll want to know if
they have the academic knowledge or professional expertise – or both – to
perform a job well.

For instance:

 If you’re looking to fill an accounting position, someone with an accounting

degree yet with little to no practical work experience might be suitable for a
junior-level position.
 If you’re looking for chef, someone who has already worked at several reputable
restaurants in your area may be a good fit.
  Resume layout:

Even something as simple as the layout of a candidate’s resume can be an

indicator of how qualified they are for a position. The skill of organizing and
presenting information in a clear and concise way is on full display here.

Consider the following examples of how a resume’s layout can offer a quick
demonstration of a candidate’s skill set:

 If you’re looking to fill a creative position – such as graphics or web design – the
resume layout can be a powerful indicator of how well they can design.
 If you’re looking to fill a sales position, the manner in which they present a
resume can show you how they might be able to catch your client’s eye with
important, relevant information to convert them into buyers.
 If you’re looking for a marketing copywriter, the resume shows their ability to
describe things in a tight, concise and engaging manner.

 Cover letter

Similarly to the resume, a candidate’s cover letter gives you an idea of who they
are and what they bring to the role. You’re looking for tightly and smartly written
language that clearly describes what they can bring to the position. Does the
candidate:
 Describe their skills and background in a relevant way to the position being
applied for?
 Show their knowledge of your company and its goals, and how they can
contribute?
 Write in a professional, error-free manner that reflects their ability to
communicate via email and other channels?

 Intangibles

It may initially seem corny to list one’s hobbies and personal interests in a resume,
but even those can be great indicators of the kind of person applying for the role.
For instance:

 “Running” indicates they’re a healthy person and disciplined enough.

 “Volunteering” shows they’re interested in the bigger picture (i.e. your company’s
mission and vision) and can have the empathy that would make them a great
team member.
 “Chess” indicates ability to process complex information in a logical/logarithmic
way, an invaluable skill for a developer position.
 Unconscious bias

 As through every step of the employee selection procedures, you want to

keep your unconscious bias in check.

 For example, during the selection process, watch out for potential biases
including someone’s name, gender, race, age, class, and even academic
background – for instance, just because someone got their MBA from a local
college rather than from Harvard doesn’t necessarily make them less worthy
of a candidate or their MBA degree less impressive.

2) Preliminary Interview: The selection process often begins with a

preliminary interview or screening. This is generally performed by the
members of the HR department. The purpose of this initial screening is to
form a general impression of the applicant. At this stage, factors such as
voice, dress, physical appearance, personal grooming, educational
background, professional training and to a limited extent experience are
observed. This step helps the human resource department screen out the
obvious misfits and gets background information on potential recruits.

3) Selection (Employment/Psychological) Tests: An employment test

is an objective and standardized way to measure a person’s knowledge,
skills and abilities and other characteristics in relation to other individuals.
There is a wide variety of employment tests. Each type has a different
purpose.
 Intelligence Tests: Intelligence as defined by Toplis, et.al. (1991) is the
capacity for abstract thinking and reasoning. So intelligence tests (IQ) are
directed to measure general mental abilities.
 Aptitude Tests: These tests measure a person’s aptitude or potential to
learn or acquire skills for performing the job in question, provided he or
she is given proper training. While there are many types of aptitudes for
which so many tests are available.
 Achievement Tests: An achievement test is also known as proficiency test,
job knowledge test, work samples and job performance test, attainment
test and ability test. Aptitude tests assess a person’s capacity to learn,
whereas achievement tests basically measure what a person has already
learned.
 Interest Tests: The basic assumption of interest tests is that people are
more likely to be successful in jobs they prefer.
 Personality Tests: The characteristics and qualities that are exposed by a
person’s behavior and functioning are regarded as personality.
“Personality is an all-embracing and imprecise term that refers to the
behavior of individuals and the way it is organized and coordinated when
they interact with the environment” (Armstrong. 2001, P. 436).
 Graphology Tests: A graphology test is administered by a trained
graphologist. The graphologist studies an applicant’s handwriting and
signature in order to discover the person’s needs, desires and psychological
makeup.
 Other Tests: Besides the tests mentioned above, many firms may use other
tests as well.
4. Employment (In-depth) Interview: An employment interview (often
referred to as the in-depth interview, the pre-employment interview, the
diagnostic interview, selection interview or the final interview) may be defined as
a procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of
applicants’ oral responses to oral enquiries.

 Different Methods of Interview:

Interviews between the interviewer and the interviewee may be conducted in
several ways. The commonly used methods are:

One-to-One Interview:

A traditional one-on-one job interview is where a person is interviewed by any one

representative of the company. It can be the manager or anyone from the hiring
team. The interviewer wants to know your skills and whether you match the
particular requirement, so he would ask questions related to that.

Group/case Interview:

In a group interview, there may be one or more interviewers but several job
applicants who are questioned together in a group discussion. In group/ case
interview, interviewers provide a case or problem to interviewee to solve.

At the end of such interview, the interviewer comes up with a thorough report on
verbal reasoning skill, presentation and communication skill, commercial
awareness and business skills of the candidate. A case interview can be held singly
or in group of candidates. When a case interview is held in group, the interviewer
also assesses characteristics like leadership, initiative, self-confidence and
persuasiveness. Any interviewer would expect qualities like leadership and
persuasiveness but dominating nature is negatively marked.

Board (Panel) Interview:

In a board interview, one candidate is interviewed by several interviewers. The

panel may consist of various representatives of the company, like the management,
human resources, team leaders and other employees. A company usually conducts
a panel interview to save time and gets good, collective responses from the panel
regarding the candidate.

Telephone or online interview:

Employers use telephone interviews as a method to identify and recruit candidates

for employment. Phone interviews are used to prescreen candidates to narrow
down the pool of candidates for personal interview. Normally, communication
skills are judged on the phone interview, and other typical or behavioral questions
can be asked.

Behavioral Interview:

Behavioral interviewing focuses on a candidate's past experiences by asking

candidates to provide specific examples of how they have demonstrated certain
behaviors, knowledge, skills and abilities.

Behavior-based interviewing (BBI) is used to assess how you have handled

specific employment related situations in your previous job which will help them
evaluate your future performance. The difference between a behavior-based
interview and a traditional job interview is that you are asked to describe, in detail,
how you have dealt with a certain situation in the past that is similar to the ones
you will be encountering in the role you are interviewing for.
Examples of behavioral interview questions:

 "Give me an example of a time you faced a conflict while working on a

team. How did you handle that?"
 "Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was going on,
and how did you get through it?"
 "Describe a time when you saw a problem and took the initiative to correct
it rather than waiting for someone else to do it."

Stress interview:

A stress interview takes place when an interviewer asks intimidating or mildly

uncomfortable questions in hopes of witnessing how a potential employee
performs in a stressful situation. This type of interview gives the hiring team an
opportunity to gauge how a candidate responds to stress.

Dining Interview:

Many times, a company calls the candidate for dining interview. Employers can
review the communication and interpersonal skills along with the table manners in
a relaxed environment.
5. References and Background Check: When the interviewer is satisfied
that the job applicant is potentially qualified, the previously gathered information
(relating to previous employment as well as others provided by the applicant) is
verified by checking the references and other data. Such checking serve one key
purpose- verifying the accuracy of the information pertaining to job-related
educational qualifications and experience provided by the applicants on their
application forms and resumes.

6. Physical/Physiological Examination: Usually, physical examinations take

place before the hiring decision is made. Although physical examinations and drug
testing are controversial and are subject to numerous constraints under human
rights legislation, the selection process in some instances may include these tests.

7. Selection Decision: Choosing the desired candidate(s) from among the

applicants is the last step in the selection process. Deciding which applicant should
be offered the position is the outcome of selection decision.

8. Candidate Notification: Once the hiring decision has been taken, the results
should be made known to the candidates successful and unsuccessful, as soon as
possible.
Importance of the selection process/ Significance of employee
selection in a proper way:

 Proper selection and placement of employees lead to growth and

development of the company. The company can similarly, only be as good
as the capabilities of its employees.

 The hiring of talented and skilled employees results in the swift achievement
of company goals.

 Industrial accidents will drastically reduce in numbers when the right

technical staff is employed for the right jobs.

 When people get jobs they are good at, it creates a sense of satisfaction with
them and thus their work efficiency and quality improves.

 People who are satisfied with their jobs often tend to have high morale
and motivation to perform better.