Recruitment and Selection

EMB602 (Mhb)
 Recruitment and Selection
• Recruitment: process of locating potential
applicants and encouraging them to apply for
existing and anticipated job openings.
 Recruiting Within the Organizations
• Whether a particular job vacancy will be filled
by someone from within the organizations or
from outside depend on:
- the availability of personnel within the
organization
- the organization’s HR policies
- requirement of the job to be staffed
 Recruiting Within the Organizations
Advantages:
• By filling job vacancies above entry level, organizations can
capitalize on the investment it has made in recruiting, selecting,
training and developing its current employees. Most organizations
tries to follow this policy.
• Promotion serves to reward employees for past performance and
intended to encourage them to continue their effort.
• Promotion improves morale of other employees within the
organization.
• While transfer may lack a motivational value of promotion, it
sometime serve to protect employees from separation.
• Transferee’s performance record is likely to be more accurate
predictor than outside candidate.
 Recruiting Within the Organizations
Limitations
• Sometimes middle and upper level jobs that requires
specialized training and experience can not be filled from
within the organization. It is especially common for small and
mid size organization.
• For certain opening, it may be necessary to hire someone
from outside who have gained from another employer the
knowledge and expertise required for the job.
• Prevent inbreeding of ideas and attitudes. Outside candidate
can bring new ideas and latest knowledge. (is it ok?)
• Excessive reliance on internal sources can create “ employee
cloning”
 Recruiting Outside The Organizations
Outside Sources of Recruitment:
• Advertisements
• Unsolicited Applications and Resumes
• Internet Recruiting
• Employee Referrals
• Executive Search Firms
• Private Employment Agencies
• Educational Institutions
• Professional Organizations
• Union (hiring halls for short-term needs)
• Public Employment Agencies
 Matching People and Job
• Selection: The process of choosing individuals with
the relevant qualifications to fill existing and
projected job openings.

• Person-Job Fit: Job specifications helps identify the

individual competencies (KSA) to succeed in the job.

• Person-Organization Fit: Whether the candidate

embrace the values and cultures of the organization
 The Selection Process
• The number of steps in the selection process and their
sequence vary not only with the organization but with the
type and level of the job to be filled.
• A typical selection process:

Hiring Decision
Final Interview
Background Investigation/Medical
Employment Testing
Initial Interview
Preliminary Screening of Application
 Obtaining Reliable Information
• Reliability: degree to which interviews, tests
and other selection procedures yield
comparable data over time and alternative
measures
• Validity: Degree to which a test or selection
procedure measures a person’s attributes
 Sources of Information About Job
Candidate
• Application Forms
• Resume/C.V
• Online Application
• Background Investigations (Reference
checking, Credit report)
• Polygraph Tests
• Graphology
 Employment Tests
• An employment test is an objective and standardized
measure of a sample of behaviour that is used to gauge
person’s knowledge, skills, abilities and other
characteristics (KSAOs) in relation to other individual.

• Aptitude Tests: measure of a person’s capacity to learn

or acquire skills

• Achievement Tests: measures of what a person knows

or can do right now.
Classification of Employment Tests
• Cognitive Ability Tests ( general intelligence, verbal
fluency, numerical ability, reasoning ability)
• Personality and Interest Inventories (measures
disposition and temperament)
• Physical Ability Tests (police, army officers, fire
fighters)
• Job Knowledge Tests
• Work Sample Tests
 Interviewing Methods
Nondirective Interview
• The interviewer carefully refrains from influencing
the applicant’s remark
• Surfaces any information attitudes or feeling that
may often be concealed by more structured
questions.
• Reliability and validity is expected to be minimal
• Used mostly in high level positions
 Interviewing Methods
Structured Interview
• Has a set of standardized questions and a established
set of answers against which applicant responses can
be rated.
• Four types of questions: situational questions, job
knowledge questions, job sample/simulation
questions, worker requirement questions
• The interviewer takes note and documents the
interview for future reference and in case of legal
challenge.
 Structured Interview
Situational interview
• Applicant is given a hypothetical incident and
asked how he or she would respond to it.
• Many organizations use situational interview
to hire new graduates.

• Example??
 Structured Interview
Behavioural Description Interview
• Applicant is asked questions about what he or
she actually did in a given situation
• “Tell me about the last time you handled a
angry customer?”
• Recent research indicates that Behavioural
Interview is more effective than Situational
Interview.
 Interviewing Methods
Panel Interview
• A board of interviewers questions and observes a
single candidate.
• Higher reliability because of multiple inputs, greater
acceptance of the decision, and shorter decision
time.

Computer Interview
Video Interview
Guidelines for Employment Interviews
Findings from Research
• Structured interviews are more reliable than unstructured interviews.
• Interviewers are influenced more by unfavourable than favourable
information
• A bias is established early in the interview, and this tends to be followed
by either favourable or unfavourable decision.
• Interviewer can explain why they feel an applicant is likely to be
unsatisfactory but not why the applicant may be satisfactory.
• Interpersonal skills and motivation are probably best evaluated by the
interview
• Nonverbal as well as verbal interactions influence decisions
 10 Ground Rules for Employment
Interview
• Establish an interview plan
• Establish and maintain rapport
• Be an active listener
• Pay attention to nonverbal cues
• Provide information as freely and honestly as possible
• Use questions effectively
• Separate facts from inferences
• Recognize biases and stereotypes (similar to me, halo error,
contrast error)
• Control the course of interview
• Standardize the questions asked
 Reaching a Selection Decision
• Summarizing information about applicants
• Decision strategy
- highest potential or needs of the organization
- at what grade and wage level (any conflict with
others?)
- should overqualified be considered.
• Final decision
 Class Exercise
1. Recommend steps of your selection process

2. Decide two questions (open ended) for each of the following

category
• Situational questions
• Behavioural description questions

3. What is your desirable answer for which you will rate a

candidate highest?