Recruitment and Selection

Job description- Written description of what the job involves

• Formal title
• Main purpose
• Main duties
• Occasional duties
• Who they will report to 
• Who they will be responsible for
• Full time (more expensive but always available) or part time (less expensive but better rested and more motivated)

Person specification- qualities a candidate needs for the job

• Qualifications
• Experience
• Skills
• Attitudes

Criteria either essential (qualities candidate must have) or desirable (ideal qualities)

Internal Recruitment

• Company intranet/email to all staff
• Staff noticeboard

External Recruitment

• Company website
• Head hunter/recruitment agency
• Job centre
• Local newspaper
• National newspaper
• Radio
• Recruitment website
• Specialist/trade magazines and journals

Internal Recruitment

• Advantages
  • Everyone in the company can access it -> may motivate harder work
  • Company already know about candidate
• Disadvantages
  • Doesn't bring any new people or ideas into the company
  • Creates another vacancy elsewhere in the company
  • Seen by lots of uninterested or underqualified staff
  • Could cause resentment within workforce
  • Company feels obliged to interview all applicants

External Recruitment

• Advantages
  • Larger pool of candidates
  • Can usually target a specific audience
  • New people and ideas brought into the company
• Disadvantages
  • Expensive and time consuming
  • Need to gain information on candidate

1. Needs analysis
2. Prepare job description
3. Prepare person specification
4. Advertise vacancy
5. Send out application forms and job descriptions
6. Applicants return application forms with CV
7. Shortlist applicants
8. Invite shortlisted applicants to interview
9. Interview candidates
10. Offer job to successful candidate
11. Send contract of employment to successful applicant
12. Organise induction programme for new employee's first day
13. Provide training to new employee

• Decide which candidates meet the person specification
• Letter of application
  • Writes about oneself
  • Shows personality and written communication skills
  • Can take a long time to read
• CV
  • Summary of skills, qualifications, details, and interests
  • Standard format for basic facts
• Application form
  • Designed by firm and filled in by applicant
  • Information needed by firm and no more
  • Quicker- no need to filter out irrelevant info

Shortlisted candidates are often asked for references- statements about the candidate's character by someone who knows them (most likely previous line manager). Usually confidential

• Shortlisted candidates interviewed by manager
• Panel interviews for more senior jobs (2+ interviewers)
• Questions should be:
  • The same for all candidates so is fair
  • Relevant to the job so they cannot unfairly discriminate
• Used to assess:
  • Confidence
  • Social and verbal skills
  • Whether they would be compatible with existing workers
  • General attitude
• Disadvantages
  • People don't behave naturally in a formal interview
  • Skills in an interview are often different to those needed to do a job

Skills tests or in-tray exercises
Test whether candidate has the abilities to do the job

Aptitude tests
Test whether candidate has the potential to learn how to do the job

Personality tests
E.g handwriting analysis- to assess the candidate's personal qualities

Group tests
Test whether the candidate can work as part of a team
Test whether the candidate has good leadership and decision-making skills

Some firms (usually large firms recruiting for highly paid jobs) hire recruitment consultants, but these are expensive.