CHAPTER 7

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Early Stage of the Selection System

Behind every successful business, there are always outstanding employees who are making
the firm more productive and efficient .A number of characteristics of the organization can
influence the amount and type of screening and selection processes it uses to hire needed
employees. Size, complexity, and technological are a few these. One of the biggest problem
many startups face is finding qualified ,motivated staff to fuel growth and product
development .Work for a start-up is a risk , and it’s one that many professionals are quite
understandably concerned about .Effective employee screening is a critical component of a
successful organization .The success of the company always depends on the people working
inside the organization ,regardless of what positions; the employee’s plays a vital part to the
effectiveness of the company .Through effective selection ,the organization can maximize the
probability that its new employees will have the necessary KSA’s to do the jobs they were hire to
do.

A small team of a top-level people with specific skill sets and the smart, required for success
will outperform a large team.Employees’personal characteristics directly affect the internal and
external environment of the organization, it helps manager to understand different behaviors
towards employee’s morale. Founders have a variety of ways to make the process of working for
their start-up less risky.
One of the most effective and popular ways is by offering equity to early stage employees.
Staffing is probably one of the most important tasks for any business.
Details for each step include the minimum recommended best practice to attract a talented
and diverse applicant pool.

Step 1 :Identify Vacancy and Evaluate Need -- recruitment provide opportunities to

departments to align staff skill sets to initiatives and goals ,and for department and individual
growth .Proper planning and evaluation of the need will lead to hiring the right person for role
and team that will help the company .
Step 2: Develop Position Develop Description – A position description is the core of a
successful recruitment process. It is used to develop interview questions; interview evaluations
and reference check questions.
Step 3: Develop Recruitment Plan -- each position requires a documented Recruitment Plan,
which is approved by the organizational unit. A carefully structured recruitment plan maps outs
the strategy for attracting and hiring the best qualified candidate and helps to ensure an applicant
pool.
Recruitment plan elements:
a. Posting Period
b. Placement Goals
c. Additional Advertising Resources
d. Diversity Agencies
e. Resume Banks
Step 4: Select Search Committee – To ensure applicants selected for interview and final
consideration are evaluated by more than one individual to minimize the potential for personal
bias, a selection committee is formed.
Step 5: Post Position and Implement Recruitment Plan - The hiring manager will now
consolidate all the necessary details of the job posting and will be ready for possible changes.
Step 6: Review Applicants and Develop Short List – Applicants are those who apply during
the initial application period as described in Step 5.
Step 7: Conduct Interview – the interview is the single most important step in the screening
process. It is the opportunity for the employer and prospective employee to learn more about and
validate information provided by both.
Step 8: Select Hire – once the interviews has been completed, the committee will meet to
discuss the interviewees. The members will need to assess the extent to which each one met their
screening criteria.
Step 9: Finalize Recruitment – the final and last stage of the screening process.
Environmental Circumstances Influencing Selection
Internal environment
Since the development and implementation of large – scale selection efforts can be very
costly, complex selection system can be very costly, complex selection systems are most often
found in larger organizations with the economic resources necessary to pay such systems.
External environment
The external environment is an equally important determinant of the screening system
that an organization utilizes. One of the most significant environment influences on selection is
the size, composition, and availability of local labor markets.

Screening strategies for HR

 Screening is the process of choosing a qualified person for specific role who can
successfully deliver valuable contributions to the organizations.
1. Multistage Selection Strategy – this combines a number of assessment tools as part of
the process. The human resources department is responsible for validating each
assessment tool and ensuring that it is legitimately related to the requirements of the open
position.
Examples of diff. stages in a MSS:
a. Personality tests
b. Skills tests
c. Interview and sample work performance
This strategy is paired with either a conjunctive or compensatory strategy.
2. Compensation selection strategy – this methods administers all assessment tools to
applicants at the same time, or at least all of them are administered before a candidate is
eliminated or selected.
Here are some steps for the selection system:
1. Preliminary interview – the purpose of this is basically to eliminate unqualified
applications based on information supplied in application forms.
2. Selection test – jobseekers who passed the preliminary interview are called for tests.
3. Employment Interview – in this step, interview is a formal and in- depth conversation
between applicants acceptability.
4. Reference and background checks – these are conducted to verify the information
provided by the candidates.
5. Selection decisions – after obtaining all the information, the most critical step is the
selection decision is to be made.
6. Physical examination – after the selection decision is made; the candidate is required to
undergo physical fitness test.
7. Job offer – job offer is the next step in selection process to those applicants who have
crossed all the previous hurdles.
8. Final selection
How to interview Job candidate
a. Preparation
1. Schedule interviews with all the candidates that meet the minimum qualification.
2. When inviting them for an interview, also send them job description.
b. Use multiple interviews per interview
1. Consider having multiple people at the interview.
Questions to Pose during Interview
1. Don’t rely on your memory.
2. While interviewing candidates, always apple the same questions to all candidates.
 3. All questions should be primarily regard to performing the duties of the job.
4. Ask open – ended questions and try to avoid questions answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
5. Consider asking some rather thought-provoking and challenging questions.
6. Talk for at most 25% of the tie – listen for the rest
7. If it is clear that the candidate is not suitable for the job, then ‘sell’ the organization.
Administrative/ Human Resource Questions
1. Ask the candidate about what he/she expects for compensation and benefits.
2. Find out when candidate can start work, if offered the job.
3. Explain to the candidate when you will be getting back to the person.
4. Ask if you can get, and check any references from the candidates previous job.
5. Be sure to tell candidates of any relevant conditions from your personnel policies.

Type of Screening Methods

1. Short screening method
This is designed to screen applicants for a final interview. The purpose of this is
to clarify information on the resume and better assess an applicant’s qualification
to “short list” a large stock of resume. It might be conducted by phone and
typically last to ten to twenty minutes.
2. Work sample
This is designed to measure the applicants skills and necessary upon the entry into
job. Applicants are require to demonstrate a particular skill, for example,
composing a business letter. The requested work sample should reproduce
important tasks or work behaviors needed to perform the job.
3. Tests
This selection technique consists of a written and/or proficiency assessment of the
applicant’s knowledge, skills and abilities. This method is not traditionally used in
the screening of faculty and non- faculty exempt employees.
Assessment Center
Assessment center is used to determine a candidate’s qualifications for particular
position. Individual and group exercises are administered under standardized conditions, which
accumulate skills and abilities most essential for the successful performance.
Assessment center exercises include but are not limited to;
a. Oral Presentation exercise. Candidates give an oral presentation in which they must
defend their positions and recommendations on a specific issue.
b. In basket Exercise. This consists of variety of memos, letters, and documents of varying
importance that the candidates respond to and prioritize.
c. Leaderless Group Discussion. Candidates are given specific problem in which they are
instructed to try and reach a group concensus within a specified amount of time.
 d. Role-play Exercise. Candidates deal with an employee, irate citizen, or member of the
community. This exercise measures such skills as communication, problem solving, and
interpersonal skills.
e. Written report/Analysis Exercise. Candidates are presented with a job- related topic
and are instructed to write a report, position statement, or outline of new policy.
Legal Implications
At every stage of the hiring process, employers must be careful not to illegally
discriminate against applicants for the position.
A. Race or color discrimination
The term race refers to the categorization of people into populations on the basis
of various sets of heritable characteristics. The physical features commonly seen
as indicating race are salient visual traits such as skin color. It is unlawful for the
company to discriminate against person looking for a job on ground of race and
color.
B. Ethnicity or national origin discriminate.
National origin discrimination is a type of discrimination that includes
discrimination because a person comes from a particular country or former country, for
example, Albania. Sometimes ethnic discrimination includes group of people with
common language, culture, and with similar social characteristics.
C. Sex or gender discrimination.
It is unlawful to discriminate against workers because of their gender. Sexual
discrimination can arise during the recruitment process when for example an employer did not
hire somebody instead hired somebody else based pm his or her gender. Moreover the amount of
money offered from the employer also based on the gender. For example, sex discrimination will
occur when during the recruitment process the employers select a man with lower skills instead a
woman with higher skills.
D. Pregnancy discrimination.
It is unlawful to discriminate against pregnant women. An employer cannot
refuse to hire pregnant woman because of her pregnancy. An employer cannot refuse to
hire someone because she is pregnant or has a pregnancy – related condition.
E. Religion or creed discrimination.
Creed or religion refers to a shared belief system or faith. If s person during the
interview discusses his or her religion with the employer may be a victim of religion
discrimination.
F. Political affiliation discrimination.
Another kind of discrimination during the recruitment process is the political
affiliation discrimination. During the interview the interviewer may say something of
expecting response finding out the political affiliation of the interviewer that will be out
of the job in case of political differences.
 G. Disability or medical condition discrimination.
It occurs when an employer treats qualified individual with a disability who is an
applicant unfavorable because she has disability. The law requires that the employees
must provide reasonable accommodation to a job applicant with a disability.
H. Age discrimination refers to the age discrimination.
The age discrimination is usually against the youth and against those that are
above 40 years old and older. There are lot of companies that refuse to hire people above
certain age. But all aspects of employment are protected from age discrimination
including the recruitment process.
Legal Implications of Contracts
A written contract or legal documents is an agreement between two parties under which
both must perform. To form a contract, one party must make an offer to another party. If the
second party accept the offer, both will need exchange consideration to make the contract legally
binding. The legal implications stemming from entering a contract depends on the terms of
contract.
Condition of Legal Implications
Some legal contracts provide conditions for performance. They may provide that a party
doesn’t have a duty to perform unless a certain condition occurs. Therefore, non-performance
doesn’t always equal a breach contract.
Screening Interviews
Effective screening of new job applicants is vital to the continued success of any
business. Regardless of whether your business has formal human resource department, you are
investing in the welfare of your business by implementing a formal applicants-screening process.
Interviewing is a two-way street. You want to recruit the best match of your business, as
well as to ensure that the position is the best suited for the applicant. If you recruit overqualified
applicant, the odds are high that the person will move to another position at the first chance
possible. Likewise, if you recruit an under qualified applicant with the anticipation that he or she
will “grow into” the role; you may stifle the efficiency of other employees who must interact the
new hire.
The ff. are effecting interviewing formats to consider;
In the behavior description screening format an applicant is asked what actions he or
she has taken in prior employment situation that can be encountered in the new position.
In the Comprehensive Structure screening format an applicant will ask questions
pertaining to current job knowledge, requirements for the position, and how he or she would
handle potential challenging situations or perform different job duties. Interviews tapping job
knowledge offer a way to assess an applicant’s current level of purpose.
 The oral screening boards format is a technique that entails the applicant giving oral
response to job-related questions asked by a panel of interviews. Each member of the panel then
rates the interviewee on factors such as work history, motivation, creative thinking and
presentation.
The situational screening format involve applicants being interviewed about what
actions they would take in various job-related situations. This is a method that is supposed to
gauge the less quantifiable qualities of the applicant; personality, collegiality, professionalism,
and problem – solving ability.
The structured behavioral screening format involves in asking all applicant’s
standardized questions about how they handled past situations that is similar to situations that
they may encounter in the job.
The unstructured screening format involves a procedure where a variety of different
questions may be asked of different applicants.
Interview to recruit the best matches form the start. By investing the necessary time and
resource to fill an open position with the best candidate the first time, your business will save
money and avoid high employee turnover.
Tips on how to prepare for the pre-screening interview questions
So, if you have applied for a job, you better be prepare for the phone-screening interview
before facing the real hurdle face-to-face interview. Perhaps, a few tips given below can surely
help you in clearing the screening process:
1. Prepare in advance – you need to be well prepared before going through the telephone
screening interview. You should go through the company website, understand its
products/services, know about its past achievements, the stake holders, clients and a
whole lot of other things that will help you in protecting yourself as a well aware
candidate.
2. Relax – Do not panic – you are bound to panic if it happens to be your first interview but
you need to maintain calm.
3. Maintain the tonality – you need to maintain the tonality. However, you must not answer
the queries in a monotonous tone.
An initial screening for HR is the preliminary step to the interview process. It’s not a
guarantee that the applicant will move the next step. However, if she has the basic skills
and qualifications for the job, and does a good job expressing her interest in the job and
capabilities, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll put her on the list of applicants to
invite for a standard interview.
Steps in Initial Screening of the Applicants
Step 1. Review the applicant’s cover letter and resume. If your company has an online
application process, review or print it and compare it to the applicant’s resume.
Step 2. Read the job posting and create questions relating to the basic requirements for the
job. For example, if the job requires a bachelor’s degree in any degree but MBA is desired,
construct a questions that asks the candidate about her academic record.
Step 3. Welcome the applicant to your office. Offer here water or coffee, and make a small talk
to put her at ease. The initial HR screening can have a major impact on whether the candidate
moves forward in the selection process, to ensure your applicants feels comfortable enough to
make a good showing during the screening process.
Step 4. Explain the history of the company, its mission and philosophy, as well as any
imminent business changes that you can share about the company.
Step 5. Describe the job, starting with its department and purpose. Tell the applicant how
this job fits into the organization and the importance of the role to the organization success.
Step 6. Tell him what you will be taking notes throughout the meeting so he won’t be
confused by any silence or delay in the questioning process. This is particularly important if
you’re conducting a phone screen. Use a separate sheet of paper for interview notes; never write
note on the application or resume.
Step 7. Ask basic questions about the applicant’s education, certification and licenses, if
required for the job, and work experiences. Tell the applicant to describe her work experience
in reverse chronological order, starting with the company name, her position and duties, dates of
employment and reasons of leaving.
Step 8. Invite the applicant to ask questions about the job or the company. Tell the applicant
when you anticipate scheduling face-to-face interviews and provide him with your email address
to keep in touch in you.
Reference Check
Completing Reference Check
As a selecting official, you are responsible for conducting reference checks prior to
making a final selection. Checking the reference before making a final decision can save time,
money, and effort, since it reduces the likelihood of making inappropriate selection.
Conducting Effective Reference Checks
It is one of the most important steps in the selection process. Since past performance is
often the best indicator of future performance, reference allow you to talk to past supervisors in
order to determine if the applicant being considered is suited for the role,
Why Perform Reference Checks
These checks help you confirm information on the candidate’s application form and
resumes. You will also gain greater insights into the candidate skills, knowledge and abilities
from someone who has actually observed the candidate perform. It is important that during the
interview process, you obtain consent from the applicant to contact their references and ask
employment-related questions.
Before making the call, it is good practice to make a list of questions so that you are
asking the same set of questions, giving you a consistent frame on which to base your decisions.
All questions should be job-related and legal. You cannot ask questions during a reference check
that you are prohibited from asking during an interview.
Applications Forms, Weighted Application Blanks, Biographical Data
Application forms
If you use application forms, review these first to screen out applicants who clearly do
not meet requirements for the job. Make sure to compare the applicant’s qualifications to the job
specifications and the job description.
Cover letters – applicants for both academic and administrative positions should provide
a cover letter that identifies the position, provides relevant background linking their education
and experience to the position, and highlights their specific qualifications. This is a good
document to look at first, as it might indicate at a glance that an applicant is completely out of
the game.
Resume and CV’s – A resume is a brief description of a candidate’s education,
professional experience, knowledge, skills and accomplishments. A Curriculum Vitae is n in-
depth account of candidates background.
Weighted Application Blank
It is an approach to collecting and scoring background information from the job
applicants. It involves scoring applicants background in a quantitative manner based on the
proven “best responses” to each application item.
To make the application form more job related, some organizations assign numeric
values or weights to response provided by applicants.
Generally, the items that have a strong relationship to job performance are given high
scores. The cost of developing a WAB could be prohibitive if the organization has a several
operating levels with unique features. the WAB must be updated every few years to ensure that
the factors previously identified are still valid predictors of job success.
Why is WAB superior to traditional application forms?
The WAB is distinguished from traditional application forms in three important ways:
a. The items on the WAB are selected based on their demonstrated relevancy for the jobs
for which the applicants are being evaluated.
b. Best responses to each item are determined based on specific data, as opposed to the
guesswork and assumptions that sometimes guide the development of traditional
application forms.
 c. Weights are assigned to each applicant response and scores are totaled thus permitting a
quantitative comparison of each applicant.
What is the process of building a weighted applicant blank?
a. Choose the criterion.
b. Identify criterion groups among the employees in your study.
c. Select the items that you will evaluate to possible inclusions in the WAB.
d. Specify response categories for each potential item.
e. Compare responses to each item between the good group and the poor group and
determine weights.
Biographical Data (BIODATA)
Biodata measures are based on the measurement principle of behavioral consistency, that
is, past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Biodata measures include items about
past events and behaviors reflecting personality attributes, attitudes, experiences, interests, skills,
and abilities validated as predictors of overall performance for a given occupation. Often, biodata
test items are developed through behavioral examples provided by subject matter experts. These
items specify situations likely to have occurred in a person life, and ask about person’s typical
behavior in the situation.