Chapter 3:The Acquisition Process: Employee Selection Techniques
An Overview of An Overview of Recruitment and Hiring Recruitment and Hiring Practices in Organizations Practices in Organizations
Mr. Gian Carlo M. Ledesma, A.B., Mr. Gian Carlo M. Ledesma, A.B., M.A.M.A.
University of Santo TomasUniversity of Santo TomasFaculty of Arts and LettersFaculty of Arts and Letters
Department of Social SciencesDepartment of Social Sciences
Setting the Pace...
•Understand the recruitment process from a general perspective
•Know how to recruit applicants•Determine the different employee
selection tools and techniques employed by different organizations
•Write a sample cover letter and resume that can be used for job application
Traversing the Roadmap...
•Unit 1: The Acquisition Process•Unit 2: Tools and Techniques in Employee
Recruitment and Selection•Unit 3: The Resume and the Cover Letter
Screening versus Selection
The Employee Screening and Selection Process: A Typical Day in the Life of an Applicant1) Review of application forms and
resumes2) Initial interview in the HR Department3) Employment Tests4) Preliminary Selection in the HR
Department5) Supervisory/Panel Interviews
The Employee Screening and Selection Process: A Typical Day in the Life of an Applicant6) Simulations/Assessment Centers7) Medical Tests8) Background Investigation9) Hiring Decision10)Submission of Pre-Employment
Requirements
Application Form
•Usually the first step in most organizations
•Asks for various demographic information about the candidate
•Based on resumes, but different from resumes
Application Forms
•Determines whether candidate meets the minimum qualifications of the job
•Serves as basis for employers to identify various job-related attributes of the candidate
•Provides information on certain potential problematic areas
Application Form
•Judging the appropriateness of items in the application form:▫Is the question job-related?▫Is the question really needed to judge the
candidate’s suitability for the job?▫Is the question invading the privacy of the
person?▫Is the response verifiable?
Application Form
•Content Areas Critical to Evaluation Forms:▫Overall Appearance▫Blanks and spaces▫Gaps in Time▫Inconsistencies▫Frequency of Job Change▫Salary history▫Reasons for leaving previous companies
Reference Check
•Entails the collection of information from the candidate’s previous employers/colleagues
•Can be done in various ways•Purpose: for verification purposes
The Acquisition Process
2. RecruitingRecruiting
5. PlacementPlacement
1. PlanningPlanning
3. ScreeningScreening
4. SelectionSelection
Overview of the Recruitment Process•Identify job opening•Decide how to fill job opening
▫No new staff (overtime, job elimination, job redesign)
▫New staff (contingency, core) Identify target population Notify target population Meet with candidates
When Identifying Job Openings
•Wait for an employee to resign, retire or be terminated?
•HR should answer the following questions:▫Budgeted positions?▫What is the projected turnover in the next
few months?▫New projects? New work that is incoming?
Identify Target Population
•What profile are we looking for to meet the qualifications of the job?
•Specify the job description•Decide the target population
Notify the target population
•What methods are you going to employ to notify the public?▫Consider the variety of recruitment
methods available▫Size of applicant pool▫Ensure clarity of job qualifications in the
notification
Meet with Candidates
•Recruitment Invitation▫Provides the candidates and the employer
the opportunity to learn more about each other
Recruitment
•Attracting people with the right qualifications (as determined by job analysis) to apply for the job▫Internal Recruitment ▫External Recruitment
Internal Recruitment
•The first decision in recruitment•Looks into getting internal sources to fill
positions and encourages promotions from within▫Internal Job Posting▫Supervisor/Manager Recommendations▫Human Resources Information Systems
(HRIS)▫Career Development Systems
Internal Recruitment
•Advantages▫Employees are well-versed with the
organization▫Lower recruiting and training costs▫Higher employee morale and motivation
toward the job▫Higher chances of success
Internal Recruitment
•Disadvantages▫Politicking in the organizations▫Inbreeding▫Rumors and gossips▫Morale problem▫Ripple effect
Contamination of feelings and sentiments
Internal Job Postings
•Job vacancy notification is issued and all qualified employees may apply
•Posted in various communication avenues within the organization▫T.V. Screens▫Bulletin boards▫Email blast▫Banners/Leaflets
Manager/Supervisor Recommendations•Nominations come from supervisors and
managers▫Have high awareness of an employee’s
potentials and capabilities▫High degree of subjectivity, bias and
possible discrimination
Human Resources Information System•Computerized information systems•Contains all information about employees
▫Search is made for job-related skills•Limited to disclosed and factual data
Career Development Systems
•Development forum▫Tracks employees who are tagged as “high
potentials” for people manager roles•Functional forum
▫Tracks employees who are tagged as “high potentials” for technical roles
External Recruitment
•The second decision•Hiring someone from outside the
organization▫Employee Referrals▫Applicant Initiated Recruitment▫Advertisements▫Employment Agencies▫Executive Search Firms▫Job Fairs▫On-line recruitment portals
External Recruitment
•Advantages▫Fresh ideas and approaches▫Clean slate and fresh experience▫KSAOs not currently within the
organization become available
External Recruitment
•Disadvantages▫Usually longer and costly▫Need to ensure fit between employee and
organization▫Adjustment period▫Need to establish commitment
Employee Referrals
•Solicitation of applicants from employees within the organization
•Incentivizing employees whose referrals become accepted▫TIP (Talent Incentive Program)
•Employees are in good position to estimate “good” fit between possible candidates and job requirements
Applicant-Initiated Recruitment
•Walk-in applicants▫Unsolicited applications
•A common scenario in organizations that have good reputations
•Less effort•High motivation among candidates
Advertisement
•Done in various media▫Print▫Online
•Reaches a broader range of audience•Intends to attract qualified candidates
and deter unqualified candidates
Employment Agencies
•Are tapped for blue-collar, technical and lower-level managerial employees
•Do the job of recruiting for certain organizations
•Useful when many individuals are expected to apply and applicants are difficult to find
Executive Search Firms
•Are tapped in recruiting senior mid- and senior level managers
•Find people who are employed and are not actively looking for a job
•Pirating▫Tapping good performing employees from
an organization to join another organization usually a competitor
Campus Recruitment
•Job Fairs•Useful for filling entry-level positions•Intended mostly for fresh graduates
Evaluating Recruitment Methods•Choosing the right method•Yield ratios•Recruitment Activities Monitoring (RAM)•Realistic Job Previews (RJP)•Training organizational recruiters
Choosing the Right Method
•Labor Market▫A geographical area within which the
forces of supply and demand interact•Consider your recruitment experience•Scan the business marketplace
Yield Ratios
•Provide information on the effectiveness of various recruitment methods in getting candidates onboard the organization
•Give insight as to which recruitment method “work best” for an organization
Recruitment Activities Monitoring•Keeps track of the applicants as they
move from one step to another in the recruitment process
Realistic Job Previews
•Informing applicants about all aspects of the job
•Provides an applicant an honest assessment of the job
Selection Techniques
•Employment Interviews•Psychological Testing•Assessment Centers
Employment Interviews
•Most commonly used method to select employees
•Can be:▫Structured▫Unstructured
Structured Interviews
•Questions emanate from job analysis (job-related questions)
•Standard questions are asked to all candidates
•A standard scoring key is followed to assess interview responses
Unstructured Interviews
•Anything goes type of interview•Interviewers ask any question as
necessary•May score responses subjectively or upon
discretion of the interviewer
Types of interview
•One-on-one interview•Serial interview•Return interview•Panel interview•Group interview
Variations of interview
•Face-to-face interview•Telephone interview•Video conferencing interview•Written interview
Types of interview questions
•Non-behavioral▫Can either be theoretical, leading or a
statement of feeling▫Yes or no questions (closed-ended)
•Behavioral▫Focuses on the present and past aspects of
a task and elicits behavioral evidences
Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral
•Do you always meet deadlines at work?•Tell me a situation in the past when you
were not able to comply with a particular deadline. What happened? What did you do? What was the result?
Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral
•Do you participate in company-related activities?
•Participation in company-related activities is expected among employees, tell me an instance in the past about your most unforgettable moment in a company-related event. What happened? What significant contributions can you recall? What was the result?
Behavioral vs Non-Behavioral
•Do you disagree with people in the workplace?
•Conflicts are inevitable in the workplace, tell me a situation in the past when you disagreed with a colleague. What events happened that led to the disagreement? What actions did you do? What were the results?
Other typologies of questions…
•Clarifier▫I noticed a three-year gap between your
second and third jobs, could you tell me about that?
•Disqualifier▫Are you available to work on weekend?
•Skill-level determiner▫A participant keeps on disrupting a training
that you are conducting, what approach will you employ to address this behavior?
An effective interviewer
•Self-awareness•Good listening skills•Good oral communication skills•Knowledge of job dimensions•Sensitive to non-verbal cues•Ability to ask behavioral questions•Ability to take down notes
Psychological Testing
•A measuring device, a yardstick applied in consistent and systematic fashion to measure a sample behavior
Characteristics of Psychological Tests•Standardization
▫Refers to the consistency or uniformity of the conditions and procedures for administering a test
•Objectivity▫Pertains to the scoring of psychological
tests▫Guided by a scoring key or template
Norms
•The standards against which test raw scores are compared
•Assist in the interpretation of test scores (i.e., Low, Average, High)
Types of Tests
•Mental Ability Tests: Intelligence Tests and Aptitude Tests
•Skills/Proficiency Tests•Personality Tests•Projective Techniques•Computer-Based Tools
Assessment Centers
•Job simulation•A popular method of selection that places
applicants in a simulated job situation to allow observation and assessment of behaviors
•Also called situational testing▫Job samples or work portfolio
Applying for a Job
•Cover Letters•Resume
Cover Letter
•Tells an employer about one’s interest to apply for a job
•Should never be longer than a page•Contains the following parts:
▫Date▫Addressee▫Salutation▫Four basic paragraphs▫Closing signature
Cover Letter
July 12, 2012 (Date)(Date)
Ms. Belen B. Layno (Addressee)DirectorHuman Resources Department3rd floor Asian Star Building, Filinvest
CorporateCity, Alabang, Muntinlupa City 1781
Dear Ms. Layno: (Salutation)
Cover LetterEnclosed is a copy of my resume. Please consider
me for the position of Human Resources Associate that was advertised in the Manila Bulletin dated July 8, 2012. (1)
For several reasons, I believe that I am qualified for your position. First, I have two years experience as HR Assistant in an engineering industry. Second, I am a dependable worker as shown by the fact that I only missed two days of work in the past two years. Finally, I am available to work on weekends as necessary. (2)
Cover LetterI am personally interested to work for your company
because of the positive feedback that I have been reading about your organization and good reputation that your company has established over the past 100 years. (3)
I look forward to hearing from you soon. You may contact after 3:00 pm on weekdays or anytime on weekends. (4)
Sincerely yours,
Gian Carlo M. Ledesma
Resume
•Summary of an applicant’s professional and educational background▫Must be attractive and easy to read▫Cannot contain typing, spelling,
grammatical and factual mistakes▫Should make the applicant look as qualified
as possible –without falsifying and lying any details in the resume
•Also called curriculum vitae (CV)
Basic Information in a Resume
•Name•Career Objectives (should be specific to
the position being applied for)•Summary of Experience (for individuals
w/ a significant amount of experience)•Work experiences (arranged from most
recent)•Professional Strengths/Competencies
Basic Information in a Resume
•Educational Background•Certifications Acquired•Research Publications•Trainings and Seminars Attended
(arranged from most recent)•Organizations Joined•Personal Information•Certification of authenticity (must be
signed)
Classroom Experience
•Choose a partner in class.•Exchange job advertisements with your
partner.•Put yourself in the shoes of an applicant
who will apply for that job.•Prepare the following for that position:
▫A cover letter▫A sample resume
