Selection
Selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best
suited for a particular position and the organization.
Selection Process
Properly matching people with jobs and the organization is the goal of the selection
process.
Step-1: Preliminary screening
The selection process often begins with preliminary screening. The basic purpose
of preliminary screening is to eliminate those who obviously do not meet the
position’s requirements. Preliminary screening may take the form of reviewing for
obviously unqualified applicants with a brief interview, test, or only a review of the
application or résumé for clear mismatches.
Step-2: Review of Applications and Resume
Having the candidate complete an application for employment is another early step
in the selection process. This may either precede or follow preliminary screening.
The employer then evaluates it to see whether there is an apparent match between
the individual and the position. A well-designed and properly used application
form can be helpful because essential information is included and presented in a
standardized format. Completion of an application may not be initially required for
many management and professional positions.
Resume is a Goal-directed summary of a person’s experience, education, and
training developed for use in the selection process.
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Step-3: Selection Tests
Tests are essential components of employee selection. Different types of selection
tests are discussed below-
Individuals differ in characteristics related to job performance. Broadly,
tests fall into one of two categories: aptitude tests and achievement tests. Aptitude
tests measure how well a person can learn or acquire skills or abilities.
Achievement tests assess a person’s current knowledge and skills. These
differences, which are measurable, relate to cognitive abilities, psychomotor
abilities, job knowledge, work samples, and personality
Cognitive ability tests
Determine general reasoning ability, memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, and
numerical ability. It’s about learning, adapting, and solving problems and
understanding instructions. Cognitive ability tests are a form of IQ tests and these
measures the capacity of an individual to learn at higher levels of difficulty.
Examples:
Look carefully for the pattern and choose which pair of numbers come next?
1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28……
Which of the following is not an anagram of a country?
1. Plane, 2. Chain, 3. Serial, 4. Enemy, 5. Slow
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Personality tests
Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking,
feeling and behaving. Personality test is self-reported measures of traits,
temperaments, or dispositions. For example, health-care social workers “Job
requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Personality tests, unlike ability tests, are not time constrained and do not measure
specific problem-solving skills. These questionnaires tap into areas, such as
leadership, teamwork, and personal assertiveness. Integrity tests represent a
specific type of personality attribute. Integrity refers to “being honest and ethical.
Job-knowledge tests
Tests designed to measure a candidate’s knowledge of the duties of the job for
which he or she is applying. For example, lawyers must have knowledge of law
and government.
Work-sample tests
Tests that require an applicant to perform a task or set of tasks representative of the
job are work-sample tests.
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Step-5: Employment Interviews
The employment interview is a goal-oriented conversation in which the interviewer
and applicant exchange information.
Content of the Interview
Occupational experience
The interviewer will explore the candidate’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and
willingness to handle responsibility. Although successful performance in one job
does not guarantee success in another, it does provide an indication of the person’s
ability and willingness to work.
Academic Achievements
In the absence of significant work experience, a person’s academic record takes on
greater importance. Managers should, however, consider grade point average in the
light of other factors. For example, involvement in work, extracurricular activities,
or other responsibilities may have affected an applicant’s academic performance.
Interpersonal Skill
An individual may possess important technical skills significant to accomplishing a
job. However, if the person cannot work well with others, chances for success are
slim. This is especially true in today’s world, with the increasing use of teams. The
biggest mistake an interviewee can make is thinking that firms hire people only for
their technical skills.
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Personal qualities
Normally observed during the interview include physical appearance, speaking
ability, vocabulary, poise, adaptability, assertiveness, leadership ability, and
cooperative spirit. As with all selection criteria, these attributes should be
considered only if they are relevant to job performance.
General Types of Interviews
Types of interviews are often broadly classified as structured, unstructured,
behavioral, and situational.
Unstructured Interview
An unstructured interview is one in which the interviewer asks probing, open-
ended questions. This type of interview is comprehensive, and the interviewer
encourages the applicant to do much of the talking. Questions such as “What
professional accomplishments are you most proud of and why?” might be asked.
The unstructured interview is often more time consuming than the structured
interview and results in obtaining different information from different candidates.
Structured Interview
In Structured Interview, the interviewer asks each applicant for a particular job the
same series of job-related questions. With the structured interview, questions are
developed and asked in the same order of all applicants applying for the vacant
position. This makes it easier to compare candidates fairly. There is a better chance
that the best candidate will be selected using this technique. Often benchmark
answers are determined beforehand.
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Methods of Interviewing
Organizations conduct interviews in several ways. The level of the open position
and the appropriate labor market determine the most fitting approach.
One on One Interview
In a typical employment interview, the applicant meets one-on-one with an
interviewer. As the interview may be a highly emotional occasion for the applicant,
meeting alone with the interviewer is often less threatening. This method provides
a better opportunity for an effective exchange of information to take place.
Group Interview
Meeting in which several job applicants interact in the presence of one or more
company representatives.
Board interview
An interview approach in which several of the firm’s representatives interview a
candidate at the same time.
Stress interview
It is form of interview in which the interviewer intentionally creates anxiety.
Step-6: Pre-employment Screening: Background and Reference Check
Step-7: Selection decision
Step-8: Offer of Employment
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