Chapter: Selection
FOUNDATIONS OF
SELECTION
Chapter Objectives
1. Explain the significance of employee
selection
2. Identify the elements/steps of the selection
process
3. Compare the common methods used for
selecting human resources.
Chapter Objectives (Contd:)
4. Describe major types of employment
tests
5. Discuss how to conduct effective
interviews
5. Explain how employer carry out the
process of making a selection decision
"When hiring key employees, there
are only two qualities to look for:
judgment and taste. Almost
everything else can be bought by the
yard."
— John W. Gardner
Selection
• “Picking the right person from pool of
candidates.”
OR
HR Selection is the process of choosing
qualified individuals who are available to
fill positions in the organization
Selection
It involves making a judgment not about the
applicant, but about the fit between the
person and that job.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Personality, interest and performance
Other characteristics essential to job
performance..
e.g. height, age, weight etc…
Selection Process
The selection process typically consists of
eight steps:
1. initial screening
2. completion of the application form
3. employment tests
4. comprehensive interview
5. background investigation
6. conditional job offer
7. medical/physical exam
8. permanent job offer
Selection Process
Standard pattern
Skip some steps
Inform applicants
All these depends on organization to
organization.
Basic Selection Criteria
Education
Competencies
Experience
Skills
Personal characteristics
1. Initial Screening
Purpose
Is to decrease the number of applicants
being considered for selection.
i.e. to separate the qualified from non
qualified.
If the screening effort is successful, those
applicants that do not meet minimum
qulification,will not move to the next stage.
Types of information
• Employment & Education history
• Evaluation of Character
• Evaluation of job performance
2. Application Blank Form
• A formal record of an individual
application for employment.
• Provide basic information
• Must be work related
Critical Aspects of Blank Form
• Applicant certifies
• Applicant agrees terms and
conditions
• Applicant authorizes
Red Flag
• Warning signs that may require further
investigations.
• Vague reasons for leaving previous
jobs
• Lack of employment history
• Inconsistency in salary history.
Employment Test
Three requirements for a “Good Test”
Standardization
Reliability (Consistency)
Validity (Validity tells you whether the test
is measuring what you think it’s supposed
to be measuring.)
Types of employment Test
• General Intelligence Test
• Honesty Test
• Performance Simulation Test
Sample Picture Card from
Thematic Apperception Test
How do you interpret
this picture?
Performance Simulation Test
• Concept in actual job behaviors
i.e. you just sit in a real situation and
then whatever you done, the employer
take a sample from that and check it.
Work sample Test.
Work Simulations
• Typical simulated exercises include:
• Leaderless group discussion
• Management games
• Individual presentations
4. Interviews
Two types of interview
Unstructured interview
Structured interview
Methods of Interview
One to One interview
Group interview
Board interview
Stress interview
Effective Interview
DO Don’t
Ask open questions Ask close questions
Ask job related Ask personal
questions questions
Ask positive Do all the talking
question Be impatient
Look for area Ask more than one
applicant is uneasy question at a time
Steps of Effective Interview
Be prepared
Welcome the candidate
Encourage candidate to talk
Control the interview
Supply necessary information
Close interview
Final step
Common Interviewing
Mistakes
• Snap judgment
• Not knowing the job
• Pressure to hire
• Candidate-order error
• Non verbal behavior
5. Background Investigation
Typical information verified includes:
– former employers
– previous job performance
– education
– credit references
– criminal records
6. Conditional Job Offer
Offers of employment made
contingent upon successful
completion of background
check, physical/medical exam,
drug test, etc.
7. Medical/Physical Examination
Should be used only to determine if the
individual can comply with the
essential functions of the job.
Disabilities Act requires that exams be
given only after conditional job offer is
made.
8. Permanent Job Offers
• Actual hiring decision generally
made by the department manager.
• Candidates not hired deserve the
courtesy of prompt notification.
Writing Your Resume
Two Types of Resume
• Chronological resume
• Functional resume
• A chronological resume is actually a
reverse chronological resume, with your
most recent schooling or job first. Most
widely used resume is Chronological
resume.
Functional resume
• Fearless is a functional resume. A functional
resume lists your capabilities and your
qualifications but does not lists your work history
or education in chronological order.
• The main purpose of FR is to better the chances of
candidate who might looks like a weak candidate
on chronological resume, or who are in midst of a
career change and wish to deflect attention from a
recent employment experience.
What comes first in Resume
• For recent college graduates, education
should appear comes first and should be
outlined in detail. Experience should only
be listed first if you have more than two
years of full time work experience.
• After your education, list your experience in
reverse order, start from your most recent
job…
Writing Resume (Cont’d)
You may wish to write Career Objective heading
on top of your resume page.
Career Objectives
• CO’s basically requires following three main
sections and should be composed in a single
statement or two…
• Position Title
• Functional area
• kind of organization
All these information should cover your CO
Typical example of Career Objective:
• Seeking a position where I can use my
writing skills as a features editor for a
travel magazine.
OR
• An entry level position in banking
industry
