Selection

Selection is a process undertaken in the recruiting the right people to work for an organisation following meeting the requirements when it comes to policies, procedures and training with support from the people who should be involved in the selection process. Usually the selection process is done by enlisting candidates and then matching their skills to the job requirements and then the employer would see how they can perform if offered the jobs. Finding out about about the candidate is the ideal objective, to forecast judgement; for example if an employer judges whether they are likely to accept the offer.
Personal selection and assessment activities are integral parts of organisational life. The contemporary economic climate has seen an ever increasing level of staff turnover and personal re-organisation, and the abolition of the traditional view of 'a job for life'.

Consequently, there is more pressure now on organisations to fill vacant positions quickly and with the most appropriate individuals (Lievens et al, 2002). When a company needs to recruit new staff or make a promotion/decisions about employees, there are various methods of assessment at its disposal.
Selection is the methodical placement of individuals into jobs whilst keeping to employment laws and regulations. Its impact on the organisation is realised when employees achieve years or decades of service to the employer. The process of selection follows a methodology to collect information about an individual in order to determine if that individual should be employed (Human Resource Gudie, 2001 & Fisher et al, 2006).

Selection Methods


Interviews
Interviews are used and are the stage where the potential candidate and the employers (interviewee) sit down together and talk, with questions asked to the candidate to obtain information which allows the employers to decide whether they would like to employ the candidate whether or not they are suitable for the job vacancy. Interviews are designed to predict future job performances on the basis of the applicants response to questions. It allows the employers to get an insight of the candidate face to face. There are however two types of interviews; structured and unstructured.

Unstructured Interviews - This form of interview follows no particular pattern or an unstructured format. The ubiquitous use of the unstructured selection interview in organisations attests to the faith that both employers and applicants have in the casual and unrestrained face-to-face conversation as a technique for selection. However, this form of interview is usually associated with a low level of validity. One explanation for the consistently low validity in the unstructured interview is that different interviewers may rate the same information differently, and features that are irrelevant to the personal attributes required for the job such as age, race, appearance, sex, experience of interview and the job market situation introduce bias into how an interviewers evaluate information (McNamara, 1992).

Structured Interviews - Structured interviews are the most effective type of interview. The interview process is formed through identification of the key requirements of the job and a list of questions is drawn up. A panel of interviewers work through each set of questions with each candidate and scores them on their answers. At the end of the interview process the overall scores are considered and the best candidate chosen. If additional selection methods are chosen this is fed into the overall process at the end and again the best-fit candidate is offered the appointment (Campion et al, 1994).

Advantages
- Useful for determining if the applicant has requisite communicative or social skills which may be necessary for the job.
- Interviewer can obtain supplementary information
- Used to appraise candidates verbal fluency
- Can assess the applicants job knowledge
- Can be used for selection among equally qualified applicants
- Allows the applicant to ask questions that may reveal additional information useful for making a selection decision.
- The interview may be modified as needed to gather important information

Disadvantages
- Decisions tend to be made within the first dew minutes of the interview with the remainder of the interview used to validate or just justify the original decision.
- Interviewers form stereotypes concerning the characteristics required for success on the job
- Research has shown disproportionate rates of selection between minority and non-minority members using interviews (Kvale, 1996).
- The drawback with highly structured interviews is that they often remove from the interview situation those interpersonal aspects which are often valued by interviewers and interviewees alike (Pawlas, 1995)

References
References are provided by the candidate of previous jobs, work experience and education. The references are people in which the candidate is not related to but has worked with in terms of terms of the workplace or has studied. They are provided to the employer in the selection process in order for the organisation to gain further insight on the candidates skills, abilities, and how they work. The references are usually contacted by telephone or email and they validate and confirm information about the candidate to ensure its true. This then allows the employer to come to a decision on whether they would like to hire and select the candidate. References work on the principle that the best way of finding out about someone is to ask someone who knows him or her well, such as a former employer or schoolteacher (McGrane, 2010).

Advantages
- This method helps employers weed out employees who may have represented themselves dishonestly and gives them an opportunity to learn about the candidates reliability and job performances.

Disadvantages
- The practice of using references as a selection method is less perfect. Occasionally, unsatisfactory references may affect decisions to appoint individuals (Key, 2011). Hence, references can never be used as the sole grounds on which to base a recruitment decision on as they provide a limited perspective of an individuals abilities and performance.
- A prospective employee is unlikely to use a reference from a negative work experience. Just like the resume, references are tailored to put candidates in the best light possible and therefore, prospective employees can hide their unwanted attitude from employers.

Application Forms


The role of the application form is to act as the first filter, choosing a relatively small number of applications to process further. This procedure is know as sifting. Research suggests that sifting is not always done very effectively (Key, 2011).
The traditional approach to applying for jobs in the public sector is to completer a fairly lengthy application form. However, if certain jobs are hard to recruit to and competitors generally ask for CVs rather than application forms, organisations may consider accepting CVs. If this is the case, other safeguards can be used. For example, deleting indications of sex and race before the CVs are passed to short-listers and more careful evaluation of decisions made in the recruitment process (Graduate Recruitment Bureau, 2012).

Advantages
- Owing to the standardized format of application forms, it is easier for employers to scan the information and make comparisons. The employer can ask for exact information he or she needs to know (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, 2012).
- Its is easy to compare the skills and experiences of different applicants
- The same application form can be used for future vacancies thereby making it cost effective
- Equal opportunities considerations as the consistency produced by the use of application forms is more likely to engender fairness in the recruitment process.

Disadvantages
- They are time-consuming and can be tricky to design
- The cost involved in producing and sending them out to applicants can be high
- lengthy applications forms can be very off-putting


My Interview


In 2010 i had an interview to get a promotion in the Army Cadet Force, They had knuckled it down to four candidates (including me) and the final stage of the selection was an interview. The role was to be promoted to a Regimental Sergeant Major and to be in charge of the discipline to over 700 cadets. As this was the highest prestigious role any cadet could get we got taken to London to be interview by to British Army serving officers.
On the day of the interview i got called in to the office and there were two army officers sitting in front of me, there office was very posh and was filled with gold and silver plaques. The interview was a structured interview as they asked all candidates the same question but sometimes peered of asking questions based on my answers. The officers were strict but friendly as they told me to relax. The questions they asked me were more to do with things i would do different in this role and what kind of person do u think would suit this role. At the very end of the interview the last question was 'if u could pick someone to fulfill this role other than you (out of the candidates) who would it be and why. The day after we got told who got selected and we were on a parade at Sandhurst camp surrounded by Serving Army Soldier, as we were formed up they read out my name and i received the position. I had to march out the the officers in front of hundreds of people and collect my badge as well as new pacing stick which i had to carry around.

Recommendation


As this interviewing process has been going on for many of years it is hard to recommend much as i think it is a good way to do it. As it is such a big role it is made out to feel it as you get taken to a massive posh house and waited on 24/7. You also get the nerves as you wait for the interview in a long hall way and it make you feel how big this role actually is. As its the only real interview i had i cant compare to others but for the role and the services it in i think you cant fault it. You cant really have an application form as you are picked out of hundreds of top cadets etc.


Conclusion


When determining which selection method is most appropriate, it is necessary to consider the requirements of the job, through analysis of the job or role description and person specification, and what skills, experience and aptitude are being sought. It is worth mentioning that more than one selection method may be appropriate for particular jobs.

Its is also important to evaluate the success of the selection method to ensure that it is effective. This can be done through seeking the views of candidates who have undertaken the selection process and/or analysing recruitment statistics and turnover rates. This offers the opportunity to find out if the methods are still relevant and useful to the current selection process, particularly if there have been changes to the job or a requirement  for new skills. 





Bibliography:

Campion, M. A. Campion, J, E. & Hudson, J, P (1994) Structured Interviewing: A Note on Incremental Validity and Alternative Question Types. Journal of Applied Psychology. PP 998-1002.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2012) The Application Process - Cvs and Application Forms [Online] Available from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073793812&type=RESOURCES {Accessed on: 27/05/2012}

Graduate Recruitment Bureau (2012) Selection Methods [Online] Availabe from: http://www.grb.uk.com/selection-methods.0.html {Accessed on: 07/05/2012}

Key, M.S (2011) Pros & Cons of Employee Selection Techniques [Online] Available from: http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/103196.aspx {Accessed on:08/05/2012}

Kvale, S. (1996) Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications

Lievens, F & Van Dam, K & Anderson, N. (2002) Recent Trends and Challenges in Personal Selection. Personal Review. PP.580-601.


McGane, C. (2010) Reference Checking in the Selection Process [Online] Available from: http://www.focus.com/briefs/reference-checking-selection-process/ {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}


McNamara, C. (1999) General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews. Mimnesota: Authenticity Consulting.

Pawlas, G. E, (1995) The Structured Interview: Three Dozen Questions to Ask Prospective Teachers. NASSP Bulletin. PP 62-65