Selection

Selection, within business, is the process of narrowing down initial applicants for a job role in order to select the best suited employees for the job at hand, as illustrated by Beardwell, Holden and Claydon (2004). As such, there are many different selection methods organisations utilise to assess job applicants.

For instance, at a primary school I worked at previously, potential staff were assessed through various methods in order to view their capabilities, including short-listing, face-to-face interviews and work simulations. With short-listing, the school uses information from the application forms and CVs of applicants, in order to narrow-down and select the most seemingly suitably skilled and qualified candidates. The advantage of this selection method is that employers are able to analyse and select those people with the on paper skills and qualifications that are most applicable to the potential job role, allowing them to select the most suited employee. In turn, such a selection method means that candidates are selected on merit, and the selection process not biased and affected by face-to-face judgements on the employer’s behalf. However, this method of selection may not be accurate as it is easy for candidates to embellish their achievements on paper and exaggerate their capabilities.

In turn, the next selection method used by the organisation is interviewing, whereby shortlisted candidates are invited for face-to-face interviews to assess how suitable there are for the job role. This has the advantage of allowing the employer to delve into lines of questioning that wouldn’t be expressed on applications, so are able to receive more in depth information on the candidate and their capabilities. It is also easier to determine an applicant’s nature face-to-face, and whether or not they’ve been on honest within their application process. However, as Mullins (2010) illustrates, the nature and pressure of face-to-face interviews may mean that employers do not see candidates as they really are, in personality and conduct, as the interviewee wishes to give the best possible impression. In turn, such interviews are costly to execute in terms of time and effort.

The third selection method used by the school is in the form of work simulation. This is where the candidate is put into the job role work environment for a day in order to see how they respond to the role and how effectively it is carried out. For example, applicants for teaching posts are given lessons in which to teach whilst being assessed by another member of staff. This has the advantage of allowing employers to see the potential employee’s capabilities in practice, and how skilled they are in dealing with tasks required to be completed, as well as how they interact with other members of staff and pupils. However, such a selection method is also costly in terms of time and effort, with members of staff having to leave their regular job roles to assess candidates. In turn, as a result of the presence of staff assessment, employers may not see the candidate’s true nature within the job role, as they would be on their best behaviour, seeking to impress.

An interview I took part in was for the same school organisation, whereby my application had been short-listed and I was called in for an interview. I feel the interview, overall, was effective as I was given a chance to explain what skills and experience I felt I could bring to the job at hand, and was also given the opportunity to list previous achievements I thought were of value.

The interview was also effective in the fact that it was informal, conducted only by the head teacher, and in a relaxed setting rather than across a desk. This I felt helped reduce barriers and made me feel more at ease within the interviews.

Alternatively, within the questioning process itself, I felt that some of the questions were too negative for me to answer directly, such as what I feel my personal weaknesses will be within the I have applied for. Inevitably, answering such questions means that the candidate has to point out likely personal failings within the job role that they were originally trying to prove they were the best candidate for. As such, in my opinion, the employer wasn’t likely to get direct and frank answers from her interviewees with such a line of questioning and, in turn, the results of the interviewing process would have been less effective and accurate.

As a result, I feel there are various ways in which the school could improve its selection process. Primarily, altering the line of question within interviews with positive but critical questions rather than negative ones would mean the employer would be more likely to receive honest answers. In turn, although the organisation had work simulation in place for short-listed candidates, the presence of staff assessors means that applicants are inclined to give the best possible impression of themselves rather than show how they are naturally. As such, the school could look into using feedback from a variety of sources, such as pupil opinions, in order to gain a well-rounded view of the applicant. In turn, extending the work simulations period from days to weeks, with regular assessment, would also allow the organisation to receive a more accurate view of how the applicant would perform on a day to day basis.

Conclusively, there are various methods of selection available to employers and, as it has been shown, the most accurate and applicable methods must be used in order to select the best candidates, with the more methods of selection used, the more rigorous the selection process.

References

Beardwell, I; Holden, L; Claydon, T. (2004). Human Resource Management. 4th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Mullins, L J. (2010) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 9th ed. Essex: Pearson