The Recruitment & Selection Process
- Recruitment is the process of attracting and identifying potential job candidates who are suitable for a particular role
- Recruitment activities include job advertising, job fairs, social media outreach and referrals from current employees
- The goal of recruitment is to create a pool of qualified candidates who can be considered for the role
- Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate
- Selection activities often involve reviewing CVs and conducting interviews or assessment tasks
- The goal of selection is to hire the most suitable candidate for the job
The recruitment and selection process
1. Define the role
- Businesses should determine exactly what is required and part of that is developing a job description and a person/job specification
- A job specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and personal qualities required from a candidate for a specific job e.g. problem solver, good communicator, able to code in Java etc.
- A job description outlines the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of a particular job
2. Determine the best source of candidates
- The business can advertise the role internally, externally, or a combination of both
- Internal recruitment is the process of hiring employees from within the organization
- Internal recruitment can be beneficial as it encourages employee development, builds morale and can save time and money on training
- External recruitment is the process of hiring employees from outside the organization
- External recruitment can bring fresh ideas, experiences and perspectives to the organization
- External recruitment can bring fresh ideas, experiences and perspectives to the organization
- Internal recruitment is the process of hiring employees from within the organization
3. Advertise
- Businesses with a strong social media presence can use these platforms to advertise cost effectively e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok
- Depending on the nature of the business, there may be specialist recruitment portals through which they can advertise and these tend to cost more e.g. The Times Educational Supplement is one of the main publications used to recruit teaching staff
4. Receive applications
- The application stage involves collecting information from potential candidates
- A business may have its own application form which should gather information such as personal details, qualifications, and work experience
- Applicants may also be asked to submit their curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter explaining why they believe they are the right person for the role
- Someone within the business must be nominated to manage the application process
- This person (possibly together with others) will draw up a shortlist of candidates from the many applications received
- The shortlist usually includes 3-5 candidates who are invited to interview
5. The selection process
- This process varies significantly between organisations
- Businesses must decide on the most appropriate method which will help them to identify the best candidate
- The most commonly used methods include interviews and assessment tasks
- The most commonly used methods include interviews and assessment tasks
- Interviews
Involves meeting (face to face or virtually e.g. Zoom) and asking questions about their skills, experience, and knowledge. It is important to prepare a set of relevant questions to ask all candidates and to ensure that the interview is conducted in a fair and consistent manner
- Assessment tasks
Provide shortlisted candidates with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and suitability for the job. The assessment tasks may include psychometric tests, group exercises, presentations, and interviews