I.

MODULE TITLE: Employee Selection: Recruiting and Interviewing (PRELIM – Chapter 4)

II. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

a. Student will be able to explore and explain the following:
i. Know how to recruit applicants
ii. Understand why the traditional, unstructured interview doesn’t work
iii. Learn how to construct a valid, structured interview
iv. Know how to perform well when being interviewed
v. Learn how to write a résumé and a cover letter

III. DISCUSSION:
i.Recruitment
 The process of attracting employees to an organization.
 External recruitment - recruiting employees from outside the organization.
 Internal recruitment - recruiting employees already employed by the organization duration
of advertisement about the vacancy is for two weeks; can be either competitive or non-
competitive
 Competitive Promotions - several internal applicants complete with one another for a
limited number of higher positions
 Non-Competitive Promotions - involves “career progression” positions wherein employees
move from a position such as Engineer I to Engineer III
 Steps in Selecting Employees:

 Methods of Recruiting Employees:

1. Media Advertisements
2. Point-of-Purchase
3. Recruiters
4. Internet
5. Job fairs

 Media Advertisements
1. Newspaper Ads - typically ask the applicant to respond in 4 ways:
 Respond by calling - applicants are instructed to call rather than to apply in person or send
 resumes
 Apply-in-person ads - instruct applicants to apply in person rather than to call or send
resumes
 Send-resume ads - applicants are instructed to send their resume to the company
 Blind box - instruct applicants to send their resume to a box at the newspaper; neither the
name of the address of the company isn’t provided
2. Writing Recruitment Ads - ads containing realistic information about the job increase
applicant attraction to the organization; contains detailed descriptions of the job and the
organization; provide applicants with an idea of how well they would fit into an
organization and result in positive thoughts about it; contains information about the
selection process affect the probability that applicants will apply for a job.
3. Electronic Media - television and radio commercials
 Point-of-Purchase - job vacancy notices are posted in places where customers or current
employees are likely to see them (ex.: store windows, bulletin boards, restaurant placemats,
and the sides of the trucks)
 Advantages: inexpensive and is targeted toward people who frequent the business
 Disadvantages: only a limited no. of people are exposed to the sign
 Recruiters
1. Campus Recruiters - recruiters are sent by organizations to college campuses to interview
students for available positions. Another variant of this method is virtual job fair
 Virtual Job Fair - is a job fair held on campus in which students can “tour” a company
online, ask questions of recruiters, and electronically send resumes.
2. Outside Recruiters
 Employment Agencies - an organization that specializes in finding jobs for applicants and
finding applicants for organizations looking for employees
 Executive Search Firms - aka Head Hunters; jobs they represent tend to be higher-paying,
non-entry-level positions; always charge their fees to organization.
 Public Employment Agency - an employment service operated by a state or local
government designed to match applicants with job openings
 Employee Referrals - a method of recruitment in which a current employee refers a friend
of family member for a job; employee referrals are more likely to be hired and have longer
tenure with an organization than are employees recruited through other means
 Direct Mail - a method of recruitment in which an organization sends out mass mailing of
information about job openings to potential applicants
 Internet - usually take one of three forms: employer-based websites, job boards, and social
networking sites.
1. Employer-based websites – organization lists available job opening and provides
information about itself and the minimum requirements needed to apply to a particular job
2. Job boards – a private company whose website lists job openings for hundreds or
thousands of organizations and resumes for millions of applicants; larger organizations are
more likely to use job boards
3. Social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
 Job Fairs - a recruitment method in which several employers are available at one location
so that many applicants can obtain information at one time.
 Typically conducted in three ways:
 many types of organizations have booths at the same location
 many organizations in the same field in one location
 an organization to hold its own job fair

ii.Evaluating the effectiveness of recruitment agencies

1. Number of applicants
 2. Cost per applicant - the amount of money spent on a recruitment campaign divided by the
no. of people that subsequently apply for jobs as a result of the recruitment campaign
3. Cost per qualified applicant - the amount of money spent on a recruitment campaign
divided by the no. of qualified people that subsequently apply for jobs as a result of the
recruitment campaign.

 Realistic Job Preview - job applicants are told both the positive and the negative aspects of
the job. It is giving an applicant an honest assessment of a job.
 Expectation-lowering Procedure - a form of RJP that lowers an applicant’s expectations
about the various aspects of the job. It is about work in general.

iii.Employment Interview
 Employment Interview - a method of selecting employees in which an interviewer asks
questions of an applicant and then makes an employment decision based on the answers to
the questions as well as the way in which the questions were answered. It is the most
commonly used method to select employees
 Types of interviews:
1. Structured - the source of the question is job analysis; all applicants are asked the same
questions; there’s a standardized scoring key
a. Highly structured – all three criteria are met
b. Moderately structured – 2 criteria are met
c. Slightly structured – one criterion is met
2. Unstructured - applicants aren’t asked the same questions and in which there is no standard
scoring system to score the applicants’ answers.
 Interview Styles
1. One-on-One Interviews - one interviewer: one applicant
2. Serial Interviews - a series of single interviews
3. Return Interviews - similar to serial interviews within the difference being a passing of
time
4. Panel interviews - multiple interviewers: one applicant at the same time
 Interview medium
1. Face-to-face - interviewer and applicant on the same room
2. Telephone interviews – used to screen applicants but do not allow the use of verbal cues.
3. Videoconference interviews – conducted at remote sites
4. Written interviews – applicant answering series of written questions and then sends it back
through mail or email.
 Problems with unstructured interviews
1. Poor Intuitive Ability
2. Lack of Job Relatedness
3. Primacy Effects - “first impressions”; the fact that information presented early in an
interview carries more weight than information presented after
4. Contrast Effects - when the performance of one applicant affects the perception of the
performance of the next applicant
5. Negative-Information Bias - the fact that negative information receives more weight in an
employment decision than does positive information
6. Interviewer-Interviewee Similarity - an interviewee will receive a higher score if he/she is
similar to the interviewer in terms of personality, attitude, gender, or race
7. Interviewee appearance
8. Nonverbal cues – use of appropriate nonverbal cues is highly correlated with interview
scores
 Types of interview questions
 1. Clarifier - clarifies the information on the resume of application form
2. Disqualifier - wrong answer will disqualify the applicant from further consideration
3. Skill-level determiner - designed to tap an applicant’s knowledge or skill
4. Future-focused (situational) - applicants are presented with a series of situations and asked
how they would handle each one
5. Past-focused questions (behavioral) - taps an applicant’s experience; questions focused on
behavior in previous jobs. Also referred to as patterned-behavior description interviews
(PBDIs)
6. Organizational-Fit - tap the extent to which an applicant will fit into the culture of an
organization with the leadership style of a particular supervisor
 Methods of scoring interview answers
1. Right/Wrong Approach
2. Typical-answer Approach - compares an applicant’s answer with benchmark answers
 Benchmark answers - are standard answers to interview questions, the quality of which has
been agreed on by job experts
3. Key-issues Approach - provides points for each part of an answer that matches the scoring
key

iv.Job Research Skills

 Successfully surviving the interview process
 Scheduling the Interview
 Arrive on time.
 Before the Interview
 Learn about the company
 Unstructured interview question (“What do you know about our company?”) is used to
determine the applicant’s knowledge of the organization.
 Dress neatly and professionally.
 Avoid wearing flashy large accessories and brightly colored ties.
 Hair should be worn conservatively.
 During the Interview
 Nonverbal behaviors (firm handshake, eye contact, smiling, and head nodding)
 Do not ask about the salary, speak audibly, do not hesitate to answer questions
 After the Interview
 Write a brief letter or email thanking the interviewer for her time.

v.Writing cover letters

 Cover letter is a letter that accompanies a résumé or job application. It should never be
longer than one page.
 Cover letters contain the following:
 Salutation
 Four basic paragraphs
 Closing signature
 Salutation
 Get the name of the person to whom you want to direct the letter.
 Address to e.g. (“Mr. Smith or Ms. Smith”)
 Do not refer to first name (“Dear Sarah”)
 Safe salutation is (“Dear Human Resource Director”)
 Avoid phrases such as (“Dear Sir or Madam”) or (“To Whom It May Concern”)
 Paragraphs
 Opening paragraph should be one or two sentences long and communicate three pieces of
information: (1) the fact that your résumé is enclosed, (2) the name of the job you are
 applying for, and (3) how you know about the job.
 Second paragraph states that you are qualified for the job and provides about three reasons
why. Should be only four or five sentences in length and should not rehash the content of
your résumé.
 Third paragraph explains why you are interested in the particular company to which you are
applying.
 Final paragraph closes your letter and provides information on how you can best be
reached. This paragraph is a good place to tell the employer the best days and times to reach
you.
 Signature
 Use words such as “cordially” or “sincerely.” “Yours truly” is not advised, and words such
as “Love,” “Peace,” or “Hugs and snuggles” are strongly discouraged.
 Personally sign each cover letter
 Type your name, address, and phone number below your signature.
 Tips about cover letters: (HRD professional GeGe Beall)
 Avoid sounding desperate and don’t beg.
 Avoid grammar and spelling errors.
 Avoid officious words or phrases.
 Don’t discuss personal circumstances.
 If possible, tailor your letter to each company.
 Don’t write your cover letter on the stationary of your current employer.

vi.Writing a Résumé
 Résumé is a formal summary of an applicant’s professional and educational background.
 Can be viewed in two ways:
 As a history of your life (tend to be long and lists every job ever worked, as well as
personal information such as hobbies, marital status, and personal health)
 As an advertisement of your skills (shorter and contain only information that is both
positive and relevant to a job seeker’s desired career) most commonly used today
 Characteristics of effective résumé
 The résumé must be attractive and easy to read.
 The résumé cannot contain typing, spelling, grammatical, or factual mistakes.
 The résumé should make the applicant look as qualified as possible – without lying.
 Types of résumés
 Chronological résumé – a résumé in which jobs are listed in order from most to least
recent.
 Functional résumé – a résumé format in which jobs are grouped by function rather than
listed in order by date.
 Psychological résumé – a résumé style that takes advantage of psychological principles
pertaining to memory organization and impression formation.
Cover Letter Customized Cover Letter

Chronological Résumé
 Functional Résumé

Psychological Résumé