BY AMBIYA KHANAM

Meaning of Recruitment
According to Edwin Flippo: “Recruitment is the
process of searching the candidates for employment
and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the
organisation “
Recruitment is the activity that links the employers
and the job seekers
Other definitions
A process of finding and attracting capable applicants
for employment
 process begins when new recruits are sought and end
when their applications are submitted.
The result is a pool of applicant form which new
employees are selected
Other definition cont..
It is a process to discover sources of manpower to
meet the requirement of staffing schedule and to
employ effective measures of attracting that
manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective
selection of an efficient workforce
Other definitions cont…
Recruitment is the first step in filling a vacancy.
Includes:
Examine the vacancy
Considering the source of suitable candidates
Making contacts with the candidates
Attracting applications from them
Other definitions cont…
Recruitment is the function preceding the selection
which helps create a pool of prospective employees
for the organization so that the management can
select the right candidates from this pool ( to
expedite the selection process
selection
Selection on the other hand is a process whereby out
of the many job applicants the best are taken to fill
the vacancy. Selection means whittling down the
application pool by using the screening tools such as
test, assessment centers, background and reference
checks.
Difference between recruitment
and selection
RECRUITMENT SELECTION

The recruitment is the process of Selection involves the series of steps

searching the candidates for employment by which the candidates are
and stimulating them to apply for jobs in screened for choosing the most
the organisation suitable persons for vacant posts.

The basic purpose of selection is to

The basic purpose is to create a talent choose the right candidate
pool of candidates to enable the selection
of best candidates for the organisation, by
attracting more and more employees to
apply in the organisation
Recruitment selection

A positive process i.e. A negative process as it

encouraging more and more involves rejection of the
employees to apply unsuitable candidates.
Is concerned with tapping the Is concerned with selecting the
sources of human resources most suitable candidate through
various interviews and tests

There is no contract of Results in a contract of service

recruitment established in between the employer and the
recruitment selected employee
Recruitment needs
Are of three types
Planned – arising form changes in organizational eg.
structure, policy of retirement etc.
Anticipated – movement in personnel which an
organization can predict by studying trends in internal
and external environment
 Unexpected – resignation, death, accident, illness
Purpose and Importance of effective
recruitment
The increasing unemployment means that the labour
market is large, hence the need to ensure that you
attract the right candidates for the jobs
High turnover for some occupations are another
problem for recruiting
Finding the right inducements for attracting and
hiring employees can be a problem also
purpose
Attract and encourage more and more candidates to
apply in the organisation
Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the
selection of the best candidates for the organisaion
Determine present and future requirements of the
organisation in conjunction with its personnel
planning and job analysis activities as
Minimize unwarranted cost of selection
Help increase the success rate of selection process by
decreasing the number visibly under qualified or
overqualified job applicants
Help reduce probability that job applicants once
recruited and selected will leave the organization only
after a short period of time
Meet the organisaion legal and social obligation
regarding composition of workforce
Increase organization and individual effectiveness of
various recruitment techniques and sources for all
types of applicants
Recruitment process
Identifying the vacancy : - post to be filled, number of
persons, duties to be performed, qualifications
required
Preparing the JD and JS
Locating and developing the sources of required
number and type of employees
Short listing
Factors affecting recruitment
Internal factors
Recruitment policy
HR planning
Size of the firm
Cost of recruitment
Growth and expansion
Factors affecting recruitment
External factors
Supply and demand
Labour market
Image/goodwill
Political-social-legal environment
Unemployment rates
Competitors
Sources of recruitment: internal and external
Internal:
 seeks to fill positions from among the rank of those
currently employed
Best suitable in succession planning – the process of
ensuring a suitable supply of successors for current
and future senior or key jobs
Advantages:
1. It is less costly than external recruiting
2. Organisations have a better knowledge of internal
applicants skills and abilities than that which can be
acquired of candidates in an external recruiting effort
3. Through performance appraisal and other sources
of information about current personnel, decision
makers typically will have much more extensive
knowledge on internal candidates and thus make
more valid selection decisions
4. An organisation policy of promotion from within
can enhance organizational commitment and job
satisfaction, leading to lower employee turnover and
productivity
Disadvantages:
1. If the organisation has decided to change its
business strategy, entrenched managers are problem
not the best “change masters”” since the internal
recruitment approach simply propagate the old way
of doing things
2. Complaints of unit poaching good employees from
another unit
3. Politics have a greater impact on internal
recruitment. Personal biased decisions towards
specific candidates not necessarily based on
performance or job requirements
4. Employees who apply for jobs and do not get them
may become discontented,: telling unsuccessful
applicants why they were rejected and what remedial
action might take to be more successful in future is
thus crucial
5. Although many times managers post job opening
and interviews to all candidates, the manager often
knows ahead of time exactly whom he or she wants to
hire . Requiring the person to interview a stream of
unsuspecting candidates can be a waste of time for all
concerned
External recruitment
Can be important when:
A firm cannot get all the employees they need from the
current staff
When the firm wants to inject a new perspective into
running the organisation
Employee selection
With a pool of applicants, the next step is to select
the best candidate for the job.
This means whittling down the application pool by
using the screening tools such as test, assessment
centers, background and reference checks
Why careful selection is important
Selecting the right employee is important for three
main reasons:
1. Performance:
Your own performance always depends in part on your
subordinates. Employees with the right skills and
attributes will do a better job for you and the company.
Employees without these skills or who are
uncompromising or obstructionist wont perform
effectively and your won performance and the firm will
suffer. The time to screen out undesirables is before
they are in the door, not after
2. it is costly to recruit and hire employees in terms of
interviewing time, reference checking, traveling etc
3. legal implication of incompetent hiring can be
costly and lead to court redress. If you hire a criminal
who swindles customers, you will be liable
Types of interviews
Selection interview
Appraisal interview
Exit interview
We can classify selection interviews according to:
How they are structured
Their content – type of questions they contain
How the firm administers the interview
How they are structured
Interviews can be :
Structured or unstructured
Unstructured or nondirective
There is generally no set format to follow so the
interview can take various direction
Lack of structures allow the interviewer to ask follow
up questions and pursue points of interest as they
develop
Structured or directive interviews

The questions and acceptable responses are specified in

advance and the responses rated for appropriateness of
content
All interviewers generally ask all applicants the same
questions, and hence:
Tend to be more reliable and valid
It increases consistency across candidates
Enhances job relatedness
Reduces overall subjectivity ( and thus the potential for
bias)
May enhance ability to withstand legal challenges
On the other hand structured interviews do not provide
opportunity to pursue points of interest as they develop
Administering the interview
Interviews can be administered in several ways:
One on one
A panel interview
Sequentially or all at once
Computerized or personally
Administering interviews
(cont..
Personal interviews (one on one) - two people meet
alone and one interviews the other by seeking oral
responses to oral inquires
Sequential – several persons interview the applicant in
sequence, before a decision is made. This can be
structured or unstructured
Panel – a group of interviewers question the candidate.
This may have advantage over the others because in
sequential candidates may cover the same ground over
and over again with each interviewer. But panel format
lets the interviewers ask follow up questions based on the
candidates answer. This may elicit more responses
Computerized interview - in this case a job candidate’s
oral and/visual responses are obtained in response to
computerized oral or visual or written questions
and/situation
A candidate is presented with a series of specific
questions regarding his/her background,, experience,
education, skills, knowledge and work attitudes that relate
to the job for which the person has applied
The questions are presented in a multiple choice and
questions come in rapid sequence
After the computerized interview there is usually a one on
one
What can undermine an interviews
usefulness –pitfalls/errors
First impression – which one gets from the
interviewees application form and personal
appearance
Misunderstanding of the job - interviewers who
do not know precisely what the job entails and what
sort of candidate is best suited for it usually make
their decisions based on incorrect stereotype of what
a good applicant is
Candidates-order (contrast) error and pressure
to hire - The order in which you see applicants affect
how you rate them. After first evaluating unfavorable
candidates, an average candidate can score quite
highly
Pressure to hire accentuate problems like the error or
contrast
 Non verbal behavior and impressions management - - eye
contact, energy levels , low voice etc can influence the interviewers
decision
 Body language, smile, posture may interfere with the interviewers
judgment
 Effect on personal characteristics stereotyping :
 Involves categorizing groups according to general traits then
attributing those traits to a particular individual once the group
membership is known
 attractiveness, gender, race - in general, individuals ascribe more
favorable traits and more successful life outcomes to attractive people
 Some see men or women as more suitable or a certain race as more
suitable
Interviewer’s behavior - some interviewers talk so
much that the applicant have no time to answer
questions. On the other extreme, some interviewers
let the applicant dominate the interview and so don’t
ask questions. Neither is good situation
Others play the role of a judge or psychologist
Designing and conducting an
effective interview – steps
1. The structured situational interview –procedure:
1. Job analysis -write a job description and list of duties,
knowledge, skills and abilities
2. Rate the job duties
3. Create the interview questions –situational questions, job
knowledge questions etc
4. Create benchmark answers with a five point rating scale
5. Appoint an interview panel and conduct interview – 3 – 6
members preferably the same employees who wrote the
questions , also include job supervisor and/or incumbent, and an
HR representative
 Conducting an interview -
steps
 The questions:
Structure your interview questions so that it is standardized,
consistent and relevant. This will include ensuring that :
You base your questions on action job
Use knowledge, situational and behavior oriented questions
and an objective criteria to assess the interviewees response
Train your interviewers
Use the same questions for all candidates
Use rating scales to rate answers
Use multiple interviewers for panel interviews to reduce bias
Control the interview – limit the interviews follow up
questions
2. Prepare for the interview
The interview should take place in a private room
with minimum interruptions
Prior to the interview, review the candidates
application and resume and not areas that are vague
or that may indicate strengths or weaknesses
Remember the duties of the job and the specific skills
and traits that you are looking for – review the job
specifications
Start the interview with an accurate picture of the
traits for the ideal candidate.
3. Establish rapport – put the person at ease – greet
the applicant, drop in some courtesy words and start
interview with non related question, e.g.. About the
whether
Be aware of peoples background and make additional
efforts to make such people relax
 4.Ask questions – follow your list of questions.
Don’t ask questions which can be answered with yes or no,
don’t push words into the applicants mount, don’t
interrogate the applicant as if the person is a criminal ,
don’t be patronizing, sarcastic – ask open ended questions,
listen to the candidate, , encourage them
5. Close the interview – leave time to answer any
questions the candidates may have
End the interview with a positive not, tell the applicant
the next steps, make any rejections diplomatically
6. Review the interview – review notes and fill in the
structured interview guide
Thank you