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2.10 Selection
Once the applications have been received, the information about the applicants is compared with the requirements for the position applications have been called for. The applicants who fulfill the criteria, are short-listed and invited to attend a personal interview.
2.10.1 Employment interviews
- System of interviews: An interview is a face-to-face meeting and discussion between an applicant and the employer’s representative. Depending on the type of post, interview can be conducted by a single manager – usually HR manager – or HR manager and the manager of the department for which interviews are being conducted. For managerial positions there is a panel of interviewers including HR manager, Departmental manager, one of the top managers, and an internal/external interview specialist.
- Aim of interviews: The aims of an employment interview are the following:
• To confirm the information already provided by the applicant;
• To enable interviewers to compare in detail each applicant’s personal characteristics with those provided in the application form;
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• To enable interviewers to assess the applicant’s behaviour, mannerisms, alertness etc.;
• To enable the applicants to seek relevant information about the job and the organization as a whole;
• To enable the interviewers to short-list the most suitable candidates from among those who attended the interview.
- Conduct of employment interviews: In order to ensure that the interview process is successful, it is necessary to have proper planning and preparation for the same. The following planning and preparation helps the interviewers:
• Each interviewer should go through the job description and employee specification before conducting the interview.
• Each interviewer should make notes about the relevant details of the applicants, and should also make a note of the additional information he/she wants to gather. Different interviewers on the panel may have a different order of important information they would like to seek.
• All the interviewers should decide the order of topics to be covered during the interview so that duplication of questions from different interviewers may be avoided. However, there should be scope for flexibility depending on the varying personalities and skills of candidates.
- Conducting interviews for best results:
• Interviewers must understand that some candidates may be shy or nervous at the beginning of the interview. They need to be made comfortable by starting the interview with general conversation such as the time taken to reach the venue of the interview, their mode of transport, their place of residence etc. As a matter of fact, this process should start from the time they report for the interview. They need to be greeted in a friendly way by the secretary or the receptionist, and if they have to wait for some time in the case of several candidates attending the interview, by offering them a glass of water or a cup of tea/coffee etc.
• The room in which the interview is conducted should be comfortable and quiet i.e. away from computer printers, telephones ringing. This will ensure that there is no disturbance during the interview process.
• The interviewers should greet them pleasantly by standing up and shaking hands, or by making some friendly and pleasant comments etc.
• For best results candidates should be encouraged to talk and give information without frequent interruptions. The interviewers need to talk less. The focus should be on the candidate speaking.
• If a candidate gives a wrong answer to a specific question, the interviewer should never point out the mistake. Rather supplementary questions may be asked, or the topic may be changed.
• Some interviewers are in the habit of “showing off” in front of other panel members and start a lecture on a certain topic. This is absolutely unacceptable. It is the candidate who is being interviewed and not the interviewer.
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• Before the interview is brought to a close, the interviewer should be certain that all relevant questions have been asked. At this stage, the candidate should be given an opportunity to seek information about the job and the organization, and clear and precise answers are to be given.
• Finally, the candidate should be told when he/she can expect to learn the result of the interview, and should leave the interview room in a pleasant and positive frame of mind.
2.10.2 Selection tests
For some posts certain tests might be used to supplement – but not to replace – the interview. Some tests are fairly straightforward, such as:
• Work tests: They are designed to check if a candidate is as skillful as he/she has claimed. For example, a secretary may be asked to type a letter, or a driver is requested to drive a motor vehicle, or a fork-lift operator is required to drive and maneuver a vehicle.
• Aptitude tests: They are designed to show skill of doing simple tasks.
• Intelligence tests: They are designed to test reasoning ability.
• Personality tests: They are designed to indicate the possession or lack of certain character traits.
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33 2.10.3 Appointment
After the selection has been made, the most suitable candidate (or candidates if there are more vacancies) should preferably be informed by telephone, and then a written confirmation is to be sent. This letter should contain all the relevant details such as post, date of joining, and the official to whom the candidate should report. The appointment letter should contain, or be accompanied by particulars of the ‘terms and conditions of employment,’ such as hours of work, starting salary, other benefits, and perhaps even a copy of the relevant job description.
The decision to appoint must be communicated as early as possible because a candidate might have accepted appointment elsewhere if there is a long time gap between the interview and the offer of appointment. Moreover, if the candidate, who is number one on the list, is not available, there is time to offer the post to the candidate next on the selected list.
2.10.4 Dealing with unsuccessful candidates
Candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview should be informed accordingly as early as possible by tactfully worded letters, which would ease disappointment and avoid upsetting the recipients.
However, although a candidate was not found the most suitable for a particular job, it might be that the person concerned could be suitable for a similar or another post in future. It is, therefore, useful to retain on the file applications (along with relevant interview notes etc.) of those candidates, so that if possibly suitable vacancies arise in the future, the relevant candidates can be contacted.
2.10.5 The trial or probationary period
It is quite common for people to be offered a post on condition that they will work an initial ‘trial period’
or ‘probationary period.’ This period might be one month, three months or even longer, depending on the seniority of the post or on the amount of training necessary so that the work can be performed to the required standard.
The probationary period allows the employer to assess whether the candidate selected is actually suitable in real-life work situation. At the same time, this period allows the new employee time in which to decide whether he/she will be happy working for the organization.
At the end of the probationary period the new employee might be called for a talk with the departmental or HR manager during which reports on progress made can be discussed. If both the parties are satisfied, the employee is ‘confirmed’ in the post, otherwise he/she needs to be informed and the employment can be terminated.
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