Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Blog 12 - Selection

Selection is about selecting the right person for a job. The objectives of selection are to gather as much information about the candidate as possible in order to determine whether they are suitable, and to judge whether they would accept an offer.
There are lots of different selection methods that are used in organisations, one of the main methods used are interviews. Organisations use interviews in most circumstances to have a one on one talk with the applicant to judge whether or not they are suitable for the job. The advantages of using interviews are that you can build up a rapport with the individual and get to know them rather well; this is the most formal way of interviewing someone for a job. An interview allows the employer to answer open ended questions to get more detailed answers out of applicant and gets them more relaxed. Also it is a two way interview so the applicant can decide if the job is right for them. There are some limitations for interviews, such as it can be very subjective. Also aspects of the individual application cannot be assessed by the interview. Also if the interviewer is asking closed questions the applicant may be nervous and lie about the questions asked. Another selection method that can be used is referencing. When someone has finished a previous job they will receive a reference that will be used for their next job. This means their new employer is able to see what their strengths are from their previous job. Although the drawback of this is that an employer cannot say negative this in a reference so there may be things about the applicant that are bad but the new employer does not know. Another selection method used is testing. Employers may give a psychometric or personality test to the applicant to get some more information about them. This is good as it gives you a deeper insight into the person they are but sometimes people can lie to make themselves seem different and put what they think the employer wants to hear in order to get the job.
I have experienced several interviews in my life but I believe the job interviews i have experienced have been the most intense. When I was applying for Wembley stadium I was very nervous as it is a very big corporation and they take hiring their staff very seriously. I turned up for the interview in a suit to show I was professional and the manager and deputy manager of the shop were both sitting down in the office waiting for me. They used a technique which I was not expecting where the deputy manager was asking me all the questions while the manager just sat their writing notes. This made me feel very intimidated as I felt very nervous. I felt this technique was effective as it made me open up as I felt they were examining every move I made so I did not want to try and lie about anything. They also made me take a multiple choice test about myself and they way I carry out jobs. I did try to put the answer that I felt they wanted me to hear as I was nervous that I did not do to well in the interview part. I was made to wait a week before I heard anything but I was successful, unfortunately you can never really find out what the management thought of you in the interview process, but I thought it went well and I did try to change certain traits about myself so they were more suited to the job at hand.
At Wembley Stadium I believe that the selection process should be changed as they make you feel very uncomfortable and nervous. It would be better to try and build up a rapport with the applicant, this way they will be more inclined to open up and be more honest about themselves. Also the test they supplied was not very relevant to the job at hand and i think that role playing would be a lot more successful so the management can see how someone handles a practical situation.
To conclude the selection processes used by organisations are very different but all have their advantages and drawbacks. Companies need to be more diverse and apply the methods to the job at hand so they are more relevant. I think that interviews and role playing are essential as this way the employer can get to know the applicant and judge their personality for the job, and also role playing puts them in an active situation to see how they handle it, meaning they can judge if the person is applicable for the job or not.

References
Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

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