Recruitment Management 312 v1

RECRUITMENT MANAGEMENT
Developed by
Prof. Chinmay N. Kamat
On behalf of
Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research
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CONTENTS
Contents
Chapter No. Chapter Name Page No.
1 Introduction to the Recruitment Process 3-29
2 Recruitment: An Indian Perspective 30-80
3 Sources of Recruitment 81-106
4 Recruitment Process: From Posting Advertisements 107-155

to Shortlisting
5 Recruitment Process: Critical Essentials of 156-188

Recruitment
6 Improving the Recruitment Process through Use of 189-231

Technology
7 Innovative Recruitment Practices 232-301
8 The Selection Process 302-333
9 Techniques for Effective Interviewing 334-372
10 Hiring Strategies for Senior Management 373-395
11 Role of Induction Process in Recruitment and 396-408

Selection
Appendix A: Indian Laws for Recruitment and 409-410

Selection
Appendix B: Sample Interview Questions 411-413
Appendix C: References and Sources of Information 414-415
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INTRODUCTION TO THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE RECRUITMENT
PROCESS
Objectives
After discussing this chapter, you will be able to understand:
The Recruitment process

The various approaches used in Recruitment process
Internal and external factors that affect the Recruitment process
Difference between the Recruitment and Selection process
Introduction of Selection process
Structure:
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Objectives of Recruitment
1.3 The Recruitment Process in a Nutshell
1.4 Approaches to Recruitment
1.4.1 Personal Liking

1.4.2 Systems Approach
1.5 Factors Affecting Recruitment
1.5.1 External Factors Affecting Recruitment Process

1.5.2 Internal Factors Affecting Recruitment Process
1.6 Recruitment Methods An Overview

1.7 Employee Selection Process An Overview
1.8 Activities
1.9 Summary
1.10 Self Assessment Questions
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1.1 Introduction
Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for

jobs. The first step of the recruitment process is to get an approval to
initiate the search. This is done through a workforce requisition. Once the
workforce requisition has been approved, the next step is to develop an
applicant pool using one or more of the recruitment sources. Its hard to
over-emphasize the importance of effective recruiting. The more the
number of applicants, the more selective can be the hiring of an
organization.
Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees and

stimulating them to apply for jobs. It is an important part of an
organizations human resource planning and their competitive strength.
Competent human resources at the right positions in the organization are a
vital resource and can be a core competency or a strategic advantage for
it.
Picture 1.1: Stock Images
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The objective of the recruitment process is to obtain the number and

quality of employees that can be selected in order to help the organization
to achieve its goals and objectives. With the same objective, recruitment
helps to create a pool of prospective employees for the organization so that
the management can select the right candidate for the right job from this
pool.
Recruitment acts as a link between the employers and the job seekers and
ensures the placement of right candidate at the right place at the right
time. Using and following the right recruitment processes can facilitate the
selection of the best candidates for the organization.
1.2 Objectives of recruitment
Following are the objectives of the recruitment process:
1. Support the organizations ability to acquire, retain and develop the best
talent and skills.
2. Determine present and future manpower requirements of the

organization in coordination with planning and job analysis activities.
3. Obtain the right number and quality of employees that can be selected
in order to help the organization to achieve its goals and objectives.
4. Create a pool of candidates so that the management can select the right
candidate for the right job from this pool.
5. Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the

organization.
6. Increase the pool of candidates at minimum cost.
7. Acts as a link between the employers and the job seekers.
8. Infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization.
9. Meet the organization's legal and social obligations regarding the

composition of its workforce.
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10.Increase the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques.
11.It reviews the list of objectives of the company and tries to achieve
them by promoting the company in the minds of public.
12.It forecasts how many people will be required in the company.
13.It enables the company to advertise itself and attract talented people.
14.It provides different opportunities to procure human resource.
1.3 The Recruitment Process in a Nutshell
In this section we are going to discuss about:
Figure 1.1
Workforce Requisition: The Workforce Requisition is the process through

which an approval is taken to initiate the recruitment process.
The workforce plan provides for the overall estimate of workforce for a
year. However, it is necessary to take specific approval to fill vacancies. The
Manager in whose team the vacancies have arisen initiates the process
through Workforce Requisition Form. The concerned Department Head
as well as the HR Head must approve the same. The CEO must approve the
request for any unbudgeted positions.
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Picture 1.2: Basic Workforce Requisition Form (Source: Stock

Images)
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!
Picture 1.3: Extensive Workforce Requisition Form (Source:
www.docstoc.com)
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Using sources to generate a qualified pool of applicants: Once the

workforce requisition has been approved, the HR Manager or team initiates
the search. Before starting the search for candidates externally, one should
look within the organization for suitable candidates.
Internal Methods: Organizations may decide to move people into open

positions on the basis of their suitability qualification, experience and
supervisors recommendation. Alternatively, the job can be advertised
internally through an Internal Job Posting (IJP). An IJP entails publicizing
the open job to employees through the managers, e-mail,
communication meetings, notice boards etc. The employees would then
apply for the job and would go through a selection process. The job posting
lists the job attributes and the eligibility criteria for applying to the
position.
The merits of sourcing candidates internally are:
There is no substitute for knowing the candidates performance,

strengths and the areas of development. With internal candidates, you
are likely to have a more accurate view.
Commitment levels of internal candidates may be higher.
Internal candidates will have a better understanding of the organization

and the industry and would therefore take less time to settle down in the
job. The original philosophy and mission of the organization is ingrained
in them.
Training and orientation time will therefore be saved.
Employee morale will rise as they will see opportunities for job
enhancement and growth.
There, however, are some risks which one should keep in mind:
Internal candidates who dont get the job may get demotivated.
Telling unsuccessful candidates why they were rejected and what

remedial action they need to take is critical. This needs to be done
conscientiously and requires the managers and interviewers time.
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There could be a lot of candidates who apply for the position and
interviewing all of them could be a time-consuming exercise.
The person who moves into the new role may find it difficult to gain
acceptance from a group of erstwhile peers.
Inbreeding is another potential drawback. When a lot of managers

come up through the ranks, they may have a tendency to maintain
status quo, even when a new direction is required.
External Methods: It is not always possible to get all the employees from
the current staff and a search for candidates has to be done externally.
There are various sources of hiring candidates from the external market.
Advertisement (Choice of publication is critical)

Placement Agencies/Consultants
Campus
Employee Referrals
Internet Job posting
Walk-ins
Temping Agencies
Local Communities where the organization delivers its services
The factors that would impact the choice of the source of recruitment are:
Levels entry level, mid manager, senior manager

Scale of recruitment one or few positions, large scale hiring
Recurrence one off, on going
Time available immediate, planned time
Costs minimal, planned
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Picture 1.4: Workforce Requisition (Source: Stock)
Difference between Recruitment and Selection: Both recruitment and

selection are the two phases of the staffing process. The differences
between the two are given the table below:
Table 1.1: Difference between Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment Selection
Recruitment is the process of Selection involves the series of
searching the candidates for steps by which the candidates are
employment and stimulating them screened for choosing the most
to apply for jobs in the suitable persons for vacant posts.
organization.
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The basic purpose of recruitments is The basic purpose of selection

to create a talent pool of candidates process is to choose the right
to enable the selection of best candidate to fill the various
candidates for the organization, by positions in the organization.
attracting more and more people to
apply in the organization.
Recruitment is a positive process, Selection is a negative process as it
i.e., encouraging more and more involves rejection of the unsuitable
employees to apply. candidates.
Recruitment is concerned with Selection is concerned with
tapping the sources of human selecting the most suitable
resources. candidate through various
interviews and tests.
There is no contract of recruitment Selection results in a contract of
established in recruitment. service between the employer and
the selected employee.
1.4 Approaches to Recruitment
Recruitment is one of the key processes of any business. It is the means by

which the business sources and acquires its most precious asset, its
people. Recruitment turns out to be a risky process when it is carried out
hastily. When it is carried out with skill, it can be one of the most important
investments you ever make. Here are some of the key considerations in
your approach to recruitment.
1.4.1 Personal Liking
The recruitment process is a personalized one. We like to get to know

candidates; we like to find out about their life and work histories; we want
to know what sort of employees they will make; and we want to be as sure
as we can that this will be a relationship that will benefit both of us. This is,
after all, how we pick our partners and how we pick our friends.
However, to be fair and to be effective, personal liking must be balanced by

a system that avoids bias and favouritism.
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A Flexible Approach
Mahesh Mehta is the VP HR in Versatile Solutions one of the private

organizations in the world of high technology. He and his Company
believe in a flexible approach and talks like this about its approach to
recruitment:
Its a demand market at present so we have our pick of the best. Were
always on the lookout for talented people. We keep our ears to the
ground and like to know whos disgruntled, whos looking for a move. We
see nothing wrong in luring good people from our competitors.
More often than not well approach the person first. If we have to use a
public advertisement, we use an open advert and see what response we
get. We are quite prepared to adjust the job to suit that is available.
Everyone needs to be flexible.
We dont use standard selection methods. We like to know the person

will fit into the team. Liking someone is a major part of the decision; it
has to be.
In this case scenario, we can clearly see the demand for high-end
technological employees and the approach followed by Versatile Solutions
to facilitate the recruitment of such employees.
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1.4.2 The Systems Approach
The systems approach is at the opposite end of the scale to personalized

recruitment, where people are taken on if they seem right and are liked. In
a systems approach, there is a procedure for every step in the process
from job analysis to person specification, from marketing the job to
shortlisting candidates; from selection to making an offer. In the extreme,
such an approach takes human bias out of the equation and selects
according to scientific matching of job and person.
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A Rigid Approach
National Fertilizers is a large Indian Public Limited Company. Vipun

Kishore is the Head of Talent Search in this organization. Contrary to the
beliefs of Mahesh Mehta (VP HR in Versatile Solutions), Vipun and his
Company believe in a rigid approach and talks like this about its approach
to recruitment:
Our recruitment procedures are all laid down in our selection and equal
opportunities policies. There is a procedure for the authority to recruit,
for writing job descriptions, for interviewing and for making selections.
Nobody is authorized to recruit unless they have been fully trained in the
procedure.
A committee oversees the process. Every step, every action, even what
is said at interview is open to public scrutiny.
There is no place for personal bias or favoritism in the procedure. Due to

the systematic nature of the procedure, the system itself determines who
is the right candidate for appointment (whether we like them or not). We
can give reasons for each appointment going back over the last ten
years
It is not necessary to make a choice between the highly-personalized

approach to recruitment of some organizations and the systems approach
of others. You can aim for both, the personalized approach of gut feel
and the systems approach of matching people to jobs. You simply need to
recognize that organizations are more than just logic. They are dynamic
systems based on how people feel about each other and build this in to
your recruitment approach.
In this case scenario, we can clearly see the rigid nature of the
recruitment practices of public organizations employees.
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1.5 Factors affecting Recruitment
Following diagram shows the list of external and internal factors that affect
the recruitment process.
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Figure 1.2: Factors Affecting Recruitment
We are going to discuss these factors in brief.
1.5.1 External Factors Affecting Recruitment Process:
The external forces are the forces which cannot be controlled by the
organization. The major external forces are:
1. Supply and demand: The availability of manpower both within and

outside the organization is an important determinant in the recruitment
process. If the company has a demand for more professionals and there
is limited supply in the market for the professionals demanded by the
company, then the company will have to depend upon internal sources
by providing them special training and development programs.
2. Labor market: Employment conditions in the community where the

organization is located will influence the recruiting efforts of the
organization. If there is surplus of manpower at the time of recruitment,
even informal attempts at the time of recruiting like notice boards
display of the requisition or announcement in the meeting etc. will
attract more than enough applicants.
3. Image/goodwill: Image of the employer can work as a potential boon

or constraint for recruitment. An organization with positive image and
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goodwill as an employer finds it easier to attract and retain employees

than an organization with negative image. Image of a company is based
on what organization does and affected by industry. For example, jobs
in the field of Finance were taken up by fresh MBA students when many
Finance companies were coming up.
4. Political-social-legal environment: Various government regulations

prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment have direct impact
on recruitment practices. For example, Government of India has
introduced legislation for reservation in employment for scheduled
castes, scheduled tribes, physically handicapped etc. Also, trade unions
play important role in recruitment. This restricts management freedom
to select those individuals who it believes would be the best performers.
If the candidate cant meet criteria stipulated by the union, the union
regulations can restrict the recruitment of the candidate.
5. Unemployment rate: One of the factors that influence the availability

of applicants is the growth of the economy (whether economy is
growing or not and its rate). When the company is not creating new
jobs, there is often oversupply of qualified labor which in turn leads to
unemployment.
6. Competitors: The recruitment policies of the competitors also affect

the recruitment function of the organizations. To face the competition,
many a times, the organizations have to change their recruitment
policies according to the policies being followed by the competitors.
1.5.2 Internal Factors Affecting Recruitment Process
The internal forces, i.e., the factors which can be controlled by the
organization are:
1. Recruitment policy: The recruitment policy of an organization

specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework for
implementation of recruitment program. It may involve organizational
system to be developed for implementing recruitment programs and
procedures by filling up vacancies with best qualified people.

Factors affecting recruitment policy:
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Government policies on reservations.
Preferred sources of recruitment.
Need of the organization.
Recruitment costs and financial implications.
2. man resource planning: Effective human resource planning helps in

determining the gaps present in the existing manpower of the
organization. It also helps in determining the number of employees to
be recruited and what qualification they must possess.
3. Size of the firm: The size of the firm is an important factor in

recruitment process. If the organization is planning to increase its
operations and expand its business, it will think of hiring more
personnel, which will handle its operations.
4. Cost: Recruitment activities incur cost to the employer; therefore,

organizations try to employ that source of recruitment which will bear a
lower cost of recruitment to the organization for each candidate.
5. Growth and expansion: Organization will employ or think of

employing more personnel if it is expanding its operations.
1.6 Recruitment methods an overview
Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees and

stimulating them to apply for jobs. Companies can adopt different methods
of recruitment for selecting people in the company. These methods are:
1. Internal sources
2. External sources
The sources can be further explained with the help of the following Table:
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Table 1.2: Sources of Recruitment
Sources of Recruitment
Internal sources External sources
Promotion Management consultant
Departmental Exam Employment agency
Transfer Newspaper advertisement
Internal advertisement Internet advertisement
Employee recommendation Walk-in interview
Internal Sources of Recruitment
Internal sources of recruitment refer to obtaining people for job from inside
the company. There are different methods of internal recruitment.
1. Promotion: Companies can give promotion to existing employees. This

method of recruitment saves a lot of time, money and efforts because
the company does not have to train the existing employee. Since the
employee has already worked with the company, he is familiar with the
working culture and working style. It is a method of encouraging
efficient workers.
2. Departmental examination: This method is used by government

departments to select employees for higher level posts. The
advertisement is put up on the notice board of the department. People
who are interested must send their application to the HR department
and appear for the exam. Successful candidates are given the higher
level job. The method ensures proper selection and impartiality.
3. Transfer: Many companies adopt transfer as a method of recruitment.

The idea is to select talented personnel from other branches of the
company and transfer them to branches where there is shortage of
people.
4. Retirement: Many companies call back personnel who have already

retired from the organization. This is a temporary measure. The method
! !18
is beneficial because it gives a sense of pride to the retired when he is

called back and helps the organization to reduce recruitment selection
and training cost.
5. Internal advertisement: In this method, vacancies in a particular

branch are advertised in the notice board. People who are interested are
asked to apply for the job. The method helps in obtaining people who
are ready to shift to another branch of the same company and it is also
beneficial to people who want to shift to another branch.
6. Employee recommendation: In this method, employees are asked to

recommend people for jobs. Since the employees are aware of the
working conditions inside the company, they will suggest people who
can adjust to the situation. The company is benefited because it will
obtain.
Advantages of Internal Recruitment:
1. Internal methods are time saving.
2. No separate induction program is required.
3. The method increases loyalty and reduces labor turnover.
4. This method is less expensive.
Disadvantages of Internal Recruitment:
1. There is no opportunity to get new talent in this method.
2. The method involves selecting people from those available in the

company so there is limited scope for selection.
3. There are chances of biased and partiality.
External Methods/Sources of Recruitment
External sources of recruitment refer to methods of recruitment to obtain

people from outside the company. These methods are:
! !19
1. Management consultant: Management consultant helps the company

by providing them with managerial personnel, when the company is on
the look out for entry level management trainees and middle level
managers. They generally approach management consultants.
2. Employment agencies: Companies may give a contract to

employment agencies that search, interview and obtain the required
number of people. The method can be used to obtain lower level and
middle level staff.
3. Campus recruitment: When companies are in search of fresh

graduates or new talent, they opt for campus recruitment. Companies
approach colleges, management, technical institutes, make a
presentation about the company and the job and invite applications.
Interested candidates who have applied are made to go through a series
of selection test and interview before final selection.
4. Newspaper advertisement: This is one of the oldest and most

popular methods of recruitment. Advertisements for the job are given in
leading newspapers; the details of the job and salary are also
mentioned. Candidates are given a contact address where their
applications must be sent and are asked to send their applications
within a specified time limit. The method has maximum reach and most
preferred among all other methods of recruitment.
5. Internet advertisement: With increasing importance to internet,

companies and candidates have started using the internet as medium of
advertisement and search for jobs. There are various job sites like
naukri.com and monster.com etc. Candidates can also post their profiles
on these sites. This method is growing in popularity.
6. Walk-in interview: Another method of recruitment which is gaining

importance is the walk-in interview method. An advertisement about the
location and time of walk in interview is given in the newspaper.
Candidates require to directly appear for the interview and have to bring
a copy of their CV with them. This method is very popular among BPOs
and call centers.
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Advantages of External Recruitment:
1. There is influx of new talent in the method.
2. The method encourages more competition.
3. There is lesser chance of partiality through this method.
4. If options like campus recruitment have been exercised, we get a

chance to employ fresh graduates, thus increasing employment.
Disadvantages of External Recruitment:
1. The method is costly because it involves recruitment cost, selection,

training cost.
2. The method is time-consuming.
3. The method reduces loyalty to the company.
1.7 Employee selection Process an overview
Selection can be defined as process of choosing the right person for the
right job. It is a process concerned with selecting the most suitable
candidate through various interviews and tests. The basic purpose of
selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various
positions in the organization. It involves the series of steps by which the
candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant
posts.
Process of Selection
The process of selection is different in different companies; however a

general procedure of selection can be framed. This process of selection can
be explained with the help of following diagram.
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Figure 1.3: Process of Selection
1. Job analysis: The very first step in the selection procedure is the job
analysis. The HR department prepares the job description and
specification for the jobs which are vacant. This gives details for the
jobs which are vacant. This gives details about the name of the job,
qualification, qualities required and work conditions etc.
2. Advertisement: Based on the information collected in the first step,

the HR department prepares an advertisement and publishes it in
leading newspapers. The advertisement conveys details about the last
date for application, the address to which the application must be sent
etc.
3. Application blank/form: Application blank is the application form to

be filled by the candidate when (s)he applies for a job in the company.
The application blank collects information consisting of four parts: (i)
! !22
Personal details, (ii) Educational details, (iii) Work experience, and (iv)
Family background.
4. Written test: The applications which have been received are screened
by the HR department and those applications which are incomplete are
rejected. The other candidates are called for the written test.
Arrangement for the written test is looked after the HR department, i.e.,
question papers, answer papers, examination centers and hall tickets
etc.
5. Interview: Candidates who have successfully cleared the test are

called for an interview. The entire responsibility for conducting the
interview lies with the HR department, i.e., they look after the panel of
interviewers, refreshments, informing candidates etc.
6. Medical examination: The candidates who have successfully cleared

the interview are asked to take a medical exam. This medical exam may
be conducted by the organization itself (army). The organization may
have a tie-up with the hospital or the candidate may be asked to get a
certificate from their family doctor.
7. Initial job offer: Candidates who successfully clear the medical exam
are given an initial job offer by the company stating the details
regarding salary, terms of employment, employment bond, if any etc.
The candidate is given some time to think over the offer and to accept
or reject.
8. Acceptance/rejection: Candidates who are happy with the offer send

their acceptance within a specified time limit to show that they are
ready to work with the company.
9. Letter of appointment/final job offer: Candidates who send their

acceptance are given the letter of appointment. The letter will state the
name of the job, the salary and other benefits, number of medical
leaves and casual leaves, details of employment bond, if any etc. It will
also state the date on which the employee is required to start duty in
the company.
10.Induction: On the date of joining, the employee is introduced to the

company and other employees through an elaborate induction program.
! !23
Types of Selection Test
Different selection tests are adopted by different organizations depending

upon their requirements. These tests are specialized tests which have been
scientifically tested and hence they are also known as scientific tests.
Different types of test can be explained with the help of following diagram:
Figure 1.4: Types of Tests in Selection Process
1. Aptitude test: Aptitude tests are test which assess the potential and
ability of a candidate. It enables to find out whether the candidate is
suitable for the job. The job may be managerial, technical or clerical.
The different types of aptitude test are:
(a)Mental ability/mental intelligence test: This test is used to measure

the overall intelligence and intellectual ability of the candidate to deal
with problems. It judges the decision-making abilities.
(b)Mechanical aptitude test: This test deals with the ability of the
candidate to do mechanical work. It is used to judge and measure
the specialized knowledge and problem solving ability. It is used for
technical and maintenance staff.
(c)Psychomotor test: This test judges the motor skills, the hand and eye
co-ordination and evaluates the ability to do jobs lie packing, quality
testing, quality inspection etc.
! !24
2. Intelligence test: This test measures the numerical skills and

reasoning abilities of the candidates. Such abilities become important in
decision-making. The test consists of logical reasoning ability, data
interpretation, comprehension skills and basic language skills.
3. Personality test: In this test the emotional ability or the emotional

quotient is tested. This test judges the ability to work in a group,
interpersonal skills, ability to understand and handle conflicts and judge
motivation levels. This test is becoming very popular nowadays.
4. Performance test: This test judges and evaluates the acquired

knowledge and experience of the knowledge and experience of the
individual and his speed and accuracy in performing a job. It is used to
test performance of typists, data entry operators etc.
1.8 Activities
1. Visit the websites of two Indian Public Limited Companies and obtain
information on the Recruitment methods employed by them.
2. Browse on the internet and research for information through various

websites which provide details on:
(a)Intelligence Tests
(b)Performance Tests
(c)Personality Tests
! !25
1.9 Summary
In this chapter, we are introduced with the various concepts related to

Recruitment Process. Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs. It is an important part
of an organizations human resource planning and their competitive
strength. Competent human resources at the right positions in the
organization are a vital resource and can be a core competency or a
strategic advantage for it.
We have discussed about the objectives of recruitment process. Some of

them are enlisted below:
1. Increase the pool of candidates at minimum cost.
2. Acts as a link between the employers and the job seekers.
3. Infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization.
4. Increase the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques.
5. It forecasts how many people will be required in the company.
We have discussed about the recruitment process in a nutshell where we

have briefly discussed about:
Workforce Requisition, Sources of Recruitment
How to choose a source to generate a qualified pool of applicants
The difference between Recruitment and Selection
We have also discussed about various approaches to the recruitment

process such as personal liking and systems approach.
We have had a brief discussion about the internal and external factors that
affect the recruitment process. External Factors are Supply and Demand,
Labor Market, Image/ Goodwill, Political-Social-Legal Environment,
Unemployment Rate, Competitors. Internal Factors are Recruitment Policy,
Human Resource Planning, and Size of the Firm, Cost of Recruitment,
Growth and Expansion.
! !26
Some of the internal and external sources of recruitment are as below:
Internal sources: Promotion, Departmental Exam, Transfer, Employee

recommendation.
External sources: Management consultant, Employment agency,

Newspaper advertisement, Internet advertisement, Walk-in interview.
While discussing about types of selection test, we have seen that, different
selection tests are adopted by different organizations depending upon their
requirements. These tests are specialized tests which have been
scientifically tested and hence they are also known as scientific tests.
Different types of test are: Aptitude Test, Intelligence Test, Personality Test
and Performance Test.
! !27
1. Enlist and discuss in detail the various Recruitment sources employed as

a part of the recruitment process.
2. What are Employee selection tests? Enlist and discuss any two of them
in detail.
3. Enlist and discuss in detail the steps in Employee selection process.
4. Explain any one approach of recruitment in detail.
5. Discuss about external recruitment in detail and enlist its advantages.
6. Enlist any six important objectives of recruitment process.
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
Click on the links below to view additional reference material for this
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture - Part 1
! !29
RECRUITMENT:AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Chapter 2
Objectives
Major recruitment trends in India

How innovative recruitment is applied in Indian recruitment industry
HR challenges faced by the recruitment
Emergence of the recruitment consultants
Structure:
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Current Scenario: Major Recruitment Trends
2.3 India on the Path of Innovative Recruitment
2.3.1 Social Media

2.3.2 Business Networking Websites
2.3.3 Online Forums
2.4 HR Challenges in Recruitment

2.5 Emergence of Recruitment Consultants
2.5.1 Major Players in the Indian Industry

2.5.2 Online Consultants
2.6 Activities
2.7Summary
2.8Self Assessment Questions
! !30
2.1 Introduction
The recruitment landscape in India has demonstrated unique trends in

2012 that not only indicate shifting behavior patterns by organizations and
individuals but also point to resilience in the country's economy and Human
Resource sector.
LinkedIn recently released data on Indian Recruiting Trends to understand

the shifts and uniqueness of Indian recruitment in 2012. The findings help
to show how the industry is evolving as well as catering to these changes.
Critically, despite corrections in the Indian economy, healthy hiring is seen

across the board. Fifty-three per cent of Indian recruiters said that they
were hiring more in 2012, a figure which is 15 per cent higher than the
global average.
Coupled with a budget growth increase of 50 per cent, in line with hiring,
Indian companies are clearly still looking to hire, but are searching for the
right talent. However, recruiters still have concerns and when asked what
the biggest barriers to attracting talent were, 38 percent said it was
competitors, while another 38 per cent pointed to compensation packages
being a concern a result of the economy's movement. However, what is
fascinating is how employers have evolved to ensure that talent is being
tapped and this is where the real shift is occurring. Employers are moving
towards online social and professional networks to not only look for talent
but also to build their employer brand among passive candidates.
Employers want a presence on these networks to build and maintain a
more robust brand so that the right talent is attracted. With 35 per cent of
recruiters are utilizing social networks to source new employees, we can
see Indian employers reorganizing themselves more efficiently. With
professional and social networks, recruiters are able to prepare and line up
new talent as and when it is required.
Word-of-mouth and recommendation is becoming a method of choice

ahead of recruitment agencies, which have seen a 10 per cent year-on-
year drop in preference. In place of this, organizational referral programs
provide another trustworthy method of pipelining talent and 57 per cent of
respondents to our survey prefer to use this way in order to find quality
hires. At the same time, social and professional networks as a means for
gaining quality hires have seen an increase of 4 per cent in the last year.
! !31
These are meaningful shifts in employer behavior and it means resources

are being appropriately seeded into organizations and that the talent pool
in India is strong. That's only the beginning, however, as employers
recognize the importance of their brand on social and professional
networks in order to attract talent. The conversations are no longer one
way. In order to acquire passive talent or employees that are the right fit,
employers have to be equally savvy in their ability to communicate online
and 90 per cent of companies are seen investing in employer branding.
Overall, it is expected that employers will continue to recruit as strongly

but their decision-making will be further influenced by what talent they see
online. Whether budgets for remuneration will increase is dependent on the
country's economic situation, with growth likely to continue. Where the
talent goes depends on employers and how they choose to present
themselves.
The depth of employer brand activity online will deepen and expectations
are to see more employees recruited via social networks in 2013 and
beyond. More discussions and examining online will happen than ever
before as the trend for social networking as a recruitment tool continues to
evolve. This trend will refine even more over the coming year and with
increases in social and professional network populations, the competition to
recruit will heat up further, requiring stronger shifts in employer and
employee behavior.
! !32
Picture 2.1: Source: www.linkedin.com
Recruitment is an important part of an organizations human resource

planning and their competitive strength. Competent human resources at
the right positions in the organization are a vital resource and can be a
core competency or a strategic advantage for it.
The objective of the recruitment process is to obtain the number and

quality of employees that can be selected in order to help the organization
to achieve its goals and objectives. With the same objective, recruitment
helps to create a pool of prospective employees for the organization so that
the management can select the right candidate for the right job from this
pool.
Recruitment acts as a link between the employers and the job seekers and
ensures the placement of right candidate at the right place at the right
time. Using and following the right recruitment processes can facilitate the
selection of the best candidates for the organization.
! !33
Like any other industry, the recruitment "industry" is cyclical. It follows the
cycles of other industries to a large extent. But the recruitment industry
has a significant advantage because of the "products" it promotes skilled
manpower. For any organization, in any kind of economy, skilled manpower
is absolutely essential.
In a booming economy, companies in India were offering high salaries and

attractive incentive packages to attract the best talent to their payroll.
However, as the economic downturn hit countries around the world, Indian
companies suffered too. Lay-offs, salary cuts and deferred payments
became commonplace. A vast pool of skilled, unemployed candidates was
created during this recession. During this period, hiring was extremely
limited and companies could cherry-pick from the cream of the crop.
2.2 Current Scenario: Major Recruitment Trends
Now that the economy, at least in India, seems to have stabilized and
started clawing back to what is was in 2008, some striking trends are being
observed in the recruitment industry. These trends have their roots in the
recession and its effects on job seekers and recruiters. Some of the key
trends have been discussed below.
Contract Hiring: Many companies that cut back to bare bones staff
during the worst of the recession are now beginning to hire contract
workers. Contract hiring makes sense when the economic situation is still
volatile and a company does not want to commit its financial resources to
a full-time permanent hire. Also, contract employees are usually brought
on board with the idea of handling one set project or providing a select
skill set. So, the process of hiring a contract employee is usually a little
more streamlined as well.
Just-in-time Hiring: Today, the key focus of talent acquisition teams

has changed from hiring generic skilled resources as strategic buffers to
meet future ramp-ups to hiring just-in-time based on business demand.
This ensures that lead times are reduced for new employees and costs
are reduced for the company since they are not maintaining a bench.
Just-in-time hiring is fast becoming the watchword in many companies
and is a beneficial trend that is set to embed itself firmly into the
recruitment industry.
! !34
Consulting/Freelancing: Becoming a freelancer requires a great deal

of domain experience, commitment, integrity, flexibility and confidence.
Though the going might be tough initially, returns can be very good
provided a freelancer is good at the job and enterprising enough. To
become an independent consultant, a person has to have a command
over his field of experience and a relatively good network in the industry.
Freelancing and consulting may form a small percentage of the
recruitments in India, but recent trends show more professionals inclined
towards them.
The following trends are also being seen in recruitment:
Outsourcing: In India, the HR processes are being outsourced from more

than a decade now. A company may draw required personnel from
outsourcing firms. The outsourcing firms help the organization by the initial
screening of the candidates according to the needs of the organization and
creating a suitable pool of talent for the final selection by the organization.
Outsourcing firms develop their human resource pool by employing people

for them and make available personnel to various companies as per their
needs. In turn, the outsourcing firms or the intermediaries charge the
organizations for their services.
Advantages of Outsourcing are:
Company need not plan for human resources much in advance.

Value creation, operational flexibility and competitive advantage
Turning the management's focus to strategic level processes of HRM
Company is free from salary negotiations, clearing the unsuitable
resumes/ candidates.
Company can save a lot of its resources and time
Poaching/raiding: Buying talent (rather than developing it) is the latest

mantra being followed by the organizations today. Poaching means
employing a competent and experienced person already working with
another reputed company in the same or different industry; the
organization might be a competitor in the industry. A company can attract
talent from another firm by offering attractive pay packages and other
terms and conditions, better than the current employer of the candidate.
! !35
But it is seen as an unethical practice and not openly talked about. Indian
software and the retail sector are the sectors facing the most severe brunt
of poaching today. It has become a challenge for human resource
managers to face and tackle poaching, as it weakens the competitive
strength of the firm.
E-recruitment: Many big organizations use Internet as a source of

recruitment. E-Recruitment is the use of technology to assist the
recruitment process. They advertise job vacancies through world wide web.
The job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae, i.e., CV through
e-mail using the Internet. Alternatively, job seekers place their CVs in
world wide web, which can be drawn by prospective employees depending
upon their requirements.
Advantages of E-recruitment are:
Low cost
No intermediaries
Reduction in time for recruitment
Recruitment of right type of people
Efficiency of recruitment process.
Recruiting in India is wildly different in these four ways Article by

Irfan Abdulla, October 29, 2012, taken from the The LinkedIn
Talent Blog.
Is your company recruiting in India? Prepare to think and act very

differently.
! !36
First, the good news: hiring in India remains healthy. According to our
study of 255 India-based corporate recruiting leaders, three quarters of
companies have seen their hiring volume either increase (53 per cent) or
stay the same (22 per cent) in 2012. This puts India well ahead of many
other markets. On average, 38 per cent of 3,000+ recruiting leaders
surveyed globally said their hiring volume was up this year.
LinkedIn research also illustrates that the Indian market and recruiting
mindset vary significantly from what you might observe in other countries.
Here are four key differences:
1. The candidate pool is much more aggressive: Based on a separate

survey, we published this info graphic earlier in the year showing that
while only 21 per cent of global working professionals are actively job
hunting, three-quarters of the remaining passive candidates are open to
relevant opportunities. What we didnt share: fully one-third of fully-
employed professionals in India are actively looking for work and five
out of every six passive candidates might be considered approachable!*
As a result, Indian recruiters certainly need not be shy.
2. Indian recruiting leaders are embracing data: 62 per cent of Indian

corporate recruiting leaders we surveyed said their organizations are
either best in class or strong at using data to understand talent
acquisition effectiveness and opportunities. The global average: just 26
per cent. So if youre not practicing data-driven recruiting, youll find
yourself behind the curve in India.
3. Theyre also more likely to be measuring employer brand: In our

survey, half of all India-based corporate recruiting leaders say they
consistently measure their employer brand in a quantifiable way. That
compares to a global average of just 33 per cent. Given the importance
of employer brand in attracting great talent, those who measure and
optimize will come out on top.
4. Referral programs are an emerging hot trend: When asked for the
three most essential long-lasting trends in recruitment, 35 per cent
cited referral programs, compared to the global average of 24 per cent.
(The only answer that was more popular in India: utilizing social and
professional networks for recruiting).This may be because Indian
recruiting leaders are experiencing so much success with this channel:
! !37
57 per cent said referral programs are one of the most important
sources of quality hires, over 10 per cent more than the next answer.
! !38
! !39
! !40
! !41
! !42
2.3 India on the path of Innovative Recruitment
Innovation is very important and considering the market downturn,

companies in India and abroad are looking to innovate to be more efficient,
reorganizing aesthetically and continuously finding ways to cut down costs,
overheads and liabilities.
While the conventional models like Job Portals and placement vendors have
proven to be effective, the Recruitment industry in India has matured over
the years. There is always a constant need for small, medium and large
corporates to continuously improvise on their talent acquisition sources
since the conventional ones become more redundant, off-the-track and
expensive.
Some organizations realized the folly of the conventional models and

identified alternate sources like Campus Hiring, Buddy Referrals (Employee
referrals), Internal Job Rotations; however, they could only manage up to
30% of their hiring needs via these sources. Hence, in spite of the cost
advantage attached with these sources, they couldnt prove to be the only
sources that organizations could rely upon.
! !43
Bridging this gap, many new-age Web 2.0 interfaces cropped up in the
last year or so. These models claimed to combine the power of career
networking (social networking portals like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook)
and portals that allowed groups and forums based a large plethora of
subjects ranging from J2EE to Project Management (like Yahoo groups,
Google and MSN groups etc.) These sources did manage to generate
passive candidates at certain quarters such as skills, and professional
experience, but hardly replaced the conventional sources of recruitment.
The industry saw the advent of referral recruitment models. Again, these
models have largely been unsuccessful in catching the pulse of the Indian
recruitment industry. Many have failed to live up to the ideology and hype
of referral recruitment. Some of them have actually been glorified RPO
units in guise of Referral recruitment.
By far, the most popular career networking source for passive candidates
is LinkedIn which essentially is a US based model but has managed to
catch a relatively small portion of the passive candidate market in India
and other globally labor-oriented markets outside USA.
2.3.1 Social Media
Why Social Media?
From the recruiters perspective, one of the reasons why social media has
emerged as an important tool for recruitment is its power to offer them a
broad perspective about the candidate. It tends to bring forth certain traits
and personalities of a candidate which may not be reflected in their
resume.
Secondly, social media recruitment widens the choice pool for the
employers and also fastens the recruitment process. While on one hand the
recruiters get access to a wide range of candidates from various geographic
locations, it also makes the process quick and more effective by increasing
the accuracy of profile searches. This function is of great advantage,
especially given the fact that a vast majority of social media users are the
youth who would be the prime working force in companies.
! !44
Thirdly, it is a low cost tool with a good return on investment, thus saving
both time and money costs. Additionally, social media increases the brand
visibility of the recruiter.
Picture 2.2: Social Media in Recruitment (Source:

www.eastwestpr.com)
From the applicants perspective, social media helps applicants gain deeper
insight into the company about certain facts and information which may
not be readily available on the companys website. They also get to know
the openings available in various companies and apply accordingly,
provided the companies are active on these social mediums.
Thus, social media recruitment is redefining and reshaping the traditional

hiring processes of companies. Can it go a longer way? Time will tell.
This was an introductory look at social media recruitment. We are going to

discuss about the role of social media in recruitment process in detail in the
seventh chapter.
2.3.2 Business Networking Websites
With the ever increasing potential employees profiling themselves on

business-oriented and professional networking sites (PNS), ever more
recruiting managers and the HR departments are employing these tools for
! !45
hiring purposes. The world of recruiting is changing. More and more the
online focus rests on professional networking sites and smaller, specialized
job boards.
Of course the traditional employee-hunt techniques of going through job

boards like Monster.com, Craiglist.com, Careerbuilder.com etc., have been
loyal and provided quite a good number or potential candidates, but the
online social networking world is expanding, there are better ways to
recruit superior employees. These job boards will face a stiff competition in
the near future from these SNSs and PNSs like linkedin.com,
Wisestep.com, Facebook.com, Ecademy.com and many more which provide
much more than just the resume of the applicant.
This was an introductory look at social media recruitment. We are going to

discuss about the role of social media in recruitment process in detail in the
Chapter 7.
2.3.3 Online Forums
Today, the economy cant think of moving ahead without forms of e-

business, e-marketing, e-learning, but how about e-recruitment? The
automation of the recruitment process began in the early 1990s which
paved the way for employers and companies to find their much needed
employees online. E-Recruitment surely seems to have become the next
big online revolution in the market of employers and opportunity seeking
employees. E-Recruitment applications enable recruitment teams to create
job postings, manage application responses, schedule interviews and
manage other functional recruitment tasks for successful and speedy
onboarding of tent in the organization. This form of recruitment has proved
to dramatically reduce the labor hours and expenditure actually spent on
physical recruitment.
Sophisticated firms have been using automated sourcing and recruitment

systems to give their recruiters more time to focus on issues of enlarged
chores of human resource management. An organization can be recognized
to be e-recruiting, if it has automated all or part of the recruitment
process.
The Web has served as a platform for industry interaction, thereby

improving access of communication between individuals and companies.
! !46
Community forums, blogs, podcasts, search engines have all been

recognized as an e-recruitment tool. These channels open up a two-way
communication form between an employer and a prospective employee.
The job seekers seem to possess more power in researching and learning
about prospective employers, the company culture and decide as to where
they would want their talent and skill for application.
Case Study on e-Recruitment Services by CMC

Recruitment in Corporations:
Public sector recruitment processing is an extremely sensitive and
confidential work involving thousands of eager applicants waiting to fill up
a few available posts. There are various reservations under various quota
and category as per the prevailing Government rules. These criteria need
to be strictly adhered to at the same time ensuring a fully transparent
system. Despite these stringent criteria the vacancies need to be filled up
in the shortest time frame by identifying and reaching out to the best
talents in the country.
The Challenges:
To complement, but not replace, the traditional paper-based system.

To demonstrate their commitment to total transparency as per the
recruitment policies.
To widen their pool of applicants.
CMCs Solution:
1. Pre-test Automation: Online web portal, which enables applications
to register online. Applicants can browse through the eligibility/
reservation and availability of posts and apply accordingly.They are
immediately intimated on their application status as to whether they are
eligible for the written test and thereby save the manual scrutiny and
postal reply delays. The hall ticket availability is intimated via e-mail and
the applicant is allowed to download the same. Various statistical details
(number of applicants under each post/category) are available online for
the management to take decisions on the fly for any extension of
application dates/announcement of test dates at various locations etc.
Although e-recruitment can help to widen access to vacancies to under
represented groups,it can exclude people who have no access to Internet
!
! !47
CMC has specially designed application forms, which are ICR

readable (Intelligent Character Recognition) where the applicant fills up
in capital letters in specified boxes in the form.
This enables CMC to capture the applicants data using high speed
scanners and applying ICR technology with minimum manual intervention
(to the tune of 5% in the case of numeric fields) and apply the various
criteria for processing the same for a written test. The images of the
application forms are also archived in this process. Scanning also enables
the applicants photograph, signature and his personnel data to be
printed in his admit card in exactly the way he had filled it up.
2. Test Conduction and Evaluation Automation: CMC plans the test

conduction right from booking of the various venues and preparing the
question bank in a totally secure and confidential manner as per the skills
required for the particular post. The test is supervised and conducted at
various test venues systematically by the help of trained invigilators and
with external observers to ensure transparency CMC plans. The entire
test CMC has the options for both online test conduction as well as OMR
based written test evaluation (Optical Mark Reader). There are
designated centres for online test conduction where the candidate can
walk in and take the test. The applicant is informed of the test results
immediately. In the paper test method, the applicant fills up his
application as well as writes the objective type test by choosing the
appropriate answers by darkening the options available on the OMR
sheet. Post-test the answer papers are consolidated and packed and
! sealed to be securely transported to the evaluation centers.
! !48
Post-test Automation: The test results are hosted on the web so that
each applicant can view his results and his relative ranking. Depending
on the overall results, the management can easily fix the various cut-offs
for the next phase interviews/medical tests/group discussions etc.
depending on the departments recruitment criteria. The interview call
letters are also downloadable via the web by the applicant. He is
intimated the venue so that he can plan his travel. The final merit list of
selected candidates depending on various recruitment criteria is derived
and the place of posting is an option, which the applicant is allowed to
choose depending on his order of merit. Thus, the entire system is fully
transparent and merit based.
Benefits of e-recruitment: The main focus of the efficiency agenda is
better use of resources rather than expense reductions alone. The
introduction of e-recruitment may be an opportunity to use the saved
recruitment resources to create a higher impact.
!
Efficiency Gains for the HR Department

Drastic reduction in overall cycle time for recruitment from inviting
applications to recruitment. Reduction in the time for data entry and
processing the raw data. Reduction in time from the traditional manual
communication modes to the web-based automation.
Huge saving in printing and postage costs
Economies of scale in advertising spend. Reduced advertising

spend from fewer and smaller adverts. Reduced need for advertising in
the local dailies.
Saving in storage space for receiving applications and scrutiny
Reduced spending on temporary manpower for manual sorting/scrutiny
Easier reach through the web.
HR staff carrying out higher value activities, for example, workforce

planning. Less HR staff time spent on basic recruitment tasks.
! !49
Lower vacancy rates.
Completely transparent and foolproof system with minimal manual

intervention.
Easy handling of huge volume of data and maintenance of

confidentiality.
Final master database handed over along with an archival of the

images for future reference.
!
Benefits to the Applicant:
24/7 access via the Internet with support available through local
libraries at no cost to the applicant
Online status update in the website. Online redressal of queries.

No need to contact Departments in person/phone.
Application packs and job details are available online and job
applications can be submitted online, thereby enabling a process that is
not dependent on postal systems.
Various departments/public sectors across India have used the services

of CMC and acknowledged our quality of service. For confidentiality
reasons, the names of the client organizations are not included in this
document.
!
Search Engines: Job seekers have been effectively utilizing search

engines to find job positions relevant to their skill and knowledge. This has
led to employers and staffing agencies opting for search marketing
methods for increasing the flow of candidates. Print advertising has taken a
back step, with majority of companies opting for pay-per-click advertising
which offers a flexible yet a performance based payment approach.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication): This is increasingly being adopted as

an effective distribution tool (popular for its reach to mass society) for job
listings. Job Feeds are a method of serving employment-oriented web
content via standard RSS technology. Employees also use RSS technology
! !50
to search for jobs and vacancies, the benefit being that the same is
delivered to your doorstep (feed reader, mobile devices).
Job Portals: Several job portals serve the purpose of uniting the
employers and the prospective candidates by bridging the existing gap of
reach. With the job portal industry getting huge and crowded with several
of them plunging into this e-market, the future business delivery shall
focus on quality of resumes and employers rather than quantity of resumes
that lie idle and undated. These portals shall soon conceptualize a business
model of free posting of job listings and charging the E-Recruiting is rapidly
becoming a foundation for workforce design, follow-up and execution.
However, this tool also has its own pitfalls in the areas of public concern
over privacy details of applicants and job seekers. This has to be firmly
stated by e-recruitment tools that the information shall only remain with
the company without it being utilized for other purposes. The e-recruitment
era has opened the doors job seekers have greater and flexible access
for jobs while the employers have greater access to talent and employee
resources for their organization.
Major Players in the Indian Job Portal Industry
1. Naukri.com:
Naukri.com is an Indian job search engine operating in India founded by

Sanjeev Bikhchandani in March 1997. It publishes a monthly report called
Naukri Job Speak. The site was established in 1997 by Info Edge (India)
Ltd. Info Edge is a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and
National Stock Exchange. It went public in November 2006. As of March
31, 2011, Naukri.com had a database of about 25 million registered job
seekers and over 80,000 live job listings from Corporate Customers. During
the fiscal year 2010-11, Naukri.com serviced approximately 42,000
Corporate Customers, an average of about 12,000 resumes were added
while about 72,000 were modified daily in the Naukri.com database in
fiscal year 2010-11. Naukri.com has been recognized as the best classified
website at the 2nd edition of the India Digital Awards organized by the
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
! !51
Picture 2.3: naukri.com
Recruiter Zone: Blog from Naukri.com to Guide Recruitment

Professionals
Naukri.com has been the pioneer in the Online Recruitment Solutions in the
country. Naukri provides recruitment professionals with easy to use,
innovative and efficient tools to manage their requirements, based on
feedback. This blog aims at apprising recruiters with the innovations in the
Naukris Recruitment Solutions that helps them manage their Recruitment
requirements, and is also a platform to talk to people in Naukri.
! !52
Picture 2.4: Recruiter Zone (Source: naukri.com)
Naukri Tools for Recruiters
1. Tool to import contacts from Outlook, LinkedIn and Excel:
Picture 2.5: Tool to Import Contacts (Source: Naukri.com)
! !53
2. Naukri Referral Solution is a simple, easy to use application to

create, track and manage your Employee Referral Program. Recruiters
can reach out to employees contacts and their social networks from a
single interface.
!
Picture 2.6: 3 Simple Steps to Recruit (Source: naukri.com)
!
Picture 2.7: Job Posting Referral Process (Source: Naukri.com)
! !54
Naukri Referral Tool Features
Recruiters can seek Referrals from their employees for jobs posted on
Naukri.
Multiple jobs can be shared in a single mailer to employees.
Referral Mailer to employee can be completely customized (Option to

choose company logo and color scheme as per companys branding
theme).
Recruiters can import contacts from multiple sources including outlook

and excel
Contact lists can be created and safely stored by each sub-user (10 lists
with 1,000 contracts each possible for each sub-user; All lists completely
customizable at sub-user level).
Employees can share Referral jobs to their contacts/social networks.

Recruiters can track these Referral applies along with Referee Employee
information through Track Referral Interface.
Referral Responses are also available in Naukri Response managers with

option to search and filter.
3. Resdex Resdex Search Results Page Tool Naukri has now

introduced a more powerful Refine Results section on the Resume
Search Results Page making the feature more exhaustive, useful and
actionable.
You can now easily refine your search results based on Salary, Industry,
Functional Area, Role, UG Qualification, PG Qualification and Current
Location.
You can make multiple selections when refining. This reduces the number
of clicks, and your time required, to find the most relevant resume.
We have also taken this opportunity to change the structure of the page
based on feedback from users. We have shifted the Refine Results panel
! !55
to the left of the page in order to improve usability and readability of the
page for you.
Here is a snapshot of the new Refine Results functionality works:
!
Picture 2.8: Source: naukri.com
4. Naukri Automatic Shortlisting
! !56
Picture 2.9: Steps in Automatic Shortlisting (Source: naukri.com)
As a recruiter,you can Send a Job as Email(http:recruiterzone.naukri.com/?

p=1935) to over 2000 jobseekers in one go (and more in the sets of up to
2000). After posting a job on Naukri, you can search the most relevant
candidates in Resdex and send them the job. Send a Job as E-mail, thus,
combines the power of Job Posting and Resdex, and helps in closing the
positions at the earliest.
Searching and shortlisting of relevant candidates from Resdex may require

significant amount of time and effort. Now, Naukri can also help in
identifying the matching job seekers. To begin with, this functionality is
available if you have posted a job where annual salary mentioned is more
than ` 15 lakhs per annum. The candidates are selected using the Naukri
iMatch technology which also powers Naukri Job Alerts. The matched
candidates are available in a folder in Resdex which carries with the same
name as the job title for convenient access. If you want, you can further
shortlist candidates from this set or send the job as e-mail with a single
click.
! !57
2. Monster India:
Launched in 1999, Monster India is a part of Monster Worldwide. Currently,

Monster is the biggest job search engine in the world. It has a database of
over 150 million resumes and over a million live jobs at any time. URL:
www.monsterindia.com. Monster.com is one of the largest employment
websites in the world, owned and operated by Monster Worldwide, Inc. In
2006, Monster was one of the 20 most visited websites out of 100 million
worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrics (November 2006). It was
created in 1999 by the merger of The Monster Board (TMB) and Online
Career Center (OCC), which were two of the first and most popular career
web sites on the Internet. Monster is primarily used to help those seeking
work to find job openings that match their skills and location.
Picture 2.10: Monsterindia.com
Today, Monster is the largest job search engine in the world. Monster has
over a million job postings at any time and over 1 million resumes, in the
! !58
database (2008) and over 63 million job seekers per month. The company
employs approximately 5,000 employees in 36 countries. Its headquarters
are in New York, NY, United States. In October, 2010, Indeed.com slipped
past Monster.com to become the largest job site in USA. Monster also
maintains the Monster Employment Index. Jeff Taylor founded The Monster
Board and served as CEO and "Chief Monster" for many years.
Picture 2.11: monsterindia.com
1. Monster Talent Management Suite: Monster Talent Management

Suite (TMS) is an end-to-end solution that saves you time, before and
after you hire. Our pre-hire tools will help you streamline your recruiting
! !59
process from posting jobs and screening candidates to managing offers

and providing a smooth onboarding experience welcoming new
employees.
Picture 2.12: Source: monster.com
360 degrees Talent Management: From pre-hire to post-hire, TMS gives

you the tools to quickly and easily see return on one of your greatest
investmentsyour employees.
2. Monster Power Resume Search: Power Resume Search will help you
pinpoint the best qualified candidates in less time. Fueled by Monster's
6Sense search technology, Power Resume Search:
! !60
Lets you proactively search for candidates based on your criteria
Understands the context of your search criteria
Ranks candidates with the best matches on top
Displays candidates side-by-side for quick comparisons
!
! !61
!
!
! !62
3. Times Jobs
Launched in 2004, Times Jobs is a part of Times Group and operating

mainly in India and Middle East. One of the pioneer job sites which
conducts job fairs time to time in all metros of India. It sponsors Times
Ascent, a weekly job supplement, along with Times of India every
Wednesday. URL: www.timesjobs.com. In January 2004, TimesJobs.com,
the fastest growing and most innovative Indian online recruitment portal,
was born with a mission to reach out to all Indians in the country and
abroad and provide them with the best career opportunities available. Its
focus was to ensure their skills were showcased and matched suitably with
the HR requirements of employers from diverse industries, in a time-saving
and cost-efficient manner. Its concentrated approach has made
TimesJobs.com the blue-eyed boy of recruiters and aspirants alike.
TimesJobs.com, had achieved the distinction of becoming India's No. 1
recruitment portal in India in April 2007, with the largest number of active
job seekers and a database of over 10 million candidates with over 20,000
new resumes added every day, we offer one of the largest database of
active jobseekers in India today. In addition, thousands of better paying
jobs available from more than 25,000 TimesJobs.com clients, including
blue-chip companies from India and abroad, ensures that the search
always yields results.
In order to offer candidates effective contact points, TimesJobs.com,

launched "Jobs on Mobile", a mobile interface that allows the candidate to
search, view, and apply for jobs simply by SMSing "Jobs" to 58888. In
addition, we introduced Jobtalk@TimesJobs.com where job seekers can
a d d J O B . t a l k @ y a h o o . c o m t o t h e i r Ya h o o ! M e s s e n g e r o r
Jobtalk@timesjobs.com to their Gtalk and search, view details and apply to
jobs directly through their chat window.
TimesJobs.com pioneered the concept of job fairs in India, branded as 'Big

Leap', which have become the industry standard for facilitating direct
interaction of job seekers and employers. The first such event was
conducted at the Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, New Delhi on March 21,
2004, which had 10 clients offer on-the-spot jobs to over 10,000 job
seekers who walked in over the 2 days of the event. TimesJobs.com
conducted its first 'Jumbo', Job Fair christened according to its mammoth
scale, spanning across sectors such as Hospitality, Airlines, HR
Consultancy, Retail, Insurance, Banking and Finance, Telecom, IT and ITeS,
! !63
Education, etc. in May 2004, at the Pragati Maidan, which saw over 60
clients and 1-lakh job seekers. Jumbo is a bi-annual event at Pragati
Maidan, and draws crowds, similar to the IITF, and Auto Expo. We are also
encouraging the 'Reverse Brain Drain' and have conducted Job Fairs in the
US.
As part of our CSR activities, TimesJobs.com also forged alliances with The
Indian Army TimesJobs.com was the only website with the wherewithals
and credentials to tie up with their placement agencies. TimesJobs.com
collaborated with the Indian Army Placement Agency (APA), to leverage the
skills of the retiring army personnel in facilitating their entry into the
corporate world, and successfully established the website solution
www.apa.co.in in 2005.
Picture 2.16: Source: timesjobs.com
Times Jobs Recruiter Tools:
! !64
1. iSearch 3.0: The Sharper, Smarter, Faster iSearch 3.0 is here to hire
the best candidates for your organization-. TimesJobs empowers you by
taking Resume search a whole paradigm ahead. iSearch 3.0 ensures
More Relevance and More Convenience powered by Enhanced Search
Algorithm. The smart search provided by iSearch 3.0 enables you to
search for the right talent quickly and effortlessly. It produces the most
optimal results in a fraction of time taken by other search engines. A
truly adroit search engine, iSearch 3.0 gives results that are a
conglomeration of Relevance + Freshness + Institute Boosting.
The pivotal features of iSearch 3.0 are:
Accentuated Search Algorithm: No need to pain your fingers by

typing Boolean operators and other such connectors. You can enjoy a
Hassle-free Searching without the use of Boolean Operators and
Separators. You can enter multiple skills for your search query. iSearch
3.0 automatically adds these skills and returns the most appropriate
candidates matching these skills, an advantage of Solrs N-Gram Model.
Contextual Cognizance of Job Titles: Tired of specifying all the

alternate keywords for a job role? The new intelligent search algorithm
has a great contextual acumen. Its semantic matching feature produces
! !65
results with alternate job roles/ titles/skills without having to explicitly

mention them separately.
Agile Methodology: Dont waste your time waiting for the slow server
to compile results. You get an accelerated search process which returns
query results in seconds. Faster than all of its competitors.
Highly Refined and Precise Results: Provides the resumes of most

apt and suitable candidates ordered according to their relevance. You can
further refine the results on the basis of Institute, Experience, CTC,
Industry, Location, Functional Area and Degree.
iSearch Score: Make sound hiring decisions now as we have a grading

system for the candidates. Produces a relevance search score on a scale
of 10 based on the key skills required. Pie Chart Distribution of the score
portrays transparency of the search procedure. More the appearance of
keywords in the resume, higher the chances of it getting a high relevance
search score.
2. Dashboard Tool: To offer clients an unmatched recruitment

experience, TimesJobs launches Dashboard. The all-new tool enables
! !66
clients to track their TimesJobs account usage on real-time basis, thus,

helps in quicker recruitment turnaround. Following account usage
information is showcased on Dashboard Resume Database Usage,
Resume Views, Excel Download, Searches performed.
Job Postings Usage Active jobs, Applications received, Jobs remaining

from all packages.
BPO Usage Searches Performed, Leads Consumed, PDF downloads.
Dashboard offers the below benefits to clients:
Separate usage view for Account Managers and Account Users.
Account Managers can view snapshot of the usage pattern of their

recruiters.
Account Users can view snapshot of their own usage along with the
overall account usage.
Reflects usage data of last 6 months for currently activate packages.
Provides activation summary reflecting date of purchase and expiry of

various account services.
Usage Summary Report to be sent as mailers to Account Managers as

well as Sales Managers monthly.
! !67
!
2.4 HR Challenges in Recruitment
Recruitment is a function that requires business perspective, expertise,

ability to find and match the best potential candidate for the organization,
diplomacy, marketing skills (as to sell the position to the candidate) and
wisdom to align the recruitment processes for the benefit of the
organization.
The HR professionals handling the recruitment function of the

organization are constantly facing new challenges. The biggest challenge
for such professionals is to source or recruit the best people or potential
candidate for the organization.
In the last few years, the job market has undergone some fundamental
changes in terms of technologies, sources of recruitment, competition in
the market etc. In an already saturated job market, where the practices
like poaching and raiding are gaining momentum, HR professionals are
! !68
constantly facing new challenges in one of their most important functions

recruitment. They have to face and conquer various challenges to find the
best candidates for their organizations.
The major challenges faced by the HR in recruitment are:
Adaptability to globalization: The HR professionals are expected and

required to keep in tune with the changing times, i.e., the changes taking
place across the globe. HR should maintain the timeliness of the process.
Lack of motivation: Recruitment is considered to be a thankless job.

Even if the organization is achieving results, HR department or
professionals are not thanked for recruiting the right employees and
performers.
Process analysis: The immediacy and speed of the recruitment process

are the main concerns of the HR in recruitment. The process should be
flexible, adaptive and responsive to the immediate requirements. The
recruitment process should also be cost-effective.
Strategic prioritization: The emerging new systems are both an

opportunity as well as a challenge for the HR professionals. Therefore,
reviewing staffing needs and prioritizing the tasks to meet the changes in
the market has become a challenge for the recruitment professionals.
2.5 Emergence of Recruitment Consultants
The Armed Forces was the first known recruitment agency. And then, the
industrial revolution happened. Factories and machines came up. They
brought with them a requirement for a huge number of people to run
them, operate them and maintain and manage them. Schools were born to
train people in these skills.
The best mode of recruitment in these times were advertisements released

in newspapers, people working in organizations spreading the word (what
we call referencing today), pamphlets and posters, etc. Social events was a
key place to go to, if one wanted to hear about jobs available, or look for
people available. It was common practice for people moving into big
metros, to invite brothers, cousins, nephews, uncles, neighbors, etc. for
job openings vacant in the organizations they served. The first known
recruitment agencies in India were probably born around the early 1980s.
! !69
This in India is probably the first ever known period, where professionals
called recruiters came into the scene, to help organizations go about their
talent needs in an organized structured manner. It is really not too far to
assume that these first recruiters were smart space selling media
executives, who sold space using this extremely smart angle of reaching
out to better skills, larger talent pool and greater experience than what
reference and referrals got the organizations.
People who managed this over a while got smarter. They caught on to the
challenge that a continued and growing need threw at them, and started
building people databases. The recruiters in those days had only one
single mission; to get into an organization, to meet as many people there
as possible, and to collect as many CVs as one could. Post this would begin
the tedious job of classifying, ordering, indexing and updating. Every single
campaign these people ran for an organization would lead to a huge rush
of CVs. Relevant, irrelevant, didnt matter. Every CV that came in was an
asset, to be filed, indexed and retrieved when opportunity so came up, and
then, before one blinked, came along the internet. And with it, came along
the concept of a single point where job seekers could meet people who had
to offer jobs and vice versa.
2.5.1 Major Players in the Indian Industry
!
Figure 2.1: Types of Recruitment Companies
! !70
Recruitment Consulting
If you search in any metro city in India, you find thousands of small
consultancies who work on lateral requirements. In most of the cases, they
operate in small offices with employee strength of 5-15. Such consultancies
are generally dependent on some specific big MNCs, who dont care where
the resumes are coming from. Whoever closes the position gets the
commission. Now, the sources of resumes are same for all, i.e., Job boards
and service is also similar which increases the competition further. And
due to too much of competition, consultancies agree to work for very less
commission in some cases 4-5% also. As they are playing in very less
margin, they can't hire good recruiters and neither can they afford to pay
recruiters well. Recruiters dont get proper training, which affects
performance and their service to candidates. No surprises that many
candidates complain of bad service from consultants.
Apart from these, there are few 100+ strength professionally managed
recruitment firms, who maintain quality in terms of service to clients and
candidates and create a brand for them. Even they manage to get
premium commission due to their service.
The top Recruitment Consultants in India are as follows:
1. Ma foi Randstad: Randstad India is a division of Dutch-based Randstad

Holding NV, the worlds second largest HR services company.
The inception of Ranstad India was in 1992 as Ma Foi Management
Consultants Ltd., a Chennai based HR service provider, which in 2004
merged with the Dutch HR provider Vedior NV. Randstad Holding NV
acquired the operations of Ma Foi, through its 2007 acquisition of Vedior;
and named its Indian operations as Ma Foi Randstad in 2010. Eventually,
in April 2012, it rebranded as Randstad India. Randstad is a full spectrum
HR services provider for clients worldwide and has been directly involved
with careers of over 280,000 individuals. Corporate clients include over 250
organizations in Fortune 500 list.
! !71
Picture 2.20: Source: www.randstad.in
2. Adecco: Adecco India, headquartered in Bangalore, is a leading end-to-

end HR solutions company with a focus on Executive Search,
Recruitment, Learning and Temporary Staffing services to client
organizations. With a national presence in over 85 branches across
India, Adecco is the fastest growing HR company in India.
Largest branch network of over 85 branches and counting

Over 110,000 associates on assignment every day, nationally
Distinguished list of 1,500 clients across all segments
Placement of around 8,000 candidates per month, across India
Over 1,100 trained and specialized consultants to customize your HR
solutions
! !72
Picture 2.21: Source: www.adeccoindia.com
The industries we provide HR Solutions to:
Information Technology
IT Enabled Services
Agriculture and Agro-based Organizations
Telecom, Media and Entertainment
Engineering, Process and Infrastructure
Consumer Services and Retail
Banking, Financial Services & Insurance
3. Kelly Services: Kelly Services Inc. is an American temporary staffing
! !73
agency that operates throughout the world. It is headquartered in Troy,

Michigan, and offers services that include temporary staffing services,
outsourcing, vendor on-site and full-time placement. Kelly operates in 41
countries and territories. Kelly employs more than 530,000 individuals
annually, in areas including office services, accounting, engineering,
information technology, law, science, marketing, creative services, light
industrial, education, and health care. Revenue in 2011 was $5.3 billion.
Picture 2.22: Source: www.kellyservices.com
4. Manpower: Manpower Group Inc. is an American multinational human

resource consulting firm headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Manpower is the world's third-largest HR service provider after Adecco
and Randstad Holding. It was established by Elmer Winter and Aaron
Scheinfeld in 1948. It was acquired by Blue Arrow of Britain in 1987, but
became independent again in 1991. Manpower provides recruitment and
assessment, training and development, career management,
outsourcing and workforce consulting. The directors include Jeffrey A.
Joerres (Chairman, CEO & President), Marc Boll (Marks and Spencer)
and Edward J. Zore (Northwestern Mutual).
! !74
Picture 2.23: Source: www.manpowersonsultancy.in
Staffing Companies: Staffing companies basically keep people in their

payroll and let them work with client for specific contract. Here, the
company charges some specific amount every month for the candidate
from the client. Due to volatile market scenario, especially after recession
Indian companies are getting more and more eager to hire people in
contract through some third-party vendors. This is helping in booming of
such contract staffing companies. Salary standards for recruiters are not
very great here also. But this trend is going to pick strongly in future
because it suits to market situations. Contract staffing is very popular in
manufacturing and services sector.
! !75

The lists of top recruitment consultants provided above are also the top
staffing companies in India.
Executive Search Firms:
Again, in India, executive search firms have generally strength of 5-15

people. But in this case, they hire for very high level candidates, i.e., CEO,
Marketing head etc., so revenue is quite premium. Basically, experienced
people from diverse sectors join executive search firms and use their
network to close positions. Their compensation is best when compared to
recruiters in other types of recruitment companies.
Software companies also sending employees in contract:
In Bangalore, especially, you will find many companies where they have
their software division where they work on client projects. At the same
time, they send employees to client place as contract employee. There are
many small and big companies in this field.
RPO companies:
There are not many companies in India which works exclusively on RPOs.
Mostly big consultancies take it up as another practice only. RPO is also
another sector which is picking up fast in India.
The lists of top recruitment consultants provided above are also the top
staffing companies in India.
2.5.2 Online Consultants
Many placement consultants also offer the online service so that a recruiter
can advertise about a particular job opening and in turn tap the right
candidate from the resumes already posted on the agency sites. Most of
the recruitment consultants discussed in the previous section fall under this
category.
Similarly, you can now easily select from the job profiles on the site or post
your resume free of cost so that you can be spotted by a recruiter fast.
! !76
2.6 Activities
1. Visit the Recruiter Zone, the blog from Naukri.com to guide recruitment
professionals. Apart from the tools already covered in this chapter,
research and write notes on two other important recruitment tools.
2. Browse on the internet and research for information on the Indian

Executive Search Firms.
2.7 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the An Indian Perspective of the

recruitment industry. Here, we have seen that, the recruitment landscape
in India has demonstrated unique trends in 2012 that not only indicate
shifting behavior patterns by organizations and individuals but also point to
resilience in the country's economy and Human Resource sector. Critically,
despite corrections in the Indian economy, healthy hiring is seen across the
board. Fifty-three per cent of Indian recruiters said that they were hiring
more in 2012, a figure which is 15 percent higher than the global average.
In a booming economy, companies in India were offering high salaries and
attractive incentive packages to attract the best talent to their payroll.
However, as the economic downturn hit countries around the world, Indian
companies suffered too. Lay-offs, salary cuts and deferred payments
became commonplace. A vast pool of skilled, unemployed candidates was
created during this recession. During this period, hiring was extremely
limited and companies could cherry-pick from the cream of the crop.
Now that the economy, at least in India, seems to have stabilized and
started clawing back to what is was in 2008, some striking trends are being
observed in the recruitment industry. These trends have their roots in the
recession and its effects on job seekers and recruiters. Some of the key
trends are enlisted below:
! !77
Contract Hiring
Just-in-time Hiring
Consulting/Freelancing
Outsourcing
Poaching/Raiding
E-recruitment
From the recruiters perspective, one of the reasons why social media has
emerged as an important tool for recruitment is its power to offer them a
broad perspective about the candidate. It tends to bring forth certain traits
and personalities of a candidate which may not be reflected in their
resume. With the ever increasing potential employees profiling themselves
on business-oriented and professional networking sites (PNS), ever more
hiring purposes. The world of recruiting is changing. More and more the
online focus rests on professional networking sites and smaller, specialized
job boards.
We have also had a discussion about some major recruitment websites

u s e d p r e f e ra b l y i n I n d i a w h i c h a r e n a u k r i . c o m , m o n s t e r. c o m ,
timesjobs.com, LinkedIn etc.
Some of the HR challenges in recruitment are: Adaptability to

globalization, Lack of motivation, Process analysis, Strategic
prioritization.
Indian recruitment companies can be divided into five types:
Recruitment Consulting (Permanent)

Staffing companies (Contract)
Executive search firms
Software companies also sending employees on contract
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) companies
The top Recruitment Consultants in India are as follows:
Ma foi Randstad
Adecco
Kelly services
Manpower
! !78
1. What are the HR challenges faced by recruitment industry in India?

Explain in detail.
2. Write a note on Kelly Services, a leading recruitment firm in India.
3. Write a detailed note on. Staffing companied and RPO.
4. Discuss about the Dashboard tool of Timesjobs.
5. Enlist and explain the pivotal features of iSearch 3.0.
6. Write down the features of Naukri Referral Tool.
7. Enlist any 10 business networking websites mainly used in Indian

industry.
! !79
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !80
SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT
Chapter 3
Objectives:
After going through this chapter, you will be able to understand:
Need-based choice of sources of recruitment

Internal and external sources of recruitment
Structure:
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Need-based choice of Sources of Recruitment
3.3 Sources of Recruitment
3.3.1 Internal
3.3.1.1 Promotions
3.3.1.2 Transfers
3.3.1.3 Referrals
3.3.2 External
3.3.2.1 Conventional Sources: Campus, Advertisements, Job
Portals, Recruitment consultants
3.3.2.2 Innovative Sources: Social Media Sites, Business
Networking Sites, Road-shows
3.4 Activities
3.5 Summary
! !81
3.1 Introduction
Every organization has the option of choosing the candidates for its
recruitment processes from two kinds of sources: internal and external
sources. The sources within the organization itself (like transfer of
employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are
known as the internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment candidates from
all the other sources (like outsourcing agencies etc.) are known as the
external sources of recruitment.
3.2 Need-based choice of Sources of Recruitment
Your choice of recruiting services will depend on your overall recruiting

strategy, budget, resources and changing business needs. Most likely, you
will consider a flexible combination of options, including in-house
promotions and referrals, or online job boards and recruiting firms. The
results you can expect will depend on your priorities at the outset.
All your recruitment decisions should be based on valid, practical and

measurable approaches that ensure hiring on the basis of merit. This
means hiring the candidate whose qualifications best meet the
requirements to do the job. All applications received on or before the
closing date should be screened and rated against the qualifications
outlined in the job ad. Applicants whose rsum and cover letter best
demonstrate how they meet the qualifications to do the job should be
invited to continue in the hiring process (evaluation and selection of
successful candidate).
While choosing sources of recruitment, Hiring and retaining employees

remains one of the major concerns of businesses. The hiring process
begins even before the recruitment of a new employee has got an
underway. A number of steps are involved, and most need to be completed
to hire someone successfully. The process begins when the hiring company
tries to figure out what the job involves. It ends when a job offer is made
and accepted. The hiring process starts by developing a complete
understanding of the position, with a well written job description. This job
description also supports many other HR functions such as recruitment,
selection, orientation, training, work plans, compensation, performance
reviews and legal defense.
! !82
The job description explains the key responsibilities and required

knowledge/skills of the actual position, as well as reporting relationships
and the work environment. A job analysis (the study of the job) must be
conducted before writing or rewriting the job description. In doing the
analysis, you gather information about the job through interviewing
employees who actually do the job, observing performance of certain
tasks, asking employees to fill out questionnaires, and collecting
information about a job from the National Occupational Classification
system.
There are several different ways and thousands of different places where
you can advertise a job opening. You must evaluate your options. Once you
have identified the best places to advertise in order to fill your available
position, you need to evaluate the different options available to you.
Whatever the option you choose, you need to grab the attention of the best
candidates and motivate them to spring into action. You want them to
respond now, not set the ad aside.
Watch your wording. The skill requirements in your ad must reflect bona
fide job requirements. The ad itself should highlight the qualifications
applicants must have as well as the essential responsibilities of the job.
This forces the applicants to submit customized rsums that indicate how
they meet each of the position's requirements. In turn, it makes the
screening process easier for employers, because it promotes self-screening
that leads under-qualified and overqualified applicants to weed themselves
out. Although the grounds vary depending on the human rights legislation
in your jurisdiction, employers are not permitted to place ads that declare
preferences on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion,
national origin, physical disability, mental disability, or marital status.
Ensure equal opportunity.
Schedule interviews; prepare specific open-ended questions which will help

to determine whether the applicant will be able to accomplish the duties of
the position. During the interviews, discuss the duties, responsibilities and
skills required; and describe the wages, benefits, advancement
opportunities and other aspects of the job. According to human rights
legislation in each jurisdiction, the questions an employer asks at an
employment interview must be related to the candidate's qualifications and
ability to perform the essential duties of the job. Questions that are directly
or indirectly related to prohibited grounds of discrimination, such as age,
! !83
family status, place of origin, religion, sexual identity, race, gender, and so
forth, violate human rights legislation because they are irrelevant to the
candidate's ability to do the work. However, it is appropriate (and
advisable) to ask a candidate about his or her educational background and
past employment, as long as the questions are directly related to his or her
potential job performance.
Sourcing of profiles for a defined position to be recruited is about trying to

get suitable applicants for a job. Sources could be multiple: recruitment
agencies, job sites, employee referrals, internal job postings amongst
others.
The organization can choose either to look internally within the

organization or to seek candidates externally from a general labor pool.
The decision can be made on the basis of some of the following
considerations:
Level of the position to be filled

Demand supply constraints, if any
Time and budget constraints
Location
Pay and Benefits
What elements does an organization need to consider in chalking

out a sourcing plan?
While detailing out a sourcing plan, an organization will need to address

the following questions:
What type of individual should be targeted?

Where can these people be found?
How can the targeted individuals be best reached?
What recruitment message should be communicated?
What type of recruiters should be used?
! !84
Once some of the basic questions have been addressed, an organization

proceeds to chalk out its sourcing plan. Key elements of a sourcing plan
include:
Prioritize talent needs: Detail the numbers required (monthly,

quarterly, annually) of planned hires for each business, team or division
and prioritize the same.
Chalk out the sourcing budget: Make an estimation of the funding

needs. Have a Job Requisition System in place. Have a process that
allows managers to requisition, and HR teams to identify and prioritize
job openings.
Profile talent needs: Chalk out profiles from job descriptions that
identify responsibilities and required key skills, abilities, knowledge and
experience.
Define and identify the source on the basis of the need:
Internal sourcing: Define a system to allow for current employees to

compete for promotions and transfers.
External sourcing: Develop the image you want to convey to the

marketplace about the positive aspects of your organization and its jobs.
External Market Sourcing select the appropriate sources to be used such
as ads, job fairs, Internet, etc.
Creative Sourcing: Consider alternatives such as temporary, contract,

part-time, outsourcing, offshore, job sharing, telecommuting.
Applicant tracking system: Define a system to track candidates for the

sourcing process and reporting.
Measuring Mechanism: Define a system to report and track efficiency

of the various sources of recruiting, which can be used to monitor
progress and for reporting requirements.
! !85
How do you measure efficiency and effectiveness of the talent

sourcing process?
Talent is a prime driver for the organization to achieve its objectives and be
successful. Given the impact talent acquisition has on organizational
success, it is critical to track certain metrics to assess the same. HR
executives know they can't simply hand talent sourcing activities to an
outsourcing partner and forget about them also. The challenge is finding
the most effective and appropriate ways to measure and evaluate the
performance of the talent sourcing process.
Efficiency and effectiveness of the sourcing process can come from tracking
the following elements of the process.
The quality and the outcomes of the process
Are we going to the right sources for talent?

Do our sources understand the jobs/positions?
Is the quality of the resumes acceptable?
The speed of the process and response time
What is the response time from each source?

What can be done to enhance the speed of response?
Costs incurred
What is the cost incurred for each source?

Does the quality of resumes justify the costs?
A widely used measure for talent sourcing effectiveness is the quality of

the new hire. New-hire quality measures are a way for recruiters to justify
the sourcing strategies they choose and recruiting costs they pay. For
example, while an executive search firm is an expensive recruiting source;
it may be more effective, compared to low-cost recruiting sources, in
identifying and recruiting high-impact hires, such as a sales director. In
essence, quality of hire communicates what value the organization is
getting for the recruiting money it is spending.
! !86
Sources of Recruitment and Selection A Tesco Case Study
Introduction: Tesco is the biggest private sector employer in the UK. The
company has more than 360,000 employees worldwide. In the UK, Tesco
stores range from small local Tesco Express sites to large Tesco Extras and
superstores. Around 86% of all sales are from the UK.
Tesco also operates in 12 countries outside the UK, including China, Japan
and Turkey. The company has recently opened stores in the United States.
This international expansion is part of Tescos strategy to diversify and
grow the business. In its non-UK operations, Tesco builds on the strengths
it has developed as market leader in the UK supermarket sector. However,
it also caters for local needs. In Thailand, for example, customers are used
to shopping in 'wet markets' where the produce is not packaged. Tesco
uses this approach in its Bangkok store rather than offering pre-packaged
goods as it would in UK stores.
! !87
Tesco needs people across a wide range of both store-based and

non-store jobs: In stores, it needs checkout staff, stock handlers,
supervisors as well as many specialists, such as pharmacists and bakers.
Its distribution depots require people skilled in stock management and
logistics. Head office provides the infrastructure to run Tesco efficiently.
Roles here include human resources, legal services, property management,
marketing, accounting and information technology. Tesco aims to ensure all
roles work together to drive its business objectives. It needs to ensure it
has the right number of people in the right jobs at the right time. To do
this, it has a structured process for recruitment and selection to attract
applicants for both managerial and operational roles.
Workforce planning: Workforce planning is the process of analyzing an

organizations likely future needs for people in terms of numbers, skills and
locations. It allows the organization to plan how those needs can be met
through recruitment and training. It is vital for a company like Tesco to
plan ahead. Because the company is growing, Tesco needs to recruit on a
regular basis for both the food and non-food parts of the business. Tesco
uses a workforce planning table to establish the likely demand for new
staff. This considers both managerial and non-managerial positions. In
2008/09, for example, Tesco calculates that to support its business growth
there will be a demand for around 4,000 new managers.
The planning process: This planning process runs each year from the last
week in February. There are quarterly reviews in May, August and
November, so Tesco can adjust staffing levels and recruit where necessary.
! !88
This allows Tesco sufficient time and flexibility to meet its demands for staff
and allows the company to meet its strategic objectives, for example, to
open new stores and maintain customer service standards.
Tesco seeks to fill many vacancies from within the company. It recognizes
the importance of motivating its staff to progress their careers with the
company. Tesco practices what it calls 'talent planning'. This encourages
people to work their way through and up the organization. Through an
annual appraisal scheme, individuals can apply for 'bigger' jobs. Employees
identify roles in which they would like to develop their careers with Tesco.
Their manager sets out the technical skills, competencies and behaviors
necessary for these roles, what training this will require and how long it will
take the person to be ready to do the job. This helps Tesco to achieve its
business objectives and employees to achieve their personal and career
objectives.
Job descriptions and person specifications: An important element in

workforce planning is to have clear job descriptions and person
specifications. A job description sets out:
the title of the job

to whom the job holder is responsible
for whom the job holder is responsible
a simple description of roles and responsibilities
A person specification sets out the skills, characteristics and attributes that
a person needs to do a particular job. Together, job descriptions and person
specifications provide the basis for job advertisements. They help job
applicants and post-holders to know what is expected of them. At Tesco,
these documents are combined. As they are sent to anyone applying for
jobs, they should contain enough information to attract suitable people act
as a checking device to make sure that applicants with the right skills are
chosen for interview set the targets and standards for job performance.
! !89
Attracting and Recruiting: Recruitment involves attracting the right

standard of applicants to apply for vacancies. Tesco advertises jobs in
different ways. The process varies depending on the job available.
Internal recruitment: Tesco first looks at its internal Talent Plan to fill a
vacancy. This is a process that lists current employees looking for a move,
either at the same level or on promotion. If there are no suitable people in
this Talent Plan or developing on the internal management development
programme, Tesco advertises the post internally on its intranet for two
weeks.
External recruitment: For external recruitment, Tesco advertises
vacancies via the Tesco website www.tesco-careers.com or through
vacancy boards in stores. Applications are made online for managerial
positions. The chosen applicants have an interview followed by attendance
at an assessment center for the final stage of the selection process.
People interested in store-based jobs with Tesco can approach stores with
their CV or register though Job Centre Plus. The store prepares a waiting
list of people applying in this way and calls them in as jobs become
available.
For harder-to-fill or more specialist jobs, such as bakers and pharmacists,

Tesco advertises externally through its website and offline media through
television and radio by placing advertisements on Google or in magazines
such as The Appointment Journal.
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Tesco will seek the most cost-effective way of attracting the right
applicants. It is expensive to advertise on television and radio, and in some
magazines, but sometimes this is necessary to ensure the right type of
people get to learn about the vacancies.
Tesco makes it easy for applicants to find out about available jobs and has
a simple application process. By accessing the Tesco website, an applicant
can find out about local jobs, management posts and head office positions.
The website has an online application form for people to submit directly.
Selection: Selection involves choosing the most suitable people from

those that apply for a vacancy, whilst keeping to employment laws and
regulations. Screening candidates is a very important part of the selection
process. This ensures that those selected for interview have the best fit
with the job requirements.
Screening: In the first stages of screening, Tesco selectors will look

carefully at each applicant's curriculum vitae (CV). The CV summarizes the
candidate's education and job history to date. A well-written and positive
CV helps Tesco to assess whether an applicant matches the persons
specification for the job.
The company also provides a 'job type match' tool on its careers web
page. People interested in working for Tesco can see where they might fit
in before applying. The process Tesco uses to select external management
candidates has several stages.
! !91
3.3 Sources of Recruitment
The sources of employees can be classified into two types, internal and
external. Filling a job opening from within the firm has the advantages of
stimulating preparation for possible transfer of promotion, increasing the
general level of morale, and providing more information about job
candidates through analysis of work histories within the organization. A job
posting has a number of advantages. From the viewpoint of the employee,
it provides flexibility and greater control over career progress. For the
employer, it should result in better matches of employee and job.
Figure 3.1: Sources of Recruitment
In most instances, the jobs are posted on notice boards, though some
carry listings in the company newspapers. The posting period is commonly
one week, with the final decision for hiring being completed within four
weeks. Internal applications are often restricted to certain employees, the
guidelines for one company including:
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1. good or better on most recent performance review;

2. dependable attendance record;
3. not under probationary sanction; and
4. having been in present position for 1 year.
The present supervisor must at some time be informed of his or her

subordinates interest in another job. Some require immediate notification,
while others inform only if the employee becomes a prime candidate for
the listed opening. The personnel unit acts as a clearing house in screening
applications that are unrealistic, preventing an excessive number of bids by
a single employee, and counseling employees who are constantly
unsuccessful in their attempt to change jobs.
3.3.1 Internal
Internal Recruitment is a recruitment which takes place within the concern

or organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an
organization. Internal sources are primarily three Transfers, Promotions
and Re-employment of ex-employees. Re-employment of ex-employees is
one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be
invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations
when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.
An internal recruiter (alternatively in-house recruiter or corporate recruiter)

is member of a company or organization and typically works in the human
resources (HR) department. Internal recruiters may be multi-functional,
serving in an HR generalist role or in a specific role focusing all their time
on recruiting. Activities vary from firm to firm but may include, screening
CVs or rsums, conducting aptitude or psychological testing, interviewing,
undertaking reference and background checks, hiring; administering
contracts, advising candidates on benefits, onboarding new recruits and
conducting exit interviews with employees leaving the organization. They
can be permanent employees or hired as contractors for this purpose.
Contract recruiters tend to move around between multiple companies,
working at each one for a short stint as needed for specific hiring purposes.
The responsibility is to filter candidates as per the requirements of each
client.
Internal sources refer to recruiting employees from within the organization.

In deciding requirement of employees, initial consideration should be given
! !93
to a company's current employees, which is concerned with internal

recruitment. They include those who are already available on the payroll of
the company. This is important source of recruitment as it provides
opportunities for better development and utilization of existing human
resources in the organization.
Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employees productivity as

their motivation level increases. It also saves time, money and efforts. But
a drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrains the organization from
new blood. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through
internal recruitment. Hiring from outside has to be done.
Some primary internal sources of recruitment are:
Promotions: It refers to promoting or upgrading an employee who is

already existed in the payroll and contributed for organizational
performance. It is done by shifting an employee to a higher position with
high responsibilities, facilities, status and pay. Usually, many companies
fill higher job vacancies by promoting employees who are considered fit
for such positions. This is due to fact that it has a great psychological
impact over other employees for their motivation towards better
performance.
Transfers: It is an alternative technique to promotion. Under it,

employees are internally recruited through transfer from one workplace
to another. It means transfer refers to the process of interchanging the
job duties and responsibilities of employees from one place to another or
from one department to another. It involves shifting of people from one
job to another without any promotion in their position or grade. It is a
good source of generating qualified employees from over staffed
departments.
Referrals/Employee Referrals: It refers to recruiting new people

based on the reference of current employee. Under this method, a
candidate is appointed on the recommendation of some currently
working employees. Usually, this is nomination by supervisors. It is
effective generally particularly to find critically skilled candidate for an
organization. It has been a major source of new hires at many levels
including professionals. It can be a good method of internal recruitment
when employees recommend a successful candidate. However, it may be
! !94
influenced by the tendency of developing good prospects for their

families and friends in the organization.
Job posting/Re-employment of ex-employees: It is one of the

internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be invited and
appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. In other words, Job posting is
an open invitation to all employees in an organization to apply for the
vacant position. There are situations when ex-employees provide
unsolicited applications also. It provides an equal opportunity to all
employees currently working in the organization. Today it has become a
very common practice in many organizations across the world. Under
this, vacancy announcement is made through bulletin boards or in lists
available to all employees. Interested employees, then apply for the post
being advertised. In this way, it has become one of the cost-saving
techniques of recruitment.
Former Employees: These include retired employees who are willing to

work on a part-time basis, individuals who left work and are willing to
come back for higher compensations. Even retrenched employees are
taken up once again. The advantage here is that the people are already
known to the organization and there is no need to find out their past
performance and character. Also, there is no need of an orientation
programme for them, since they are familiar with the organization.
Dependents of deceased employees: Usually, banks follow this policy.

If an employee dies, his/her spouse or son or daughter is recruited in
their place. This is usually an effective way to fulfill social obligation and
create goodwill.
Recalls: When management faces a problem, which can be solved only

by a manager who has proceeded on long leave, it may be decided to
recall that persons after the problem is solved, his leave may be
extended.
The advantages or merits of internal recruitment sources
There are pros and cons to both hiring external candidates and promoting
from within your existing talent pool. External recruitment often drives
innovation, while internal recruitment is often the less-risky option. Before
! !95
you place your next job board ad, consider the benefits of offering a
promotion to one of your current employees.
Reduced Recruiting Costs: There are costs associated with recruiting,

especially when your search is conducted outside of the company's talent
pool. External recruitment fees can include advertising costs, fees paid to
recruiting firms, candidate travel expenses, background checks, drug
tests and sign-on bonuses. Promoting internal candidates cuts all of
these fees out of your recruiting budget. In addition, internal candidates
are likely not interviewing with other companies, which avoids bidding
ways and means overcoming counter offers is not a concern.
Reduced Training Time: Internal recruitment greatly reduces the

amount of time and cost associated with the training process. Internal
candidates do not need orientation and tend to only need training on
specific tasks related to the new responsibilities of the promotion.
External candidates will require orientation, all-inclusive training and tend
to need more time to acclimate to the company culture and operating
procedures.
Reduced Risks: Hiring a new employee can be a gamble, and hiring

mistakes are costly. Internal candidates typically will have an established
track record with your company, documented employee reviews and a
deeper sense of loyalty than a new hire. Likewise, you can be confident
that the internal candidate is a good fit with your company culture if he is
requesting more responsibility by means of a promotion.
Increased Employee Moral: A major factor of employee satisfaction is

career mobility. Rewarding an existing employee with a promotion shows
the rest of the team that with hard work, upward movement is a real
possibility. As a result, internal recruitment often increases employee
productivity long past the time the hiring decision is made.
The limitations/demerits of using internal sources of recruitment
It prevents new blood from entering the organization. New blood brings
innovative ideas, fresh thinking and dynamism into the organization.
It has limited scope because it is not possible to fill up all types of

vacancies from within the organization.
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The position of the person who is promoted or transferred will be vacant.
There may be bias or partiality in promoting or transferring persons from

within the organization.
Those who are not promoted will be unhappy.
The right person may be promoted or transferred only if proper

confidential reports of all employees are maintained. This involves a lot
of time, money and energy.
3.3.2 External
External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the

organization. External sources are external to a concern. But it involves lot
of time and money. The external sources of recruitment include
Employment at factory gate, advertisements, employment exchanges,
employment agencies, educational institutes, labor contractors,
recommendations etc.
Employment at Factory Level: This a source of external recruitment in

which the applications for vacancies are presented on bulletin boards
outside the Factory or at the Gate. This kind of recruitment is applicable
generally where factory workers are to be appointed. There are people
who keep on soliciting jobs from one place to another. These applicants
are called as unsolicited applicants. These types of workers apply on their
own for their job. For this kind of recruitment, workers have a tendency
to shift from one factory to another and therefore they are called as
badli workers.
Advertisement: It is an external source which has got an important

place in recruitment procedure. The biggest advantage of advertisement
is that it covers a wide area of market and scattered applicants can get
information from advertisements. Medium used is Newspapers and
Television.
Employment Exchanges: Employment Exchanges have been set up all

over the country in deference to the provision of the Employment
Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959. The Act
applies to all industrial establishments having 25 workers or more each.
! !97
The Act requires all the industrial establishments to notify the vacancies
before they are filled. The major functions of the exchanges are to
increase the pool of possible applicants and to do the preliminary
screening. Thus, employment exchanges act as a link between the
employers and the prospective employees. These offices are particularly
useful to in recruiting blue-collar, white collar and technical workers.
Employment Agencies: There are certain professional organizations

which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e., these
private agencies run by private individuals supply required manpower to
needy concerns.
Educational Institutions/Campus Recruitments: Colleges,

universities, research laboratories, sports fields and institutes are fertile
ground for recruiters, particularly the institutes. Campus Recruitment is
going global with companies like HLL, Citibank, HCL-HP, ANZ Grindlays,
L&T, Motorola and Reliance looking for global markets. Some companies
recruit a given number of candidates from these institutes every year.
Campus recruitment is so much sought after that each college; university
department or institute will have a placement officer to handle
recruitment functions. However, it is often an expensive process, even if
recruiting process produces job offers and acceptances eventually. A
majority leave the organization within the first five years of their
employment. Yet, it is a major source of recruitment for prestigious
companies.
Recommendations: There are certain people who have experience in a

particular area. They enjoy goodwill and a stand in the company. There
are certain vacancies which are filled by recommendations of such
people. The biggest drawback of this source is that the company has to
rely totally on such people which can later on prove to be inefficient.
Labor Contractors: These are the specialist people who supply

manpower to the Factory or Manufacturing plants. They are used to
recruit casual workers. The names of the workers are not entered in the
company records and, to this extent; difficulties experienced in
maintaining permanent workers are avoided. Through these contractors,
workers are appointed on contract basis, i.e., for a particular time period.
Under conditions when these contractors leave the organization, such
people who are appointed have to also leave the concern.
! !98
Professional or Trade Associations: Many associations provide

placement service to its members. It consists of compiling job seekers
lists and providing access to members during regional or national
conventions. Also, the publications of these associations carry classified
advertisements from employers interested in recruiting their members.
These are particularly useful for attracting highly educated, experienced
or skilled personnel. Also, the recruiters can zero on in specific job
seekers, especially for hard-to-fill technical posts.
Advertisements: It is a popular method of seeking recruits, as many

recruiters prefer advertisements because of their wide reach. Want ads
describe the job benefits, identify the employer and tell those interested
how to apply. Newspaper is the most common medium but for highly
specialized recruits, advertisements may be placed in professional or
business journals. Advertisements must contain proper information like
the job content, working conditions, location of job, compensation
including fringe benefits, job specifications, growth aspects, etc. The
advertisement has to sell the idea that the company and job are perfect
for the candidate. Recruitment advertisements can also serve as
corporate advertisements to build company image. It also cost-effective.
Walk-ins, Write-ins and Talk-ins: The most common and least

expensive approach for candidates is direct applications, in which job
seekers submit unsolicited application letters or resumes. Direct
applications can also provide a pool of potential employees to meet
future needs. From employees viewpoint, walk-ins are preferable as they
are free from the hassles associated with other methods of recruitment.
While direct applications are particularly effective in filling entry-level and
unskilled vacancies, some organizations compile pools of potential
employees from direct applications for skilled positions. Write-ins are
those who send written enquiries. These job seekers are asked to
complete application forms for further processing. Talk-ins involves the
job aspirants meeting the recruiter (on an appropriate date) for detailed
talks. No application is required to be submitted to the recruiter.
Consultants: They are in the profession for recruiting and selecting

managerial and executive personnel. They are useful as they have
nationwide contacts and lend professionalism to the hiring process. They
also keep prospective employer and employee anonymous. However, the
cost can be a deterrent factor.
! !99
Head Hunters: They are useful in specialized and skilled candidate

working in a particular company. An agent is sent to represent the
recruiting company and offer is made to the candidate. This is a useful
source when both the companies involved are in the same field, and the
employee is reluctant to take the offer since he fears, that his company is
testing his loyalty. The diagram below shows the head hunting
processes.
Figure 3.2: Head Hunting Processes
Radio, Television and Internet: Radio and television are used to reach
certain types of job applicants such as skilled workers. Radio and television
are used but sparingly, and that too, by government departments only.
Companies in the private sector are hesitant to use the media because of
high costs and also because they fear that such advertising will make the
companies look desperate and damage their conservative image. However,
there is nothing inherently desperate about using radio and television. It
! !100
depends upon what is said and how it is delivered. Internet is becoming a

popular option for recruitment today. There are specialized sites like
naukri.com. Also, websites of companies have a separate section wherein
aspirants can submit their resumes and applications. This provides a wider
reach.
Competitors: This method is popularly known as poaching or raiding

which involves identifying the right people in rival companies, offering
them better terms and luring them away. For instance, several executives
of HMT left to join Titan Watch Company. There are legal and ethical issues
involved in raiding rival firms for potential candidates. From the legal point
of view, an employee is expected to join a new organization only after
obtaining a no objection certificate from his/her present employer.
Violating this requirement shall bind the employee to pay a few months
salary to his/her present employer as a punishment. However, there are
many ethical issues attached to it.
Mergers and Acquisitions: When organizations combine, they have a

pool of employees, out of whom some may not be necessary any longer. As
a result, the new organization has, in effect, a pool of qualified job
applicants. As a result, new jobs may be created. Both new and old jobs
may be readily staffed by drawing the best qualified applicants from this
employee pool. This method facilitates the immediate implementation of an
organizations strategic plan.
Evaluation of External Recruitment
External sources of recruitment have both merits and demerits.
The merits are:
The organization will have the benefit of new skills, new talents and new
experiences, if people are hired from external sources.
The management will be able to fulfill reservation requirements in favor

of the disadvantaged sections of the society.
Scope for resentment, heartburn and jealousy can be avoided by

recruiting from outside.
! !101
The demerits are:
Better motivation and increased morale associated with promoting own

employees are lost to the organization.
External recruitment is costly.
If recruitment and selection processes are not properly carried out,

chances of right candidates being rejected and wrong applicants being
selected occur.
High training time is associated with external recruitment.
3.4 Activities
1. Research on different methods used to the measure efficiency and

effectiveness of the talent sourcing process.
2. Browse the internet and research for information on the pros and cons
of internal sources of recruitment which are primarily Transfers,
Promotions and Re-employment of ex-employees.
3.5 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the sources of recruitment. Here

we have seen that, Every organization has the option of choosing the
candidates for its recruitment processes from two kinds of sources: internal
and external sources. The sources within the organization itself to fill a
position are known as the internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment
! !102
candidates from all the other sources are known as the external sources of
recruitment
While choosing sources of recruitment, Hiring and retaining employees

remains one of the major concerns of businesses. The hiring process
begins even before the recruitment of a new employee has got an
underway. A number of steps are involved, and most need to be completed
to hire someone successfully. The process begins when the hiring company
tries to figure out what the job involves. It ends when a job offer is made
and accepted. The hiring process starts by developing a complete
understanding of the position, with a well written job description. This job
description also supports many other HR functions such as recruitment,
selection, orientation, training, work plans, compensation, performance
reviews and legal defense.
There are several different ways and thousands of different places where
you can advertise a job opening. You must evaluate your options. Once you
have identified the best places to advertise in order to fill your available
position, you need to evaluate the different options available to you.
Whatever the option you choose, you need to grab the attention of the best
candidates and motivate them to spring into action. You want them to
respond now, not set the ad aside.
The organization can choose either to look internally within the

organization or to seek candidates externally from a general labor pool.
The decision can be made on the basis of some of the following
considerations:
Level of the position to be filled

Demand supply constraints, if any
Time and Budget constraints
Location
Pay and Benefits
Talent is a prime driver for the organization to achieve its objectives and be
successful. Given the impact talent acquisition has on organizational
success, it is critical to track certain metrics to assess the same. HR
executives know they can't simply hand talent sourcing activities to an
outsourcing partner and forget about them also. The challenge is finding
! !103
the most effective and appropriate ways to measure and evaluate the
performance of the talent sourcing process.
The sources of employees can be classified into two types, internal and
external. Filling a job opening from within the firm has the advantages of
stimulating preparation for possible transfer of promotion, increasing the
general level of morale, and providing more information about job
candidates through analysis of work histories within the organization. A job
posting has a number of advantages. From the view point of the employee,
it provides flexibility and greater control over career progress. For the
employer, it should result in better matches of employee and job.
Internal Recruitment is a recruitment which takes place within the concern

or organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an
organization. Internal sources are primarily three Transfers, Promotions
and Re-employment of ex-employees. Re-employment of ex-employees is
one of the internal sources of recruitment in which employees can be
invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. External sources of
recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. External
sources are external to a concern. But it involves lot of time and money.
The external sources of recruitment include Employment at factory gate,
advertisements, employment exchanges, employment agencies,
educational institutes, labor contractors, recommendations etc.
Some of the internal recruitment sources are:
Promotions
Transfers
Former Employees
Recalls
Some of the external sources of recruitment are:
Educational Institutions/Campus Recruitments

Walk-ins, Write-ins and Talk-ins
Employment Exchanges
Professional or Trade Associations
Head Hunters
Radio, Television and Internet
Mergers and Acquisitions
! !104
3.6 Self assessment questions
1. What are the key elements of a sourcing plan, enlist and explain?
2. Write a short note on the sources of recruitment and enlist its types.
3. How many internal sources of recruitment are discussed in this chapter;

enlist them all and describe any five of them?
4. Discuss about the internal recruitment in detail and enlist any five of its
sources.
5. What is the external recruitment, describe in detail?
6. Enlist all the external recruitment sources discussed in this chapter and
discuss any five of them.
7. Write the advantages of both internal and external recruitment.
8. Write the limitations or disadvantages of internal and external

recruitment.
9. Draw the diagram of Head Hunting Process and also write short note
on the head hunters.
! !105
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !106
RECRUITMENT PROCESS: FROM POSTING ADVERTISEMENTS TO SHORTLISTING
Chapter 4
RECRUITMENT PROCESS: FROM POSTING
ADVERTISEMENTS TO SHORTLISTING
Objectives:
How to design and write the job advertisement

The pre-selection process
Aspects related to design and contents of the application form
How to shortlist the job applications
Structure:
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Need Determination
4.3 Guidelines for Designing and Writing Job Advertisements
4.4 The Pre-selection Process
4.5 Design and Content of the Application Form
4.6 Shortlisting Applications
4.7 Activities
4.8 Summary
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4.1 Introduction
Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and

onboarding a qualified person for a job. At the strategic level, it may
involve the development of an employer brand which includes an
'employee offering.
The stages of the recruitment process include:
1. Job analysis and developing a person specification.
2. The sourcing of candidates by networking, advertising, or other search

methods.
3. Matching candidates to job requirements and screening individuals using

testing (skills or personality assessment).
4. Assessment of candidates' motivations and their fit with organizational

requirements by interviewing and other assessment techniques.
5. The recruitment process also includes the making and finalizing of job
offers and the induction and onboarding of new employees.
Depending on the size and culture of the organization, recruitment may be

undertaken in-house by managers, human resource generalists and/or
recruitment specialists. Alternatively, parts of all of the process might be
undertaken by either public sector employment agencies, or commercial
recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies. The steps involved
in the recruitment process are shown in the diagram below:
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Figure 4.1: Steps in Recruitment Process
4.2 Need Determination
Whatever the reason a vacancy exists replacing a resigned person or

creating a new role the recruitment cycle kicks off in the same way. Many
managers are quick to jump to fill a vacancy with a carbon-copy
replacement. But the job description of your leaver may not accurately
describe their responsibilities on departure. The vacancys creation is an
ideal opportunity to reconsider the position in the context of your current
and future business needs.
As well as assessing the needs of the recruitment exercise at an early

stage is also important to understand the costs that this exercise will incur.
! !109
Understanding any expense that may occur may shape the way the
recruitment exercise will be run, or if it will be run at all.
Needs Analysis
Is there a vacancy at all?

What does the business demand with regard to this role and the team?
Can some tasks be reassigned to other teams?
Is this an opportunity to cut costs? Is the job title more senior than the
actual responsibilities?
Is this a Career Development move that could be offered?
Thinking ahead in terms of attracting the best candidates also

consider:
How this job might be adapted to provide visible and appealing future
development prospects.
The sort of person who would find that adapted job attractive and
whether there are potential internal candidates.
What useful experience a new recruit would gain.
Understanding the Cost of Recruitment
Measuring recruitment costs is an inexact science. There are many

intangible costs associated with recruitment, such as management time
taken up with briefing recruitment consultants or head hunters, drawing up
job advertisements, interviewing (and second interviewing) and negotiating
offers. The HR staffs time may also be diverted from core duties as a
result of a recruitment exercise covering the work while the position
remains vacant and meeting potential candidates at second interview
stage.
In addition to these intangible costs, there are the actual monetary costs of
external suppliers which could include marketing and advertising,
assessment centers, test materials as well as many other possible costs.
! !110
Tools
Job analysis form: A proforma that outlines the key components of a job
analysis.
!
Picture 4.1: Job Analysis Form
! !111
Protocols for handling surplus staff situations: It is in the interests of

the organization and individuals to utilize any staff surplus in the
organization.
4.3Guidelines for designing and writing Job advertisements
Writing an effective job advertisement is the best way to persuade the

right applicants and will help you sort the deserving candidates from the
average ones. You need to present your company in the best light, as well
as accurately describe the position and its role within the company. The
more specific you are in your criteria, the more effectively you will target
the right applicant and see if theyve bothered to read the fine print.
Putting together an effective job ad is simple if you stick to some basic

guidelines.
Job title: Make sure you include the professional job title at the top of the
ad. Potential applicants will search for certain keywords in relation to the
position, so its a make-or-break maneuver. Make it simple, honest and to-
the-point. You may choose to add extra information if it makes the job title
more specific for example, Project Manager Financial Services is more
informative than simply Project Manager.
The company: After knowing what the job is, the applicant wants to know
exactly who they will be working for. Show how desirable your company is,
the opportunities it presents and why a talented worker should uproot from
a current job to come and work for you. You could include some points
about the organizations position in the industry, the central location of the
office and opportunities to travel or be promoted within the company.
Job description: Now you need to tell your future employees exactly what
the job entails. Top performers respond to challenges more than money, so
you want to make the job sound rewarding and stimulating. Tell potential
applicants what they will be responsible for; give an outline of their day-to-
day tasks and who they will be answering to. This will give job seekers an
idea of the expectations for the role. Also mention when the position will
commence and whether its full-time, part-time or contractual.
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Ideal candidate description: Its time to let potential applicants know

exactly what you want out of them. This isnt the time to beat around the
bush you want to filter out the unsuitable people before you find yourself
with a stack of useless resumes. Also, giving a strong description will
attract people who are after a challenge.
Many companies make the mistake of using lots of buzzwords that dont
necessarily translate into anything practical. Use criteria that mean
something, like how much experience is desirable and what level of
education is expected. Also outline what skills are required for example,
customer service or specific computer programs.
If there is a clear outline of the ideal candidate for the job, it will mean
stronger applications as well as applicants who will fit into the dynamics of
the company. You may choose to use bullet points to cover characteristics
such as:
Highly motivated and results driven

Excellent communication, presentation and time management skills
Energy and enthusiasm
Sound judgment and decision-making
Highly numerate with superior analytical skills
A commitment to outstanding customer service
Attention to detail
Salary package: The salary question has to be mentioned at some point.

Most people scanning a page of ads gauge their suitability for the role on
the wage. If a Sales Manager whose current annual package is ` 400,000
sees a job ad for a Senior Sales manager on ` 900,000, they may think its
out of their depth. You should also list any extra perks that will set you
apart from the competitors. A fantastic location or unusual perks of the
job, commission, supportive work-life balance policies or flexible work
hours can be effective selling points. Alternatively, you could write salary
package to be negotiated if the level of the job is evident.
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Layout: A simple job ad is an effective one. Ads that are plainly written
and clearly formatted are easier to read and will enable job seekers to
quickly assess their suitability for the job. Bullet points work well.
Steer clear of complicated job descriptions, fancy designs, funky language

or anything out of the ordinary. Someone reading a job ad with lots of
fancy, yet confusing jargon will wonder straight away what the catch is.
How to apply: Make sure the method of application is clear. Most

advertisements have a contact e-mail and number with the name of the
person applicants can direct their enquiries to. Dont forget to put a closing
date on applications!
Dont discriminate: A recent survey by Kelly Services found almost half

of business professionals would be in breach of anti-discrimination laws
when writing a job ad. Putting together a job ad that doesnt discriminate
is actually harder than it sounds firstly because there are so many groups
you can discriminate against, and also because laws vary across countries.
In general, all jobs must be open to all people on the basis of merit, and
only merit. That means the job ad cant discriminate against age, gender,
sexual orientation, disability, transgender status, industrial activity, marital
status, family responsibilities, breastfeeding, physical features, political
belief or activity, pregnancy, race, or religious belief or activity.
Below is an example of how to post job on naukri.com site:
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Picture 4.2: How to Post Job on naukri.com Site?
Where to Publish Your Job Advertisement?
These days, jobs are most often posted online. The largest Indian job
boards are on the Naukri.com, monsterindia.com, timesjobs.com. You
could also choose to publish your ad in your local newspaper. Government
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j o b s a r e a l s o p o s t e d o n t h e w e b s i t e w w w. g o v t j o b s . c o. i n o r
www.indiangovernmentjobs.in.Make sure you publish your advertisement
in a place that will reach the right demographic for the job. Advertisements
can also be published on Social Media Networking sites like: Facebook,
Myspace and Twitter and Business Networking sites like LinkedIn.
Picture 4.3: naukri.com Site
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Picture 4.6: timesjobs.com Site
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Picture 4.9: Government Jobs Site (Source: www.governmentjobs.com)
Picture 4.10: Government Jobs Site (Source: www.govtjobs.in)
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Picture 4.11: Government Jobs Site (Source:

www.indiangovernmentjobs.in)
4.4 The Pre-selection Process (pre-screening)
Careful employee pre-screening can drastically decrease the number of

inappropriate individuals that end up on the payroll.
The pre-screening is about the matching of the job resumes to the

advertised required skills and competencies of the new hire. Efficiently
done background checks often clear out the worst of these applicants,
enabling companies to avoid many of the worst hiring mistakes. The most
difficult of unsuitable applicants to avoid hiring arent the drug addicts or
those with criminal backgrounds. Often sneaking by even the most astute
hiring managers are applicants that lack the skills necessary to complete
the tasks associated with their job titles.
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The pre-screening is not the same as the phone job interview. The phone
interview is the next step, which helps to reduce the number of job
interviews to be scheduled. The pre-screening is about finding the
fundamental requirements in job resumes.
Benefits of Prescreening in Recruitment
Currently, the people can apply for a new job by one single click in most
cases. The pre-screening is the essential recruitment process step to
handle all applicants with the required care and not to overload HR
Recruiters and managers.
The pre-screening matches the skills mentioned in the job resume and the
job cover letter with the real requirements of the hiring manager. The pre-
screening is not about the pure administration of job resumes.
The pre-screening can be conducted by the inexperienced HR Recruiter.

The fresh HR Recruiter needs to gain knowledge about job resumes and
has to learn to find the key points in job resume to be asked during the job
interview.
The pre-screening eliminates job hopers, people with unexplained gaps in

their career paths, misspelled job resumes and general applications to
hundreds of different job positions across many organizations.
Pre-screening Requirements
The pre-screening has to be based on the matching of the job description

and the job resumes received. The HR Recruiter has to see the essential
requirements made by the hiring manager and make a detailed comparison
with the job resume.
It is difficult to make a timely and valuable pre-screening, when no match

with the job description is possible. The hiring manager has to deliver the
document for the job vacancy opening.
The pre-screening is a part of the operational recruitment; the excellent

job description is a basis for the decision-making.
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Pre-screening Process Steps
The HR Recruiter has to collect all job resumes for the job vacancy. It is
essential to set the goal of the number of job resumes to be passed to the
phase of the phone interview. It is always beneficial to select up to 20-30
job resumes to be phone interviewed at maximum.
The HR Recruiter should make the process as quick as possible. The HR

Recruiter should quickly review the job resume for the grammar style,
clarity of the job resume and gaps in the job resume. The job resume not
meeting the quality criteria should be rejected immediately.
The HR Recruiter should match the skills and competencies to the required
level in the next step with the rest of job resumes. It is always beneficial to
evaluate resumes in percentages. The job resumes can be ranked later
when it is needed.
The successful job resumes should be taken to the next step the phone
interview. The rest of job resumes should be rejected immediately.
4.5 Design and content of the application form
The Application Form
Some organizations/agencies prefer to have applicants use an

organization-specific/ agency-designed application form. If that is the case,
the application form should contain only items that are lawful. Items that
are unlawful and should not be included on an application form include:
national origin, marital status, physical characteristics, age, arrest records,
religion, photos, disability-related items, etc.
The completed application serves the agency as a pre-screening device; it

serves the applicant as a preview of him/herself. From this point on in the
selection process, various tools will help verify what is stated on the
application form.
Below are some examples of Indian job application forms:
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Picture 4.12
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Picture 4.13
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Picture 4.14
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Below are some examples of US job application forms:
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Picture 4.15
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Picture 4.16
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Picture 4.17
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Some examples of online job application forms are as given below:
Online Application Form
Picture 4.18
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Picture 4.19
Resumes
Resumes are creatively designed to reveal an applicants strengths and

hide weaknesses. They should be considered along with completed
application forms not in place of them as they may contain information
that is not available on application forms.
The candidates perspective: It takes at least two days to write a superb

new application, addressing the issues and organizing the information so
that you sell yourself. The biggest error most people make is throwing
away a great chance by rushing a mediocre CV out at the last minute.
Regard your CV and application letter as work in progress and give it a
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polish every couple of months. You never know when you will be asked for
it.
People return to the same agencies that had previously refused them, this
time with a great application that gets them noticed. The difference
between managing your career and just letting it happen can be more than
the cost of your home over the course of a lifetime. You need to take this
task seriously right from the start. You do not need to be headlining the
trivial details of your life like your address and what primary school you
went to. You do not need to tell someone that the document is a CV.
For each occupation and each level of each occupation and for changes of
career and country, there are key things you need to be saying that
recruiters want to hear. If you already know enough, then spend some time
listing these key things before you ever start writing your application. If
you need more information, then start collecting it, start finding out what
buzzwords, concepts and competencies that will carry conviction. If you
follow a boring format or copy out your job definition, it will be dull as
ditchwater to recruiters who have to read lots of applications every day.
You need to reach these people where they get interested. The story of
your career needs to build up expectations that you are worth meeting.
You need to tell them the context in which your achievements have taken
place and let them know what value you offer for the future. Enter the
page content here.
Do not pepper your CV with titles like PROFILE, CAREER OBJECTIVE and
SKILLS unless you want to appear like someone who has slavishly followed
a template. You can have an introduction to your CV but there's no need to
label it. All you really need is a few sensible headings such as
PROFESSIONAL, CAREER and PERSONAL under which you can group
your skills/qualifications, narrative of achievements and necessary details.
Bulleted paragraphs are a great way to save space and add impact but
they need to be congruent. They need to relate to the one before and the
one after in an intelligent way. Lists of superlative claims with no
substantiating evidence cannot be understood in context and cut no ice
with anyone.
The medium is in the message. If they have reached the third paragraph of
your letter and glanced at your CV, you have already shown them that you
can communicate. There is no need to tell them you are a GOOD
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COMMUNICATOR, a SELF-STARTER or a GREAT TEAM PLAYER in so many

words. It needs to be implicit in your account of yourself, not stuffed under
their nose as a grandiose claim. People who do that look naive; people who
get good jobs come across as mature enough to know how to say things
that matter about the real issues involved.
People cannot help but be impressed by talented design and clever

typesetting. Your choice of fonts and styles, however, is somewhat limited
by the restrictions of e-mail and online CV Builders. You need to find out
what these restrictions are by studying the word processing program you
are using and asking yourself: how can I be sure that my fonts and format
arrive on the reader's computer the same way they left here? If you want
to make a subtle and sophisticated impression you need to start finding out
about the technicalities by actually reading the help files and manuals you
have so far taken for granted.
Your letter needs to sing, summarise, promise, capture the spirit of what's
best about you. Safe, boring, over-length, repetitive letters that
regurgitate your CV or try to match every single minor point in the job
definition will have one damaging effect on the reader they will think you
are not very bright. Professional writers throw away more stuff than they
publish; put it all down and then reduce it until you fit two pages. If
necessary group your entire EARLY CAREER under a separate heading and
just give each job a line or two. Place the focus on the last 5-10 years and
the highest levels of activity and achievement. Cut the minor roles and
competencies which are already implied by the big stuff you do. Write your
brief and powerful introduction last; when you know what you need to say
to summarise your offering, and don't bother giving it a heading anyone
can see what it is.
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Picture 4.20
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Picture 4.21
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Application/Resume Screening
Screening resumes is an important part of the selection process. There are

many aspects to consider when screening resumes, such as the
appearance and organization of the resume as well as the job
responsibilities listed. There are two main types of resumes chronological
and functional. Chronological resumes are those that list educational
background and positions held and experiences gained by date, usually
starting with the most recent or current job. Functional resumes group
specific skills and abilities the candidate possesses. A functional resume
allows the reader to easily locate the candidates skills on the resume;
however, it may be difficult to see how the applicants skills were gained or
if the candidate has demonstrated job stability.
Prior to reviewing a resume, the evaluator should have a list of standards

and criteria in mind against which to compare resumes. In addition, the job
description and any other relevant information should also be compared
with the resumes. It is important that one always keep these standards in
mind and not bend as they were created to meet the job expectations. By
evaluating all candidates against the same screening standards,[the]
process will be more objective, fair and accurate.
There are six main factors the evaluator should keep in mind
during the review process
Consider job relevance: The evaluator should compare the job

description and qualifications desired for the vacant position against the
applicants resume, noting the similarities with the persons past
positions and responsibilities.
Picture the position and try to see how well each candidate might fit in
that position in terms of what that person would be doing, the culture of
the organization, and the general work setting.
Do not jump to conclusions or assume anything because resumes can be

misleading. For example, just because someone states that she or he
attended a university does not mean that she or he actually graduated,
unless award of a degree is clearly stated. In addition, be careful not to
assume that one knows everything a person did based on a perception of
her or his previous job title.
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Watch for vagueness. For example, a candidate who does not list dates of
employment may be trying to conceal a period of unemployment.
Likewise, an applicant who focuses too much on hobbies and not enough
on job responsibilities may be trying to compensate for an insufficient
amount of work experience or lack of professional preparation.
Ignore any discriminatory information. Because resumes are open-

ended, candidates might put down information that indicates their race,
religion, ethnicity, or marital status.
Finally, it is important that the reviewer be reasonable and impartial.

Though the reviewer may not be fond of the appearance of the resume,
hobbies of the candidate, or organizational affiliations, these things
should not be a factor in screening out an otherwise qualified applicant.
Following Individual Screenings
Once the resumes have been reviewed, it is recommended reviewers sort

them into three piles based upon the initial criteria selected exceeds
criteria, meets criteria, and does not meet criteria.
If there are not enough strong candidates to move on to the interview

process, it is important to not bend criteria and pull people up from other
stacks in order to have a large enough candidate pool to interview.
It is recommended to keep all resumes on file as future vacancies may

call for different skills.
Screening Practices
When screening resumes, it is important to review carefully the

appearance, organization, objective, education, experience, and other
related activities in which the candidate may have participated.
Appearance: Its human nature to make judgments on the way things

look. The reviewer should also question whether the resume is
complete, neatly written, legible, and if everything is in the proper tense.
Organization: When screening a resume, reviewers also need to

consider if the organization of the resume is proper and logical.
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Objective: Many applicants will not include an objective on their

resume, which is acceptable. However, if it is included, one should review
it. The reviewer should see if there is a match between the applicants
objective statement and the position for which the candidate has applied.
Education: This category may be one of the most straightforward to

evaluate. The evaluator should make sure to check the applicants
course of study. This should help the reviewer discover whether the
individual took courses that provided the expertise needed to perform
the job tasks.
Experience: An applicants work history and experience is the most

critical information for most organizations. Generally, the best predictor
of future job performance is looking at the most recent position held by
the applicant.
Related Activities: While listed activities such as hobbies and personal

interests may not be directly related to the applicants ability to do the
job, it may provide insight into the candidates potential for future
responsibilities. Most leadership positions or committee assignments
require additional training or responsibilities.
Screening Criteria: Criteria for effectively identifying the most suitable

candidates for appointment should be identified in as much detail as
possible. The information contained in the position description and the
vacancy announcement may serve as the basis for preparation of an
objective screening tool that:
Eliminates from consideration those applicants who do not meet the

required minimum qualifications;
Assigns a point value to those who meet or exceed the minimum

qualifications by assigning a numerical value to each of the identified
criteria measuring knowledge, skills, and experience resulting in the most
suitable candidates receiving the most merit points.
Reviewers need to design and utilize a rating method in which points are
assigned to relative levels of education, experience, and/or skills based on
the requirements of the position. Education, experience, and skills most
related to the position requirements are weighted more heavily (assigned a
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greater number of points) than education, experience, and skills that are
somewhat related. Processing each qualified applicant through this process
results in a ranking of applicants based on the job requirements. Those
applicants whose qualifications most closely match the job requirements
will rank the highest.
Analysis of Applications/Resumes
Analysis of an application and/or resume will show three things:
1. The information at face value that will be used to determine if the

applicant meets the minimum education, experience, and skill
requirements,
2. The skills the applicant used in presenting the information, and
3. The way the applicant thinks, as revealed by answers given in the

application.
The way people present themselves in an application or a resume is only

one factor to consider when making the hiring decision. A resume that
deviates from the "acceptable" format is not the reason for excluding an
applicant from the selection process. All of the items considered in
reviewing an application or resume should be lawful and relevant to the
position being filled.
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Other Items to Consider in Review of Applications and Resumes:
Appearance of the Application or Resume: Is it neat and easy to

read? Resumes should be typed, grammatically correct, and easy to
understand. They should look professional not on gaudy-colored or
scented paper. However, some high school and college instructors
encourage the use of bold colors to get your attention. Cover letters
accompanying a resume or application generally show strong interest by
the applicant and may provide additional relevant information.
Blanks or Missing Information: First, make sure that all basic

information, such as education and work history, is included. Second,
look for time gaps between education and between each job. Make notes
and probe for the missing information during the interview. The intent of
filling in the gaps is not to make a judgment on how the applicant has
spent time, but rather to find out the reasons for unexplained gaps. For
example, perhaps a gap between graduation and employment was for a
trip where the applicant gained job-related knowledge.
Overlaps in Dates: Dates for a job and school or for two or more jobs
may overlap. This, of course, is possible, but examine the dates for
accuracy. Verify, if necessary.
Frequency of Job Changes: Frequent change of jobs has traditionally

had a negative connotation. However, there may be valid reasons for the
job changes. Frequent job changes may be positive if there was
progression in job responsibilities along the way. Also, workers today
change jobs more frequently. Dont draw premature conclusions about
frequent job changes. It is something that should be noted and probed in
the job interview.
Salary Requirements: Dont dismiss an applicant based only on salary

requirements indicated on the application or resume. Individuals may not
be familiar with the pay processes of the organization, the starting
salary, etc., and, therefore, do not know what to indicate on the
application. Also some individuals may indicate a salary requirement
much higher, but that doesnt mean they wont accept less when they
review the benefit plan. Applicants may accept a lower salary than their
current salary if they are looking for a change in career or location or for
job satisfaction.
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Job Duties: Most likely previous job duties will be discussed in the
interview. However, if duties are unclear or vague, definitely make a note
to probe for further detail in the interview.
Educational Background: Did they finish graduation? If not, ask why.

There may be a very good reason or it may be an indication of lack of
drive and self-discipline. What kinds of courses were taken? Courses in
certain areas like foreign languages or advanced mathematics are more
demanding than easier courses like health, recreation, etc. The person
who took difficult courses may be more driven to excel and self-
disciplined.
"Red-flag" Items: Review the application or resume for any items that
dont make sense or leave you with an uneasy feeling. An example: If
you ask on your application form the reasons for leaving a job, watch for
the answer "personal." Often times, which can be a red flag maybe the
individual was fired. Or maybe there were personality conflicts, not
necessarily the fault of the applicant, with which the applicant had to
deal. Youll want to probe during the interview for the reason for leaving.
Phone Screening
Phone screening may be done after the application screening process and
before the formal final interviews. An initial interview including a telephone
interview can be used as part of the merit-based ranking or scoring
process.
Phone screening is useful when:
You arent sure, based on a review of the resume and application, of an

applicants suitability for a position or you need to verify information used
in the merit ranking or scoring process;
An out-of-town applicant appears to be a weakly-qualified applicant, and

you dont want him/her spending money for traveling to the interview.
The goal of the phone screening is to quickly determine applicants

capabilities. Therefore, questions should be focused on knowledge and
skills required to perform the positions major functions.
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Since the phone screening is a "mini interview," the format could be

arranged as follows:
A few introductory words on the purpose of the screening.
A brief overview of the position in non-specific terms.
Knock-out questions. Knock-out questions are used to determine if the

applicant possesses the requirements of the job. If the applicant does not
satisfactorily answer these questions to where it would constitute
justifiable cause, they are knocked out of consideration.
Likes/dislikes in past positions and next position.
Minimum salary requirements.
Date available for employment.
4.6 Shortlisting applications
The main criterion for successful shortlisting is identifying which essential

and desirable qualities matter most to you.
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Picture 4.22
The criteria that you look for will depend on the nature of the job but it's
important to define exactly what you really want from your ideal candidate
before you start the shortlisting process. Before you start, you need to
have two lists, the absolutely essential criteria and the desirable criteria.
Try to avoid the temptation to put all your desirable criteria in the essential
category; you should have approximately double the essential criteria in
your list of desirables. Try to be flexible and remember that if you take too
many people out initially you may miss the best candidate for the role.
Some of the common qualities that you can check are as follows:
Educational qualifications This can be college education and/or

university education.
Professional qualifications Only relevant for some roles and can

include on the job training.
Professional experience How many years of relevant experience

does the candidate have?
Evidence of competencies - Is there any evidence from the CV that

the applicant has some or all of the competencies you are looking for.
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To keep things fair, it is a good idea to come up with a rating system and
rank candidates according to each defined criteria. It's a good idea to set
up a single spreadsheet to make things easier for you to keep track, or you
can also utilize an applicant tracking system like the one within
www.simplifiedrecruitment.com.
The basic goal of shortlisting is to exclude as many unsuitable candidates

as quickly as possible. To make the process easier, you can use the
following steps:
Start with an idea about the number of candidates that you want
to interview This will tell you how much you need to deviate from
your ideal criteria within your available applicant pool.
Conduct your shortlist in stages Do an initial shortlist based on

easy to identify essential criteria. If you have a large volume, this can be
delegated to another team member. Once the first shortlist is complete
then carry out additional stages to refine the list further based on
desirable criteria.
Set minimum criteria as stage 1 Set your Educational, Professional

qualifications and Experience minimums and produce a list of all the
candidates who meet your minimum criteria first. This will save a lot of
time. As you go through this list, rank each candidate based on your
essential factors and record the results in a spreadsheet. This will help
you later should you need to add more applicants back into the shortlist.
Exclude the inconsistent applications as stage 2 For example, if

you are looking to fill a permanent role and you want the job holder to
commit for the long term, you can ignore candidates with vague
employment history and frequent job changes straightaway. Obviously,
this wouldn't apply for short-term contract roles and you may even want
to reverse the criteria for these types of job.
Last stage filtering If there are still too many interview candidates in
your shortlist after stages one and two, you can begin to filter them
through the 'desirable' non-essential qualities for the job. These can be
things like sector exposure (have they worked in the same environment
before), recent highly relevant training, experience with the company's
main systems, directly applicable technical knowledge, etc.
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Interview Once you have shortlisted as much as possible the

interview should be designed to affirm your shortlist criteria and also to
look into personality fit, expectations and other checks to evaluate the
applicant's compatibility. See our article about how to conduct a
competency based interview for more guidance.
Be flexible but stick to your criteria It is impossible to expect that a

candidate will satisfy all the requirements while having perfect education,
professional qualifications and experience. Recognize that you may have
to deviate slightly, but to eliminate bias, try to make the decision based
on the person who most closely matches the criteria you have specified
for the job.
By following these points, you will be able to shortlist applicants for your
positions in a highly effective way, making sure to eliminate personal bias
and keep the process as fair as possible.
Spotlight on Shortlisting Case Study by KDR Recruitment

Services, UK
Introduction: As professional recruiters, there are many techniques that

we use to source the best candidates for our clients. In fact, advertising
a job is a very small part of what we do! Our search extends into
manipulating our candidate database, scouring the internet, job boards
and social media as well as head hunting and networking. However, when
we do advertise a new role, we tend to get a lot of responses and it can
be time consuming to screen and shortlist these applicants so that only
those relevant make the final cut. So, how do we do this and what
percentage actually makes it past the initial screening and onto a clients
shortlist?
CV Screening: For each job, we work on we screen hundreds of CVs. We

have to make sure we look at every applicant as quickly as possible to
make sure we dont miss a great candidate through not responding
quickly enough. At this stage, we are checking the basic details of the
applicant to see if there is a possible match.
The main things we are looking at are:

!
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Signs that the candidate is or is not eligible to work in the UK.

Where the candidate lives in relation to the role.
Work history, including length of time in each job and any gaps in
employment.
Relevant technical skills, projects and work experience.
After screening the CV, candidates tend to fall into one of three
categories:
A really good match These candidates appear to meet most of the

criteria on paper so are contacted as a matter of urgency for telephone
screening.
A possible match These candidates meet some of the criteria so are

contacted as soon as possible for telephone screening.
Unsuitable candidate There are lots of reasons that someone could

fall into this category including some of those mentioned above. We will
always get in touch to let a candidate know if they have not been
shortlisted as they could well be a great match for another requirement.
Initial Telephone Screening: It is essential that we make contact with

candidates quickly to establish if they might be a good match for our
client, so one of our Resourcing Consultants will contact the candidate as
soon as possible after application. In this initial telephone conversation,
we speak to the candidate to find out:-
Their reason for looking for a new job and reasons for leaving current
or last job.
Salary expectation.
Location/Travel/Relocation requirements.
Career aspirations and type of role they are looking for
Their technical skills.
Their communication/soft skills
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! !148
If at this stage they are a potential match, we will discuss the opportunity
further and let them know who our client is to establish if the candidate is
interested in taking the opportunity further. This is where quite a lot of
candidates tend to drop out from the process, either because the job is
not what they are looking for, or is not meeting their salary or location
requirements. We will also make a decision about if we believe the
candidate is a good match with our clients requirements in all of the
areas mentioned above. If so, at this stage, we contact the client to
update them on our progress.
In-depth Telephone Interview: This is where things get more interesting

and we really start to delve into the detail! We need to be confident that
this candidate is a good match for the role. Not only are we looking for
suitability skills-wise but we also need to be sure that they are motivated
about the role and our client. We will be looking for candidates to
convince us why we should represent them with one of our clients, not
the other way round. We do not persuade people to apply for one of our
roles and we dont represent someone if we are not totally confident with
their commitment.
The types of things we are looking at include:
Candidates will be prepared to take the time out of their day to speak
to us. If they cant make time now, how will they attend an interview?
Open and honest about current package details and realistic salary
expectations.
Can give valid reasons for gaps in employment.
Able to give us real life examples of where, when and how they have
used their skills.
Will provide us with references.
Will keep us informed of other job applications and interviews.
Can provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK.
They will make themselves available for interviews and take the time to
properly prepare themselves.
!
! !149
Case Study Details: Using a job we filled recently as an example we have

put together a case study highlighting the ad response from a data/
statistical analyst job.
Job: Data/Statistical Analyst for a leading web based organization in

London
Salary: up to 40K
Advertised on: 12th April for one month
Number of responses: 209
For this job, we screened 209 responses to the ad, and also hundreds of
candidates from other sources. This led to us sending six shortlisted and
prepared candidates to our client. They went on to interview one of them
and then offered them the job. In the pie chart, we have shown how many
of the ad responses we lost at each part of the process, demonstrating how
much time the process takes behind the scenes.
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4.7 Activities
1. You are a Manager in a medium-sized recruitment firm with an online

presence. Your Boss has delegated the task of creating a blog on
resume-scanning practices for recruiters. Search the web for existing
blogs, articles and case studies to support your research.
2. You are currently writing an article for your subordinates on the

importance of phone screening. As a part of this activity, enlist the pros
and cons of this method. Identify the alternate methods available.
4.8 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about recruitment process covering the

aspects like designing the recruitment advertisement to shortlisting the
candidates. Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening,
selecting, and onboarding a qualified person for a job. At the strategic
level, it may involve the development of an employer brand which includes
an 'employee offering'. Depending on the size and culture of the
organization, recruitment may be undertaken in-house by managers,
human resource generalists and/or recruitment specialists. Alternatively,
parts of all of the process might be undertaken by either public sector
employment agencies, or commercial recruitment agencies, or specialist
search consultancies.
Whatever the reason, a vacancy exists replacing a resigned person or

creating a new role the recruitment cycle kicks off in the same way. Many
managers are quick to jump to fill a vacancy with a carbon-copy
replacement. But the job description of your leaver may not accurately
describe their responsibilities on departure. The vacancys creation is an
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ideal opportunity to reconsider the position in the context of your current

and future business needs.
These days, jobs are most often posted online. The largest Indian job
boards are on the Naukri.com, monsterindia.com, timesjobs.com. You
could also choose to publish your ad in your local newspaper. Government
j o b s a r e a l s o p o s t e d o n t h e w e b s i t e w w w. g o v t j o b s . c o. i n o r
www.indiangovernmentjobs.in. Make sure you publish your advertisement
in a place that will reach the right demographic for the job. Advertisements
can also be published on Social Media Networking sites like: Facebook,
Myspace and Twitter and Business Networking sites like LinkedIn. The pre-
screening is about the matching of the job resumes to the advertised
required skills and competencies of the new hire. Efficiently done
background checks often clear out the worst of these applicants, enabling
companies to avoid many of the worst hiring mistakes. The most difficult of
unsuitable applicants to avoid hiring arent the drug addicts or those with
criminal backgrounds. Often sneaking by even the most astute hiring
managers are applicants that lack the skills necessary to complete the
tasks associated with their job titles.
Some organizations/agencies prefer to have applicants use an

organization-specific/ agency-designed application form. If that is the case,
the application form should contain only items that are lawful. Items that
are unlawful and should not be included on an application form include:
national origin, marital status, physical characteristics, age, arrest records,
religion, photos, disability-related items, etc. The completed application
serves the agency as a pre-screening device; it serves the applicant as a
preview of him/herself. From this point on in the selection process, various
tools will help verify what is stated on the application form.
Resumes are creatively designed to reveal an applicants strengths and

hide weaknesses. They should be considered along with completed
application forms not in place of them as they may contain information
that is not available on application forms.
Screening resumes is an important part of the selection process. There are

many aspects to consider when screening resumes, such as the
appearance and organization of the resume as well as the job
responsibilities listed. There are two main types of resumes chronological
and functional. Chronological resumes are those that list educational
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background and positions held and experiences gained by date, usually

starting with the most recent or current job. There are six main factors the
evaluator should keep in mind during the review process.
Consider job relevance.
Picture the position and try to see how well each candidate might fit in
that position.
Do not jump to conclusions or assume anything because resumes can be

misleading.
Watch for vagueness.
Ignore any discriminatory information.
Finally, it is important that the reviewer be reasonable and impartial.
Analysis of an application and/or resume will show three things:
(a)The information at face value that will be used to determine if the

applicant meets the minimum education, experience, and skill
requirements,
(b)The skills the applicant used in presenting the information, and
(c)The way the applicant thinks, as revealed by answers given in the

application.
The main criterion for successful shortlisting is identifying which essential

and desirable qualities matter most to you. The criteria that you look for
will depend on the nature of the job but it's important to define exactly
what you really want from your ideal candidate before you start the
shortlisting process. Before you start, you need to have two lists, the
absolutely essential criteria and the desirable criteria. Try to avoid the
temptation to put all your desirable criteria in the essential category; you
should have approximately double the essential criteria in your list of
desirables. Try to be flexible and remember that if you take too many
people out initially you may miss the best candidate for the role.
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1. What are the stages of the recruitment process? Explain each stage in
detail with its relevance in the recruitment process?
2. Draw a diagram to elaborate the steps involved in the recruitment

process.
3. Measuring recruitment costs is an inexact science explain this

statement with the help of examples.
4. What are the key elements of a Job analysis form, explain with the help
of a diagram?
5. From the point of view of recruitment personnel, enlist five benefits of

writing an effective job advertisement.
6. From the recruitment perspective, what are the factors that contribute
towards an ideal candidate description?
7. You are working for a tech-savvy recruitment company. From this

perspective, which are the preferred mediums to publish your job
advertisement. Provide the reasons behind each specific choice.
8. Explain in detail the benefits of pre-screening in recruitment and cite the

important pre-screening requirements?
9. What are the specific aspects of writing an application that you need to
take care of when creating a job application and writing a job resume?
10.There are six main factors the evaluator should keep in mind during the
review process of a resume. Enlist and explain them in detail.
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !155
RECRUITMENT PROCESS: CRITICAL ESSENTIALS OF RECRUITMENT
Chapter 5
RECRUITMENT PROCESS: CRITICAL
ESSENTIALS OF RECRUITMENT
Objectives:
Recruitment process and its importance

The recruitment team dynamics with its structure
Different types of recruitment models
Vendor management practices
Structure:
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Recruitment Process and its Importance
5.3 The Recruitment Team Dynamics
5.3.1 Structure
5.4 Elements of Recruitment Strategies
5.4.1 Different Types of Recruitment Models

5.4.2 Developing Metrics for Recruitment Success
5.5 Vendor Management Practices
5.5.1 Types of Recruitment Firms

5.5.2 Factors behind Choosing a Vendor
5.6 Activities
5.7 Summary
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5.1 Introduction
The recruitment process is one of the most fundamental value added HR

Processes. Recruitment is especially critical for managers in the
organization. The managers use the recruitment process intensively, and
satisfaction with Human Resources is mostly about the satisfaction with the
recruitment process.
The recruitment process is sensitive to the external and internal changes,

and it can be used as the best indicator for the future HR trends. By careful
analysis of HR Recruitment Measures, the HR Management team can
predict the trends in the job market simply.
Major Recruitment Process Goals
The recruitment process is designed to staff the organization with the new
employees, and it uses many different recruitment sources to attract the
right talent in the defined quality and within a defined time.
The recruitment process has several goals:
Find the best talents for the vacancies

Manage the recruitment sources
Manage the vacancies in the organization
Run the internal recruitment process
Building the strong HR Marketing platform
Co-operation with local and international universities
Provide feedback about the trends in the job market
Most recruitment goals are not visible to managers directly, and they think
that just sourcing of the job candidates is the main outcome from the
recruitment process. HR has to use the other outcomes from the
recruitment process as it is the source of valuable information.
Finding the best talents on the job market: It is the most important
goal of the recruitment process. The HR Recruiters are paid for delivering
the candidates to managers, who make the final decision about hiring a
new employee. The organizations are fighting for the best talents in the job
market. HR Recruiters have to develop the competitive approaches to
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make the attractive job offers. The candidates select the organization,
which is recognized for being modern and competitive. The job adverts and
job offers have to reflect this.
The managers love to hire the best employees available on the job market.
They love to interview motivated job candidates. The role of HR is to
describe the real need to the manager. Many times, the best job candidate
is not the appropriate job candidate.
Recruitment Sources Management: The recruitment sources

management is an extremely significant goal of the recruitment process.
The recruitment sources deliver the candidates for the selection procedure
in the organization. The better the candidates are; the higher quality job
candidates can be hired. The proper management of the recruitment
sources has a significant impact on the competitive advantage of the
organization.
The better employees do not have to be more expensive, but the
organization has to manage the recruitment sources to attract the high
quality job candidates.
Building the Strong Internal Recruitment Process: The external

recruitment is not the only goal of the recruitment process. Building the
strong internal recruitment helps the organization to keep the best talents
in the organization. The employees have a chance to apply for a new job
position, and they can change their career path.
The internal recruitment is a difficult HR topic as the managers have to
allow their best employees to take a new role within the organization. The
role of Human Resources is in allowing the best employees to rotate and in
supporting the managers in developing the successors.
HR Marketing: The HR Marketing is essential for any large organization,

which needs to attract many job candidates. The large organization cannot
hire just the experts; they have to attract many university graduates. The
graduates do select the employer by the strength of the brand name on the
job market and offered opportunities in the organization.
The HR has to design the recruitment activities, which support the name of
the employer on the job market. The organization has to build a positive
brand name, and it has to promote the job opportunities and excellent
career paths.
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5.2 Recruitment Process and its Importance
Research says that more than 14% of the people tend to lose their
patience and become uneasy during the waiting period of a job interview.
The recruitment of an individual into an organization plays a very
important role as it determines the selection of the right candidate for the
job. Read on to understand about the process and its importance.
Recruitment Process
The process of recruitment is not just a way of selecting an individual into

an organization based on his/her professional skills but also includes
analysis of his social skills most of the times. The choice of the right
candidate with the right attitude is necessary so as to make sure that he
fits the job description completely. Any deviation or the wrong candidate
will not only create imbalance or chaos in the project but will also cause
loss of the money invested on the employee by the organization.
Recruitment can be internal or external of an organization and is mostly
handled by the HR department but, at times, can be outsourced to a third
part agency.
Purpose of the Recruitment Process
Recruitment process of any organization is normally targeted towards

attracting more talent towards their job application. The process is oriented
in such a way so as to encourage maximum number of people to apply for
the job. The job description is advertised so as to get the cream of the
crowd and the best talent available. This talent pool is then scrutinized to
select one who fits best for the job.
The recruitment process at any point of time is based on the present and
the future requirements of a company. The HR department analyzes the
human resource requirements available in a company from time to time
and recruits the best candidate for the job. It is also possible at times that
the recruitment might happen internally in the organization from other
departments or from the available talent pool.
In this process, the employers are linked with the employees and the
employer has the ability to choose one he thinks fits as per his present or
future project needs. Most of the times, project managers and leaders
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prefer to accompany the HR department for recruitment processes so as to

ensure that the candidate has the right technical potential and attitude to
meet the organizational requirements.
Importance of Recruitment Process
Recruitment can be done in many ways namely referral, internal, external,

etc. Whatever be the type of recruitment, it always aims to solve the same
purpose. The role of recruitment in organizational growth plays a critical
part and is hence a must to understand its importance and need.
When recruitment happens, it provides access for an organization to avail

to a pool of talent at a single place in a single time. With a high number of
candidates, the organization is provided ample skills so as to choose the
best one for present or future use. Also, companies can target upon
potential candidates and recruit them for future projects rather than
striving to find the right one at the last minute. A well-planned recruitment
process helps a company to filter out the candidates who do not pass their
criterion and hence concentrate more on the eligible candidates. As the
count of people who attend recruitment drives are more, the eligible
candidates would still pose a good number in spite of the eliminations.
Also, a huge group will possess candidates with a variety of skillset and
thus the need to recruit multiple skills gets resolved in the same arena.
Recruitment process helps eliminate the fear of employees leaving the

organization in between projects as it helps recruit resources as a backup
for key positions. Thus, the probability of distress when an employee
leaves an organization is largely reduced due to the process. The process
also ensures diversity in selection to meet all legal and social type of
obligations posed by the company.
5.3 The recruitment team dynamics
How heavily should team dynamics affect your decision when hiring an
applicant and even writing the selection criteria for the position?
Whether you are hiring an entire new team or recruiting one position within
an already established team, it is crucial to consider team dynamics and
subsequent team fit. The term team dynamic refers to the ongoing
interactions between team members and how this affects the team. These
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dynamics, both positive and negative will ultimately (and even sometimes
immediately) affect the performance of the team.
Picture 5.1
This is due to the fact that these dynamics have a direct effect on each
individuals effort, attitude, interest, performance and job satisfaction. This
then has implications on employee retention and team success.
To understand a teams dynamics, firstly you must have an understanding

of each individuals skills, goals, interests, stage of life and most
importantly, personality. The reason personality is most important is
because it actually encapsulates many components including leadership
style, moods, motivation, drivers, attitude and goals. Personality is also the
one thing that eventually shines through, regardless of how appropriate or
professional someone is initially behaving (which also makes it difficult to
assess in an interview).
Skills: Every job has a specific set of required skills. Suitable candidates
must possess these skills (or at least have the capacity to possess these
if on-the-job training is a possibility). However, it is important to
recognize which skills are actually their strengths and weaknesses. This
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is because a team with balanced strengths and weaknesses will be more

effective than a team full of similar strengths and weaknesses. For
example, one individuals strength may be verbal communication and
presentations whereas anothers may be written communication and
technology. This means that you have to analyze (and even record) what
strengths and weaknesses already exist within the team. This will often
identify a skill that is lacking in a certain area which you can then seek
within an applicant.
Goals: An individuals goals can be associated with and measured by

career advancement, financial attainment, recognition, reward and/or
self-satisfaction. The specific goal can affect how an individual behaves
and can therefore affect the team. For example, if an individual seeks
recognition, they may draw attention to themselves by publicly sharing
their performance and achievements in e-mails or meetings. Colleagues
may then resent or become jealous of this individual. Conversely, the
specific goal itself may not influence how individuals work within a team
but the attitude or level of effort demonstrated to obtain the goal may.
For example, an individual may do whatever it takes to get a promotion
even if it means offending others or being deceitful. Individuals should be
able to maintain social and ethical standards while achieving their goals.
Often, teams with similar goals are easier to deal with unless it is career
advancement!
Interests: Similar interests within a team can help with team bonding,
communication and team efficiency. Similarly, colleagues who genuinely
like each other and/or respect each other will work more closely, support
each other and will be more effective in achieving team targets and
goals. This is as long as clear expectations are in place and individual still
demonstrate professionalism and discipline.
Personality: In terms of personality, it is obvious that certain individuals

will get on better than others. It is not necessary that all team members
are close friends but they must be able to mutually respect each other. In
a close working team, it is also important to find a balance between:
introverts and extroverts; leaders and followers; egocentric and
altruistic; and people-focused and task-focused individuals. A balance
does not always mean 50 : 50. This will depend on the specific industry
and the working environment of the team.
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Team Dynamics: Testing and Analysis
Psychological testing can be extremely beneficial in identifying suitable

individuals for a position. Often, however, this is not a realistic or deemed
necessary option because of company or industry norm, financial reasons
etc. So, here are some tips and behaviors to consider when choosing an
applicant. These may seem obvious and simply common sense but
surprisingly are often not done.
Picture 5.2
1. Analyze and record what strengths and weaknesses already exist within
the team. Seek an individual that possesses these weaknesses as their
strengths.
2. Identify and record what type of individual would be most suitable for
the team in terms of:
(a)Task or people focused?

(b)Individual or team member?
(c)Extrovert or introvert?
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(d)Talker or listener?
(e)Leader or follower?
(f) Assertive or submissive?
3. Identify and record what type of personalities already exist in the team
in terms of:
(a)Personal and professional interests

(b)Motivation level and drivers
(c)Goals
(d)Stage of life
Use this to evaluate whether colleagues will genuinely get along and/or
respect each other.
4. Make the applicant as relaxed and comfortable as possible in the

interview. In doing so, the individual will be more likely to be honest
and display a true reflection of their personality.
The importance of team dynamics should not be underestimated. This is

because the benefits of getting the team fit right will ensure the best
chance of: individual performance, development and job satisfaction,
employee retention; and therefore team and business success.
5.3.1 Structure (A Recruitment Agency's Organizational Structure)
Recruitment agencies have a full team of professionals to help fill their

client's job opening. A recruiting agency provides a valuable service to its
clients by helping them attract and hire the top caliber of talent for their
industry. This partnership requires a strong set of ethics, an ability to meet
goals and an organized internal structure. The diagram below shows A
Recruitment Agency's Organizational Structure:
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!
Figure 5.1: A Recruitment Agency's Organizational Structure
President or Owner: The person in charge of overseeing the day-to-

day operations and financial management of the company is typically the
owner or president of the recruiting firm.
Recruiting Manager: The recruiting manager is often the primary point

of contact with the clients. This person is responsible for ensuring the
client's needs are met. Typically the searches are conducted by the
recruiters, who report directly to the recruiting manager.
Account Manager: The account manager is responsible for obtaining

new clients. This person is a sales professional who has the ability to
promote the recruiting agency's service and negotiate new contracts.
Recruiters: Most recruiting firms will employ several recruiters. These

employees are responsible for the full recruitment life-cycle, which
includes sourcing, screening, testing and coaching candidates.
Staffing Specialists: The title for the most entry-level position in a

recruitment agency may have several different names. Typically, these
employees utilize networking, cold calling and job boards to source
potential candidates for the recruiter to interview.
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5.4 Elements of Recruitment Strategies
The 12 essential elements of a comprehensive recruiting strategy:
1. What are your primary goals? (Why hire?) The first element of
recruiting strategy is to determine why you are hiring outside people.
First, you must determine your firms business goals and then what
recruiting can do to contribute to each of them. Some of the more
common business reasons for hiring include:
Replacements for turnover
Current or future business expansion
Upsizing the caliber of talent because top talent has become available
Limiting the talent available in the market in order to hurt a

competitors ability to staff adequately
Learning from other firms
Increasing the capability of your firm by adding new skillsets
Related Conference Sessions
A Contrarian View of Mobility: Bring the Job to the Talent, Not the
Talent to the Job
Attract, Hire, and Retain Great Corporate Recruiters
The Consultative Recruitment Department: Transitioning Your Team

to a New Recruitment Model
Which of these focus areas you select is important because each

requires that you direct your recruiting efforts in a different way. For
example, if you are hiring for geographic expansion, you will need to
implement a strategy that allows you to enter new geographic
regions as opposed to hiring to hurt, where you need to focus on
hiring away key talent directly from competitors.
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2. Prioritization of jobs: No recruiting function has enough resources to

fill every position immediately with the top quality hire. As a result, your
recruiting strategy needs to include a prioritization element. Priority can
be assigned in the following ways:
Hire all jobs equally with the same priority

Focus on key strategic business units
Focus on key jobs
Focus on key or powerful managers
3. Performance level: To target recruiting top performers requires a
different strategy and set of tools than recruiting average performers.
As a result, you must first determine what level of performance you are
primarily targeting before you determine the other elements of your
recruiting strategy. Performance targets include:
Butts in chairs (hire the cheapest candidates with adequate skills in

all jobs)
Focus on average performers in all jobs

Focus on top performers in all jobs
Focus on top performers just in key jobs
4. Experience level to target: Some employment strategies require you

to take the long-term approach and develop your own talent, while
other approaches target bringing in experienced talent for immediate
help or to bring in new skills. Experience target ranges include:
Inexperienced talent that can be trained

Temporary and contract labour that can be converted
Hire at the bottom and promote within
Undergraduate college hires (interns, Internet and on-campus hires)
Postgraduate hires
Experienced hires
5. Category of candidate to target: Whether you target active or

passive candidates has a tremendous impact on both the quality of hire
and the difficulty of getting an acceptance.
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Active candidates (the easiest candidates to attract):
Unemployed candidates
Currently employed but frustrated in their current job
Passive candidates (These are individuals who are currently employed

and not actively seeking employment. They represent over 80% of
potential candidates, but they are the hardest to attract.):
Focus on currently employed average or above average

performers
Focus on currently employed top performers
Diverse candidates:
Diverse candidates defined by using EEOC standards

Diverse thinkers using a global standard
Magnet hires (Target magnet hires who are well-known individuals

who, because of their notoriety, by themselves help to attract
others):
Magnet hires from within the industry

Magnet hires from outside the industry
6. When to begin searching for candidates: Most firms begin a search

once a requisition has been created. But there are a multitude of
approaches available:
Begin recruiting when an opening occurs

Continuous search (evergreen jobs where there is a constant need)
Begin before an opening occurs (pre-need hiring can be done to build
a talent pool or to build a relationship over time, in order to increase
applications and offer acceptance rates from employed individuals
and top performer candidates)
7. Where to look for candidates: There are three sub-categories within

the where element. They include:
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Internal versus external:
Focus on all internal candidates (laterals or promotions)

Settle on a fixed ratio of internal to external hires
Hire primarily from college campuses
Hire primarily from external sources
Inside or outside the industry:
Target within the industry only

A fixed proportion outside the industry
Geographic focus:
Local commuting area only

Within the region
Within India
A truly global search
8. Who does the recruiting? There are two sub-categories under this
element. They include:
Internally, who is responsible for recruiting?
Generalists do most recruiting

Primarily internal recruiters working in HR
Separate sourcing and recruiting efforts within a centralized
recruiting function
A mix of corporate and contract recruiters that work internally
Line managers do most recruiting
Employees contribute significantly to recruiting through a heavy
emphasis on employee referrals.
Utilizing external recruiters:
Utilize external recruiting agencies mostly at the very top or bottom

jobs
Third-party recruiters are utilized only for hard-to-fill or key jobs
Primarily utilize external recruiting agencies
Outsource the entire recruiting function
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9. Primary sourcing tools: Identifying candidates and convincing them

to apply is essential to great recruiting. Some of the possible sourcing
focus areas include:
Traditional media (newspapers, walk-ins)

Sourcing using events (job fairs and industry events)
Traditional Internet sourcing (large and niche job boards)
Non-traditional Internet sourcing (Google-type name search for
passives; chat rooms)
Employment branding (a long-term sourcing strategy to build a

steady long-term supply of candidates)
Acquiring intact teams and a large amount of talent through mergers

and acquisitions (buy firms for talent)
10.What skills should you prioritize when selecting candidates?

When selecting the most appropriate candidates from the candidate,
pool organizations can use a variety of approaches. Those target skills
or competencies could include:
Hiring brains or intelligence

Selecting based primarily on personality
Selecting based on the technical skills required for this job
Selecting based on skills (technical and people) required for this and
the next job
Selecting primarily based on pre-identified, company-wide

competency needs (present and future)
Selecting primarily based on the candidates experience (industry or

job)
Selecting primarily based on the candidates contacts and network
Selecting the best athlete available at the time (hire and then find
the best job for them)
Selecting primarily based on cultural fit
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11.How to assess candidates? An essential part of any recruiting

strategy is the process you will utilize to assess the candidates.
Common choices include:
Interviews
Personality tests
Skills tests
References (business, personal or educational)
Grades or academic performance (primarily for college hires)
Drug screening
Job simulations
On-the-job assessment(primarily for temp-to-permanent
conversions)
Hire more than you need and intentionally wash out the poor
performers
12.Primary sales approach: Candidates can be sold on a job and

company based on a variety of strategies. They often include:
Compensation
Opportunities for promotion
Benefits
A great team and manager
An excellent culture and values
Bonus and stock option opportunities
Challenge, growth, and learning opportunities
The firms employment brand and image
5.4.1 Different Types of Recruitment Models
Different companies have different hiring needs. So depending on level of

engagement, exclusivity, long-term prospects and other factors, many
different recruitment models are followed in the market.
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Picture 5.3
Different recruitment models:
Contingency Hiring
Retained Search
Exclusive Requirements
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Outplacement
Executive Search
Contingency Hiring: In contingency hiring, whenever a company comes

across any requirement, it gives it to many consultants at the same time
and asks all of them to send resumes. Only the consultant whose candidate
is offered gets money from the company. Here, recruiters don't get any
assured and fixed salary. Their revenue depends entirely on whether they
can make offers or not. As risk factor is high here, consultants charge more
percentage for such type of recruitment. Generally, company pays in terms
of a specific percentage of CTC of the candidate. This is the most prevalent
way of recruitment.
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Retained Search: Here, a recruitment consultant works exclusively for a

specific requirement and payment is divided into two parts. He is paid a
fixed amount by the company for search activity. It is called retainer fee.
Other than that if he makes offer he gets more money. For recruitment of
senior executives like CEO, Sales head, very focused approach is required,
so this method is preferred.
Exclusive Requirements: Sometimes companies give some requirements

exclusively to recruiters. Here, recruiter assures the client to close the
position within specific date. If he cant close the position by that time, he
needs to either close the position with lesser commission or bear some
other penalty. All the conditions are clearly decided before the contract.
Here, percentage of commission is less than contingency hiring because
there is no competition.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): RPO model is gaining lot of

popularity recently. Here, a company outsources whole recruitment process
to another consultant. Some people from the consultant side seat in the
company itself and manage the whole process by themselves. The sources
can either sit in the client place or in their own office. Here, RPO partner is
responsible for closing all the requirements. They take care of the whole
recruitment process right from sourcing, scheduling, interviews, offer to
joining. The benefit for the company is that they don't have to manage
their own recruitment team which reduces costs. But on the other hand,
risk is high, because if consultants don't understand the company culture
and hiring plans properly, it can get disastrous also. So, companies should
be careful while choosing recruitment partners, since we are talking about
high scale and longer duration engagement here.
Outplacement: Outplacement came into picture during recession period.

Here, if a company wants to lay off some people employees to cut costs,
they can hire a consultant to place those employees in other companies.
The recruitment cost is borne by the current employer. Outplacement is not
very popular till now.
Executive Search: Executive search teams only focus on senior level, i.e.,
CEO, CTO, Sales head and similar kind of requirements. Method of sourcing
for such positions are quite different from junior level requirements. Here,
number of potential candidates are less and they don't prefer to show their
resume on the portals. So, head hunting, searching in networking sites and
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personal networks help a lot. For such requirements, commission is much

higher. Executive search teams do retained search activity also.
Other than the above models, recruitment can be divided in other two
types.
Permanent recruitment
Contract or temporary staffing
Permanent staffing: Here, after recruitment, the candidate stays in the

company payroll as a permanent employee.
Temporary staffing: In case of temporary staffing/contract staffing, the

candidate remains in the payroll of the consultant and works with the
company for a limited time period. Companies generally prefer this model if
the project is small or uncertain. Again it reduces their long-term costs
also. So, this model is gaining good popularity nowadays.
Both permanent and temporary staffing can be applied to all the above
recruitment models.
5.4.2 Developing Metrics for Recruitment Success
Employee recruiting metrics and economics can be confusing. But, a good

grasp of how to measure the success of employee recruiting activities goes
a long way to improve the hiring process. Unfortunately, money can be
wasted on various recruiting activities. Advertising is expensive, online
postings can be a time drain, and head hunters might just drain your bank
account. The primary question is:
How to get the best return on investment for recruiting activities?
To measure the return, start monitoring a couple of different activities and

costs. The first key metric is cost per hire (CPH). This number tells how
much is being spent to bring a new employee on board. The second key
metric is time to fill (TTF). This tells how long it is taking to fill open
positions. There are other employee recruiting metrics and it can get
complicated. But this is a good place to start.
! !174
Cost Per Hire
Cost per hire tells how much is being spent on each new hire. This number
is critical for both planning and tracking purposes. Once the cost is known,
you can plan budgets for future hires. And, by tracking actual numbers for
each hire, you can measure how effective each of your employee recruiting
efforts have been. You will know which employee recruiting sources are
working the best. Here is a list of just the major expenditures you should
track to determine your cost per hire:
Advertising Fees
Job Posting Fees
Recruiting Agency Fees (Head hunters and Search)
Employee Referrals
Travel Expenses
Relocation Fees
Internal Recruiter Costs
Administrative Costs
Each of these is a hard cost and should be straightforward to record with

the exception of internal recruiter and administrative costs. For those two
metrics it is necessary to make a few calculations. The easiest way to
determine these costs is to determine the total amount spent on recruiting
staff and the people who support them. Next, divide that number by the
number of people hired during the year. This is a rough calculation for this
component of the cost per hire.
You can add all of these costs together to determine how much you have
spent on a single hire. Or you can add the total spent over a year and then
divide by the number of people you hire to get your average cost per hire.
This might seem intimidating but is actually pretty easy. Most of these
numbers are already being tracked. Every time a check is written for an ad
or posting, it is recorded as part of the accounting system. Create a
specific account for recruiting to track employee recruiting metrics. With
the hard data in hand, it is possible to see which employee recruiting
activities and sources deliver the best return. Use the data to help refine
the employee recruiting strategy.
! !175
Time to Fill
The next key employee recruiting metric is time to fill. It is critical to
understand how long it is taking to fill open positions. Every day a position
is open, the company is either losing money or not addressing a key
business issue. (That is why you hire people after all). The faster positions
are filled, the better the business is served. Track how long each job takes
to fill. The good news is that this is a very easy employee recruiting metric
to determine. Record the date the position comes open. Next record the
date the position is filled. The difference is the time to fill.
This data is critical in measuring the productivity of your recruiting staff as

well as determining which employee recruiting sources are working best.
Are recruiting efforts delivering good hires in a reasonable time for a good
return on investment?
Armed with just the two employee recruiting metrics cost per hire and
time to fill, these key questions can be answered. Get into the habit of
tracking all employee recruiting efforts. With each subsequent campaign,
you should be getting a better return on investments of time and money.
And you can refine the recruiting strategy.
!
Type to enter textAs published in the Winnipeg Sun, one of the most
frequent comments in todays workplace is that people are our most
important resource. With that in mind, it is easy to understand why
organizational recruiters, external executive search and recruitment
professionals and the recruitment process itself are all very important
elements of ensuring an organization has the right people in the right
place at the right time doing the right things.
Therefore, much attention should be paid to ensuring that the
recruitment strategies of an organization are effective. The challenge
however, is developing measurements that can assess the success of the
recruitment strategies and, for that matter, the recruitment team.
Thankfully, over the years, researchers and practitioners alike have
created several metrics that can assist in the assessment of the
recruitment process and function. Some of these include:
!
! !176
Value of recruitment strategy Most organizations use multiple

strategies for sourcing their candidates. Whereas these strategies are
often costly, it is wise to evaluate which strategy resulted in the most
candidates. This may well provide you with guidance as to which
strategies to use for specific jobs and/or for all of your jobs. It creates an
opportunity to better target candidates and will result in a more cost-
effective approach. One note to be mindful of is that quantity does not
always equate to quality.
Time to fill position It is well known that recruitment costs often

equate to three times the salary for a position. Overtime and lack of
service are the most frequent causes of the cost increase and therefore
examining the length of time it takes to fill a position is a valuable metric
to examine. Lengthy timeframes might suggest the job is hard to fill as
the skills might be in short supply. The results of this review will help
determine if extra help such as using an external search professional is
more appropriate for hard to fill jobs.
Vacancy rates Conducting an examination of your overall vacancy

rates as compared to your full staff complement may provide you with
good information. You may find that the recruitment department is
understaffed or the recruitment process itself is challenged by several
roadblocks which should be fixed. An examination of vacancy rates helps
to identify which departments are experiencing the most difficulty and
can assist you to adjust your recruitment strategies.
Turnover rates High turnover rates in any job category suggest a

number of difficulties. The job tasks may not be well-defined, resulting in
the wrong type of skill being recruited. The candidate assessment tools
may also need revision. It is also wise to assess the costs of turnover.
Selection ratios Another valuable tool, selection ratios, can help

define the success of recruitment strategies. A selection ratio is simply
the number of people hired divided by the number of applicants. This
calculation can help you analyze many things: A very small number may
mean that you did not attract the right applicants, resulting in an
unproductive hiring process. On the other hand, a large number (closer
to 1) may show that you did not attract enough applicants to effectively
hire the right people.
!
! !177
Quality of hire This metric allows for the assessment of the quality of
the candidate. Is the successful candidate fully qualified and/or will the
organization be required to invest immediately in order to increase their
skills.
Retention rates Assess the retention rates of new hires. How long
does a candidate stay in the position? What happens to them, are they
promoted or do they leave? If they leave the role and the organization,
then it is time to reanalyze the job to ensure the skills required are
accurate and that an incumbent can experience job satisfaction for a
longer period of time.
Recruitment Cost Ratio Total costs include costs for advertising, job
fairs, recruiter salaries and travel costs, signing bonuses, candidate
compensation and any other expenses incurred during the recruitment
process. This provides an organization with the total sum of money spent
on recruiting for each new employee. This assessment will assist
recruiters to justify costs and/or to seek new opportunities to cut costs.
The recruitment process has been developed to ensure that organizations

have the right people in the right place at the right time doing the right
things. Therefore, both the recruitment process and the skill of the
recruiters need to be assessed on an annual basis. To do so, establishing
meaningful metrics are key.
!
5.5 Vendor Management Practices
Many companies retain in-house recruiting specialists that are charged with
posting jobs, finding candidates, and assisting to hire qualified individuals.
The trend toward developing more in-house recruitment talent is more fully
developed in the US than in most other countries.
When a company needs assistance recruiting talent beyond that which

their internal recruiting department can manage, organizations often turn
to external professional recruiters. These external recruiting companies
vary in scope, type, and volume of positions in which they specialize.
! !178
5.5.1 Types of Recruitment Firms
The external recruiting firms differ in scope, type, and volume of positions
in which they specialize. The various categories of recruitment agencies are
as follows:
Staffing and temporary recruitment firms

Boutique head hunters or Executive Recruiters
Agency or contingency recruiters
Recruitment consulting firms/RPO/VMO
Also shown in the diagrammatic form below:
Figure 5.2: Categories of Recruitment Agencies
These four different types of recruiting companies are broadly separated by

the types of vacancies for which they recruit most frequently. Temporary
and consulting projects are often filled by staffing and temporary agencies.
Very senior and executive roles are filled by executive search professionals
(often called head hunters). Regular professional positions are most often
! !179
made distinct by the type of profession, and contingency/agency recruiters

usually fill a specific niche (such as recruiters for technology or accounting
positions). The fourth category of recruitment firms consists of companies
in various degrees of recruitment process outsourcing. From simple
recruiting best practices and training consulting contracts, to entirely
managed recruiting and staffing outsourcing, these firms retain strong in-
house talent and consult with their clients usually on a project basis.
The recruiting agencies will charge fee to the employer when the candidate
is hired from their recruiting agency. The recruiting agencies will do the
initial screening and send the pool of candidates to the company. The
companies pay to the recruiting agencies based on the number of filling
positions. There are four main types of recruitment agencies.
Figure 5.3: Type of Recruitment Agencies
Traditional agency: The traditional agency act as intermediaries between

job seeker and employer. Traditional agency is also called as employment
agency. The employment agencies are of two types. Those are contingency
employment agency and retained search firm. The contingency type of
employment agencies will send large number of candidates resumes to the
employer. If any candidate is selected from the recruitment agency, the
employer pays to the recruitment agency. The contingency type of
agencies mostly searches for the low and mid-level positions. The retained
search firms works for the senior level positions. The companies pay
expenses plus a percentage of employees salary. The payment should be
given regardless of whether the candidate is hired.
Head hunters: The head hunter is a recruiter who actively seeks out the
best talent for a particular job. The head hunters uses advanced sales
! !180
techniques.The advanced sales techniques include clients to gather

employee contacts. The head hunters may also purchase the expensive list
of names and job titles. This type of agencies mostly works for senior
management and executive positions.
Niche recruiters: The niche recruiter firms are focused on building

ongoing relationship with the candidates and maintains large database.
Based on this database, the recruiters will place the same candidates many
times throughout their career.
In-house recruitment: Most of the large firms will go for the in-house
recruitment. Human resource department, front-line hiring managers, and
recruitment personnel in the organization can handle the in-house
recruitment. The employers will advertise their vacancies in their own
websites, and coordinate employee referrals, work with external
association.
5.5.2 Factors Behind Choosing a Vendor
Selecting the right recruitment outsourcing vendor is a fairly complicated

process. A survey conducted in 2008 by The Aberdeen Group, cites that
39% of companies switched RPO vendors. The primary reasons were poor
results, poor support, and lower than expected Return on Investment
(ROI).
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is here to stay. While it could

present some problems just like outsourcing any business process, it holds
the promise of reduced hiring costs, reduction in time-to-hire, and reduced
technology costs associated with applicant tracking services, and other
search tools and recruiting software used by internal recruiters. The
following are certain things to keep in mind before choosing an external
recruitment vendor:
Metrics and Goals: Before you define your requirements, define your
main goals and exactly how you will measure those goals, i.e., if you are
looking for a reduced time-to-hire, how exactly do you measure that today
and what would you consider a reasonable goal?
Identify Must Haves: List your requirements in three columns, Must

Have, Nice to Have, Not a factor. The requirements should be based on
! !181
current services that RPO vendors have TODAY, you dont want to waste
time with a vendor who doesnt have experience with one of your
requirements but is willing to add that service just to get your business,
that methodology will drastically reduce your implementation time, and
could damage your results.
Experience Matters: When youre looking for an RPO vendor the number
one factor that will determine the success is the experience of the vendor
that you are working with. Look for vendors that have worked in your
industry and have overcome the same recruitment challenges that you
have which may have led you to outsource in the first place. Dont waste
time with vendors who cant prove their experience. Scrutinize case
studies, and get unbiased references.
Use Your Networks: As an HR professional, you should be networking

with others in your industry or at least have access to your peers. Reach
out to companies that have successfully onboarded an RPO vendor and ask
them to help you with your requirements list and to give you feedback on
the vendors they are familiar with. Do this before you reach out to any
vendors. This will help you formulate the questions you should be asking.
Shortlist Method: This is such an important selection process you really

need a three step process in determining your shortlist:
Step 1: Identify the universe of potential recruitment process vendors.

This is something a consultant can do for you. This would be listing all of
the potential vendors that meet very simple criteria. Have the consultant
create a master list with pros and cons of each vendor.
Step 2: Break that list down to a manageable medium list of 8-10

vendors that meet a slightly stricter criteria than the first list. Divide and
conquer your research on this list, and dont outsource this part solely to
a consultant. Your company needs to hold ownership of evaluating this
medium list. It would be okay to have the consultant work in parallel
with you, but your management team, who holds a vested interest,
should vet this list. The goal for this step is to keep or discard candidates
from this list based on more stringent criteria. The goal here is not to get
the list down to a specific size. You may keep all of the companies or
very few of the companies. The size of this list doesnt matter, what
matters is that the companies on the list meet your criteria.
! !182
Step 3: Youve got your shortlist now which hopefully isnt more than
3-5 companies. Decide on your evaluation process. Will you do an RFP?
An auction? Will you start with in person interviews? Can you leverage
technology for the bidding process?
Be careful with an RFP: They can easily be impersonal and contrived.

Some companies have expert RFP writing teams which can sway you to
think they are the best whereas another vendor might not be as interested
in responding to RFPs and therefore will supply a less fancy response but
they may be a better fit. If you have to do an RFP for formality reasons,
keep it simple and focused on the vendor defining their experience and
how that experience will directly impact your goals. Dont add a bunch of
unnecessary pieces to the RFP, just to see whats out there. By the time
you issue an RFP, you should know exactly what you want (and maybe
even who you want).
At the end of the day: If you get down to the last couple of companies
and you still have 2-3 that are the front runners, make sure your final
selection comes down which vendor you can see yourself working
successfully with. It may be outsourcing, but its still a people business and
relationship matters.
The worst thing companies do at this stage is make a decision on

price: Price should have been back at step 1 or 2. Think about it like this,
would you hire a candidate based on salary requirements? No, you would
only have candidates at the final step whose salary requirements were
already acceptable! If you are still using price to decide upon the front
runners, you know that your selection process was flawed to start.
Lastly, when you award the contract, never give RPO vendors the
impression that the contract will be bigger than it is. If the vendor isnt
getting rewarded the way they were led to believe during the evaluation
process, the results they produce for you will be lower. Setting incorrect
expectations for both sides cause most of the problems associated with
recruitment process outsourcing. Your talent is the most vitally important
aspect of your company outsourcing the procurement of that talent is not
a step to be taken lightly. Ensure that you follow a rigorous procurement
method and that you intend to develop a highly personal, strategic
relationship with the vendor that you pick.
! !183
5.6 Activities
1. Read through the information on the concept of Recruitment team

dynamics provided in this chapter and on the internet. Enlist and
describe five important benefits of applying this concept in the
recruitment process of an organization.
2. As a Recruitment professional, you are entrusted with the task of

choosing recruitment vendors for your organization. Your Manager
requires that vendor selection should be based on networking with
others in your industry. Browse the net to find about case studies on
companies that have successfully onboarded RPO vendors.
5.7 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the critical and essential factors of
recruitment process. The recruitment process is one of the most
fundamental value added HR Processes. Recruitment is especially critical
for managers in the organization. The managers use the recruitment
process intensively, and satisfaction with Human Resources is mostly about
the satisfaction with the recruitment process. Some of the goals of the
recruitment process are:
Find the best talents for the vacancies

Manage the vacancies in the organization
Building the strong HR Marketing platform
Provide feedback about the trends in the job market
The process of recruitment is not just a way of selecting an individual into

an organization based on his/her professional skills but also includes
! !184
analysis of his social skills most of the times. Recruitment can be internal
or external of an organization and is mostly handled by the HR department
but, at times, can be outsourced to a third-party agency. Recruitment
process of any organization is normally targeted towards attracting more
talent towards their job application. The process is oriented in such a way
so as to encourage maximum number of people to apply for the job. The
recruitment process at any point of time is based on the present and the
future requirements of a company. The HR department analyzes the human
resource requirements available in a company from time to time and
recruits the best candidate for the job. It is also possible at times that the
recruitment might happen internally in the organization from other
departments or from the available talent pool. When recruitment happens,
it provides access for an organization to avail to a pool of talent at a single
place in a single time. With a high number of candidates, the organization
is provided ample skills so as to choose the best one for present or future
use. Recruitment process helps eliminate the fear of employees leaving the
organization in between projects as it helps recruit resources as a backup
for key positions. Thus, the probability of distress when an employee
leaves an organization is largely reduced due to the process.
To understand a recruitment teams dynamics, firstly you must have an

understanding of each individuals skills, goals, interests, stage of life and
most importantly, personality. The reason personality is most important is
because it actually encapsulates many components including leadership
style, moods, motivation, drivers, attitude and goals. Personality is also the
one thing that eventually shines through, regardless of how appropriate or
professional someone is initially behaving. Psychological testing can be
extremely beneficial in identifying suitable individuals for a position. Often,
however, this is not a realistic or deemed necessary option because of
company or industry norm, financial reasons etc. So, here are some tips
and behaviors to consider when choosing an applicant. These may seem
obvious and simply common sense but surprisingly are often not done.
Recruitment agencies have a full team of professionals to help fill their
client's job opening. A recruiting agency provides a valuable service to its
clients by helping them attract and hire the top caliber of talent for their
industry. This partnership requires a strong set of ethics, an ability to meet
goals and an organized internal structure. We have also discussed about
the 12 essential elements of a comprehensive recruiting strategy. Some of
them are:
! !185
What are your primary goals? (Why hire?)

Performance level
Category of candidate to target
Where to look for candidates
Primary sourcing tools
How to assess candidates
Different recruitment models discussed in this chapter are:
Contingency Hiring
Retained Search
Exclusive Requirements
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
Outplacement
Executive Search
Employee recruiting metrics and economics can be confusing. But, a good

grasp of how to measure the success of employee recruiting activities goes
a long way to improve the hiring process. Unfortunately, money can be
wasted on various recruiting activities. Advertising is expensive, online
postings can be a time drain, and head hunters might just drain your bank
account.
When a company needs assistance recruiting talent beyond that which

their internal recruiting department can manage, organizations often turn
to external professional recruiters. These external recruiting companies
vary in scope, type, and volume of positions in which they specialize. The
various categories of recruitment agencies discussed are as follows:
Staffing and temporary recruitment firms

Boutique head hunters or Executive Recruiters
Agency or contingency recruiters
Recruitment consulting firms/RPO/VMO
! !186
1. Enlist and discuss in detail the major Recruitment Process goals.
2. Write a note on building a Strong Internal Recruitment Process. What is

the role of the Human Resources department in this aspect?
3. Discuss in detail the purpose and importance of the Recruitment

Process.
4. Explain how a well planned recruitment process helps a company to

filter out the candidates who do not pass their criterion.
5. Discuss about the concept of Team dynamics and the various factors
around which it revolves.
6. Comment on how the factors of Testing and Analysis affect the process
of Team dynamics.
7. Discuss in detail the Recruitment Agency's Organizational Structure.
8. Explain in detail the 12 essential elements of a comprehensive recruiting

strategy.
9. Enlist and discuss about the different recruitment models. Which model
would you choose if your organization wants to externally recruit a CFO?
10.Enlist the major expenditures one should track to determine the cost
per hire in recruitment process.
! !187
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !188
IMPROVING THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS THROUGH USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Chapter 6
IMPROVING THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
THROUGH USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Objectives:
Benefits of using software application in recruitment process

Various types of software application used in recruitment
Working features and benefits of application tracking software and
resume parsing software
Use of cloud computing in recruitment
Structure:
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Benefits of Using Software Applications in Recruitment
6.3 Types of Software Applications in Recruitment
6.4 Application Tracking Software
6.4.1 Working
6.4.2 Features
6.4.3 Benefits
6.5 Resume Parsing Software
6.5.1 Working
6.5.2 Features
6.5.3 Benefits
6.6 Leveraging the Power of Cloud Computing in Recruitment

6.7 Activities
6.8 Summary
! !189
6.1 Introduction
The buzzword and the latest trends in recruitment is the E-recruitment.

Also known as Online recruitment, it is the use of technology or the web-
based tools to assist the recruitment process. The tool can be either a job
website like naukri.com, the organizations corporate website, cloud tools
or its own intranet.
Picture 6.1
Many big-small organizations use Internet as a source of recruitment. E-

Recruitment is the use of technology to assist the recruitment process.
They advertise job vacancies through world wide web. The job seekers
send their applications or curriculum vitae, i.e., CV through e-mail using
the Internet. Alternatively, job seekers place their CVs in world wide web,
which can be drawn by prospective employees depending upon their
requirements.
The merging of cloud computing with HR systems is already global, yet

invisible. These solutions, often packaged as software as a service or
SAAS for short, touch our professional lives as profoundly as our personal
ones. When it comes to cloud computing, clearly, the future is now.
Understanding its impact and importance, however, means shedding light
on the shadow it casts on our everyday lives and professional
capabilities.
! !190
The internet penetration in India is increasing and has tremendous

potential. According to a study by NASSCOM, Jobs is among the top
reasons why new users will come on to the internet, besides e-mail. There
are more than 18 million resumes floating online across the world.
The two kinds of e-recruitment that an organization can use is
Job portals, i.e., posting the position with the job description and the
job specification on the job portal and also searching for the suitable
resumes posted on the site corresponding to the opening in the
organization.

Creating a complete online recruitment/application section in the
companys own website, companies have added an application system to
its website, where the passive job seekers can submit their resumes
into the database of the organisation for consideration in future, as and
when the roles become available.
Resume Scanners is one major benefit provided by the job portals to

the organizations. It enables the employees to screen and filter the
resumes through pre-defined criterias and requirements (skills,
qualifications, experience, payroll etc.) of the job.
Job sites provide a 24*7 access to the database of the resumes to the
employees facilitating the just-in-time hiring by the organizations. Also, the
jobs can be posted on the site almost immediately and is also cheaper than
advertising in the employment newspapers. Sometimes companies can get
valuable references through the passers-by applicants. Online
recruitment helps the organizations to automate the recruitment process,
save their time and costs on recruitments.
Online Recruitment Techniques
Provision of a detailed job description and job specifications in the job

postings to attract candidates with the right skill sets and qualifications
through an online medium.
E-recruitment should be incorporated into the overall recruitment

strategy of the organization.
! !191
A well-defined and structured applicant tracking system should be

integrated and the system should have a back-end support.
Along with the back-office support, a comprehensive website to receive

and process job applications (through direct or online advertising) should
be developed.
Therefore, to conclude, it can be said that e-recruitment is the Evolving

face of recruitment.
Figure 6.1: Advantages of E-recruitment
Recruitment process is streamlined to a great extent with the use of

technology. E-recruitment has not only helped job seekers get more career
options, but has also helped organizations get hundreds of resumes to fill
any position. The best ways to use technology for recruitment will help
save time and cost. Following are some useful tips:
1. Consistent technology: If not used properly, use of technology can

prove more costly to organizations using it for hiring. So, it is important
to do your homework before choosing the recruitment software. Use
software that can work consistently giving desired results.
2. Job description on Job portals: Provide complete job description on

the job portals wherever the job is displayed. Mention the minimum
qualification required by the company, number of years of experience,
skillset and any additional certifications that are required for the position
etc. This will attract more resumes that are more qualified for the job.
! !192
3. Online tests and questionnaires: Create a test relevant to the job

opening and attach it along with the job application on the online
portals. Candidates who are seriously looking for a job will definitely
take out time to do the test. The results of test will help recruiters find a
good resource for the organization.
4. Automated communication using sophisticated software: Use of
software applications to answer commonly asked questions will help
candidates get answers for any queries. Automated recruitment
software will save the recruiter time and enhance the overall experience
of recruitment process.
5. Effective use of corporate website career page: The career page of

companys or recruiter firms website should be well designed for
candidates to search for jobs and apply online. Candidates can leave
their queries on the page along with their contact information and the
automated software can answer the questions or it can also be done by
recruiter.
6. Use of social media: Post your job on all the job portals as well as
social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. Young
professionals are more active on these sites and use it for job purposes.
7. Maintain candidate database for future use: Save all the resumes
that you receive for any job application even if they are not relevant to
the particular job. This will help maintain a database that can be surfed
later for any other future job requirement.
8. Employer branding: It is a recruiters job to brand and market the

employer well. With the use of technology, it is not even easier to
enhance to brand value of an organization. More number of people will
apply to a job in a good brand name as it will help boost their career.
9. Combined use of technology: Use of two or more technologies

together can be very useful. For example, a software that generates
results for online test can also generate automated response to intimate
the candidate if has passed the test or not.
10.User-friendly software: The recruitment software used by the

recruiter should be easy to use and understand. The goal is to simplify
the hiring process by use of technology, and it can be achieved only if
the recruiter is able to put technology to use.
! !193
E-recruitment has gained popularity over the last few years and more
percentage of recruitment firms are now using technology to provide
quality resumes to the client. The optimum utilization of technology in
recruitment can be achieved by learning how best to use this technology.
6.2 Benefits of using software applications in recruitment
Gone are the days when recruitment processes used to be relatively simple
and easy. In older days, there were limited number of educated people
with similar qualifications, very few corporate companies and limited
positions. Moreover, there were very few employment agencies or
companies. With the passage of time, the scenario has completely
changed. Nowadays, there are large number of employers and job
aspirants with numerous domains and job positions.
!
Picture 6.2
! !194
With the growing number of applicants in various fields, it became difficult

to manage all the functions manually. This gave rise to the need for
software that could fulfill all the requirements and needs of recruitment
agencies.
The very first requirement from any recruitment software is that it should
be easy to use and implement. Therefore, selective programming
languages were chosen so that the software is user-friendly and easily
manageable. These software applications are thus capable of integrating
into any system or website easily and save a lot of money that would have
been otherwise wasted in implementing new changes. It helps to locate
and store information that is useful depending upon the filters set by the
user.
Some of the common features of recruitment software are resume parsing,

powerful search mechanism, staffing and application stats, data
management, integration with Microsoft Outlook and websites.
This software is capable of reducing work pressure for administrative tasks

in an employment agency. It benefits human resource department by
undertaking many of their tasks and accomplishing them in an excellent
manner. This gives administrative staff enough time to work on many other
important tasks to enhance their business. Many people believe that use of
recruitment process is limited to reducing paperwork which is not true. It
accomplishes various marketing and sales activities along with managing
payroll, promotions, planning etc.
In the present scenario, no business can succeed until it is accessible by

internet websites or is available globally. Whether you are an employer or a
job seeker, recruitment software provides you an access to choices from all
over the world. Employers can seek job applications from all over the world
and shortlist candidates depending upon certain criteria. Similarly, job
applicants can apply for job positions in companies from all over the world
without any geographical foundations.
If you wish to develop your own recruitment software, then you should be
aware of the scenario of development, financial considerations, legal
issues, communication methodology, designing, maintenance issues and
many more. This software also provides human resource managers with a
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better way to prepare strategies for decision-making that in turn increases

profit for the organization.
It is very easy to collect data with the help of recruitment software as

companies can list their requirements on the website and receive online
applications from job aspirants. It may also be used to send automated
reply to job applicants about the status of their application. Employment
agencies only need to filter the data they have in their database and select
the candidates for selection procedure.
A special type of this software is designed for employment agencies as

they require a special field in which companies can also register and post
their requirements. Most of the softwares that are available online offers
free submission of job applications and charge a fee from companies who
seek candidates for an interview. Therefore, many large entrepreneurs or
companies prefer to use their own recruitment software that is specifically
designed as per their requirements and needs.
Such big companies integrate this software in their website which helps
them in accumulating their own database of job applicants that may be
used currently or in future, whenever they require. Tailor-made recruitment
software are available in which the software is available for use by making
a few changes in the settings.
We work in a dynamic business environment where requirements need a

change from time to time and it would be very difficult to purchase
recruitment software every month. Therefore, if you are looking for
recruitment software, then the best product would be the one with which
you get regular free updates for a specified period of time along with
technical support and maintenance team. This would ensure that your
investment in recruitment software is safe and more profitable.
Recruitment software also comes in various versions and types such as,
recruitment software for medical use, staffing purposes, direct hiring
software and many more. It is suggested that you search for specialized
software if you are into a unique domain.
Recruiting software is an innovative brand new breakthrough inside the

staffing industry. It's got computerized the entire recruiting for both small
and big companies likewise. This has made hiring new workers easier,
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speedier, and even more productive than ever before. The utilization of
staffing industry is a remedy which has entirely modified exactly how
things operate in staffing businesses around the world. So right here we
will have a short look at what this software program can do.
Decline in Vendor Dependence and Time for Recruitment
Recruiting software has a number of different features that make it easier

to select and control candidates to interview and hire. Most software will
have an easy-to-search database that can be searched according to your
specific recruitment criteria, such as level and field of qualification, kind of
experience, and years of experience. Will no longer do you as a recruiter
have to hugely depend on vendors and recruitment agencies' time of day.
This boosts your human resources department's general productivity, and
therefore your company's annual profits. High employee turnover rates
may be easily battled with employment agency software. It can also
decrease your hiring fees at some level.
Assists in Access of Resumes for Further Review
The centralized database in staffing software is created for the storing and
uncomplicated access of thousands of resumes. It could be easily used to
get rid of the resumes that should have further review and appraisal for
future use. The best part is that you don't have to store your search results
in heavy-duty spreadsheets or print out noteworthy resumes for recording
any further. You are able to star-mark your favorite resumes for future
reference. The search can be duplicated in a matter of seconds whenever
you need to take a glance at them again.
Enhances Comfort of Interaction
Often, the staffing firm is handling requests from many businesses

concurrently and may take time to get back to you. Using recruiting
software, you're then essentially removing the middle person and
preserving a lot of time. It's easier to make contact together with possible
workers and give them a call for a meeting as essential. Also, recruitment
software data bank profiles may be easily updated by the possible
applicants themselves. When they have learned another work, their own
state within the platform will be modified, saving you the waste of time
seeking that specific candidate even further.
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The sole disadvantage of using recruitment application is, at time, it might

deliver results incrementally and require a little bit further. Even so, this
can be a minimal concern that will easily be fixed having a speedier
browser or ISP. For that reason, the application of employment company
computer software offers more merits than it does disadvantages. For that
reason, any wise business should gain the utmost achievable benefits from
this particular groundbreaking increase in the actual staffing market.
6.3 Types of software applications in recruitment
Recruitment software packages can save you a great deal of administrative

hassle. There are three major types of recruitment software packages. The
main type of software is the all-in-one software package and this
incorporates the following two types into one. There is front office
candidate, client and vacancy software and also back office payroll and
invoicing software. The all-in-one type of software combines both of these
aspects and gives you a complete answer to all of your recruitment
software needs across the whole scope of the recruitment process.
The main component of the software is the database. This stores all of the
information that your business holds on its clients, candidates and
vacancies. The fields of the database need to be well organized and
relevant to your particular business so that you can make the most of the
information that you hold and categories it in a way that is useful to you.
The most important thing is to make the information that you have useful
to you and recruitment software will help make this possible by helping you
organize the information into manageable fields. If you organize this
properly, it should make finding the relevant information such as a
candidate or company take only seconds.
This is particularly useful for temporary agencies where the turnover of

staff is particularly high. The software that temporary agencies use can
include an availability browser which lets the user see which of their
employees are booked out, which of the employees are unavailable for
work and which of the employees are available for work. This obviously
makes the management of temporary staff much easier than it was before
this type of software was available.
This type of software can also enable the user to scan in and store a
candidate profile as well as CVs and other relevant documents that might
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be useful to the process such as a list of qualifications, copies of their

drivers license and photos. The software can also help improve the level of
communication between the recruiter and the potential or actual employee.
This can include a system that lets you send e-mails and SMS messages to
people in your database. This can help you contact multiple candidates
with minimal effort. This will obviously increase the levels of
communication to your group and will help reduce confusion and it will
make it much more efficient. The software also often enables you to
incorporate documents from Word so that you can mail merge directly from
your database.
The Back office software is that which helps you handle the payroll and the
invoicing functions of your business so that you can make life easier. This
type of software tends to be used primarily by temporary agencies that pay
their own temporary staff on a regular basis. It is also very useful for the
larger agencies that have a large number of employees. The software lets
you input data on a time sheet based system so that you can make the
process easier. You can import all of the information you have on other
office systems so that you can use it in your software with little effort and
make the most of the benefits it brings. Thus, making it easier to work out
the correct pay for a wide number of employees that work a wide variety of
different hours.
6.4 Application Tracking software
Recruitment Software also often called as applicant tracking system

(ATS) is a tool that enable companies to electronically handle their
recruitment needs. Recruitment softwares are used by both large
enterprises and smaller companies, but vary in functionality and features
depending on the needs of the company. Recruitment software is very
similar to customer relationship management (CRM) systems, but is
designed specifically for recruitment tracking purposes. Applicant Tracking
Software (ATS) is one of the finest ways of being able to regain the focus
of a business. The correct employees are the blood that pumps through the
recruitment software. Increased sales and employee efficiency are difficult
to hide, and having an effective recruitment software system in place is the
best way of growing a business.
Established businesses can sometimes be reluctant to implement an

applicant tracking software system, mostly because they dont understand
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how it works or because they are unaware of the benefits. HR employees

most common excuse for not considering a recruitment software system is
excessive paperwork. The fact is that the benefits of recruitment software
will actually take some of the administration duties away from HR
departments so that they can focus on their area of expertise, which is
hiring and managing the right people.
6.4.1 Working
Almost all companies use some kind of applicant tracking system or

recruitment software to handle job applications and to manage resume
data. Some smaller firms use e-mail and/or spreadsheets to manage this,
but most companies use a dedicated ATS for recruitment specific needs. In
large enterprises, recruitment software may be offered as one of the
numerous modules of a complex human resources suite or Human
Resource Information System (HRIS).
The older recruitment softwares are typically installed within the company
premises and have a one-time installation cost. In recent years, the ATS is
expanding into small and medium enterprises through software as a
service offerings (SaaS). With SaaS, companies can now pay for
recruitment software on a pay-as-you-go basis. This has been instrumental
in increasing the penetration of ATS in smaller companies.
The primary job of recruitment software is centralizing all the information

about a company's recruitment efforts in a database. Applicant Tracking
Systems are designed to add structure to the processing of resumes and
applicant information. Applicant data is either collected from internal
applications (through the front-end), located on the company website or is
extracted from applicants on job boards. Some modern ATSs allow
applicants to be sourced from the company's own database of past job
applicants.
6.4.2 Features
Core Functionality
Personalized, unique applicant tracking portal that matches your current

internet marketing branding
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Full implementation process that uploads your current job openings,

departments, applicant sources
Fully-hosted system means no expense incurred for hardware, software,

or in-house support enjoy software as a service (SaaS)
The recruiting software and online applications are customized to match

the unique applicant management needs
Build a Talent Pool; Create a Following
Applicant tracking database allows you to easily catalog and search

applications instantly
Allow applicants to share job openings easily through social and business
networking sites
Automated job posting direct to your website, free job sites, and paid job
boards
Advertise open positions to applicants automatically at their request
Advanced job search capabilities for applicants
Tracking Applicants and Data with Ease
Use online applications instead of only resumes to more efficiently screen

applicants
Insert open-ended questions right into your online application
Review job-specific screening questions to better qualify applicants
Robust e-mail communication features allow sends to both individuals

and groups of applicants
Standard and ad hoc reporting links get you the information you need,
on demand
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6.4.3 Benefits
The benefits of using an applicant tracking software provider is to facilitate

the smooth integration of a business's HR function into a new recruitment
software system. A good recruitment software consulting firm will assess
the unique needs of a business, learn the core focus of the business and
design a system that will be effective and cost efficient. Recruitment
software should be designed to work around the business, not the other
way around. The implementations and training of people to use the system
is also a key feature of using a recruitment software consulting firm. The
best firms will design and entire strategy, that will be rolled out over time,
taking into consideration the natural resistance of human beings to rapid
change.
In a small or medium sized business, the benefits of installing a good ATS

system are marked. Far too often a small or growing business owner will
try to perform too many different tasks, instead of focusing on the core
functions that they are best at. Even in a larger business, the hiring
process often falls down because HR people are spending too much time
completing paperwork to be truly effective in the HR field. A good
recruitment software consultant will assess the current state of the
business and will implement a system that allows each person in the
business to get on with what they do best.
A good ATS provider will provide the entire package, from installation and
implementation to training and ongoing management of data and
information. Recruitment software allows a business to find out exactly
what their employees are thinking, what their core needs are and how they
respond to certain types of HR management. Changes based on the
information gathered through using a recruitment software system will
then be used to drive the business growth and to develop better sales
practices. Applicant tracking software is the technological answer to human
resources and staffing in the 21st century. It allows for more effective and
better targeted HR functions within a business.
1. Create jobs once.Update everywhere: Create an opening and reflect

it on your company website or on a careers-page hosted by us.
Broadcast jobs to search engines and share them on your social media
accounts.
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2. Structure your recruitment process: Create a (customizable) set of

steps according to your recruitment process and track candidates as
they flow through the stages of your hiring funnel.
3. Assign responsibilities to your team: Invite your colleagues to work

on recruitment. Have people responsible for candidates in specific
stages, forward candidates and collect shared feedback.
4. Customized questionnaire for applicants: Create a completely

customizable application form to collect richer information from
applicants beyond the resume.
5. One stop for candidates from all sources: Collect all job applicants
at one place, whether they come via e-mail, job boards, your careers
page or even folders.
6. All recruitment information in one place: Discuss candidates, share

evaluations, attach documents/notes to candidates in one place. No
more information buried under a pile of e-mail.
The following pictures show snapshots of Application Tracking software.
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Picture 6.3: Trisys Recruitment Software
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Picture 6.4RED Recruitment System
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Picture 6.5: Recruit Plus
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Picture 6.6: Hire Centric
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Picture 6.7
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6.5 Resume Parsing software
Resume Parsing (also known as CV Parsing, Resume Extraction, CV

Extraction) is the conversion of free-form resume into structured
information suitable for storage, reporting and manipulation by a computer.
MS Word format resumes are still the format of choice for people all over
the world to describe the skills, qualifications and experience that they
have that make them a suitable candidate for a particular job. These are
easy for a human to read and understand, but to a computer they are just
a long sequence of letters, numbers and punctuation. A parser is a
computer program that tries to analyze this sequence and extract from it
elements of what the person who wrote it actually meant to say.
Picture 6.9:
This is a surprisingly difficult task for a computer to do. Although modern

computers can add up millions of numbers in the blink of an eye, or win
the world championship at chess, understanding language in all its
generality even as well as a 5 year old child remains but a pipedream.
Part of the reason for this is that language can be almost infinitely varied.
There are tens if not hundreds of ways to write down a date, for example,
and countless millions of ways to write down what you did at your last job.
All these different ways of writing the same thing have to be captured by
the complex rules and statistical algorithms that make up a parser, and this
requires lots of effort and persistence to encode.
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But although the sheer variety of ways of saying the same thing is a
challenge for the parser-writer, an even bigger problem is ambiguity, where
the same word or phrase can mean different things in different contexts.
For example, Director can be a job title in some contexts, or a software
package in others. A four digit number can be part of a telephone number,
a Swiss zip code, a year, a version of a software package, or many other
things depending on the words around it. Seeing Project Manager in a
resume may indicate that the person was indeed a project manager, but
not in the context I reported to the Project Manager. Meryll Lynch may
be someone's name, but is more likely to refer to a company. All of these
ambiguities have to be resolved by the parser by looking at the context in
which they are used.
6.5.1 Working (How a Parser Works?)
Figure 6.2: Types of Parsers
Keyword-based parsers are the simplest and the least accurate. They
work by identifying words, phrases and simple patterns in the text of the
resume and then applying simple heuristic algorithms to the text they find
around these words. For example, they may look for something that looks
like a postal code in the resume and then try to interpret the surrounding
words as an address. Or they may look for patterns that look like date
ranges and assume that the surrounding text is an employment timeline.
These parsers are the least accurate because they can't extract information
that is not surrounding one of their keywords, and if their keywords are
ambiguous (e.g., the skill Director) then they will frequently make the
wrong guess about its interpretation. In general, it is hard to get beyond
70% accuracy with a keyword-based parser.
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Grammar-based parsers, by contrast, contain an enormous number of

grammatical rules that seek to understand the context of occurrence of
every word in the resume. These same grammars also combine words and
phrases together to make complex structures that capture the meaning of
every sentence in the resume. These parsers are much more complicated
than keyword-based parsers, but generally capture much more detail and
are also capable of distinguishing between the different meanings that one
word or phrase might have in different contexts. Using grammar based
parsers, it is possible to build highly accurate parsers with accuracy rates
well above 90% (human accuracy is rarely greater than 96%). The
downside is that they require a lot of manual encoding by skilled language
engineers, and a lot of testing to make sure that improvements in one area
do not degrade performance in another.
Statistical parsers attempt to apply numerical models of text to identify

structure in resumes. Like grammar-based parsers, they can distinguish
between different contexts of the same word or phrase and can also
capture a wide variety of structures such as addresses, timelines, and the
like. To be most accurate, they require as input a vast number of resumes
that are manually marked up with all the information that is required to be
extracted. Pure statistical parsers generally perform better than keyword-
based parsers, but not so well as grammar-based parsers on data that the
parser has not been trained on. Statistical parsers can, however, achieve
very high accuracies on data on which they are trained, but this is not
usually very useful since this data is by definition old data that will not be
seen again.
6.5.2 Distinguishing between Different Parsers (Features)
Different parsers make different claims as to how good they are, and what
they are good for. The two key measurements you should look for in a
parser are: (a) coverage and (b) accuracy.
Coverage describes what a parser actually tries to extract. All parsers

try to extract contact information for the candidates, and most extract
skills, work histories and qualifications. Some parsers extract referees,
hobbies, candidate summary, desired salary, desired location, nationality,
visa status, and various other fields. All of this information is required to
create a full record for the candidate, and in general the more information
a parser extracts, the better.
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Accuracy describes how good a parser is at identifying information from

a resume. Accuracy measures how often the parser is actually right. For
example, a precision of 95% on identifying names means that the parser
correctly extracts the name of the candidate in 95% of all incoming
resumes. This measure is important because the lower the accuracy the
more it costs you to correct the errors that the parser makes. Although the
difference between 89% and 95% may not seem huge, this difference
represents more than a doubling in the rate of errors that will need to be
corrected, and hence a doubling of associated costs. In general, if a parser
is less than about 90% accurate, the number of errors will be too large to
permit it to load data into a database without extensive human
supervision.
6.5.3 Benefits
Parsing software applications automatically capture all data in a CV/social

media profile. The data is extracted within a few seconds and entered in
the appropriate fields. Search criteria can also be assigned automatically.
All this takes place in your own recruitment system or job portal. Parsing
software applications make manual data entry a thing of the past.
Benefits of Parsing Software Applications
The candidate:
can apply for a job quickly and easily

has a positive candidate experience
The recruiter:
saves up to 80% of time compared to manual entry of CV data

receives more candidates due to an increase in the conversion rate (up to
300%)
has an optimum CV database with complete candidate profiles
The employer:
strengthens the employer brand with an inventive job application process
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sees a significant increase in the conversion rate of e-recruitment

applications
can produce clear analyses and generate optimum search results due to
structured data storage in a qualitative CV database
is more likely to achieve the best match between jobs and candidates
Following are Snapshots of Resume Parsing Application
Picture 6.10: RChilli Resume Parser
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Picture 6.11: Project Test Planner
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Picture 6.13: Action ASP
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Picture 6.14
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6.6 Leveraging the power of Cloud Computing in

recruitment
Basics of Cloud computing: Cloud computing is the use of computing

resources (hardware and software) that are delivered as a service over a
network (typically the Internet). The name comes from the common use of
a cloud-shaped symbol as an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it
contains in system diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts remote services
with a user's data, software and computation.
Picture 6.15: Cloud Computing
End-users access cloud-based applications through a web browser or a

light-weight desktop or mobile app while the business software and user's
data are stored on servers at a remote location. Proponents claim that
cloud computing allows companies to avoid upfront infrastructure costs,
and focus on projects that differentiate their businesses instead of
infrastructure. Proponents also claim that cloud computing allows
enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved
manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to more rapidly adjust
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resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand. In the

business model using software as a service, users are provided access to
application software and databases. Cloud providers manage the
infrastructure and platforms that run the applications. SaaS is sometimes
referred to as "on-demand software" and is usually priced on a pay-per-use
basis. SaaS providers generally price applications using a subscription fee.
Proponents claim that the SaaS allows a business the potential to reduce IT
operational costs by outsourcing hardware and software maintenance and
support to the cloud provider. This enables the business to reallocate IT
operations costs away from hardware/software spending and personnel
expenses, towards meeting other IT goals. In addition, with applications
hosted centrally, updates can be released without the need for users to
install new software. One drawback of SaaS is that the users' data are
stored on the cloud provider's server. As a result, there could be
unauthorized access to the data. Cloud computing relies on sharing of
resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale similar to a utility
(like the electricity grid) over a network. At the foundation of cloud
computing is the broader concept of converged infrastructure and shared
services.
Chances are youve heard of the cloud by now, or even used the term
yourself, but havent really stopped to give it a lot of thought. If youve
logged into Google, bought a book on Amazon, liked an article on
Facebook or updated your resume on Monster, youve seen cloud
computing in action yet probably werent even aware of it.
Use of Cloud Computing in Recruitment: The convergence of cloud

computing with HR systems is already everywhere, yet invisible. These
solutions, often packaged as software as a service or SAAS for short,
touch our professional lives as profoundly as our personal ones. In fact,
Merrill Lynch estimates that overall, businesses spent $160 billion on cloud
computing products in 2011, a market that continues to grow.
According to a Towers Watson report, 100% of Fortune 1000 companies

are already using SAAS for some form of data utilization. Yet the cloud isnt
just for big businesses; CRN predicts that small business spending on cloud
computing products will reach $100 billion annually by 2014. When it
comes to cloud computing, clearly, the future is now. Understanding its
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impact and importance, however, means shedding light on the shadow it

casts on our everyday lives and professional capabilities.
Here are five of the reasons why cloud computing matters most for HR and
recruiting professionals, and why theyre important to the tools, and
technologies, of the talent management trade.
1. Access on Demand: Cloud computing offers the ability to access

software or information that is delivered on demand and over the
Internet, without the need to store it locally. This means the ability to
obtain data from any device, anywhere, at any time. Anticipating this
trend are a myriad number of tools and technologies designed to allow
similar access to HR systems and data, providing insights and
information when it is needed, where it is needed.

These software as a service solutions create a convergence of previously
disparate data, providing a seamless and secure portal into the analytics
behind the bigger talent management picture.
2. Multiple Sources for Candidates: Theres never been a silver bullet

when it comes to winning the war for talent, a battle thats becoming
increasingly competitive and increasingly complex. Todays global
recruitment trends require employers to expand their reach, without
necessarily expanding their resources. The evolution from paper to
paperless recruiting means that there as are many different databases
for housing candidate information as there are places and platforms for
reaching passive and active talent alike.
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Picture 6.16
A proprietary private cloud in the form of HR software as a solution

means combining these many potential sources of hire into a single source
for tracking, measuring and reporting. Customized HR SAAS solutions also
have the ability to create job posting efficiency, reach and efficacy by
creating one portal for touching multiple platforms, while standardizing and
aggregating candidate information and profiles into a single, searchable
source.
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3. Increased Speed of Implementation and Updates: Gone are the

days when an implementation inevitably meant a gaggle of contractors,
consultants and customer service. Designed to integrate and augment,
rather than replace, existing enterprise software, implementing a cloud
solution doesnt disrupt business as usual, and eliminates many of the
expenses commonly associated with new systems. Similarly, cloud
capabilities can often be implemented in a matter of weeks or months,
instead of years.
4. Improved Candidates and Analytics: In an age where search is the

new killer app, having the ability to look across these previously
disparate sources of information means being able to find and compare
top talent faster, transforming big data into highly relevant, highly
targeted results. See more TM from Monster, for example, utilizes
cutting edge 6Sense semantic search technology to combine the
worlds largest talent pool with an employers social network profiles,
job postings and candidate databases into a Web-based, searchable
private resume database thats accessible on demand from any device,
anywhere.

By consolidating internal and external resume databases, employers can
source across multiple platforms simultaneously, allowing for continuity
and connectivity when developing and pipelining candidates.

Making the most out of the new recruiting reality of doing more with
less, cloud technologies can bring new capabilities to legacy systems,
applying cutting edge semantic search technologies to return more
relevant, targeted results. This positively impacts the metrics which
matter most, reducing time-to-fill and cost to hire while transforming an
employers proprietary database into a competitive advantage.
5. Increased Innovation and Customization: The speed and agility

cloud computing enables are reflected throughout its product life cycle.
The result increases access as well as self-service updates and
opportunities for customization. This same customization generally
extends to the providers variable support and pricing models, with the
cloud providing scalable solutions for any size business, while
maximizing investment in current tools and technologies, creating
tangible, bottom-line results.
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Picture 6.17
Unlike previous HR software, cloud computer solutions feature an open API

code to automate processes and communication between different systems
and platforms. This allows companies and third-party developers to
customize widgets, applications and other solutions to meet individual
business needs and objectives. The open API that is inherent to cloud
computing solutions democratizes development, driving continuous
innovation at a competitive cost structure.
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Clearly, for cloud computing, the costs of getting it wrong are too steep a
price to pay when it comes to acquiring and managing top talent. For HR
practitioners who want to get it right and prevent obsolescence, any
forecast for successful recruitment strategies in 2012 requires a 100%
chance of clouds.
!
As a late entrant, how do you compete in a market that is already
dominated by giants? As a small player with limited ability to capital, how
do you scale up without any limits? Startup WinHire Technologies was
grappling with these questions, as it rapidly scouted for solutions that
could help the firm take advantage of technology and level the playing
field with the giants.
WinHire Technologies had a radically different idea. Instead of text-based

resumes, the firm wanted to use videos and the reach of the Internet to
simplify and improve the process of recruitment. We wanted to leverage
the power of the Internet and the popularity of videos to create the
worlds first video social recruitment and networking website, says Giri
Devanur, CEO, WinHire Technologies. On the portal, a job-aspirant can
upload his or her video profile, and increase his or her chance of getting
hired, as a video can even highlight personality attributes. While this
concept is simple to understand, executing this business model was a
huge challenge. As the firm wanted to leverage videos, WinHire needed
to invest heavily in the support technologies and infrastructure. However,
being an emerging enterprise, the firm did not want to invest heavily in
capital expenditure upfront. After evaluating potential technology options,
the firm realized that the cloud was perfectly suited to its needs.
Cloud Power
WinHire selected IBMs IaaS solution to develop and test its portal. The
offering helped WinHire avoid upfront capital expenditure on computing
!
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infrastructure. Using the pay-as-you-go IaaS model, WinHire could

globally deploy its application much faster via automation and rapid
provisioning to create the required competitive edge. The IBM IaaS
solution provided WinHire rapid access to multi-tenant shared cloud
computing infrastructure that could be scaled to the needs of the
business. Using the cloud, we could put together a globally scalable
infrastructure, with a significant cost benefit ratio of 1:80. More
importantly, it has helped us in getting our infrastructure up and ready in
just 15 days compared to the traditional timeframe of 6-8 months,
opines Devanur. We are a 100 per cent cloud company. We live in the
cloud and without the cloud, we will be out of oxygen Giri Devanur, CEO,
WinHire Technologies.
WinHires business model is unique as the potential of social media in the

recruiting process is not yet leveraged widely in the recruitment industry.
By providing a platform for virtual interaction between job seekers and
recruiters, the firm is on its way to create a difference. For example,
using the transformative power of the cloud, WinHire can build and
implement a shared collaborative hiring capability which would be able to
address challenges like identity fraud in the recruitment process. It can
also replace the early stage of faceless communication with interactive
video interview capability.
The cloud gives WinHire the capability to plan and scale for the future.
When you have higher volumes of video resumes, we can quickly scale
up without worrying about infrastructure related issues, states Devanur.
The cloud capability also gives the firm the ability to test out its portal on
new mobile platforms.
Breathing in the Cloud
WinHire is a perfect example of a company that owes its existence and its
business model to the cloud. Without the cloud, the firm would have
never been able to launch such a business model especially when it had
limited resources as a startup company. Devanur sums this up perfectly,
when he says, We are a 100 per cent cloud company. We live in the
cloud and without the cloud we will be out of oxygen.
!
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!
If WinHire does succeed in disrupting the marketplace with its innovative
approach, it can inspire many entrepreneurs who have a fantastic
business model, but lack the resources to invest in the technology
infrastructure. The cloud can level the playing field, and allow startups to
compete in a much more effective manner, as it is already doing for a
number of companies.
!
6.7 Activities
1. Cite the advantages of using parsing software applications in

recruitment. Surf the internet and find three applications which can be
used to automate the parsing process for small-to medium-sized
recruitment firms.
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2. Browse the internet and research for information on some of the

prominent cloud computing tools used by large multinational
corporations across the globe.
6.8 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the use of application software in

the recruitment process. Here, we have also discussed about the concept
e-recruitment, or Online recruitment, which is the use of technology or
the web-based tools to assist the recruitment process. The tool can be
either a job website like naukri.com, the organizations corporate website,
cloud tools or its own intranet. The merging of cloud computing with HR
systems is already global, yet invisible. These solutions, often packaged as
software as a service or SAAS for short, touch our professional lives as
profoundly as our personal ones. When it comes to cloud computing,
clearly, the future is now. Understanding its impact and importance,
however, means shedding light on the shadow it casts on our everyday
lives and professional capabilities. The two kinds of e-recruitment that
an organization can use is Job portals and Resume Scanners. Some of the
advantages of e-recruitment are:
Low cost.
No intermediaries
Reduction in time for recruitment.
Recruitment of right type of people.
Efficiency of recruitment process.
Recruitment process is streamlined to a great extent with the use of

technology. E-recruitment has not only helped job seekers get more career
options, but has also helped organizations get hundreds of resumes to fill
any position. The best ways to use technology for recruitment will help
save time and cost.
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The very first requirement from any recruitment software is that it should
be easy to use and implement. Therefore, selective programming
languages were chosen so that the software is user-friendly and easily
manageable. These software applications are, thus, capable of integrating
into any system or website easily and save a lot of money that would have
been otherwise wasted in implementing new changes. It helps to locate
and store information that is useful depending upon the filters set by the
user. Some of the common features of recruitment software are resume
parsing, powerful search mechanism, staffing and application stats, data
management, integration with Microsoft Outlook and websites. Recruitment
software also comes in various versions and types such as, recruitment
software for medical use, staffing purposes, direct hiring software and
many more. It is suggested that you search for specialized software if you
are into a unique domain. Recruiting software is an innovative brand new
breakthrough inside the staffing industry. It's got computerized the entire
recruiting for both small and big companies likewise. This has made hiring
new workers easier, speedier, and even more productive than ever before.
Some of the functions of the recruiting software programs are enlisted
below:
Decline in Vendor Dependence and Time for Recruitment

Assists in Access of Resumes for Further Review
Enhances Comfort of Interaction
The main component of the software is the database. This stores all of the
information that your business holds on its clients, candidates and
vacancies. The fields of the database need to be well organized and
relevant to your particular business so that you can make the most of the
information that you hold and categories it in a way that is useful to you.
The software that temporary agencies use can include an availability
browser which lets the user see which of their employees are booked out,
which of the employees are unavailable for work and which of the
employees are available for work. This obviously makes the management
of temporary staff much easier than it was before this type of software was
available. The Back office software is that which helps you handle the
payroll and the invoicing functions of your business so that you can make
life easier. This type of software tends to be used primarily by temp
agencies that pay their own temporary staff on a regular basis.
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Recruitment Software also often called as applicant tracking system

(ATS) is a tool that enables companies to electronically handle their
recruitment needs. Recruitment software is very similar to customer
relationship management (CRM) systems, but is designed specifically for
recruitment tracking purposes. Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) is one of
the finest ways of being able to regain the focus of a business. The primary
job of recruitment software is centralizing all the information about a
company's recruitment efforts in a database. This is personalized, unique
applicant tracking portal that matches your current internet marketing
branding. Fully-hosted system means no expense incurred for hardware,
software, or in-house support enjoy software as a service (SaaS).
Applicant tracking database allows you to easily catalog and search
applications instantly. The benefits of using an applicant tracking software
provider is to facilitate the smooth integration of a business's HR function
into a new recruitment software system. A good recruitment software
consulting firm will assess the unique needs of a business, learn the core
focus of the business and design a system that will be effective and cost
efficient. A good ATS provider will provide the entire package, from
installation and implementation to training and ongoing management of
data and information.
Resume Parsing is the conversion of free-form resume into structured

information suitable for storage, reporting and manipulation by a computer.
MS Word format resumes are still the format of choice for people all over
the world to describe the skills, qualifications and experience that they
have that make them a suitable candidate for a particular job. These are
easy for a human to read and understand, but to a computer they are just
a long sequence of letters, numbers and punctuation. A parser is a
computer program that tries to analyze this sequence and extract from it
elements of what the person who wrote it actually meant to say. In
general, there are three types of parser: keyword-based parsers;
grammar- based parsers; and Statistical parsers. Different parsers make
different claims as to how good they are, and what they are good for. The
two key measurements you should look for in a parser are: (a) coverage
and (b) accuracy. Benefits of Parsing software applications are:
The candidate can apply for a job quickly and easily and has a positive
candidate experience.
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The recruiter saves up to 80% of time compared to manual entry of CV

data, receives more candidates due to an increase in the conversion rate
(up to 300%) and has an optimum CV database with complete candidate
profiles.
The employer strengthens the employer brand with an inventive job

application process, can produce clear analyses and generate optimum
search results due to structured data storage in a qualitative CV
database.
Cloud computing is the use of computing resources that are delivered as a

service over a network. The name comes from the common use of a cloud-
shaped symbol as an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it contains
in system diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts remote services with a
user's data, software and computation. The convergence of cloud
computing with HR systems is already everywhere, yet invisible. These
solutions, often packaged as software as a service or SAAS for short,
touch our professional lives as profoundly as our personal ones. The five of
the reasons why cloud computing matters most for HR and recruiting
professionals, and why theyre important to the tools, and technologies, of
the talent management trade.
1. Access on Demand
2. Multiple Sources for Candidates
3. Increased Speed of Implementation and Updates
4. Improved Candidates and Analytics
5. Increased Innovation and Customization
! !229
1. Write a short note to explain the merging of cloud computing with HR

systems?
2. Enlist and describe the two kinds of e-recruitment that an organization

can use?
3. Enlist and describe the Online Recruitment Techniques used by

organization across the globe.
4. What is the role played by online tests and questionnaires in enhancing

the process of recruitment?
5. From the point of view of recruitment improvement, how critical is it to

make effective use of corporate website career page?
6. Cite the important benefits of using software applications in recruitment

and how do the application save time of recruiters?
7. Describe in detail the types of software applications in recruitment.
8. Enlist and explain the core functionalities of an application tracking

software.
9. What are the three types of parsers used by recruiters? Write a detailed
note on the working of each of these.
10.Write a short note to explain the factors which distinguish between

different parsers.
11.Describe the concept of Cloud computing and the application of SaaS

in the context of cloud computing.
12.What are five of the reasons why cloud computing matters most for HR
and recruiting professionals?
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !231
INNOVATIVE RECRUITMENT PRACTICES
Chapter 7
Objectives:
After discussing this chapter, you will be ablye to understand:
What is Innovative recruitment?

How to use social media sites in recruitment?
How to use business networking sites in recruitment?
Benefits and challenges in innovative recruitment
Structure:
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Use of Social Media Sites
7.2.1 Facebook
7.2.2 Twitter
7.2.3 MySpace
7.3 The Use of Business Networking Sites
7.3.1 LinkedIn
7.4 Benefits of Innovative Recruiting

7.5 Challenges in Innovative Recruiting
7.6 Activities
7.7 Summary
! !232
7.1 Introduction
Social media is media for social interaction, using highly accessible and
scalable communication techniques. It is the use of Web-based and mobile
technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.
Picture 7.1
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are some of
the most powerful tools available to recruiters today. Facebook has more
than 500 million members and regularly surpasses Google in site visits per
day. LinkedIn has increased its number of registered users from roughly 40
million in 2009 to more than 100 million in 2011. Your company may
recognize the potential for social recruiting or may already be using the
tools, but a social recruiting strategy needs to be part of the companys
overall goals and objectives to deliver true return on investment (ROI). As
usage continues to skyrocket, more businesses are recognizing the fact
that high-quality candidates can be reached faster and at lower cost using
social networks than traditional recruiting methods. Social networks can
give recruiters a competitive edge in locating and engaging the best
candidates available to reach your companys recruiting objectives.
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With the advance in technology and increase in the number and diversity of
the social media sites, we now have what is called as a Social Media
Recruiting Starfish. As seen in the image below, this consists of use of
different types of Social Media for the purpose of recruitment.
Picture 7.2: Social Media Star Fish
The above image illustrates the fact that Social Media sites are not just
restricted to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn but also diverse
mediums like YouTube, Flickr, Ning, Meebo and Blogtalkradio. So, as a
recruiter, there are unlimited options to choose from when using Social
Media sites as an option for recruitment.
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Changing Face of Hiring
Himani Chandna Gurtoo, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, November

23, 2012
Sharon Dsouza, 28, was planning a job change when she stumbled across
a Facebook post inviting resumes matching her profile at a multinational
firm.
I was surfing social networks without knowing that it can offer me a job
with all queries sorted through comment and reply mode, said Dsouza,
who eventually was selected to the new job.
Hiring is not the same anymore.
! !235
Going beyond job portals, the Internet is changing the way recruitment is
happening with help from social media. While LinkedIn is a place to
showcase your skills, give and get references and network on topics of
career interest, Twitter and Facebook have their own charms.
Tweets are used by startups and even larger companies to put out
recruitment calls that earlier would have figured in advertisements.
Consider this: Six months ago, Mumbai based RPG Group was looking for a
Vice-president for its industrial relations department. The company's
human resources team posted the vacancy on a popular social networking
site and received 70 resumes and many more references in just three
days.
The trend is very effective and makes you reach your target candidate,
said Manoj Biswas, human resources, head, Accenture India. It gets you
immediate response, and available posts are filled quickly, lowering spend
on jobs classifieds.
New startups like Simplicant.com and socialmediarecruitment.com enable

social media-based recruitment with friendly software.
The trend is not in the private sector alone. The government's staffing
body, Staff Selection Commission actively tweets about vacancies, cut-off
marks, results and clarifications.
We are actively using social recruitment to find extrovert, friendly and

creative employees with an active thought process, said Amol Dhillon,
Vice-president, Strategy and Planning, Woodland. And we know they are
sitting there, right in front of their laptops.
HR consultants and entrepreneurs routinely use social media to learn,

check and connect. Whenever we call a candidate for interview, we do an
elaborate Google search beforehand and the results sometimes throw up a
candidate's social profile, said Arvind Agrawal, President, RPG Group.
(Social media sites) have helped us in background reference checks and

to some extent avoid fraud, as the information of the candidate is publicly
available to view, said Sudipta Sen, MD, SAS Institute, a US-based
software solutions that tops spot in list of Great Place to Work.
! !236
Expectedly, job seekers are seeking professional help in strengthening

online profile.
Candidates are worried about their online image and approach us for
guidance. Though the trend is not very aggressive, but while pasting
twitter handle or blog URL on resume they actually offer to display their
brand value, said Uday Sodhi, CEO, HeadHonchos.com, a job portal.
7.2 The use of Social Media Sites

Though popular online job boards like Naukri.com, Timesjobs.com and
Monster.com etc. are still used by a majority of employers, many are also
using social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and
Facebookto recruit qualified candidates in quick time. Whether you are
looking for a candidate to fill up a managerial post or want to get a trainee
for an entry-level position, these social networking sites can help. Thanks
to the speedily expanding world of online social networking, you can find a
lot of suitable candidates at these platforms and communicate with them in
real time to seal the deal.
Reasons to Incorporate Social Media in Your Recruiting Efforts
Connect with candidates where and when they are available

Develop a dialogue with candidates
Be seen as an innovative, progressive employer
Promote your employment brand
Open additional sources for candidate leads and hires
One in every six minutes online is spent on social networking sites
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Advantages of Recruiting via Social Networking Sites
The sheer size of the social networking crowd makes it the ideal platform
to find your ideal candidate. A few statistics from Facebook can make it
clear how you can reach millions of potential job seekers within a few
minutes using the social networking sites. Facebook Press Room claims to
have over 500 million active users. On any given day, 50% of the sites
active users log on to Facebook and an average user has 130 friends. With
millions of profiles listed on the site, you will be really spoilt for choice
when it comes to recruiting for the next vacant position. Even when a
candidate that you have approached is not interested to take up your offer,
he or she can always forward the same to his/her network. This way, you
can even tap into the extended network of a particular candidate to find if
someone suitable to fill up the vacant post is there. By 2014, social
networking services will replace e-mail as the primary vehicle for
interpersonal communications for 20% of business users.
Recruiting via social networking sites can also help you reach the best
talent which is often the most difficult to find and also the most difficult to
persuade to leave good positions. People having superior talent are usually
seen by recruiters as passive candidates who have a lot of employment
opportunities all around them but rarely need to send out their rsums to
land good positions. You are not likely to find them listed on stale rsum
banks of various job boards. However, many of these top rungs are active
on various social networking platforms. No wonder that social networking
sites are the most sought-after platforms to reach these passive candidates
who can fill up managerial level posts. Since most jobs these days require
increasingly specialized and sought-after skills, you can get access to a
wide talent pool starting from tech-savvy college graduates to experienced
employees if you opt for social networking sites for recruiting purposes.
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Picture 7.3
!
Picture 7.4
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Searching Candidates
Picture 7.5
Once you have decided to use social networking sites for recruiting, you
can employ two approaches to find some of the ideal candidates. You may
either use various search tools available on these social networking sites to
search candidates and contact them, or setup pages for passive recruiting.
If you want to use the former option, business networking sites like
LinkedIn and Ryze should figure at the top of the list as it is easy to
conduct searches there, mainly because of the reason for which these sites
were primarily built unlike other social networking sites where keeping in
touch with friends and family is the main objective.
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!
Picture 7.6
7.2.1 Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service launched in February 2004, owned

and operated by Facebook, Inc. As of September 2012, Facebook has over
one billion active users, more than half of whom use Facebook on a mobile
device. Users must register before using the site, after which they may
create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange
messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile.
Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by
workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their
friends into lists such as People from Work or Close Friends.
Facebook has two sections that can be used for Recruitment Groups
and Events.
A Group of people, who are already in the company, can include past staff
too, like the Friends of Friends Group. Remember, if potential new hires
find these sites, it will really give them a sense of the culture.
If you search in Facebook, you will find people who work, or have worked
for your company. And this is the point. If you dont set something up, new
! !241
hires can easily find a lone voice, in your company to contact. Try a search
on your company and see who comes up. It is better if there are a range of
views not just one voice? People can read through a list of comments and
make their own mind up.
By using Facebook, you will be establishing an employment brand. So think

carefully about the image you want to portray. In a group, you can pose
questions, talk about issues that face your company, note interesting
blogs, video clips, press releases. You should have no problem on what to
say! Once you have started the Group though, you need to keep feeding
it. So while Facebook is cheap and easy to use, it does require somebody
to be responsible and keep it going. Like all relationships, it needs an
investment of time.
Once the Group is going, it is easy to invite people to Events, Company

events to start with. Making these public can really prove there is a fun
company culture. Again, it is about being, rather than just saying it. Later,
wider events can be arranged where you showcase the company
knowledge, a new innovation, product launch etc. It is very easy to invite
your contacts in Facebook, and they can easily send the invitation to a
friend.
How to use Facebook as recruitment tool?
If any manpower requirement arises in any company or small unit, what

they will do? They will advertise the requirement either posters for
unskilled jobs and free portal or paid postings in job sites if it is for skilled
job or white collar jobs. If you venture into the market and ask for which is
the most popular job site in India, we can get some names Naukri,
Monster, Timesjob etc. Most of the companies will have login access and
job posting access to these job portals which will give them some results
like getting CVs or walk-ins.
Some companies will also hire job consultants for their immediate or more
number of requirement who will screen profiles from portals, head hunt
profiles etc. to get needed required skills.
These have become traditional method now for recruiters. One can get
very good result and networks using social networking websites like
Facebook, LinkedIn. HR professional or Recruiters can create their profile in
Facebook and send friend request to relevant profiles which are your
targets like if you are looking for BE Software engineer with 2 years
! !242
experience add those profiles in your friend list and you keep getting friend
request in similar line. It is not one-time effort, every day you have to keep
adding targeted profiles.
After this, it is like this you will be sitting on gold mine and post your
requirement as posting on your wall which will be circulated to all your
members plus their friends home page. As a rough example, if you have
500 friends in your Facebook profile and each of them has around 300
each, just see the mathematics.... 500 * 300 = 150000 just see the reach
of your postings. This will be an amazing tool for recruiters/HR
professionals to get needed profiles in time at free of cost.
The images given below are some examples of job postings on Facebook.
Picture 7.7: Recruitment Post on Facebook
! !243
Picture 7.8
! !244
Facebook: A Social Recruitment Tool for All Industries? Fri, 22 Feb

2013
Despite concerns in some quarters about its suitability as a hiring tool for
certain specialisms, Facebook, the worlds largest social network, should be
seen as having an opportunity for everyone in recruitment terms.
This claim is made by Kirsten Smith, the Vice-president of marketing at

Work4 Labs, which itself provides solutions for recruitment through
Facebook.
Retail may be one industry where the recruitment opportunity is initially

more obvious, Smith tells Recruiter, because retailers in many cases have
already established a great position on Facebook, so its a natural next
step to add the jobs on there, and it normally then takes off really quickly.
A similar example is true, she adds, of one non-profit organization Work4
partnered with, which had a large pre-existing fan base.
But she acknowledges that there are different sectors that require a
different focus for example, consulting, technology and B2B specialist
firms that didnt typically have the consumer branding youd expect on
Facebook when compared to retail.
Some such companies had also expressed concerns that, in particular for
more senior roles, Facebook might not actually be the place to find the
candidates required but as Work4 strategic account director Paul Connolly
comments to Recruiter: One of the great misconceptions about Facebook
is that it has a much broader demographic than people give is credit for,
! !245
with around two-third of users being 35 or older, and nearly half being 45
or older.
Smith tells Recruiter that regardless of the industry, I think theres an

opportunity for everyone on Facebook.
Facebook Recruiting
You probably use Facebook to share photos and witty anecdotes on a daily
basis. Did you know that Facebook is quickly becoming the largest
employee recruitment website as well?
Following info graphic details, everything a company needs to do to build

their brand in social networking is to attract fresh talent. It also gives us
some great statistics into how social media has impacted the job hunting
and employment process.
Just remember to keep your Facebook profile clean and share interesting
information with your followers. Those are the best ways to build your
brand.
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How to Convert a Personal Facebook Profile to a Business Page?
As you would know personal Facebook profiles are meant for individual
people and Facebook provides pages for businesses and organizations.
Pages offer more robust features for organizations and are more suitable to
meet your business needs.
! !252
Some recruiting agencies and companies are still using a personal

Facebook profile to promote their business. And if you are one among
them, you need to do something about it, or you run a risk of losing your
profile as stated clearly by Facebook -
Maintaining a personal account for anything other than an individual person

is a violation of Facebooks Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. If you
dont convert your noncompliant account to a Page, you risk permanently
losing access to the account and all of its content.
Following are the steps needed to perform to convert a personal Facebook

profile to a page:
Step 1 Back up Your Profile Data
When you convert your profile to a business page only your profile photo
and friends (converted to likes) will be moved to your new page. No other
data is moved to your page. So if you need any information on your new
page from your existing account, you should first download your profile
data which include posts, photos, bios and anything associated with the
account.
You can download your information from the Account Settings page.
1. Click at the top right of any Facebook page and select Account Settings
2. Click General in the left-hand column
3. Click on Download a copy of your Facebook data
4. Click Start My Archive
Step 2 Change your profile name and address to reflect your

business page
The business page which will be created after migration will have the same
name as your profile name. Also if you have more than 200 friends, you
will not be able to change the name of your page after the conversion.
Make sure your profile name reflects your business page name before
going to the next step.
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If you already have an active business page you probably would want to
merge these pages. In this case, you need to provide same name and
address as your active page or you might not be able to merge them.
To change your name:
1. Click in the upper-right corner of any Facebook page and select Account
Settings
2. Click General in the left-hand column.

3. Look for the Name setting and click Edit to the far right
4. Type in your name and save your changes
To change your address:
1. Click on the Update Info button under your cover photo on your
timeline.
2. To edit the info in these sections, click the Edit link that appears in the
top-right corner.
3. Enter in your new info, and save your changes.
Step 3 Convert your personal profile to a business page
You might as well be managing other pages/groups from your existing

profile. If you are the only admin for these pages, do not forget to assign
new admins before you proceed with the migration. Remember you are
about to delete your profile and migrate to a business page.
To convert your profile to a page go here. Below is how the next steps look
like
! !254
Choose a category most appropriate for your business and proceed to next
step.
Provide your password to confirm migration. Make sure to download your

data.
! !255
Your fan page is created with your friends converted to likes.
Step 4 Merge Duplicate Pages
If you have duplicate pages for your business, you should merge them. In
order to merge duplicate pages, they need to have the same name and
address. Merging Pages combines all your likes and check-ins, but all other
content from the Page with fewer likes, such as wall posts, photos and its
username, will be permanently deleted.
Content on the Page with more likes will remain unchanged, except for the
addition of likes and check-ins added from the Page with fewer likes.
Facebook removes the Page with fewer likes and you will not be able to
unmerge it.
Here is how to merge pages
1. Go to the Page with more likes. This will be the one youll keep.
2. From the top of your Page, click Edit Page.
3. Select Update Info.
! !256
4. From the left sidebar, select Resources.

5. Click the Merge duplicate Pages link. This link will only appear if you
manage two Pages with similar names.
6. A dialogue will show Pages you manage that qualify to be merged.

Select the Page(s) you wish to merge. If youre merging Pages with a
location, they must have the same address information.
Dont promote your business on Facebook with an individual profile,

convert it to a business page using the steps mentioned above. If you
know someone who will be helped by this information, do not forget to
share this article with them!
7.2.2 Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking service and micro-blogging service

that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140
characters, known as tweets".
Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and by July, the social
networking site was launched. The service rapidly gained worldwide
popularity, with over 500 million registered users as of 2012, generating
over 340 million tweets daily and handling over 1.6 billion search queries
per day. Since its launch, Twitter has become one of the ten most visited
websites on the Internet, and has been described as "the SMS of the
Internet." Unregistered users can read tweets, while registered users can
post tweets through the website interface, SMS, or a range of apps for
mobile devices.
! !257
Picture 7.9
Yes, you can use Twitter to promote job opportunities, and to complement
your e-recruitment sourcing channels pool. However, Twitter can do much
more for your business.
How does Twitter Work?
The communication currency in Twitter is called a tweet. Tweets are short

messages that are distributed in real time via the web or SMS. Whereas
Facebook uses the label of "friend" as the transactional unit for its
exchanges, Twitter uses "follower". If you are a follower of a particular
account, then you get the updates for that account. You "follow" that
person or company and you get the updates in close to real time.
Here's how to get the most out of Twitter when it comes to recruiting:
Getting Started on Twitter
As a recruiter, you can use your own Twitter account or use your
company's, but it should be clear that the purpose of your account is to
share available jobs and information about the companies that are hiring.
! !258
Since Twitter gives you just 140 characters to get your message across,
don't beat around the bush. Tweets should be along the lines of: "Looking
for a Sales Rep in NYC, Very competitive salary, apply at (include a
shortened URL)." To make your job postings stand out, you can also use
hashtags, which are formed simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol
(#). Hashtags are used as a way to filter and find information on Twitter.
By including a hashtag with a keyword in your tweet, it becomes instantly
searchable. Here are a few examples of hashtags you might consider
using: #job, #jobpost, #employment, #recruiting, #hiring, #career,
#staffing, #salesjob, #NAJ (that's Twitter lingo for 'Need A Job?'). You can
use more than one hashtag in your tweet, but remember that your
characters are limited, so be strategic in which hashtag or tags you use.
If your company has a Twitter account but not a lot of followers, there are
tricks for expanding your network and building relationships with clients
and job candidates. Run a quick search on Twitter (search.twitter.com) for
anybody discussing a specific keyword and you can get hundreds of
contacts. You can search for people you know, by location, by industry or
interest, by hashtag, by popularity, by time and more. "I've enjoyed
building a community on Twitter and follow job seekers and career search
experts," says Stephanie Valadez, a human resources generalist at North
Texas Leaders and Executives Advocating Diversity. "I think Twitter has
helped us gain exposure, redirecting job applicants to our website and
people who may be interested in our free services."
! !259
You should also follow associates and other recruiters that might be
sources for candidates. Tim Heard, president of eSearch Associates in
Louisville, Kentucky adds, "If a recruiter has established a network of
followers who tend to fall within the recruiter's area of specialization, then
the tweet about a job might not be an invitation to apply, instead, it might
be a request for referrals.
There is also the opportunity to market events you will be attending, such
as a tweet saying, "Stop by our career booth at the Sales Tech Expo." More
importantly, your Twitter account is a place to inform potential hires about
your business. Your tweets say a lot about your company and what's
important to it.
How can Twitter be Used as a Recruitment Tool?
Twitter has the power to create and participate in public conversations in

real time. This enables your company to be able to leverage the channel in
a variety of ways:
1. Gather business intelligence to identify new opportunities.

Recruiters acting as followers can undertake "brand monitoring" as a
business intelligence process. They can then mine this power by
gathering relevant information about recruitment services opportunities.
2. Promote jobs to potential job seekers that have become

followers. More and more recruiters are embracing this technology to
connect with candidates quickly and effectively. Make sure your
recruitment software is able to help you connect with this powerful
social media.

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For job posting related tweets or any tweets for that matter, make sure
you use relevant hashtags. Hashtags, that is the use of the symbol #
before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in a Tweet, are used to
categorise those Tweets and help to find them more easily in Twitter
Search. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all
other Tweets marked with that keyword. Hence by using popular job
seeking or recruitment hashtags such as #jobs, #employment, #career,
you will position your tweets in the right context.
3. Researching Potential Candidates. You can evaluate candidate

behavior and online reputation by analyzing their Twitter account, their
Twitter activity (quantity and quality), and balance between followers
and following.
4. Reach more people. To leverage Twitter you need to aspire to have

lots of followers. There are tricks for expanding your network and
building relationships with relevant organizations and job seekers. The
saying give and you shall receive is the motto for expanding your
network in Twitter. If you want to be followed, then follow relevant
contacts yourself. Search for relevant terms in your industry. Search for
people and companies you know, and topics of interest. Follow the
contacts resulting from the search results, if appropriate. A percentage
of these contacts will follow you in turn.
5. Elicit referrals. Twitter, being a real-time channel is perfect to actively

elicit referrals. Make sure people in your network know what you are
looking for and see miracles happen every day.
Six important tips are provided for using Twitter as a part of recruitment
plan:
1. Create a branded company Twitter profile: Assign a key person

or automate tweets to post jobs as they become available. This
person should also be responsible for following professionals that could
be potential candidates.
2. Dont be a Twitter wallflower: Engage in conversation with the
people you are following and your followers whether you have job
openings for them or not. Then, when you need to speak with someone
about an opportunity, youve already established rapport.
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3. Create a protocol for your job tweets: Consider search ability by

using hash marks (#) around keywords. Include a trackable URL to your
job posting so you can monitor the number of click-throughs a job
posting receives.
4. Help your search by using a third-party tool such as TweetBeep, which
alerts you to tweets relevant to your search.
5. Encourage your staff to retweet job openings by providing an incentive
such as a referral bonus for candidates sourced through tweeting.
6. Dont be a one-track tweeter: Be varied and creative in your
approach. To keep it real and not boring or spamlike, tweet on a variety
of topics including industry-related items of interest, some personal
tweets and, of course, your job postings.
Many businesses are turning to social recruiting as a strategy to increase
the size and diversity of their applicant pool. Recruiting on Twitter is now a
common tactic used by recruiters throughout the world.
!
Picture 7.10
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If youre new to Twitter or been on it for a while and wonder what will kill
your twitter recruiting strategy, think about this: It may be that youre
committing one of the following mistakes.
5 Things Not to Do When Recruiting on Twitter
If you are looking to maximize results on Twitter, you must diligently avoid
the following 5 mistakes:
1. Neglecting the profile! Your Twitter recruiting account should have a

profile photo and a completed profile that includes a link to the company
career site. Twitter profiles, like tweets (Twitter posts), have a 140
character limit, which eliminates the possibility of posting a lengthy
company description. If possible, include a catchy motto or short
description of the business that will encourage potential applicants to
visit the companys career site. Filling out all these basic details makes
your Twitter account look authentic, and helps candidates to find and
remember your company.
2. Posting protected tweets: All recruiting tweets should be public.

Twitter offers users the option of protecting their tweets, which means
that theyre only visible to a list of other Twitter users approved by the
account holder. This is a crucial mistake. To reach the most potential
applicants, make sure that the recruiting profile is on the public
setting. You may have good reasons to lock your account, but if you
want to be that private you might want to reconsider why you have an
account on Twitter at the first place.
3. Not interacting with potential applicants: Twitter offers recruiters

and applicants the opportunity to interact with one another on a social
level. Key elements of a long-term Twitter approach are: be responsive,
accessible, and build a community, not just a following. You should
involve with the community by replying to mentions, be accessible to
candidates during business hours and response to questions/queries
candidate might have. Doing this, will keep people interested in what
you have to say and entice new followers to join in the conversation.
4. Tweeting only about open jobs: Recruiting accounts should be more

than just a response of links to open jobs. Conversing with other Twitter
users and posting links to interesting websites or news articles builds
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goodwill and promotes your company as a multi-dimensional entity.

Assign one person to manage the account; this will help you give the
profile a uniform tone and personality.

You can also increase the effectiveness of your Twitter profile by sharing
a bit of the daily lives at your company. You can regularly upload
workplace photos, pictures of events happening at your company, or
pretty scenes you saw around your office. These tweets emphasize
human face of your company that is approachable and a pleasure to
communicate with. This can be accomplished without compromising the
companys privacy, as well.
5. Not tweeting regularly: Letting your social-media business accounts

languish may hurt your brand in the long run. If you are not actively
tweeting and maintaining your Twitter presence, youre missing
opportunities to interact with existing and potential candidates. You
dont have to tweet every day, but if youre only tweeting once or twice
a week (or less) the chances are candidates will miss your tweets and
you really wont interact at all. Plan your content in advance (weekly, bi-
weekly, monthly), however be flexible to add in time-sensitive or
newsworthy content.
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Picture 7.11
Recruiting on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites is an
increasingly trendy practice. Social networking sites are free, easy to set
up and allow recruiters to communicate quickly and easily. Very large
companies may have so many job openings that a single Twitter liaison is
insufficient to post them all. Recruiters at these firms may find automated
posting services like HireRabbit quite valuable. These programs save time
by automatically posting available jobs. In this case, recruiters must be
exceedingly careful to not run their Twitter profile on proverbial autopilot.
Automated links lists dont pose a problem, provided that the human
! !265
recruiter is actively involved with the Twitter profile as well. The importance
of this human element cannot be underestimated and is an absolutely
crucial aspect of hiring on social media.
Picture 7.12
How to Use Hashtags to Spread Your Jobs on Twitter?
According to a report, 54% of companies now recruit through Twitter,

although only 15% of them successfully hired through that medium.
However, there is enormous opportunity for businesses to increase their
Twitter hire rate. After all, Twitter is now the third most popular search
engine after Google and YouTube and its users send out more than 400
million tweets every day, according to Twitter.
Using hashtags specifically for sourcing candidates can help recruiters

make their job posts stand out, but also get seen by the right people.
! !266
What are Hashtags?
Hashtags are a word or phrase (with no spaces or special characters)

preceded by the # sign. The # and word combination makes that word
easier to search and find within Twitters database. If you were to search
jobs within Twitter, you would then see every tweet that includes #jobs
within its 140-character limit, starting with the most recent tweet.
Hashtags can be used to take part in an overall conversation, to tag posts

with specific subject indicators, and to identify participants in a group chat.
Hashtags are functional on several social media platforms, including

Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, but not Facebook.
How are Hashtags Useful?
Hashtags open up your Twitter content to the masses not just your
followers. Anyone can search for the hashtag and find your tweet, even if
they arent specifically following you (yet). Being found by job seekers
within Twitters search can increase the number of followers you have.
By making your posts more accessible, hashtags can also increase your
likelihood of being retweeted which expands your tweets exposure
exponentially.
Conversely, you can also take action to seek out potential followers. By
following specific industry- or business-related hashtags, you can find
potential business partners, job candidates, or interesting people to follow
and build an online community with.
How Can Hashtags Help in Recruitment?
Utilizing the right hashtags within your tweets can broaden your influence
on Twitter, increase your retweets, and ultimately help you connect with
potential job candidates. Hashtags expand your reach to get the attention
and involvement of people in your industry, people looking for jobs, and
people who are connected to people who are looking for jobs.
Again by adding a hashtag, your tweets are visible to more than just
your followers or those viewing your specific Twitter feed but anyone
! !267
following or searching for that particular hashtag. Just as there are

established best practices for Twitter in general, there are also rules for
how you use hashtags. When you begin using hashtags in your recruitment
tweets, keep these guidelines in mind:
1. Limit yourself to one or two hashtags within each tweet. Any more than
that looks like spam, and leaves you with fewer characters to get your
actual message across.
2. Always check the history and meaning of a trending tag before you use
it. It may have unknown negative connotations that will throw your
business in the middle of a conversation with which it plays no part. To
prevent a social faux pas, make sure the tag means what you think it
means.
3. If you make up a new hashtag for your business, make sure that it is
intuitive for your followers and easy to understand. Since your posts are
limited to 140 characters, the shorter the tag is, the better.
Making Hashtags
You can make tags with your business name, your industry keywords, or
your city name. Be sure to use hashtag standards when applicable; Popular
tags for recruitment include: #job, #jobpost, #employment, #recruiting,
#hiring, #career, #interview, #resume, and #staffing.
The average tweet has a half-life of less than 3 hours the amount of time
that it will receive half the clicks it will ever get. Create multiple versions of
your job post tweet, with different, related recruitment hashtags, and send
them out regularly to make sure that youre reaching the most people in
the right audience.
Remember that consistent engagement over social media is the key to

gaining followers, attention, and, ultimately, successful job candidates.
Even with effective hashtag usage, your recruitment efforts over Twitter
will fail if you dont populate your account with more than just job
postings.
Engage in conversations with your business community, post interesting

industry-related content and respond to messages from your followers.
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Potential applicants who find your job posting through hashtag search will
consider your Twitter presence in their decision whether to apply. A
disingenuous presence could drive them away no matter how compelling
the job offer.
Tweetchat is a tool which can be used by recruiters for chatting with

prospective job seekers. This tool is based on hashtag search as can be
seen in the image below.
Picture 7.13
7.2.3 MySpace
MySpace is a social networking website offering users the opportunity to

connect through personal profiles, blogs, groups and other features.
MySpace is one of the most popular social networking site, and if you have
a MySpace page and you're job searching, you may have heard that you
need to be careful about the information you post. Hiring Managers check
the web for anything they can find about prospective candidates, and
MySpace and Facebook are among the sites they check.
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You do need to be careful, but it's also important to consider the flip side to
job searching and MySpace the companies who use it to find candidates
for employment.
Employers Looking for You
In addition to companies that use career networking sites, like LinkedIn, to

recruit, there are employers who use MySpace and other social networking
sites to scope out candidates for employment. According to Simply Hired
(one of the top job search engines), Vice President of Marketing, Phil
Carpenter, "These companies look through the right lens, understand the
communication skills of this generation, and are willing to set aside their
biases.
You might be surprised at some of the companies that have MySpace

profiles. Some of them are companies that are known for being very
traditional. However, they are all cognizant of the fact that they need
employees, and they are willing to think outside the typical recruiting box
to attract this generation of job seekers.
How to Connect with an Employer?
There will be information on how to contact the employer or recruiter on

the MySpace page. In many cases, there will be a variety of options for
contacting the recruiter, because they want to make it easy for you to get
in touch.
How Employers Recruit on MySpace?
Companies don't just put up a MySpace page and expect you to find it,
though, of course, they will be thrilled if you do. They also use MySpace
and similar sites to look for potential new hires.
Passive Recruiting
Employers who set up MySpace profiles do it in the language of the people

who use it (which can be a different language from those of us who are a
generation older). Simply Hired's Phil Carpenter says these companies,
"Understand the language and use it to effectively communicate."
! !270
Companies like these also understand the assertive side of the younger
generation. They know that communications (instant message, cell phone,
email, social networking) are much more instantaneous than they were in
the past. This population doesn't want to mail in paper resumes and wait
weeks for a response. So, employers communicate on the same level by
using video, blogs and blog comments, and instant messaging, as well as
email and phone.
Active Recruiting
In addition to putting up profiles to see what interest they can generate,

employers also actively seek applicants on MySpace.
Picture 7.14
! !271
Employers look holistically at the entire candidate and are interested in

what they can learn about the person. For example, a cutting edge
employer, especially in less traditional industries, may not mind a creative
profile and will understand the distinction between that person's private life
and the employee they may hire.
Not always though, so that's why it's going to continue to be important to

be careful what you post online. There is a very fine line between what's
acceptable and what isn't, and that line is hard to define.
MySpace Jobs
There's another way you can use MySpace to find jobs. The Jobs section
(powered by SimplyHired) has over 5 million job postings. You can search
full-time jobs, part-time jobs, and internships, by keyword and location.
MySpace members can also post a resume using SimplyHired's resume
posting service.
Figure 7.1
! !272
Outside-the-Box Recruiting: Using MySpace.com as a Recruiting Tool:

by Dr. John Sullivan Mar 27, 2006 (article by Dr. John Sullivan and Matt
Millunchick)
I am proud to be an outside-the-box recruiter. I consistently

recommend experimenting with new approaches to sourcing, because I
have found that the only way to win in recruiting is to get to the
candidate first. Recruiting is just like marketing: Once everyone adopts
the new tool, it loses its effectiveness and its competitive advantage.
Take advertising in movie theaters, for example. Southwest Airlines
successfully used the approach to reach candidates via a channel they
hadnt erected barriers to until other companies began to mimic the
approach and moviegoers started tuning the advertisements out.
Candidates are consumers, and every marketing expert worth their
consulting fees will tell you that consumers develop barriers to push
marketing over time, limiting the period in which marketers can catch
consumers off guard and get their message delivered. As a result,
recruiters need to constantly seek out new approaches and then move on
when they lose their effectiveness.
Recruiting Outside-the-Box Takes Courage
The only problem with the approach outlined here is that while nearly
every recruiter on the planet says that they want to try outside-the-box
tools, most recruiters are mundane, lack the courage to try new things,
and are unwilling to invest the time it takes to master a new approach.
Im not sure why; maybe its their fear of failure or their thin skin when it
comes to criticism, but you can tell which recruiters are open to new
approaches by looking in their eyes as a new approach is described. For
those who will never succeed in using a new tool or approach, the
reaction is always the same. At first theyre excited, then they begin to
express doubt, then the excuses start flowing, and it becomes clear to
those around that no experimentation is going to occur. I predict most
will respond this way to the concept of recruiting on MySpace. To add a
users perspective and some youthful credibility to this article, I have
asked Matt Millunchick, my research assistant at the University and the
next Michael Jordan of hiring to share his views and research on the
subject in this article. He is an enthusiastic supporter of recruiting on
these types of sites and cannot understand the resistance from old
school recruiters.
!
! !273
What Is MySpace?
Simply put, MySpace and its competitors are online communities that allow
members to meet and make friends by posting information and pictures
about themselves. Although MySpace is the focus of this article, other
communities include Facebook (#2 in market share), Tagged, Bebo, Bolt,
and Friendster. If you have a minute, visit MySpace; its a fascinating look
into the minds of Generations X and Y. MySpace has taken the world by
storm, registering more than 65 million digital inhabitants. Its impact has
been so strong that some media analysts have relabeled Generation Y the
MySpace Generation.
MySpace is a Major Player
To almost anyone under 30, MySpace and its competitors is the hottest
thing in networking. The medium is such a powerful communication
channel that last year media magnet Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace, a
firm barely three years old, for more than half a billion dollars!
!
Picture 7.15
! !274
Online traffic reports show that in January of this year, MySpace had the
second-highest number of page views, coming in just behind Yahoo. Five
out of the top 10 search terms entered into search engines for the four
weeks ending March 4, 2006, were some variation of myspace. Compared
to other more famous job-specific networking sites like Jobster and
LinkedIn, MySpace is huge and growing, registering more than 150,000
new users each day.
Who Can You Find on MySpace?
Although MySpace and its peers are designed to be social networking sites,
a smart recruiter will see the potential value right away. Not only does
MySpace offer a huge number of participants, but statistics show that the
average time a user stays on the site is approaching 30 minutes each day,
an unheard of visit time for a website. At first glance you might think
MySpace is just for kids, but dont let the home page and your own
preconceived stereotypes cloud your vision. More than 80 per cent of the
sites registered members fall into the core demographic of 16-to-34-year-
olds. Note that this demographic includes a large quantity of college-
educated professionals with as much as 13 years of work experience. It
has a phenomenal number of features and interest groups that represent
potential hires, including business-related groups for Best Buy employees,
mortgage professionals, realtors, and Web designers, to name a few.
Quicken Loans is already using the site for recruiting sales and finance
professionals. Obviously youre not going to use MySpace to recruit the
next CEO of a Fortune 100 company, but its a superior source for finding
hourly employees, entry-level employees, military people leaving the
service, college students, and mid-level management. The site is a great
source for college students at campuses that you cant afford to visit. It is
one of the variety of tools that I recommend to smart firms that adopt a
remote college recruiting strategy.
Targeting Specific Groups
Although MySpace is a very broad site, you can easily target specific
groups by using networking sites that also target these individuals. Some
of these other targets include:
College students: XuQa is a perfect site for recruiting college students

because you can register without a college email address.
! !275
High school students: Sconex is a networking site which is limited to

high school users.
The military: Military members are heavy users of MySpace, including

those currently in Iraq, who obviously, because of distances, have great
difficulty meeting new friends and recruiters.
Retail employees: Retail workers are a diverse bunch, and MySpace

offers access to hundreds of thousands of retail workers from top brands.
For example, retail giant Best Buy has a member-supported group on
MySpace full of current and past employees. There are also special
interest groups like softball and skiing, which are great sites if you run a
sporting goods store or ski resort.
Geographic locations: Some of the smaller sites get most of their

traffic from a single state and make it easy to target individuals that live
close to your facilities. For example, 23 per cent of the visitors to
Tagged.com are from Illinois.
MySpace Features and Tools
If you already use MySpace, you are aware of its many features and the
power of being able to read about and make friends instantly with people
around the world. If you have yet to make your mark on MySpace and
youre not sure how it can help you recruit, below is a list of some of the
most useful features on MySpace. Oh, and btw, u should also be familiar
w/MySpace lingo. (Thats computer shorthand for Oh, and by the way, you
should also be familiar with the special language used on these websites.)
Browsing User Profiles
In the users profile, you can find out a great deal about a person, including
their location, ethnicity, occupation, income, educational background
(school, graduation date, degree level, major, clubs, and fraternity/sorority
affiliation), professional work experience (company, location, position,
department), and personal motivations. Once you find a person who meets
your hiring criteria or basic skill needs, you can contact that individual
either via an instant message if they are currently online, or by sending
them a message or post via the MySpace server. Even if a person doesnt
! !276
qualify for your specific position, they might know somebody who does, so
you should always leverage candidates for referrals.
MySpace Groups
!
Picture 7.16
Groups are segmented by categories and can be used to connect to

industry-specific individuals. For example, if you want to find computer
programmers, a good place to start would be the Programming Language
Development group, Programmers 1337 (C++, Java, Basic, Python,
Actionscript) group, PHP Support and Discussion group, C++ Junkies
group, or one of the many other computer programming groups. MySpace
groups can also be used to find candidates in every other profession,
including medical and healthcare (Medical Professionals, Promoting Health
and Wellness group) and even sales professionals (Business Networking &
B2B Sales Professionals group).
Affiliations for Networking
You can search by field, sub-field, role, and keywords, and then refine your
search and relevancy by specifying sex, age ranges, and location ranges
based upon mileage distance from postal codes. For example, you can set
! !277
the search perimeters to find technology it develops within 100 miles of a

San Francisco postal code, and more than 658 MySpace profiles would be
returned. Within two minutes and on the first three pages of search
results, more than a dozen people were sourced who were currently
employed or have worked at some of the top tech companies like Google,
Apple, and Sun Microsystems as software engineers.
Create a Company User Profile
Anyone can create a user profile, so it makes sense for a company to

create a user profile as well and invite friends or potential candidates to
join your companys personal network of potentials. Under the user profile,
you can specify who youd like to meet and advertise that you are looking
for talented people and a specific skillset with the possibility of working for
your organization. This is where you would sell your organization to
perspective candidates. From your user profile, you can communicate and
send mass messages to your friends list and build a strong company
brand over MySpace at no cost. There are a few groups that have used the
power of MySpace for recruiting purposes such as the Pilot Job Center,
which acts as a portal for companies to find pilots. At the time this article
was being written, only a handful of corporations had posted corporate
profiles. Recruiters can also place profiles in order to attract contacts in the
same way recruiters use blogs to attract traffic.
Possible Concerns
All recruiting sources have their limitations, and social networking sites are
no exception. Some of the potential issues include:
Some profiles contain TMI, or too much information about the potential
candidate. Recruiters need to know where a person works, their career
goals and interests, but might not want to see racy pictures, racial data,
odd hobbies, age, or that the persons favorite sport is computer hacking
or free-form rock-climbing. Recruiters can opt to ignore such information
or hire a third-party to mine such sources for them.
Since these sites are not job sites, you have to use some creativity to
track down the groups or the keywords that will identify your target
candidates.
! !278
Since the site is so interesting and entertaining, initially, recruiters might

get lost in it for hours and forget that they are there to recruit!
Before you dismiss a source that has such potential, I suggest you think
back to other sourcing tools like Google searches, professional chat rooms,
referral networks, and even wine festivals that initially seemed crazy but
proved effective. If youre not sure that the site will work, I recommend
that you do a test. Pick ten of your best-performing current employees in
hourly, entry, or mid-level jobs and search the sites to see if you cant find
them. Youll be amazed at the hit rate. We predict that you will find that
MySpace will be the meeting spot for people under 35 for at least the
next decade. Its not just a website; its a phenomena. Try it and add it to
your recruiting tool kit.
7 Social Media Recruiting Tips from Top Experts
Are you looking for some new ideas to simplify your social media
recruiting? Do you wonder how to use social media to attract, engage and
hire candidates? We asked the pros for one social recruiting tip
businesses need to know today. Heres their advice to help you pump
up your social media recruiting -
#1: Find Your Audience First in Social Recruiting (Andy Headworth,

Social Recruiting Strategist and Managing Director of Sirona
Consulting)
Social media is an infinitely large place to try and recruit in. When starting
with social recruiting the first thing you need to do is to narrow this down,
with specific focus on the types of candidates (your audience) you recruit.
! !279
Establish which social media platforms they are both present and active on,
and start with them. Once there, build your position as knowledge experts
first, recruiters second, by contributing and sharing great relevant content
and engaging with your audience. You will quickly establish yourself as the
go-to recruiter in your sector sooner than you think.
#2: Master and Balance 3 Interrelated components (John
Sumser, HR Examiner)
!
In order to do social recruiting, you need three things jobs, traffic and a
place to host the intersection of the two. The difference between social
recruiting and old-fashioned job board style sourcing is that you are
responsible for all of the pieces.
The way you get people to come back is by giving them something that
they value while they look at your jobs. Thats really hard to get right. The
thing you have to care about is what matters to the audience in order to
get what matters to you.
#3: Go Where Your Audience Is (Todd Raphael, Editor in
Chief at ERE Media)
!
Dont be sucked into a given tool just because you perceive everyone is
using it. Use social media where the audience you want to reach is
hanging out.
! !280
If thats Quora, Great. Facebook, Great. Pinterest, Great.
Heck, it may even be in person, at alumni events or bars or networking

events. Im always a little suspicious when I hear that are the cool people
doing it.
#4:Look for Consistency and Accuracy in Candidates Online

Profiles (Kevin W. Grossman, Writer and Founder of Reach-West)
Employers, HR pros, recruiters and hiring managers should ensure that

applicant online profiles are as consistent and accurate as possible across
all social points of presence.
In other words, whoever they say they are and whatever they say theyve
done and they do is close if not the same, on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,
G+ and the many other industry and association niche networks and
communities they might belong to. Looking for consistency and accuracy is
the key.
#5: Learn to Communicate with Candidates on Social Media

(Jonathan Campbell, CEO of Social Talent)
! !281
To get the most out of social recruiting, you should look at the potential of
social media in 3 ways:
The web is a database of candidates with social media accounts, profiles

and web pages. Learn how to search for them.
Over 50% of all time spent online is on social media sites. If you want to
influence people these days, you need to have a strong brand presence
within your niche on social media sites.
There are more ways to communicate with people then just email and
the phone.Successfully using Twitter, for example, could be as simple as
tweeting someone to say hi, then taking it further offline.
Recruiters need to know how to use these channels to communicate with

potential candidates which means both knowing what to say and exactly
how to send it.
Start with this simple framework: Database, Marketing and Communication

and Social Recruiting will start working for you.
#6:Start Developing a Short- and Long-term Strategy (Jessica

Merrell, Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs)
Social Recruiting is interactive; you cant just post and pray on social
media. Building a recruiting strategy that will last when it comes to social
media is one that involves many moving parts. This means developing
content, conversation, and community in a number of different social
platforms, that suit your target candidate audience while driving job
seekers to either your talent community or careers page.
! !282
Different positions dictate a different strategy as well. Recruiters need to

insert themselves into candidate and job seeker ecosystems using targeted
blog posts, resources like employer branding videos, and Twitter hashtags
and chats.
Companies must begin developing recruiting strategies for the short-term

as well as long-term to develop a candidate pipeline where through your
influence, thought leadership, and interactions you drive candidate
populations and their friends to open positions. Like consumer marketing,
candidate marketing involves many touchpoints along the way. Social
recruiting uses these very engaging platforms to help facilitate these
interactions bridging the gap between the job seeker and the recruiter
when they are actively looking for work.
#7: Get Your Basics Right (Jorgen Sundberg, Founder and Director
of Link Humans)
There are still a lot of recruiters and HR professionals out there who are
either hesitant for social recruiting or simply dont feel comfortable with the
new platforms. When beginning with social recruiting, its important to
understand the platform, have patience and get the basics right.
For example when recruiting with twitter, you need to make sure that your
job tweets contain a searchable, easy-to-recognize hashtag, an obvious
description of the position, and a link to an accompanying page which
describes the opening in more detail.
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7.3 The use of Business Networking Sites
With the ever increasing potential employees profiling themselves on

business-oriented and professional networking sites (PNS), ever more
hiring purposes. If you arent one of them, then you should be. The world
of recruiting is changing. More and more the online focus rests on
professional networking sites and smaller, specialized job boards.
Of course, the traditional employee hunt techniques of going through job

boards like Monster.com, Craiglist.com, Careerbuilder.com etc., have been
loyal and provided quite a good number or potential candidates, but the
online social networking world is expanding, there are better ways to
recruit superior employees. These job boards will face a stiff competition in
the near future from these SNSs and PNSs like Linkedin.com,
Wisestep.com, Ecademy.com and many more which provide much more
than just the rsum of the applicant.
7.3.1 LinkedIn
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) https://www.linkedin.com is a social

networking website for people in professional occupations. Founded in
December 2002 and launched on May 5, 2003, it is mainly used for
professional networking. As of January 2013, LinkedIn reports more than
200 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories.
!
Picture 7.17
! !284
LinkedIn allows users to research companies with which they may be

interested in working. When typing the name of a given company in the
search box, statistics about the company are provided. These may include
the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most
common titles/positions held within the company, the location of the
company's headquarters and offices, or a list of present and former
employees.
In July 2011, LinkedIn launched a new feature allowing companies to

include an "Apply with LinkedIn" button on job listing pages. The new
plugin will allow potential employees to apply for positions using their
LinkedIn profiles as resumes. All applications will also be saved under a
"Saved Jobs" tab.
LinkedIn and other social networking sites are advantageous for employers
who use them for both networking and recruiting.
The potential for LinkedIn and other social networking sites to play a major
role in your employee recruiting strategy increases as millions of potential
employees profile themselves on these sites each year.
It's not enough anymore just to post a job vacancy on Monster.com,

CareerBuilder.com, Craigslist.com, or other online job boards. Employers
are spammed with hundreds of resumes from unqualified applicants when
they post on the big boards. I have still found great candidates through
these job boards, though, so continue to utilize them as a part of your
recruiting mix. Just recognize that as the online social networking world is
expanding, there are better ways to recruit superior employees.
How Employers are Using LinkedIn for Recruiting?
The world of recruiting is changing. More and more the online focus rests
on social networking sites and smaller, specialized job boards. Here's how
employers are using LinkedIn, a popular networking site, for recruiting.
! !285
Picture 7.18
Here are some interesting built-in features in LinkedIn, which makes it a

great platform for recruiters:
Understanding ones standing in industry: If a candidate has

claimed in his resume that he is an ace salesperson, well networked at
the top level, all one needs to do is to look at that persons contact list on
LinkedIn. This immediately gives a feel of that persons network and thus
his or her standing in the industry.
Recommendations: LinkedIn provides a recommendations feature.

While these recommendations may be generated at the request of the
profile owner, looking at these recommendations and the profile of the
person who has made these recommendations, can give a better idea
about the candidate
More honest profiles: In a world that was not networked, one could be
different things to different people. But in a networked world, you can
have only one avatar. Once upon a time, a candidate could create
multiple versions of his resume, and depending on the job opening,
! !286
forward one of the many suitable versions. Once you are on LinkedIn,
you can have only one profile, only one avatar. And if one tries to fudge
your profile, someone in your network who knows you, will question the
fudging. Hence, profiles on LinkedIn are likely to be closer to the truth.
Referrals: LinkedIn allows you see who in the candidates network is

known to you. One could just pick up the phone and talk to one of these
common contacts to do a referral check. You no longer need to wait to do
reference check via the candidates suggested references, which in any
case are likely to be positive.
Understanding beyond the resume: LinkedIn allows one to link ones

presentations and articles, books that one reads etc. to ones profile.
Looking at this gives a more deeper understanding about the candidate.
When you put all these things together, you start seeing that LinkedIn is a
far more effective recruitment tool and as more and more people get onto
LinkedIn, it will become the preferred recruitment platform.
LinkedIn Users
Develop and expand a personal network of professionals to whom the

employer or recruiter can send a request for a referral of a recommended
candidate for a particular job opening. According to About.com'sAlison
Doyle, at LinkedIn, There are members from all 500 of the Fortune 500
companies. LinkedIn members comprise 130 different industries, and
include well over 100,000 recruiters.
Social media strategist, Scott Allen, coauthor of The Virtual Handshake,

says that in addition to building a referral chain, by building authentic
relationships, virtually as well as face-to-face, people will actually make
referrals taking the time to think of possible candidates/prospects in
response to your query, or even proactively referring people to you when
they hear of a need. But they only do that if they have a strong enough
relationship with you. Otherwise youre undifferentiated from the dozens or
hundreds of other recruiters theyre connected to. Strong relationships, not
large contact databases, build this kind of business.
Stay in touch with former, valued, trusted colleagues for potential future
employment relationships. You don't want to lose touch with people who
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have worked successfully for you or with you in the past. They could be
your best future employees or send you your best future employees.
Actively search for candidates among LinkedIn members by searching on

keywords for people with the required qualifications listed in their
LinkedIn profile. (This is why keyword rich, well-developed, complete
profiles are recommended for professionals on LinkedIn.) Share your
contact information so others can easily contact you whether you are
actively or passively job or employee searching.
Develop a complete, keyword-rich profile for your company on LinkedIn.

Prospective employees, who are looking for employers, search LinkedIn
by keywords, too. They also look at company profiles to make up lists of
companies for whom theyd like to work. Potential employees may even
contact you through LinkedIns mailing system, Inmail. Be prepared to
respond as you want to hire these social media savvy candidates.
Search for potential employees by past or current employer who may

have employed people with the skills and experience you seek for your
company.
Search for employees based on references from recommenders you

trust, the process used on LinkedIn in which members of your network
can write notes of recommendation for you.
Can ask your current employees to activate their networks to reach out
to potential passive candidates for jobs. (Not everyone is looking, but
most people are open to discussing the right opportunity.) Employee
referrals are valued because most employees will only refer to you people
with whom they want to work.
Can use Inmail, your internal inbox at LinkedIn, to request assistance

from your network or selected professionals to find a qualified candidate.
Respond to questions in the Answers section of LinkedIn. Responding can

raise your profile in the LinkedIn community.
Can join groups at LinkedIn. Participants in groups may share the

interests, memberships, specializations, backgrounds, and experience
! !288
that you seek in a potential employee. Group members may also know of
a potential employee with the profile you seek.
For a fee, can post jobs on LinkedIn and recruit and hire candidates.
According to LinkedIn, LinkedIn combines job listings, candidate search,
trusted referrals and the power of networks to give you results.
People seeking employment can search LinkedIn free of charge on

keywords related to their desired positions. Certain premium features are
available to job searchers for a fee.
Can upgrade the memberships of your key managers and supervisors to

premium so they can search for and contact candidates on LinkedIn.
Following are the instructions given for using the LinkedIn for recruitment
process.
1. Log on to LinkedIn using your company's username and password.
2. Click on the Jobs and Hiring tab found on LinkedIn's homepage. This is
the jumping off point for both job seekers and people posting jobs.
3. Select the Hiring and Recruiting tab from the Jobs and Hiring
homepage. Here, you will be presented with several options for posting
positions on LinkedIn.
4. Choose the Hiring Manager menu if you only wish to post one job. This
option is particularly useful for those businesses or companies that have
low turnover rates or rarely seek job candidates on a national scale.
5. Select the Corporate Accounts menu to create a job posting account

on a larger scale. This feature is more suited to companies that post
multiple positions frequently. You will need to supply LinkedIn with more
specific data regarding your company's job posting and hiring frequency
before signing up for this type of account.
! !289
Post a Job on LinkedIn:
1. Notify your contacts on LinkedIn that you are looking to hire without
paying for a job posting. Select the Tell Your Network button on the
Hiring Manager homepage.
2. Click the Post a Job button if you wish to proceed with the fee-based
posting process.
3. Use LinkedIns job posting form to provide details about your company
and the job you are posting. You may choose to recruit exclusively
through LinkedIn when you select the Exclusively on LinkedIn box at
the end of the form. Hit the Next button when you have completed the
form.
4. Use the Contact Information form to provide job applicants with

information about your company.
5. Confirm your job posting information before you hit the Post this Job
button and pay for your posting.
! !290
Tips and Warnings
The LinkedIn profile for your company or business will be the starting
point for most of your job prospects through LinkedIn. Take the time to
adequately and accurately fill out the profile section.
You can also use LinkedIn to recruit employees by searching for those
actively looking for positions that match your job description.
LinkedIn Recruitment Tool
Picture 7.19
Google Chrome extension provides you quick access to the LinkedIn

Recruitment Tool!
To access the LinkedIn Recruitment Tool simply click on the icon installed
in the URL bar, after you have previously browsed a LinkedIn public
profile.
The LinkedIn Recruitment Tool will take you to the Options page where
you can enter the data you want to save.
Once you are done with your changes, click the save button.
The rest is for you to explore.
Note: The LinkedIn Recruitment Tool is an unofficial extension and not a

service from LinkedIn.
! !291
Here are some key features of LinkedIn Recruitment Tool:
Targeted to help recruitment professionals in segregating profiles from

LinkedIn.
Bookmark public profiles (you do not have to request for a connection).
Assign categories to profiles. This is helpful in order to review/keep track

of filtered profiles.
Add notes to profiles (e.g., number of years of experience).
Ease of maintaining candidates' info by saving their email and contact

numbers.
Delete profiles from your list if you don't need them.
Offline access to your saved data. You can access your saved data
without internet connection.
Remember Search button is not the ultimate solution when you have
better tools available like this!
LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals in the same industry or

with similar interests to share content, find answers, post and view jobs,
make business contacts, and establish themselves as industry experts.
You can find groups to join in the Groups Directory or view suggestions of
groups you may like. You can also create a new group focused on a
particular topic or industry.
! !292
Picture 7.20
You can find and join LinkedIn groups from the Groups Directory or the
Groups You May Like page. Please note that there may be multiple groups
on LinkedIn for each interest, organization, or affiliation.
Finding a group you want to join:
Move your cursor over Groups at the top of your homepage, and select
Groups Directory from the dropdown menu.
Browse the Featured Groups on the page.
Search for a group using the Search Groups box on the left.
Move your cursor over Groups at the top of your homepage and select
Groups You May Like from the dropdown menu.
Browse through our list of suggested groups.
! !293
7.4 Benefits of Socially Innovative recruiting
1. Better Candidate Quality: Social media recruiting brings recruiters/

hiring managers to encounter candidates who frequently use social
networks are not only tech-savvy, but they can keep up with the trend
toward social media. These kinds of candidates are more of loyal fans
that can become loyal employees.
2. Better ROI: Adopting social media recruiting result in better ROI

(return on investment) than that of traditional recruiting as the benefits
far exceed its cost.
3. Shorter Time-to-Hire: Social media recruiting allows for immediate

response across multiple social media channels, so recruiters/hiring
managers can fill positions faster, lowering time-to-hire.
Picture 7.21
4. A Wider, More Diverse Pool of Talent: Social networking could help

recruiters/hiring managers get in front of candidates whom they may
never find or who may never find them using other traditional
methods.
5. Stronger Employer Brand: Using social networks increases an

employers visibility among job seekers and enables them multiple
platforms on which to communicate information about their company
culture and the benefits of working for their organization.
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6. Higher Response Rates: Because there is less spam and in most

cases you must be invited before you can send a message, using social
networks to communicate can result in better response rates when
recruiters/hiring managers send messages to prospects and candidates.
7. Competitive Advantage: Using social networks gives recruiters/hiring

managers a competitive advantage over other talent competitors who
arent using social media recruiting.
7.5 Challenges in Innovative recruiting
The talent shortage is a topic for many blog posts and frequent discussions
among the recruitment professionals. Each organization suffers because it
is not able to hire talents for the new product development. It is not able
to hire talents, who drive innovations and sharply increase the market
share of the business. However, the talents do change; the recruitment
process does not. The recruitment professionals do not use the lean
recruitment process, and the hiring procedure stays the same for ages. HR
has to innovate the recruitment process.
Picture 7.22
! !295
7.6 Activities
1. The concept of LinkedIn Groups has been discussed in this chapter.

Research case studies and articles online to prove the power of business
networking.
2. With reference to the social media starfish go online and find articles
and case studies which illustrate the use of Flickr and YouTube to attract
job seekers.
7.7 Summary
In this chapter we are going to discuss, how to use social media sites in
the recruitment? Social media is media for social interaction, using highly
accessible and scalable communication techniques. It is the use of web-
based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive
dialogue. Though popular online job boards like Naukri.com,
Timesjobs.com andMonster.com etc. are still used by a majority of
employers, many are also using social networking sites like LinkedIn,
Twitter, MySpace and Facebook to recruit qualified candidates in quick time.
Whether you are looking for a candidate to fill up a managerial post or
want to get a trainee for an entry-level position, these social networking
sites can help. Some of the reasons to incorporate social media in your
recruiting efforts are:
Connect with candidates where and when they are available

Develop a dialogue with candidates
Be seen as an innovative, progressive employer
Promote your employment brand
Open additional sources for candidate leads and hires
One in every six minutes online is spent on social networking sites
! !296
The sheer size of the social networking crowd makes it the ideal platform
to find your ideal candidate. Recruiting via social networking sites can also
help you reach the best talent which is often the most difficult to find and
also the most difficult to persuade to leave good positions. Once you have
decided to use social networking sites for recruiting, you can employ two
approaches to find some of the ideal candidates. You may either use
various search tools available on these social networking sites to search
candidates and contact them, or setup pages for passive recruiting.
Facebook has two sections that can be used for Recruitment Groups and
Events. Maintaining a personal account for anything other than an
individual person is a violation of Facebooks Statement of Rights and
Responsibilities. If you dont convert your noncompliant account to a Page,
you risk permanently losing access to the account and all of its content.
Following are the steps needed to perform to convert a personal Facebook
profile to a page:
Step 1 Back up your profile data
Step 2 Change your profile name and address to reflect your business
page
Step 3 Convert your personal profile to a business page
Step 4 Merge Duplicate Pages
You can use Twitter to promote job opportunities, and to complement your
e-recruitment sourcing channels pool. However, Twitter can do much more
for your business. As a recruiter, you can use your own Twitter account or
use your company's, but it should be clear that the purpose of your
account is to share available jobs and information about the companies
that are hiring. Twitter has the power to create and participate in public
conversations in real time. Six important tips are provided for using Twitter
as a part of recruitment plan:
1. Create a branded company Twitter profile.

2. Create a protocol for your job tweets.
3. Help your search by using a third-party tool such as Tweet Beep, which
alerts you to tweets relevant to your search.
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4. Encourage your staff to retweet job openings by providing an incentive

such as a referral bonus for candidates sourced through tweeting.
5. Dont be a one-track tweeter.
Using hashtags specifically for sourcing candidates can help recruiters

make their job posts stand out, but also get seen by the right people. By
making your posts more accessible, hashtags can also increase your
likelihood of being retweeted which expands your tweets exposure
exponentially. Remember that consistent engagement over social media is
the key to gaining followers, attention, and, ultimately, successful job
candidates. Even with effective hashtag usage, your recruitment efforts
over Twitter will fail if you dont populate your account with more than just
job postings.
There will be information on how to contact the employer or recruiter on

the MySpace page. In many cases, there will be a variety of options for
contacting the recruiter, because they want to make it easy for you to get
in touch. Companies don't just put up a MySpace page and expect you to
find it, though, of course, they will be thrilled if you do. They also use
MySpace and similar sites to look for potential new hires. Tips for using
MySpace for job searching are:
Don't put up anything you'd be embarrassed with.
Consider what type of tweets would seem professional.
Realize that there is a difference between what you and a recruiter might
think is appropriate.
Be thoughtful about what you post, and, most importantly, think about
whether you need to post it.
LinkedIn allows users to research companies with which they may be

interested in working. When typing the name of a given company in the
search box, statistics about the company are provided. These may include
the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most
common titles/positions held within the company, the location of the
company's headquarters and offices, or a list of present and former
! !298
employees. Some of the benefits of socially innovative recruiting are as

follows:
1. Better Candidate Quality
2. Shorter Time-to-Hire
3. Stronger Employer Brand
4. Competitive Advantage
The talent shortage is a topic for many blog posts and frequent discussions
among the recruitment professionals. Each organization suffers because it
is not able to hire talents for the new product development. It is not able
to hire talents, who drive innovations and sharply increase the market
share of the business. However, the talents do change; the recruitment
process does not. The recruitment professionals do not use the lean
recruitment process, and the hiring procedure stays the same for ages. HR
has to innovate the recruitment process. The recruitment process has to be
quick and uncomplicated. We introduce many additional steps to make sure
that we hire the best talent. However, we usually hire the most patient
candidate. It takes weeks to return to the candidate. The talent does not
want to wait for our decision. The hiring process has to produce clear
decisions quickly.
! !299
1. What are Social Media Sites and what is its role in helping recruitment
professional hire talent for organizations?
2. Enlist and describe at least five different kinds of social media site type
which are included in the Social Media Recruiting Starfish?
3. Explain with the help of examples the statement Tweets are used by
startups and even larger companies to put out recruitment calls that
earlier would have figured in advertisements.
4. What are the four prime reasons to Incorporate Social Media in your
Recruiting Efforts?
5. Cite the advantages of recruiting via social networking sites and why
they are gaining preference over online job portals?
6. Facebook has two sections that can be used for Recruitment Groups
and Events. Explain the working of each in brief?
7. Describe in detail the procedure of converting a Personal Facebook

Profile to a Business Page?
8. Enlist and explain any four important tips that are provided in this
chapter for using Twitter as a part of recruitment plan?
9. How can Twitter Hashtags help in Recruitment? With the help of

Hashtags how can you reach candidates on the Tweet Chat?
10.Write a short note to explain how employers recruit on MySpace?
11.How can LinkedIn help in recruitment? What are the steps necessary to
post a job on LinkedIn?
12.Enlist and explain any six key features of LinkedIn Recruitment Tool?
! !300
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !301
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Chapter 8
Objectives:
The various aspects related to selection process

Methods on selection
What is a selection interview?
Its patterns and types and also phases of interviewing
Structure:
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Methods of Selection
8.2.1 Tests
8.2.2 Ability Tests
8.2.3 Personality Tests
8.2.4 Projective Tests
8.2.5 Some Other Tests
8.2.6 Personal Interviews
8.2.7 Assessment Centers
8.3 The Selection Interview
8.3.1 Patterns and Types of Interviews

8.3.2 Phases of Interviewing
8.4 Activities
8.5 Summary
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8.1 Introduction
Picture 8.1: Employee Selection (Source:

www.referenceforbusiness.com)
Employee Selection is the process of putting right men on right job. It is a

procedure of matching organizational requirements with the skills and
qualifications of people. Effective selection can be done only when there is
effective matching. By selecting best candidate for the required job, the
organization will get quality performance of employees. Moreover,
organization will face less of absenteeism and employee turnover
problems. By selecting right candidate for the required job, organization
will also save time and money. Proper screening of candidates takes place
during selection procedure. All the potential candidates who apply for the
given job are tested.
But selection must be differentiated from recruitment, though these are

two phases of employment process. Recruitment is considered to be a
positive process as it motivates more of candidates to apply for the job. It
creates a pool of applicants. It is just sourcing of data. While selection is a
negative process as the inappropriate candidates are rejected here.
Recruitment precedes selection in staffing process. Selection involves
! !303
choosing the best candidate with best abilities, skills and knowledge for the
required job.
The employee selection process takes place in the following order:
Preliminary Interviews: It is used to eliminate those candidates who

do not meet the minimum eligibility criteria laid down by the
organization. The skills, academic and family background, competencies
and interests of the candidate are examined during preliminary interview.
Preliminary interviews are less formalized and planned than the final
interviews. The candidates are given a brief up about the company and
the job profile; and it is also examined how much the candidate knows
about the company. Preliminary interviews are also called screening
interviews.
Application blanks: The candidates who clear the preliminary interview

are required to fill application blank. It contains data record of the
candidates such as details about age, qualifications, reason for leaving
previous job, experience, etc.
Written Tests: Various written tests conducted during selection

procedure are aptitude test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality
test, etc. These tests are used to objectively assess the potential
candidate. They should not be biased.
Employment Interviews: It is a one-to-one interaction between the

interviewer and the potential candidate. It is used to find whether the
candidate is best suited for the required job or not. But such interviews
consume time and money both. Moreover, the competencies of the
candidate cannot be judged. Such interviews may be biased at times.
Such interviews should be conducted properly. No distractions should be
there in room. There should be an honest communication between
candidate and interviewer.
Medical examination: Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical

fitness of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee
absenteeism.
Appointment Letter: A reference check is made about the candidate

selected and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment
letter.
! !304
Following table shows the difference between the recruitment and selection
process:
Basis Recruitment Selection
Meaning It is an activity of establishing It is a process of picking up

contact between employers more competent and suitable
and applicants. employees.
Objective It encourages large number of It attempts at rejecting

candidates for a job. unsuitable candidates.
Process It is a simple process. It is a complicated process.
Hurdles The candidates have not to Many hurdles have to be

cross over many hurdles. crossed.
Approach It is a positive approach. It is a negative approach.
Sequence It precedes selection. It follows recruitment.
Economy It is an economical method. It is an expensive method.
Time Less time is required. More time is required.

Consuming
Selection is a process of measurement, decision-making and evaluation.

The goal of a selection system is to bring in to the organization individuals
who will perform well on the job. A good selection system must also be fair
to the minorities and other protected categories.
To have an accurate and fair selection system, an organization must use

reliable and valid measures of job applicant characteristics. In addition, a
good selection system must include a means of combining information
about applicant characteristics in a rational way and producing correct hire
and no-hire decisions. A good personnel selection system should add to the
overall effectiveness of the organization.
Organizations vary in the complexity of their selection system. Some

merely skim application blanks and conduct brief, informal interviews,
whereas others take to resting, repeated interviewing, background checks
and so on. Although the latter system is more costly per applicant, many
benefits are realized from careful, thorough selection. An organization
needs to have members who are both skilled and motivated to perform
! !305
their roles. Either such members can be identified by careful selection or

attempts can be made to develop them after hire by extensive training.
Thus, cursory selection may greatly increase training and monitoring costs,
whereas spending more on the selection process will reduce these post-hire
expenses.
Selecting the right people is also critical to the successful strategy

implementation. The organizations strategy may affect job duties and
design, and the job should drive election. For instance, if a company plans
to compete on the basis of prompt, polite, personalized service, then
service and communication skills should be featured in the job specification
of the job analysts, and selection devices that can identify these skills in
front-line applicants should be chosen. This argument is based on the
assumption that the organizations strategy is clear, well-known, and fairly
stable so that people who fit the strategy can be selected.
Companies are beginning to realize that the foundation of their competitive

strategy is the quality of their human capital. Having a top-notch, flexible,
innovative staff may be a competitive advantage that is more sustainable
than technical or marketing advantages. Such people will be able to
generate and implement a wide range of new strategies in order to respond
to quickly to a changing environment. This suggests hiring the best
individual one can find, rather than hiring those who fit a specific job or
strategy that exists today but may be gone tomorrow. Best in this new
context means best in intelligence and best in interpersonal skills, as many
jobs in rapidly changing organizations involve teamwork, negotiation, and
relationship management.
8.2 The Process of Selection
Most organizations use more than one selection device to gather

information about applicants. Often, these devices are used sequentially, in
a multiple-hurdle decision-making scheme (candidates must do well on an
earlier selection device to remain in the running and to be assessed by
later devices). The steps in the selection process are shown in the diagram
below:
! !306
Figure 8.1: Steps in Selection Process
Often HR department takes the responsibility for the first few hurdles of
assessing application blanks, conducting brief screening interviews, and
administering ability tests. Then one or more managers/supervisors
interview the survivors of these hurdles. Finally, pending satisfactory
reference checks, offers are made, medical examinations are completed
and hiring is finalized.
Application Blanks and Biodata
Application blank and/or resume is the first selection hurdle for most jobs.
Application blanks request information about education, history and skills,
as well as names and addresses of the applicant and several references.
Most of the information requested is factual and can be verified, such as
degrees earned or dates of employment. Application blank or resume fraud
is not uncommon. Some studies indicate that 20 to 50 per cent of the
candidates falsify or slightly inflate some of their credentials. Thus, seeking
confirmation of important credentials is a wise practice.
! !307
Most organizations use application blanks or resumes to screen out

candidates who do not meet the minimum job specifications on education
or experience. Beyond these basics, a manager or HR officer may
informally evaluate the application to find the candidates who look most
promising. The criteria applied in making this judgment may not be
explicit, job-related or consistent from one screener to the next.
A second way that organization can use an application blank data is to

apply a weighing scheme, in which only items known to relate to job
success are scored and utilized in decision-making. Weighted application
blank (WAB) procedures have been shown to produce scores that predict
performance, tenure and employee theft. Because the weights are valid
and are applied consistently to all applicants, this method of using
application blank data is more reliable than the informal evaluation.
Using Biodata, Experience, and Accomplishment Records for

Selection
Biodata is a term used to refer to any type of personal history, experience,

or education information. Some organizations use a biographical
information questionnaire instead of or in addition to, the usual application
blank. These biodata questionnaires may be much more detailed than
application blanks, and may be scored with keys based on very
sophisticated statistical analyses. Sample questions might include Do you
repair mechanical things in your home, such as appliances?, As a child,
did you collect stamps? or How many times did your family move while
you were growing up? One such biodata question Did you ever build a
model aeroplane that flew? was almost as powerful a predictor of
success in flight training during World War II as the entire US Air Force
battery of selection tests.
Experience an Accomplishments Records
Rather than relying on informal methods of evaluating candidates training,

job experience, and accomplishments, some organizations use content-
valid-job-experience questionnaires to screen candidates for technical and
professional jobs. The usual procedure is to conduct a job analysis by the
task inventory method, in order to identify the most important or time-
consuming tasks. The results of this job analysis are turned in to questions
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about the past work experience with each task or with each type of
equipment used.
Applicants answer each task question by selecting one of the following

responses:
I have never done this task

I have done it under supervision
I have done it on my own
I have supervised and/or taught this task
To discourage inflated self-ratings, the questionnaire may ask the

applicants to list the names and addresses of people who can verify their
experience with each task.
In addition, some job-experience questionnaires contain a few plausible

sounding but non-existent task statements (such as typing from audio-
FORTRAN reports, operating matriculation machines). Applicants who claim
to have performed these non-existent tasks may be exaggerating their
experience with real tasks.
8.2.1 Tests
A test is a means of obtaining a standardized sample of behavior. Tests are

standardised in content, scoring, and administration. That is every time a
test is given, its questions are identical or, in the case of tests with more
than one form, equivalent. The scoring rules are constant. The
administration is also the same all test takers get the same instructions,
have the same length of time to work, and take the test under similar
conditions of lighting, noise and temperature. Because the tests are
standardized, they provide information about candidates that is
comparable for all applicants.
Intelligence Tests
These are tests to measure ones intellect or qualities of understanding.

They are referred to as tests of mental ability. The traits of intelligence
measured include: reasoning, verbal and non-verbal fluency,
comprehension, numerical, memory and spatial relations ability.
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Binet-Simon, Stanford-Binet and Weshler-Bellevue are some of the

intelligence tests. Such tests are used for admission to MBA programs,
recruitment in banks and other applications. The major criticism against
these tests are that they discriminate against rural people and minorities.
Also, since most of these tests are administered in English, the results may
be influenced by ones command over language rather than ones
intelligence.
Aptitude Tests
Aptitude tests measure whether an individual has the capacity or latent

ability to learn a given job if given adequate training. The use of aptitude
test is advisable when an applicant has had little or no experience along
the line of the job opening. Aptitude tests help determine a persons
potential to learn in a given area. An example of such test is the general
management aptitude tests (GMAT), which many business students take
prior to gaining admission to a graduate business school program.
Aptitude test indicates the ability or fitness of an individual to engage

successfully in any number of specialized activities. They cover areas such
as clerical aptitude, numerical aptitude, mechanical aptitude, motor co-
ordination, finger dexterity and manual dexterity. These tests help to
detect positive negative points in a persons sensory or intellectual ability.
They focus attention on a particular type of talent such as learning or
reasoning in respect of a particular field of work.
Forms of Aptitude Test
Mental or intelligence tests: They measure the overall intellectual

ability of a person and enable to know whether the person has the
mental ability to deal with certain problems.
Mechanical aptitude tests: They measure the ability of a person to

learn a particular type of mechanical work. These tests helps to measure
specialized technical knowledge and problem solving abilities of the
candidate. They are useful in selection of mechanics, maintenance
workers, etc.
Psychomotor or skills tests: They are those, which measure a

persons ability to do a specific job. Such tests are conducted in respect
of semi-skilled and repetitive jobs such as packing, testing and
inspection, etc.
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Achievement Tests
These are proficiency tests to measure ones skill or acquired knowledge.

The paper and pencil tests seek to test a persons knowledge about a
particular subject. But there is no guarantee that a person who knows
most also performs the best. Work sample tests or performance tests using
actual task and working conditions (than simulated ones) provide
standardized measures of behavior to assess the ability to know. Work
sample tests are most appropriate for testing abilities in such skills as
typing, stenography and technical trades. Work sample tests bear
relationship between test content, job content and job performance.
PIP Tests
PIP tests are those which measure ones personality, interests and
preferences. These tests are designed to understand the relationship
between any one of these and certain jobs.
Tests of ones personality traits or characteristics are sometimes referred to

as personality inventories. These tests help to measure characteristics such
as maturity, sociability, objectivity etc. Unlike tests, inventories do not have
right or wrong answers. Personality inventories help in selection decisions
and are used for associating certain traits with sales persons and certain
others with R&D personnel. Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory
and California Psychological Inventory are examples of Personality
Inventories.
Interest tests are inventories of likes and dislikes of people towards

occupations, hobbies etc. These tests help indicate which occupations are
more in tune with a persons interests. Strong Vocational Blank and Kuder
Preference Records are examples of interest tests. These tests do not help
in predicting on the job performance. Preference Tests try to match
employee preferences with job and organizational characteristics. Hackman
and Oldhams Job Diagnostic Survey is an example of a preference test.
In conclusion, one should remember:
(a)Tests are to be used as a screening device.
(b)Tests scores are not precise measures. Tests can be used as

supplements.
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(c)Norms have to be developed for each test, their validity and reliability
for a given purpose is to be established before they are used.
(d)Tests are better at predicting failure than success.
(e)Tests should be designed, administered, assessed and interpreted only

by trained and competent persons.
8.2.2 Ability Tests
Assist in determining how well an individual can perform tasks related to

the job. An excellent illustration of this is the typing tests given to a
prospective employer for secretarial job, also called as ACHIEVEMENT
TESTS. It is concerned with what one has accomplished. When applicant
claims to know something, an achievement test is taken to measure how
well they know it. Trade tests are the most common type of achievement
test given. Questions have been prepared and tested for such trades as
asbestos worker, punch-press operators, electricians and machinists. There
are, of course, many unstandardized achievement tests given in industries,
such as typing or dictation tests for an applicant for a stenographic
position.
8.2.3 Personality Tests
The importance of personality to job success is undeniable. Often, an

individual who possesses the intelligence, aptitude and experience for
certain has failed because of inability to get along with and motivate other
people. It is conducted to judge maturity, social or interpersonal skills,
behavior under stress and strain, etc. This test is very much essential in
case of selection of sales force, public relation staff, etc. where personality
plays an important role. Personality tests are similar to interest tests in
that they, also, involve a serious problem of obtaining an honest answer.
8.2.4 Projective Tests
These expect the candidates to interpret problems or situations. Response

to stimuli will be based on the individuals values, beliefs and motives.
Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach Ink Blot Test are examples of
projective tests. In Thematic Apperception Test, a photograph is shown to
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the candidate who is then asked to interpret it. The test administrator will
draw inferences about the candidates values, beliefs and motives from an
analysis of such interpretation. The main criticisms against such tests are
that they could be unscientific and reveal the personality of the test
designer/ administrator more than the applicant.
8.2.5 Some Other Tests
(a)General Knowledge Test: Nowadays, GK tests are very common to

find general awareness of the candidates in the field of sports, politics,
world affairs, current affairs.
(b)Perception Test: At times perception tests can be conducted to find

out beliefs, attitudes, mental sharpness etc.
(c)Graphology Test: It is designed to analyze the handwriting of

individual. It has been said that an individuals handwriting can suggest
the degree of energy, inhibition and spontaneity, as well as disclose the
idiosyncrasies and elements of balance and control. For example, big
letters and emphasis on capital letters indicate a tendency towards
domination and competitiveness. A slant to the right, moderate pressure
and good legibility show leadership potential.
(d)Polygraph Test: Polygraph is a lie detector, which is designed to

ensure accuracy of the information given in the applications.
Department store, banks, treasury offices and jewellery shops, that is,
those highly vulnerable to theft or swindling may find polygraph tests
useful.
(e)Medical Test: It reveals physical fitness of a candidate. With the

development of technology, medical tests have become diversified.
Medical servicing helps measure and
8.2.6 Personal Interviews
Personal interviews represent a bridge that candidates must cross to move

from job seeker to new hire. However, many interviewees fail to appreciate
personal interviews as a pre-acceptance tool that can help them avoid
making a career mistake. According to Dr. Ann Howard, past president of
the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, interviews help
the candidate and employer make an informed and mutually beneficial
employment choice.
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Picture 8.2: Personal Interviews Benefit Candidates and Employers
Candidates who understand both sides of the interviewing process stand to

have a more successful job search.
8.2.7 Assessment Centers
An assessment center is a comprehensive standardized procedure

constituting of a number of assignments and situational exercises which
are competency based. The center is used to evaluate an individual for
various HR purposes like recruitment, performance appraisal, promotion,
human resource development and organization development.
Advantages of Assessment Centre for Employee Selection
1. It is used to assess candidates on a number of skills and competencies

required for a position.
2. It avoids a candidates fake characteristics during the interview. During

an interview, candidates usually give false answers to create an
impression. The tools used in assessment center measure an individuals
competencies and the potential.
3. It evaluates a candidate on the overall job and organisation fitness. The

competencies required to fit in a job and the organizations culture is
being evaluated through an assessment center.
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4. An assessment center reduces or minimizes the mistakes while hiring a

candidate for a position.
Steps Involved in Designing an Assessment Center
1. Preparation of resources, to be used in an assessment process

A list of competencies, skills and attributes should be prepared through
the job description for the position. The set of competencies to be
assessed should be followed by the adjectives which would characterize
those competencies.
2. Creation of an Assessment Panel

We require an assessment panel to assess the candidates on various
parameters for getting a right candidate for the position. The panel
should be trained and they should have a clear idea about the roles they
are going to play in the assessment center. Assessor should be provided
a proper training, as it would intensify the ability at observing
behaviour. It would enhance the listening skills, greater objectivity and
reduce halo-effect. It would lead to more effective interpretation of
behavior; enhance one-to-one interviewing skills. Training the assessors
and creating a better assessment panel would make selection process
more successful.
3. Venue Selection and Making a Proper Arrangement

A proper strategy should be made by the assessment panel before
starting the assessment process. It is vital to hold a thorough appraisal
before the event to ensure that the space planned to use is sufficient to
run the assessment efficiently. A large open area is required for group
exercises and a private office for presentations and testing. So,
arrangement should be made accordingly.
4. Introduction

Introduction stage is a two-way process. It is important to start by
giving the applicants an introduction to the company, the department,
the positions and what will be happening during the assessment phase.
An opportunity to ask any questions should be given to the candidates
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whom they may have. To help make everybody comfortable, ask the
candidates to briefly introduce themselves. Panel members should also
introduce themselves.
5. Selection of Tools

The format of assessment center exercise varies depending on the
nature of the job for which candidates are being assessed, as with job
competencies that are required differs.
The psychological interviews and competency based interview can be used

in selecting the candidates.
The exercises such as Business Games, In-basket, group tasks, Group

Discussions, Oral presentation, Case Analysis and fact finding is used in
assessment center.
Various exercises used to assess an individual on the behavioral

competencies are as follows:
Table 8.2: Exercises Used to Assess an Individual on the Behavioral

Competencies
Tools Competencies being identified

Case study Analytical skills, Time Management, Work under
pressure
Group exercise Personal assertiveness, Teamwork, Interpersonal
effectiveness, Result driven
Presentation Assimilation of information, Presentation delivery, Work
under Pressure
Role-play Approach to business situations
exercise
Presentation Presentation delivery, communication
In-basket Delegation, planning, organizing, management control,
Judgment
Business Games Strategic Planning, Teamwork, Leadership
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6. Structure the Exercise

After selection of the assessment tool based on the skill set required, we
structure the exercise.
Following parameters needs to be considered while designing an

assessment for selection purpose and making a list of exercises for the
assessment:
(a)An exercise must be able to elicit job-related criteria in a manner

befitting the demands of the targeted job.
(b)The educational background required for the job must be considered

while selecting an exercise.
(c)The dependability of exercises should be moderate. The exercise

resemblance with the actual job should be moderate.
Complexity of the exercises should be moderate.

Number of exercises used for the selection process should vary from
three to six.
7. Evaluation and Feedback

The behavioral evidence gathered is evaluated for each exercise. A
rating is awarded for that criterion on the given exercise which
summarizes the participants ability on that criterion on that exercise.
This process is then repeated for each criterion. A format should be
followed for the evaluation process. The data gathered from the
interview like CBI should be gathered with the behavioral results. After
collecting all the information, an unanimous final judgment should be
made.

Feedback to the candidates should be given as management of the
rejected candidates is as important as successful ones. Feedback can be
given to the candidates on the same day or after the event.
Conclusion: An assessment center used for selection purpose helps in

assessing the individuals on various required parameters with the help of
various simulation exercises supplemented by various other ingredients
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such as interviews and psychological test. It helps in getting the right

candidate for the required position
8.3 The Selection Interview
Virtually, all organizations use interviews as a selection device for most

jobs. Generally, candidates are interviewed by at least two people before
being offered a job. HR specialist and the person who will be the
candidates immediate supervisor conduct these interviews. For managerial
and professional jobs, it is common for the candidate to have a third
interview with a higher level manager, such as a division head. Because the
interview is so popular, one might think it is a highly useful election device.
But this is not always the case. We shall consider the reliability and validity
of the interview.
Picture 8.3
Reliability of the Interview: In the interview context, reliability is

consensus, or agreement, between two interviewers on their assessment of
the same candidates. This is called Inter-rater Reliability. Research shows
that it is rather weak.
Validity of the Interview: The predictive validity of the interview is very

low. Research in 1970s and 1980s suggested that the average validity of
the interview for predicting job performance was very low. However, recent
research has suggested that some individual interviewers may be valid,
whereas many others are not. Past research has also grouped various
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types of interview procedures together, but very recent research suggests

that some interview procedures can be quite valid.
What can go wrong in the typical interview to cause many interviewers to

make inaccurate predictions? It seems that interviewers often commit
judgmental and perceptual errors that can compromise the validity of their
assessments.
Similarity Error: Interviewers are positively predisposed to candidates

who are similar to them (in hobbies, interests, personal background).
They are negatively disposed to candidates who are unlike them.
Contrast Error: When several candidates are interviewed in succession,

raters tend to compare each candidate with the preceding candidates
instead of an absolute standard. Thus, an average candidate can be rated
as higher than average if he or she comes after one or two poor
candidates and lower than average if he or she follows an excellent
candidate.
First Impression Error: Some interviewers tend to form a first

impression of candidates rather quickly, based on a review of the
application blank or on the first few moments of the interview. Thus, this
impression is based on relatively little information about the candidate.
Nevertheless, the initial judgment is resistant to change as more
information or contradictory information is acquired. In addition, the
interviewer may choose subsequent questions based on the first
impression, in an attempt to confirm the positive or negative impression.
Traits Rated and Halo Error: Halo error occurs when either the
interviewers overall impression or strong impression of a single
dimension spreads to influence his or her rating of other characteristics.
For instance, if a candidate impresses the interviewer as being very
enthusiastic, the interviewer might tend to rate the candidate high on
other characteristics, such as job knowledge, loyalty and dependability.
This is especially likely to happen when the interviewer is asked to rate
many traits.
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8.3.1 Patterns and Types of Interviews
There can be few variations in the patterns of interviews such as:
1. Single one-on-one interview
2. Multiple one on one interview, at the end of which conclusions from

various interviewers are collected
3. Board or panel interviews
Figure 8.2: Patterns of Interview
The one-on-one job interviewing process is common in many companies

and organizations. Group interviews have some advantages, but the higher
probability of interruptions and distractions can make that interviewing
technique less productive. When you interview one-on-one with a potential
employer, make sure your discussions are job-centered and professional
but don't hesitate to flash a friendly smile or respond with an energetic
answer. During traditional one-on-one interviews, the interviewer has a
specific set of questions that they will want answers for. Generally, they ask
the same questions of all applicants so that they can evaluate all the
interviewees based on their answers. It is important to answer all the
questions as fully as possible.
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Your chance to supply additional information that is important will come at

the end of the interview. If your questions about the company have not
been answered, you can ask relevant questions at the end of the interview.
When finished with the interview, ask when the selection process is
expected to be completed and the hiring decision will be made. A panel or
Committee Interview technique is often used by companies that require a
high degree of teamwork.
Picture 8.4
Panel means a selection committee or interview committee that is

appointed for interviewing the candidates. The panel may include three or
five members. They ask questions to the candidates about different
aspects. They give marks to each candidate. The final decision will be
taken by all members collectively by rating the candidates. Panel interview
is always better than an interview by one interviewer because in a panel
interview, collective judgment is used for selecting suitable candidates.
The panel or committee members may include some one from the Human
Resources Department, the head of the department where you may work,
and possibly co-workers. Remember to treat everyone with respect and
answer all of their questions as clearly as possible.
An alternative to panel interviews is to conduct further interviews with

different interviewers (i.e., Multiple one-on-one interview) who may see
the candidates in a different light. In discussion after the interview, the
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interviewers should be able to compare evaluations and challenge each

others biases.
Interviews can be classified by their degree of structure, or the extent to

which interviewer plan the questions in advance and ask the same
questions of all the candidates for the job. Three types of interviews, based
on three degrees of structure, can be defined:
Unstructured
Semi-structured
Structured
Figure 8.3: Types of Interviews
Unstructured Interviews
Unstructured Interviews are a method of interviews where questions can

be changed or adapted to meet the respondent's intelligence,
understanding or belief. Unlike a structured interview they do not offer a
limited, pre-set range of answers for a respondent to choose, but instead
advocate listening to how each individual person responds to the question.
The method to gather information using this technique is fairly limited, for
example, most surveys that are carried out via telephone or even in person
tend to follow a structured method. Outside of sociology the use of such
interviews is very limited.
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Here, questions are not planned in advance, and interviews with different
candidates may cover quite different areas of past history, attitudes, or
future plans. They have low inter-rator reliability and lowest validity.
Because questions are not planned, important job-related areas may
remain unexplored, and illegal questions may be asked on the spur of the
moment.
Semi-structured Interviews
A semi-structured job interview blends the advantages of both structured

and unstructured interviews. It is essentially a hybrid of the two. The
interview has a fairly formal organization, but it also allows flexibility for
the interviewer in the questions used in each particular interview. A typical
semi-structured interview would include a list of set questions that are
asked of all the candidates, mixed in with a number of questions focused
directly on the candidate's qualifications and resume.
Involves some planning on the part of the interviewer but also allows
flexibility in precisely what the interviewer asks the candidates. Semi-
structured interviews are likely to be more valid than unstructured ones,
but not as valid as highly structured interviews.
Themes: While wholly structured interviews emphasize the same flow and
questions asked of each candidate, semi-structured interviews place more
emphasis on themed questions. Requirements of the position are used to
establish question categories, which will be covered with each candidate.
Some questions are prepared. However, flexibility is given to allow the
interviewer to ask follow-ups based on a candidate's original responses.
Benefits: The primary benefit of a semi-structured process is the flexibility

it allows relative to the more formal structured interview. This enables
hiring managers to gain more useful insights into the experiences and
thoughts of each candidate, which is especially helpful in higher level job
positions. It also allows for some of the informal interpersonal advantages
offered by the unstructured interview. However, the semi-structured
interview does retain the merits of organization and consistency valued in
structured interviews.
Drawbacks: Proponents of structured interviews, mostly human resource

professionals, point to concerns about using spontaneous, unscripted
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questions that may contribute to a lack of fairness, while opening the door
for possible discrimination lawsuits. On the other hand, front line managers
who often prefer unstructured interviews suggest semi-structured
interviews don't go far enough in allowing for assessment of each
candidate's personal qualities and soft skills. They don't allow for the
natural getting-to-know-you process that occurs in unstructured
interviews.
Single vs. Group: Semi-structured interviews can be given by a single

interviewer or by an interview team. The one-on-one interview is more
conducive to building rapport and creating a less tense environment for the
candidate, which may allow him to show his best side. A group interview
approach allows for a wider range of perspectives on candidates, but there
is increased risk of interviewers cutting in on each other to ask follow-up
questions to candidates, creating a confusing situation for the candidate.
Structured Interviews
A structured interview (also known as a standardized interview or a

researcher-administered survey) is a quantitative research method
commonly employed in survey research. The aim of this approach is to
ensure that each interview is presented with exactly the same questions in
the same order. This ensures that answers can be reliably aggregated and
that comparisons can be made with confidence between sample subgroups
or between different survey periods.
Research shows conclusively that the highest reliability and validity are
realized in the structured interview. In a structured interview, questions
are planned in advance and are asked of each candidate in the same way.
The only difference between interviews with different candidates might be
in the probes, or follow-up questions, if a given candidate has not
answered the question fully. Interviews that feature structured questions
usually also provide structured rating scales on which to evaluate the
applicants after the interview.
Structured interviews are a means of collecting data for a statistical survey.

In this case, the data is collected by an interviewer rather than through a
self-administered questionnaire. Interviewers read the questions exactly as
they appear on the survey questionnaire. The choice of answers to the
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questions is often fixed (close-ended) in advance, though open-ended

questions can also be included within a structured interview.
A structured interview also standardizes the order in which questions are

asked of survey respondents, so the questions are always answered within
the same context. This is important for minimizing the impact of context
effects, where the answers given to a survey question can depend on the
nature of preceding questions. Though context effects can never be
avoided, it is often desirable to hold them constant across all respondents.
Other uses
Qualitative research: Structured interviews can also be used as a

qualitative research methodology. These types of interviews are best suited
for engaging in respondent or focus group studies in which it would be
beneficial to compare/contrast participant responses in order to answer a
research question. For structured qualitative interviews, it is usually
necessary for researchers to develop an interview schedule which lists the
wording and sequencing of questions. Interview schedules are sometimes
considered a means by which researchers can increase the reliability and
credibility of research data.
Hiring: Structured interviews have been advocated for use in the hiring
process as well, though the practice has not been widely adopted. The
United States Postal Service uses structured interviews for at least some of
its hiring, and has printed a guide to structured interviews that is publicly
available online.
8.3.2 Phases of Interviewing
A systematic Interview is based on three phases as shown in the diagram

below:
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Figure 8.4: Phases of Interviews
Each of these elements contributes vitally to the success of the interview

and weakness in any one element will adversely affect the other parts. If
the pre-interview preparatory phase is unsound, then no matter how well
the interview itself is conducted, it will have an effect on the quality of the
final decision.
Pre-interview Preparatory Phase
1. Study all the available information the application forms or CVs, the
job description and specification, the person specification.
2. Determine acceptable entry levels for new staff vis-a-vis the job
requirement for fully effective performance.
3. Ensure that all written tests/assessment center etc. results are available
and analyzed before the interview.
4. If using a Panel, pre-decide the Interview lead who will co-ordinate

the process and ensure that all the interviewers know the agreed
ground rules and their specific role in the process.
5. Pay particular attention to the environmental details such as time, place

and setting to enable the candidates to feel as comfortable as possible.
Ensure there are no interruptions and distractions.
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6. Prepare a coverage plan designed to elicit the maximum possible

significant information. Having a comprehensive structure actually
ensures flexibility, by ensuring that all the important issues will be
addressed when appropriate.
The Interview
1. Ensure that the atmosphere is conducive to encourage the candidate to

speak freely.
2. Introduce yourself and the other interviewers by name and

designations. Outline the scope of the interview.
3. Break the ice initially by indulging in some appropriate small talk.
4. Stick to the agreed coverage plan and interview in turn. Ensure that
there is no cross-questioning. This confuses both the interviewer (who
may be pursuing a particular line of questioning) and the candidate
(who may get distracted from the point of discussion). Ensure that the
situation does not become a free for all with each interviewer butting in
as and when she pleases.
5. Ensure that the questions are well framed.
(i) The questions should elicit adequate response and evidence on the
potential ability to do the required job, based on the facts of past
behavior and requirement.
(ii)Avoid hypothetical questions that have no relevance to the job. They

can only produce hypothetical answers.
(iii)Use a simple, open question form which does not imply answers,
make unwarranted assumptions or influence candidates in any way.
6. During the course of the interview.
(i) Maintain eye contact and give appropriate positive feedback (verbally
and non-verbally), to show your interest in the candidate and to
encourage them to open up
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(ii)Take your time, and use silence effectively. The candidates body
language will reveal whether they are reflecting on the question or
flummoxed. If it is the latter, you may clarify the question, if it is the
former, restrain yourself from speech.
(iii)Clarify and reflect by repeating the candidates comment back to

them in a questioning tone. This indicates that youd like the
candidate to elaborate on the issue
(iv)Ensure that the candidate does not sidetrack the question.
7. Listen! This is the central to the art of good interviewing, as you elicit
enough factual information to enable you to make an informed decision.
Be alert to non-verbal cues.
8. Towards the end of the session, ensure that the candidate has time to
clear any doubts regarding the scope of the job/organization/growth
plans etc. Invite the candidate to ask questions. As mentioned earlier,
this will provide you with a further insight into her thought process.
(However, share data on a need-to-know basis. A talkative interviewer
has been known to reveal information on a yet to be announced
manager to the candidate who worked with a competitor leading to the
deal falling through).
9. Thank the candidate for coming and sharing information, and advise
them on the next stage and the time-frame of the selection process.
Post-interview Assessment and Decision
1. Assess the candidate against the person specification or scoring system

intermediately. Human memory is notoriously faulty; hence ensure that
assessments are done after each interview, when the information is still
fresh in your mind. If interviewing more than one candidate on the
same day, ensure that there is at least a 20 minute gap between
interviews for recording your assessments.
2. Concentrate on solid facts of past behavior as indicators of motivation,

attitudes, values, personal qualities and abilities, in sum, of potential to
do the job. Behavior in the highly artificial situation of an interview
should be treated with caution. There may be little co relation between
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this behavior and the likely behavior in the actual environment and
conditions of work.
3. Incorporate evidence from all other selection methods used. Apart from
tests conducted by you, also seek testimonials/references from other
sources.
4. Advise candidates on the outcome at the appropriate time. It would be

advisable to treat the candidates who have not been selected also with
respect. In todays volatile business environment, you never know when
you would need a fallback candidate!
8.4 Activities
1. Conduct a Google search on the Projective Tests used in Selection by

major Multi-national companies. Also research case studies and articles
online to find benefits of these tests to the above organizations.
2. Go online and find articles and case studies which elaborate on the
methods used to prevent the First Impression Error and the Halo
Errorwhile conducting interviews.
8.5 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the Employee Selection process

which is the process of putting right men on right job. It is a procedure of
matching organizational requirements with the skills and qualifications of
people. Effective selection can be done only when there is effective
matching. By selecting best candidate for the required job, the organization
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will get quality performance of employees. The Employee Selection Process

takes place in the following order:
Preliminary Interviews
Application Blanks
Written Tests
Employment Interviews
Medical Examination
Appointment Letter
Most organizations use more than one selection device to gather
information about applicants. Often, these devices are used sequentially, in
a multiple-hurdle decision-making scheme (candidates must do well on an
earlier selection device to remain in the running and to be assessed by
later devices).
Application Blank reject some candidates

Screening Interview reject some candidates
Tests reject some candidates
More Interviews reject some candidates
Reference Checks reject some candidates
Conditional Offers reject some candidates
Physical Examination
Hire
Tests are standardized in content, scoring, and administration. That is

every time a test is given, its questions are identical or, in the case of tests
with more than one form, equivalent. The scoring rules are constant. The
administration is also the same all test takers get the same instructions,
have the same length of time to work, and take the test under similar
conditions of lighting, noise and temperature. Some of the tests are,
aptitude test, intelligence test, PIP test, ability test, projective test. Also
general knowledge, perception, polygraph test are considered in the
selection process.
An assessment center is a comprehensive standardized procedure

constituting of a number of assignments and situational exercises which
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are competency based. The center is used to evaluate an individual for

various HR purposes like recruitment, performance appraisal, promotion,
human resource development and organization development.
There can be few variations in the patterns of interviews such as:
1. Single one-on-one interview
2. Multiple one on one interview, at the end of which conclusions from

various interviewers are collected
3. Board or panel interviews
Interviews can be classified by their degree of structure, or the extent to

which interviewer plan the questions in advance and ask the same
questions of all the candidates for the job. Three types of interviews, based
on three degrees of structure, can be defined: Unstructured; Semi-
structured and Structured. A systematic Interview is based on three phases
1. Pre-interview preparatory
2. During the Interview
3. Post-interview assessment and decision-making
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1. Highlight the role of Preliminary interviews in the Employee Selection

Process?
2. Draw a table showing the difference between the recruitment and

selection process.
3. Write a note describing the use of Application Blanks and Biodata in the
Employee Selection Process.
4. Discuss the tests to measure ones intellect or qualities of

understanding.
5. Enlist and describe the forms of aptitude test which are used in the
Employee Selection Process.
6. What are Personality tests and how are they used in the Employee
Selection Process?
7. What are Projective tests and how are they used in the Employee
Selection Process?
8. Enlist and discuss the steps involved in designing an Assessment Center.
9. What are the different exercises used to assess an individual on the

behavioral competencies?
10.What are Unstructured Interviews and how do they differ from a

structured interview?
11.Discuss the drawbacks and benefits of semi-structured interviews.
12.A systematic interview is said to be based on three phases. Enlist and

discuss them.
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
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TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWING
Chapter 9
TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE
INTERVIEWING
Objectives:
Key characteristics of an effective interviewer

How to improve the interviewing skills and its related aspects
Tips to be kept in mind for preparing to interview a candidate
Process of conducting an interview and its steps
Structure:
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Guidelines for Interviewing
9.3 Key Characteristics of an Interviewer
9.4 Improving Interviewing Skills
9.4.1 Understanding Body Language

9.4.2 Note-taking Essentials
9.4.3 Listening Skills
9.4.4 Probing Skills
9.5 Preparing to Interview

9.6 Types of Interview
9.7 Conducting the Interview
9.7.1 Opening the Interview

9.7.2 Gather Information
9.7.3 Closing the Interview
9.8 Summary
9.9 Activities
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9.1 Introduction
In order to conduct an interview effectively, it is imperative to establish

what the job involves and the specific skills and attributes needed to
perform successfully in the role. (Interviewers working from a good job
description are more likely to focus on key areas and pay less attention to
irrelevant information).
Before You Interview
Contact your HR Employment Services Consultant/Recruiter
Set aside time at this point to develop an understanding of the position,

settle any questions regarding special requirements, and define selection
criteria. Ask any questions you may have about the position regarding your
selection criteria, special requirements, applicants referred, interview
questions, and/or the interview process.
Choose a diverse selection committee
The selection committee will help you pick the candidate best suited for the
position and for the unit overall. Select committee members and a
chairperson based on the following criteria, keeping diversity within the
panel in mind.
Vested interest in the responsibilities of the position

Knowledge of the goals of the unit or office
Working relationships
Supervisory responsibilities
Campus interaction
In the interest of fairness, committee members should not needlessly
reveal that they are going to serve as panelists.
Responsibilities of the Selection Committee Chairperson
1. Provide Selection Committee with selection criteria.
2. Ensure that the same procedure is followed for each candidate.
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3. Escort the candidate into the room, introduce the panel, put the
applicant at ease, explain the interview process, and ask the first
question.
4. Ensure that no inappropriate questions are asked.
5. Inform the candidate of the timeline for selecting a finalist and filling the
position.
6. Keep to the time schedule.
7. Close the interview.
8. Make final recommendations to the hiring authority on behalf of the

selection committee.
Responsibilities of the Selection Committee
1. Screen the applications and make recommendations for interview if

directed by the committee chairperson.
2. Help develop interview questions based on selection criteria as

appropriate.
3. Maintain absolute confidentiality of the selection process and do not

discuss the process with anyone outside the interview process/selection
committee unless directed by the committee chairperson.
4. Be mindful of legal guidelines pertaining to inappropriate questions.
5. Evaluate candidates during the interview and make recommendations to

the committee chairperson or hiring authority regarding the most
appropriate applicant.
Have a Plan
Review the position description to identify skills, knowledge and abilities

essential for successfully performing the job. Develop a set of carefully
thought-out interview questions based on the predetermined selection
criteria and functional areas listed on the position description that relate
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directly to performance and to your expectations for the position. See

Sample of Appropriate Interview Questions. Your Employment Services
Consultant/Recruiter can also help you develop job-related questions.
Prepare a list of questions to use when checking references for finalists.

Again, questions must be job-related. See Telephone Reference Check List
Form.
Screen Carefully
The selection committee must screen applications for the most

appropriately qualified applicants to interview. After applicants are
selected, the committee members should review their applications again to
pinpoint areas where additional information may be needed or can be
clarified during the interview. Prepare key areas of inquiries for all
applicants.
Contact the Applicants
The committee chairperson or designee contacts the applicants to invite

the candidate for an interview and advises them of the time, date, and
place for the interview, the expected length of the interview, parking
availability and parking fees, and interview procedures. You may also want
to ask the applicants to bring any additional information they would like to
share, such as performance evaluations, reference letters or work samples.
Please contact your Employment Services Consultant/Recruiter for more
information.
9.2 Guidelines for interviewing
Following a structure is probably the single technique which is most likely

to help in improving the reliability of a selection exercise. Adherence to a
structure helps to ensure that for each candidate broadly the same areas
are covered. With a structure, the interviewer can more easily monitor the
progress of the interview, ensuring that the discussion remains job-related.
Moreover, adherence to a structure exposes gaps in the evidence collected,
which might otherwise be overlooked.
Careful consideration of pre-interview information, application forms or CVs

is critical in identifying relevant areas to explore further. Some standard
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questions for all candidates can be prepared in advance where this is

appropriate.
Trained interviewers will not only be more likely to demonstrate the

appropriate skills of effective interviewing, but they will also be more aware
of the potential pitfalls of interviewing as a selection technique. Maintaining
a healthy skepticism and an alertness to the possibility of bias and
stereotyping serves as an excellent defense against the subjectivity and
personal preferences, which can so easily undermine the quality of
evidence collected.
Following are the steps involved in Interviewing:
!
Figure 9.1: Steps in Interviewing
Step 1: Profile the Position Functions
The key to effective interviewing and hiring is the establishment of

functions. By deciding upon the essential functions of the position, you will
be able to determine the job's specific requirements.
"Essential Functions" are defined as the basic job duties that an employee
must be able to perform satisfactorily. Carefully examine each job to
determine which functions are essential to satisfactory performance.
Factors to consider in determining if a function is essential include:
Whether the performance of the functions is one of the reasons the

position exists
The number of other employees available to perform the function or

among whom the performance of the function can be distributed
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Consequences of not requiring that an employee perform the function

The degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function
Time spent performing the function
The actual work experience of a present or past employee in the job
Step 2: Establish Specific Requirements
After you have established the position's essential functions, determine the
specific skills, knowledge, ability, experience, etc. needed by the applicant
to fulfill each function.
To gain a clear understanding of these requirements, try to categorize

them according to those items that are behavioral in nature and those that
are technical. "Technical" requirements refer to specific skills, expertise or
experience that your position demands. "Behavioral" requirements refer to
how a person needs to act in order to fulfill a given responsibility (e.g.,
"self-motivated," "well organized," "attentive to detail,"). Please note that
behavioral requirements must be defined in behavioral terms. For example,
rather than listing "good communication skills" as a requirement for a
position requiring interaction with disgruntled students, you would do
better to list "the ability to listen and respond to students' complaints
effectively.
Try assessing each of the position's essential functions in light of four basic
questions:
What must an applicant know? (examples: knowledge of software or

personal computers)
What must he or she be? (examples: punctual or well organized)
What must he or she have? (example: a specialized certificate, skill,

experience)
What skills are not negotiable, meaning what is needed on day one?
Step 3: Establish Your Priorities
The last step is the establishment of priorities in your requirements. You

want to ensure that in an interview you will gain information about the
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essential requirements. Categorize your requirements according to critical

("must haves"/non-negotiable) and desirable ("want to haves"/can be
acquired on the job).
"Critical" requirements are those you absolutely must have those critical
factors that will eliminate some applicants. "Desirable" requirements,
secondary selection criteria, are attributes you would like an applicant to
possess in addition to the critical requirements. Desirable requirements can
generally be learned on the job.
The Ten Step Interview Process
Before the interview, take a few minutes to study the job application and
supplemental materials. Never write on the original application or resume;
your comments, "scribbles," highlighting, etc., could be used in legal
proceedings if a summons is issued for the application materials. The
application can be your interview map keep it visible during the
interview to keep you on track.
1. Create a Relaxed Interview Setting

The interview setting should be quiet, comfortable, and free of
distraction from telephones and any other kind of interruption. If you
must use an office, arrange that all phone calls be forwarded to another
line. Keep on schedule, as candidates become apprehensive when asked
to wait.

Ask each candidate to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the interview. Give
him/her a copy of the position description and any other materials you
feel are important before the interview, such as an organizational chart,
agenda for the interview, and a list of the selection committee members
with their titles. Allow at least 15 minutes between interviews to permit
candidates to come and go without overlap, and to allow the committee
members to evaluate a candidate's responses to questions while the
answers are still fresh in their minds.
2. Follow a Logical Sequence

Keep the same format for each candidate and allow an equal amount of
time for each candidate to answer questions. Introduce the candidate to
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the rest of the committee and invite him or her to be seated. Provide
information regarding the expected timeframe for filling the position and
what the interview is meant to accomplish. You can briefly define the
job responsibilities.
3. Let the Candidate do the Talking

After defining the job responsibilities, let the candidate "do the talking."
It is extremely important to listen and concentrate on what he/she is
saying. The candidate should carry 80-85% of the total conversation.
The panel members' input should be limited to asking questions,
probing deeper, and keeping the candidate on track. The panel should
clear up points on the application form, asking follow-up questions that
encourage the candidate to talk. Ask only questions that are directly
related to the job. Use "W" questions who, what, when, where, and
why; also, how? Several types of questions are useful:
Direct questions are easy to understand, and are more likely to yield
concise answers and specific information. Example: "Why did you apply
for this position?"
Open-ended questions often produce unexpected and valuable

information, may reveal attitudes and feelings, and can indicate how
well an applicant can organize his or her thoughts. Example: "Tell us
about your job at XYZ Corp."
Behavioral questions are encouraged. These types of questions require

a candidate to analyze a situation and can reveal the extent of his/her
experience. Example: Describe an experience when you... These
questions must be specifically related to the job functions discussed in
the position description.
Probing questions, such as "Could you explain what you mean by ...?"
can further clarify the candidate's views.
Allow silence after asking a question so that you don't interrupt the
candidate's thinking process. Encourage candidate with: "Take your time,
we want you to be specific.
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4. Be Mindful of Your Questions

Formulate questions that indicate whether or not a candidate meets the
requirements you have established for the position. Keep three rules in
mind:
Ask questions that focus on past employment performance. Avoid

questions that address the candidate's personal lifestyles or habits
Ask questions that relate to your listed skill, ability, knowledge or

experience requirements
Ask the same questions to all candidates.
Avoid:
Closed end questions that require merely a yes or no response.
Multiple questions that require several answers.
"Loaded" questions that force a choice between two alternatives.
Questions that are illegal and dealing with areas that are not factors for
job performance, such as gender (if you would not ask a question of a
man, do not ask it of a woman, and vice versa), age, race, religion,
veteran status, marital status, medical conditions (do not make medical
judgments or disqualify a candidate on factors that are purely medical
in nature), and disability (it is illegal to ask about the nature and/or
severity of the disability, the condition causing the disability, if the
applicant will need treatment or special leave because of the disability,
or about any prognosis or expectation regarding the condition or
disability). Contact your Employment Consultant/Recruiter if you have
questions.
5. Take Notes

Taking notes will help you remember details of the interview; however,
writing notes during the interview could be distracting and upsetting to
a candidate. If you plan to take notes, explain before the interview
starts that you will be taking notes or recording the candidate's
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responses to interview questions so that you will not have to rely on

memory. This should help reduce suspicion and nervousness. Make sure
you maintain some eye contact while you are writing. See Interview
Rating Scales.
6. Close on a Proper Note

After the committee members have explored all performance factors,
they can ask the candidate if he or she has any questions, needs
clarification, or anything to add. Ask the candidate if he or she is still
seriously considering the position. Thank the candidate for coming, and
explain your notification process when a decision will be made,
whether a second interview will be conducted, and how candidates will
be notified. Remember to smile, shake hands, and lead the candidate to
the door. Note: Keep the process the same for all candidates.
7. Check References

References are checked for three basic reasons:
Verify employment
Verify what you have learned during the interview
Obtain employment recommendations
References should always be checked regardless of your impression of

the interviewed candidate's qualifications. Reference checks should be
conducted for every finalist, after you have completed your interviews.
Use the reference checklist or develop your own job-related questions.
Your list of questions should be developed ahead of time to ensure
consistency and fairness to all candidates. Questions must be job
related. Responses can be used in consideration only if documented. Ask,
Is this information documented or a matter of record? If the candidate is
a current employee, you may review the employee's personal file in
Human Resources. Please contact your Employment Consultant/Recruiter
for information regarding this review. If you review the candidate's
personnel record file, be careful/mindful of how the information is to be
used. Compare information that relates to the new position in terms of
skills, knowledge, and abilities. Also, be aware that aged information that
speaks unfavorably may no longer reflect the candidate's attributes.
Check current references to ensure fairness to the candidate. Note:
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There is no legal prohibition against an employer's attempt to obtain

reference information; however, for a variety of reasons, including
adverse litigation decisions, employers tend to provide minimal to no
information.
8. Make Your Selection

All information obtained in the interviews should be kept confidential.
Evaluate the candidate solely on what you learned in the interview, the
candidate's responses to interview questions and information gathered
during the reference check. Each panel member should ask himself or
herself: Setting aside my personal biases, would I hire this person with
reasonable confidence that he or she could handle the job successfully?
Select the candidate who has the qualifications to perform the duties of
the position effectively.
9. Decide on a Salary

New hires: In general, a department can make an offer up to the mid-
point of the salary range for new hires. Any salary above these levels
will be by exception only and requires the approval of Employment
Services/HR before a hiring commitment can be made. You must always
check with internal protocol(s) established for funding issues.
10.Complete the Recruitment Packet

Good personnel practices are:
Follow any internal protocol established earlier
Touch base with your Employment Consultant/Recruiter to advise of

your selection and to discuss salary offers
Call the successful candidate to offer the position
Follow up with a confirmation of the offer, acceptance, salary, title

and starting date, etc.
All candidates who were interviewed should be notified, by telephone,

if possible
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A candidate has the right to know the reason(s) for not being
selected; however, reason should be suggested by selection criteria
based on the position description
Provide justification for hire/non-hires to withstand internal or

external audit
Consideration of the following will help to ensure that your interviews are
conducted effectively and that interviewers and candidates have confidence
in them.
Do interviewers have?
Up-to-date job descriptions, selection criteria or competency frameworks

available.
A clear objective for their interview.

Training in interviewing skills.
Awareness of equal opportunities legislation.
Adequate time to prepare: alone or with others.
An interview schedule which allows time to explore information
thoroughly.
Knowledge of other selection methods being used.
Interview record forms for interview notes and final decisions.
Feedback on the outcome of their decisions.
9.3 Key characteristics of an interviewer
How to Be a Good Interviewer?
Interviewing job candidates is a fine art. Within the span of a couple of

hours, you need to make up your mind as to whether the interviewee is the
right person for the job. Making that decision requires not only asking the
right questions but also enabling the candidate to answer them. If you
want the candidate to eventually take your companys offer, you need to
sell the candidate not only on the position but on the company in some
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sense, the candidate is also interviewing the company to ensure that its
the right place for them. So, the good interviewer must have following
characteristics.
1. Be Prepared

Essential to being a great interviewer is being prepared for the
interview. This means knowing what the candidate is interviewing for
and doing your research. Most companies will give you an interviewer a
packet that will contain the job description, resume and evaluation
forms. What companies normally dont give you is the insight into what
the hiring manager is really looking for. To understand that, you need to
talk to the hiring manager and get a feel for her ideal candidate. To
better understand her requirements, inquire about these topics:
Whats the job really about? This seems a little odd but chances
are, the job title or even the description does not really convey what
the hiring manager really wants. Digging a little deeper into the exact
requirements of the job will make it easier to evaluate the candidate.
The dynamics of the group: If you dont interact with the hiring
managers group much, make sure to get a sense of the group
dynamic.
How do they want you to interview the candidate? Sometimes,

you may be brought in to seal the deal on a hot candidate or maybe
youre the subject matter expert that ensures the candidate knows
that they are talking about. In either case, ask the hiring manager how
they want you to interview the candidate. That way, you can ask the
right questions.
What skills are really important for the position? Again, this may
be obvious but in some cases, the job description may not be a good
as talking directly to the hiring manager.
Preparing also encompasses looking beyond the resume and doing some
research of your own. In the Internet age, there are wonderful, public
tools that you can use to learn a lot about a candidate. This is especially
important for management positions since a manager sets the groups
tone and the wrong tone can crater a group.
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2. Start Out Right

Most candidates will be nervous when they first meet you. Your first
task is to make them feel comfortable. Doing this will ensure that you
see the true person and not the nerves. Now, it is telling to see how a
candidate handles stress but dont use that as the only barometer.
Candidates for technical positions are especially susceptible to being
nervous since most lack the social skills to really sell themselves in an
interview. Other candidates may be completely at ease right away but
dont let the confidence fool you. Its still a good idea to make them as
comfortable as possible by using these techniques:
Ask if they need anything: Being a good interviewer requires that

you take care of your guest;s needs. Asking if they need anything is
the simplest and most direct way to do that.
Introduce yourself: Before you begin an interview, it is imperative

that you introduce yourself and what you do. That way, the candidate
can at least understand who they are talking to and what your role is.
Start out with idle chit, chat: Resist the temptation to jump right in
to your detailed questions. Warm the candidate up a bit by giving them
some easy questions to answer.
Tell them whats going to happen: Explain to the candidate the

interview process and what steps they will be going through. Doing
this allows the candidate to mentally plan out their interview
experience.
Ask if they need anything again: Once your time is up, make sure
to offer them the use of the restroom or any kind of refreshment thats
appropriate. This is not only the courteous thing to do but also allows
you to see how the candidate reacts to normal social interactions.
3. Be Tough but Fair

Interviews are just a glimpse into the psyche of a candidate. They are
only as useful as the interviewer makes them. Thats why its critical to
get as much information out of the interview as you can. Doing this
requires that you to ask the tough questions in a fair way. What this
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means is to ask questions that truly gets to the candidates character

and skill. Now, when it comes to evaluating technical skill that can get
tricky. Technical skills really come in two flavors mechanics and
problem solving.

Mechanics: This refers to being able to design, code or do a protocol. It
is the doing part, kind of like knowing how to drive a car you may be
really good at it but you may not know how the car actually works.

Problem Solving: Challenging problems take an in-depth knowledge of
a subject and the ability to dissect complex problems into manageable
chunks. A candidate may be great at thinking up the experiment but
horrible at actual execution.

Obviously, other skills are important as well but these two are usually
the hardest to ascertain from a short interview. Consider the following
techniques to get a better idea of a candidates mechanical and problem
solving skills:
Have them describe a problem they solved: Most people will jump at
the chance to explain how they solved something tricky, especially
engineers and scientists.
Ask them to design or outline a simple device or procedure: For

creative people, this is a good one to show you how they think. There
is nothing like charging the whiteboard and hashing out a design for
some new idea.
Have them present something to the interviewing group: Presentations

are a good way to explore how a candidate prepares and presents
information. Doing a presentation also allows the candidate to show
you what they are interested in.
Walk them through the lab or office space: Giving someone a tour is a
great way to put them at ease and see how they interact with staff. It
is critical to understand this people dynamic. If they are nervous,
condescending or uninterested, then thats a big red flag.
Ask them to solve a problem you have: Solving a problem you

currently face is a great way to determine how well a candidate
approaches problems and can also give you some insights into
something you need to fix.
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4. Put the Candidate at Ease

One thing to always remember is that interviewing is a stressful
endeavor. When stress is involved, people behave differently. If your
company culture is one constant stressful situation, then seeing the
candidate deal with stress is important but not the entire story. Usually,
even at stressful companies, people can adapt to an environment once
they are comfortable with it. So, the real trick to evaluating how some
deals with stress is not to stress them out right away but rather probe
them when they feel comfortable. Making someone feel comfortable is
easy if you follow these steps:
Add in idle chit-chat when appropriate: Dont be tempted to dive

right into some tough complex problem solving without first getting a
feel for the candidates demeanor and personality. If you share a same
company history, ask them who they know and what they did.
Ease into the tough questions: Start the interview questioning off
with questions that are easy and not too open ended. Building up to
the tough questions allows the candidate to warm up their mind so that
they can put their best foot forward.
Ask questions that are open ended: Open ended questions are a
great way to see how a candidate thinks through a problem. It will also
show what solutions they tend to gravitate too.
Dont do all the talking and dont interrupt: Some interviewers

love to talk during an interview. Dont be tempted to do this. Rather, let
the candidate do most of the talking and try not to interrupt them.
Break it up: It is best to have peaks and valleys within the interview
where the candidate can catch their breath and not be on the spot.
This shows that you care about what they might have to say. Its best
to break up the interview by having others ask questions or giving the
candidate more details about the position.
5. Sell the Company

Part of your job as an interviewer is to put your company in the most
favorable light you can. This does not mean you lie about reality but you
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do have to amplify the positive while being honest about the negative.
Selling the company really starts out with the first impression you give
the candidate, the after interview follow up and their first day. All of
these interactions leave an imprint on the candidate that will sway them
one way or another. Another important aspect of selling the company is
to understand the needs of the candidate. Why are they leaving their
job? What excites them? Why do they want to work for your company?
What is their number one issue with their last company?

Of course, going over the benefits, compensation and other perks is
important but if your company is competitive, then those things are just
the minimum threshold to get past. What you really need to figure out
is what itch the candidate needs to scratch. For some, it might be as
simple as doing something different. While others, they may just want a
shorter commute.
6. Close the Deal

If you really want the candidate to take the job, then you need to figure
out how to close the deal. Closing the deal takes many forms from the
direct approach to the more subtle. However you go about it, remember
that once you figured out you want the candidate, then you really need
to always be trying to convince them to join your company. In fact, the
hardest thing to figure out is the subtle clues the candidate has given
you as to what they really want out of the job. Again, these reasons are
not as obvious as you may think. All candidates have a mental checklist
they go through before accepting an offer your job is to ensure all the
boxes get checked and that they are the right fit for your company.
Consider this list of clues that will help you assess your candidate
needs:
Directly says what they want: Once you hear what they want, then
make sure you can provide that. It is vital to align expectations and
ensure that you can keep your promises.
Wants to work on interesting stuff: This usually means they get

bored with repetitive tasks and might not be good at finishing projects.
Looking for Growth: Growth can be many things but usually it means
growing to more responsibility (e.g., Management). Make sure that
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there is career growth opportunities that align with the candidates

needs before offering them the job.
Wants Security: If a candidate wants job security, this usually means

that they will do whatever is asked of them and will usually play it safe.
This means that they will not want to go out on a limb or take chances
that might fail.
Loves the Technology: The hook of interesting stuff is reinforced if

the technology is new and exciting. For an engineer or scientist, the
technology hook can seal the deal if everything else (salary, benefits,
etc.) is sub-par.
Wants to work with a former colleague: Getting the chance to

work with past colleagues is a powerful hook, especially a former boss
that was well respected and takes care of people.
Each candidate is motivated by different things so adjusting your

closing style is essential to get the candidates you want.
7. In the End, Its Still Bad/Wrong Selection

No matter how long you interview someone or how extensive a
background check is or how many references you call, it is still not
predictable as to whether or not they will fit into your company. Dont
be discouraged if you choose a candidate and they dont work out. It
happens and it is not the end of the world. Just remember to learn from
it because that will make you a much better interviewer.
9.4 Improving Interviewing skills
Regardless of the context of an interview, the aim of an interviewer is to

find out as much as possible about the interviewee in relation to a
particular subject. For example, your interview may be with key players
immediately after a sporting victory. The aim of such an interview would be
to gain insights from the players on how the game was won and what the
victory means to them from an emotional standpoint. Here are some steps
you can take to hone your interview skills.
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Instructions
1. Be passionate about the interview subject: Especially if you are a

professional in a particular field, you must overcome personal bias or
distaste toward a particular subject. If you can't, you won't get the
information you need.
2. Do your homework: That is, learn as much as you can about the
interviewee before the interview. In a lot of cases, your interviews are
with people you've never met and about whom you know little. Contact
references or sources that may be familiar with the interviewee.
3. Compile a list of questions to ask the interviewee: Give

considerable thought to the kinds of questions you believe you need to
ask. How often have you walked away from everyday conversations and
asked yourself, "Oh, why didn't I ask him about that?"
4. Ask and listen: Boiled down to its essence, this is what an interview is
all about. That may seem like an obvious point, but inexperienced
interviewers tend to give more attention to what they are going to ask
next than to what the interviewee is saying at any given moment.
5. Go with the flow of the interview: The first question you ask may
invalidate some of the other questions on your list. But, it may also
raise new questions. Don't just automatically go down the list.
Some important tips for the interviewer:
The interviewer should be an active listener. He should not interrupt

unnecessarily.
The interviewer should be considerate enough. Even if the interviewer

does not agree with the interviewee, he must respect the latters
feelings.
The interviewer should be friendly and understanding. He should begin

the interview in a friendly manner, some friendly conversation and then
show concern in family background, hobbies, etc. This will make the
interviewee more relaxed and comfortable.
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The interviewer should restrain to the time allotted. He shouldnt indulge

in arguments unnecessarily. He should try to be precise.
The interviewer must be thoroughly prepared for the questions that are
likely to be asked. He should be a good planner.
The interviewer must focus attention on the interviewee. He should use

positive gestures when conducting the interview.
Encourage/invite questions from the interviewee. Ensure that the

interviewee clarifies the question he has. When selected, a candidate
should not feel he was not told about a certain aspect of the job.
Avoid distraction in the interview area. Ensure that there is no or minimal

distraction where the interview is being conducted. A phone ringing all
the time in the background can distract the interviewer and interviewee.
9.4.1 Understanding Body Language
To have a successful interview and to make a lasting impression, the Body

Language is very important. Postures and body movements are
unconscious forms of expression and therefore they have a language of
their own. We are unaware of our gestures and body movements most of
the time, but other people can notice our gestures and movements if they
pay attention and know what they mean.
An important thing to be noted here is that body language applies not only
to the Interviewer but also to the Interviewee. Also, note that these
gestures may happen throughout the conversion or a discussion and they
change as the conversation progresses.
The objective of paying attention to non-verbal communication is to help

you change the direction of the conversation. If the person is showing
negative gestures, then you need to change the topic by asking new
questions or talking about something else.
Here is a comprehensive list of probable body gestures, which you watch

out for during the course of a Job interview:
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Crossed arms mean that person is in a defensive and reserved mood.
Crossed arms and legs means that the person is feeling very reserved
and suspicious.
Open arms and hands means that the person is open and receptive.
Standing before you with hands inside the pockets means he is not sure
or feels suspicious.
Standing before you with hands on hips means he is receptive and ready
to help you out.
Rubbing the back of head or touching the back of neck means the
conversation is not really interesting.
Leaning back in chair with both hands clasped behind head means he is
in an analytical mood, but it is also a gesture of superiority.
With the palm holding or supporting chin, he is in an evaluating position

and being critical.
Sitting in a chair shaking one of the legs means he feels nervous and
uncomfortable.
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Rubbing or touching nose when asking a question means he is not telling

the complete truth.
If the eyes are downcast and face turned away, it means he is not
interested in what you are saying.
If he moves his body and sits with his feet and body pointing towards a
door means he wants to end the conversation and leave the room.
If you are nervous, try not to show it.
Don't play with your watch, clothes, bag etc. Try to maintain eye contact
with the interviewer.
Last but not the least, do not underestimate the importance of your
posture and subtle movements.
Body Language Checklist
Table 9.1: Body Language Checklist
Non-verbal Behavior Interpretation

Brisk, erect walk Confidence
Standing with hands on hips Readiness, aggression
Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking Boredom
slightly
Sitting, legs apart Open, relaxed
Arms crossed on chest Defensiveness
Walking with hands in pockets, Dejection
shoulders hunched
Hand to cheek Evaluation, thinking
Touching, slightly rubbing nose Rejection, doubt, lying
Rubbing the eye Doubt, disbelief
Hands clasped behind back Anger, frustration, apprehension
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Locked ankles Apprehension

Head resting in hand, eyes downcast Boredom
Rubbing hands Anticipation
Sitting with hands clasped behind head, Confidence, superiority
legs crossed
Open palm Sincerity, openness, innocence
Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed Negative evaluation
Tapping or drumming fingers Impatience
Steeping fingers Authoritative
Patting/fondling hair Lack of self-confidence,
insecurity
Tilted head Interest
Stroking chin Trying to make a decision
Looking down, face turned away Disbelief
Biting nails Insecurity, nervousness
Pulling or tugging at ear Indecision
9.4.2 Note-taking Essentials
It is difficult for an interviewer to remember accurately everything that an

interviewee has said during the course of an interview. If the interviewer
relies solely on his or her memory, points will almost certainly be forgotten
or distorted. In order to limit this risk, note-taking during the interview is
strongly recommended. This will enable interviewers to check that they
have elicited all the information they require against their predetermined
interview plan, and to check their understanding with the interviewee. In
addition, gaps in written information are much more visible (and therefore
difficult to ignore), than gaps in information which is stored solely in the
memory of the interviewer. An accurate record of the interview is useful
evidence (of the objectiveness of decisions) should a candidate challenge
the selection process under Equal Opportunities Legislation at an industrial
panel.
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9.4.3 Listening Skills
A good listener really hears and understands, what the interviewee is

saying and response to all parts of his conversation or concerns not just
what is obviously apparent. Effective interviewing requires good listening
skills, even more than the skills required to ask questions.
Types of listening:
1. Critical Listening paying attention to the way that something is

presented.
2. Discriminative Listening being sensitive to non-verbal clues in a

speaker, such as looking at body language and facial expressions, and
listening to tone of voice.
3. Informative Listening paying attention to determine what the

speaker is trying to tell you.
9.4.4 Probing Skills
To obtain information from candidates, you frequently have to ask for it.
Whenever you make requests for information, you're using the skill of
Probing. Usually, probing takes the form of asking questions. But you are
also probing when you request a demonstration or explanation.
Picture 9.1
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There are two types of probes open and closed. A request for
information that allows the candidate to speak freely is an open probe.
Open probes generally begin with "what", "how", "why", "tell me", or "show
me". Such probes give candidates an opportunity to respond in whatever
way they wish. A request that limits the candidates response to a few
alternatives is a closed probe. Closed probes generally begin with "do",
"are", "is", or "which". They can be answered by yes or no or a choice
among limited alternatives. Use open probes in the beginning of a
conversation to gain information and when you want to expand on
something, especially if a new topic has been brought up.
Sometimes open probes fail to get the information you need, or they may
not be the most efficient way to find out what you want to know. When
that's true, you'll find closed probes will help you undercover the specific
information you need. Closed probes are also useful to check whether
you've understood something said or done. Confirming with closed probes
helps you avoid misunderstandings. Closed probes to confirm also
demonstrate that you're paying attention.
When you probe to confirm what has been said or done, youre simply
making sure that you have understood what's going on. You don't need to
agree to confirm your understanding. Nor should you indicate support for
negative statements about yourself or business.
Asking probing questions is another strategy for finding out more detail.
Sometimes it is as simple as asking your respondent for an example, to
help you understand a statement they have made. At other times, you
need additional information for clarification, "When do you need this report
by, and do you want to see a draft before I give you my final version?", or
to investigate whether there is proof for what has been said, "How do you
know that the new database can't be used by the sales force?
Probing questions are good for:
Gaining clarification to ensure you have the whole story and that you
understand it thoroughly;
Drawing information out of people who are trying to avoid telling you
something.
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Good advice is to try and be original. Dont tell the candidates what they
are expecting to hear. Confidence is the key. If you have total confidence
and self-assurance then you can take control of the interview. Integrity is
an extremely difficult quality to probe for in an interview yet it is highly
valued in our industry, so interviewers need to present questions like:
Have you ever been forced to break the rules/policies? Explain the
circumstances that led to this. Or lead the candidate into exposing
themselves a little by asking: We all tell a lie now and then, when was the
last time you lied to a work colleague? Explain what happened and what
the outcome was.
9.5 Preparing to interview
1. Prepare in Advance for the Interview
Know what you want in a candidate before you begin the interview.
Review the job specifications and requirements that have been
prepared.
Know the job and its responsibilities. Review the job description.
Prepare a list of standard questions concerning the candidate's skills,

abilities, and past work performance that you want him/her to answer.
Prepare a list of prioritized and measurable criteria, either in the form

of a worksheet or other method, for analyzing and comparing the
candidates.
Review the candidate's resume prior to the interview.
Set specific appointment times and reasonable time limits.
Be prepared to justify the use of any required employment test.

Typically, the most legally defensible tests are those that involve a
piece of the job.
2. Collect Pertinent Information during the Interview
Since past behavior predicts future behavior, look for the candidate's
behavior patterns as you collect information. For example, has the
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candidate enjoyed big picture work or detailed analysis more? Is he/

she more of a generalist or more of a specialist? Often times, by
listening to how the candidate responds to your questions about
previous jobs, you will be able to get a very good idea of what their
behavior will be like in the future.
Try not to offer too much detailed information up front so that the
candidate will be able to formulate answers that exactly fits your
company's needs. Don't put the right words in his/her mouth!
Remember, the candidate (hopefully) wants the job and will be looking
to say the right thing to impress you.
Ask questions that focus on the candidate's past performances. For

example, if the job, such as an office manager, demands an individual
who is well-organized and handles paperwork easily, you may want to
ask, "How do you keep track of your own schedules and desk work in
your current position?"
Ask specific, structured questions in regards to specific problems that

the jobholder may face. Focus on past behavior and the results of the
candidate's actions in a particular situation. For example: "As the
customer service representative, you may encounter a few unhappy
campers who will yell and scream at you over the telephone or in
person. Have you had any experience dealing with difficult customers?
Who was the most difficult customer you had to deal with? What was
the situation? How did you resolve the problem?"
Notice how well the candidate listens and responds to the questions
asked.
Note the candidates choice of words and non-verbal behavior. Are they
answering your questions clearly?
Listen to the questions the candidate asks. Clarify the reasons why the
questions are being asked. Notice which questions he/she asks first as
they may be his/her primary concerns.
Take detailed handwritten notes concerning job-related topics that will

help you distinguish the candidates from one another (especially if you
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will be conducting several interviews). Help yourself remember each

candidate and each interview clearly.
Record information pertaining to the set criteria that will help in the
evaluation of candidates.
Organize and analyze the information immediately after the interview

when memory is fresh. Don't try to remember everything, it's
impossible. One idea is to rate each candidate on each of the criteria
immediately following the interview.
3. Look and Act Professionally During the Interview
Dress appropriately.
Avoid appearing bored and fatigued.
Set a business-like atmosphere.
Structure the interview and inform the candidate of the structure. Let
the candidate know you will be focusing on past results and that you
will be taking a lot of notes.
Provide information on the company and the job to each candidate.
4. Treat All Candidates Fairly
Use your list of standard questions during each interview so that you
treat the applicants equally and so you can compare apples to apples.
Refer to the criteria for analyzing candidates. Ask questions in regards

to the job criteria.
Keep all questions job-related.
Do not ask discriminating questions.
Show a genuine interest in every candidate you interview.
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If possible, have at least one other person meet and/or interview

candidates who are finalists. They should also rate the candidates on
each of the criteria; ultimately, all interviewers should compare their
ratings and discuss any discrepancies. Having more than one
interviewer helps control personal biases.
5. Be Courteous and Respectful
Conduct the interview in a private place away from distractions.

Begin the interview on schedule.
If possible, conduct the interview without interruptions.
Allow sufficient time for the interview.
Appreciate the candidate's accomplishments.
Do not patronize the candidate.
Do not argue with the candidate.
Thank the candidate for his/her time and interest.
6. Facilitate Open Communication
Immediately attempt to establish a rapport with the candidate by

breaking the ice; for example, ask about their experiences in a
particular industry or geographical location (refer to his/her resume).
Promote a relaxed environment with free-flowing conversation.
Do not dominate the discussion by talking too much. Many experts use
an 80/20 rule you talk 20% of the time and the candidate talks 80%
of the time.
Politely probe the candidate for information by asking open-ended

questions that will provide insight into the candidate's values and traits.
Ask structured questions that will require some thought on the part of
the candidate.

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Listen carefully to the candidate's answers. If they do not provide you

with specific results, probe until they do.
Explain the selection process to the candidate. Offer realistic

timeframes and stick to your word!
9.6 Types of Interview
The most commonly used tools for the selection process is the personal
interview. An interview is a conversation with a purpose between two
persons or groups of persons. They are done not only for the purpose of
recruitment or selection for a post, but also to gather information from
someone important.
Even though it is a two-way traffic, it is mostly seen that the employed is

the one who asks questions and the interviewee is supposed to reply.
Different purposes of a personal interview are to rate a candidate for his
physical appearance, education achievement and qualification, level of
intelligence, background, interests and aptitude.
There are several different types of job interviews, but all are designed so
that the interviewer can assess your skills and qualifications. Interviews
are also your chance to evaluate a company and decide if it is where you
want to work. It is important that you are comfortable with the different
types of interviews and are able to be relaxed during them.
Employers, and their Human Resources Departments, have different ways

to conduct interviews with potential job applicants. Many companies now
do not do the traditional one-on-one interviews in favor of newer types of
interviews. Following are the types of interviews:
1. Screening in Person or Over the Telephone: Resumes for jobs are

often sorted by computers as well as by the Human Resources
Department of a company. If the company is interested in learning more
about you after reading your resume or job application, they will contact
you to find out more about your qualifications. Screening is done either
in person or over the phone in order to screen out applicants who do not
have the qualifications required for the job.

In-person screening is often done at job fairs or employment open
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houses. These are events where companies accept applications during

the event itself. Interviewers are ready to meet with potential
employees and they will take time to speak briefly with applicants in
order to screen out those who are not qualified. They will invite qualified
applicants to come to the company for a full interview.
2. Behavioral Interviews: In this type of interview, interviewers will ask

a set of questions that are specifically related to job skills that fit the
job. Some of the topics covered include problem-solving skills,
leadership, conflict resolution and initiative.
3. Breakfast or Lunch Interviews: Even though these interviews are

conducted over a meal, they are still a business situation. Maintain a
professional manner, as well as good table manners. This type of
interview may feel more informal than other types of interviews, but
you must still maintain the business atmosphere.
4. Group Interviews: Here, all the candidates or small groups of

candidates are interviewed together. The time of the interviewer is
saved. A group interview is similar to a group discussion. A topic is
given to the group, and they are asked to discuss it. The interviewer
carefully watches the candidates. He tries to find out which candidate
influences others, who clarifies issues, who summarizes the discussion,
who speaks effectively, etc. He tries to judge the behavior of each
candidate in a group situation.
5. Auditions: Many professions require job applicants to audition for

openings.Dancers, musicians, sales people, artists, computer
programmers and other may find themselves taking part in auditions for
jobs.

An audition allows each person to demonstrate their particular skills and
abilities to an employer. In some cases, such as dental assistants,
potential employees will be asked to work one full day, for standard pay,
in order to be able to demonstrate their skills that are needed for the
job.
6. Stress Interviews: The purpose of this interview is to find out how the
candidate behaves in a stressful situation. That is, whether the
candidate gets angry or gets confused or gets frightened or gets
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nervous or remains cool in a stressful situation. The candidate who

keeps his cool in a stressful situation is selected for the stressful job.
Here, the interviewer tries to create a stressful situation during the
interview. This is done purposely by asking the candidate rapid
questions, criticizing his answers, interrupting him repeatedly, etc.
7. Depth Interview: This is a semi-structured interview. The candidate

has to give detailed information about his background, special interest,
etc. He also has to give detailed information about his subject. Depth
interview tries to find out if the candidate is an expert in his subject or
not. Here, the interviewer must have a good understanding of human
behaviour.
9.7 Conducting the Interview
Whether it is a job interview or a follow-up interview with selected

respondents who filled a survey questionnaire, it is essential that right
questions are asked. However, asking a right question is just not it... There
is more to conducting effective interviews. Read on to know how an
interview conversation can be made effective
Avoid distraction in the meeting area: Make sure that there is no or

minimal distraction where the interview is being conducted. A phone
ringing all the time in the background can distract the interviewer and
interviewee.
Make the candidate comfortable: The candidates are usually nervous

especially if it is their first interview. Ask them some ice breaker
questions to make them comfortable.
Racial/Sexual Bias: A BIG NO: Do not discriminate between the

potential candidates on basis of race, color, religion, gender. The only
basis for selection should be merit + required qualification. Be fair.
Invite questions: Make sure the candidate asks/clarifies the questions

he has. When selected a candidate should not feel he was not told about
a certain aspect of the job.
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Make Notes: A candidate's resume might not cover all the details and
there could be a lot of other details which could come up while
conducting an interview. Make sure notes are taken during the interview.
Interview Approach: The interview could be a mix of formal and

informal and could have a blend of open and close ended questions. An
extreme of either formal or informal could be disastrous.
Interview Questions: Few areas to ask questions on could be

behaviors, values, knowledge, background or demographics.
Company Policy and Procedures: Brief the candidate about companys

values, policies, and required procedures. A candidate if selected should
not have problem in imbibing the culture.
Finally, make sure the candidate is involved in the interview and it is not
just one way. There are three steps to follow while conducting an
Interview, as shown in the diagram below:
Figure 9.2
9.7.1 Opening an Interview
While opening an interview, your purpose is to put both yourself and

candidate at ease, and set the stage for an open conversation.
There are three steps you should complete when opening the interview:
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Build rapport
State the agenda
Ask for acceptance
9.7.2 Gathering Information
Gathering Information represents 70 to 80 per cent of the interview. There

are three steps you should complete when gathering information from the
interviewee:
Ask lead questions

Ask follow-up questions
Transition to the next subject
9.7.3 Closing an Interview
The close of the interview is used to indicate to the candidate that the
information-gathering portion is complete and the interview is about to
wind down.
Take the following four steps when closing an interview:
Ask for and answer questions

Promote the organization and the job
Outline next steps
Thank the candidate
9.8 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the techniques for effective

interviewing. In order to conduct an interview effectively, it is imperative to
establish what the job involves and the specific skills and attributes needed
to perform successfully in the role. Some of the points you must take in to
the consideration before interview are:
Contact your HR Employment Services Consultant/Recruiter

Choose a diverse selection committee
Responsibilities of the Selection Committee Chairperson
Responsibilities of the Selection Committee
Have a plan
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Screen carefully
Contact the applicants
Following a structure is probably the single technique which is most likely

to help in improving the reliability of a selection exercise. Careful
consideration of pre-interview information, application forms or CVs is
critical in identifying relevant areas to explore further. Some standard
questions for all candidates can be prepared in advance where this is
appropriate. The steps involved in Interviewing are:
Step 1: Profile the position functions

Step 2: Establish specific requirements
Step 3: Establish your priorities
Before the interview, take a few minutes to study the job application and
supplemental materials. Never write on the original application or resume;
your comments, scribbles, highlighting, etc., could be used in legal
proceedings if a summons is issued for the application materials. The
application can be your interview map keep it visible during the
interview to keep you on track.
Some of the characteristics of a good interviewer are:
Be prepared
Be tough but fair
Sell the company
In the end, its still bad/wrong selection
Regardless of the context of an interview, the aim of an interviewer is to

find out as much as possible about the interviewee in relation to a
particular subject. To have a successful interview and to make a lasting
impression, the Body Language is very important. Postures and body
movements are unconscious forms of expression and therefore they have a
language of their own. We are unaware of our gestures and body
movements most of the time, but other people can notice our gestures and
movements if they pay attention and know what they mean. We have also
seen some list of non-verbal behavior and their interpretation in a tabular
form (Refer table: BODY LANGUAGE CHECKLIST)
! !368
It is difficult for an interviewer to remember accurately everything that an

interviewee has said during the course of an interview. If the interviewer
relies solely on his or her memory, points will almost certainly be forgotten
or distorted. In order to limit this risk, note-taking during the interview is
strongly recommended. This will enable interviewers to check that they
have elicited all the information they require against their predetermined
interview plan, and to check their understanding with the interviewee.
A good listener really hears and understands, what the interviewee is

saying and response to all parts of his conversation or concerns not just
what is obviously apparent. Effective interviewing requires good listening
skills, even more than the skills required to ask questions.
To obtain information from candidates, you frequently have to ask for it.
Whenever you make requests for information, you're using the skill of
Probing. Usually, probing takes the form of asking questions. But you are
also probing when you request a demonstration or explanation. There are
two types of probes open and closed.
While preparing for interview the interviewer must keep, the following
points in his/her mind: Prepare in Advance for the Interview, Collect
Pertinent Information during the Interview, Look and Act Professionally
During the Interview, Treat All Candidates Fairly, Be Courteous and
Respectful, and Facilitate Open Communication.
We have also had a look at types of interviews. Some of them are:

Screening in Person or Over the Telephone, Breakfast or Lunch Interviews,
Auditions, Depth Interview etc. Make sure the candidate is involved in the
interview and it is not just one-way. There are three steps to follow while
conducting an Interview:
1. Open the Interview (Put the candidate at ease)

2. Gather Information (Ask questions and listen to responses)
3. Close the Interview (Create a positive impression of your organization)
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9.9 Activities
1. Creation of a relaxed interview setting is a critical part of the Ten Step

Interview Process. Multinational companies around the world have laid
special emphasis in this area. Browse the internet to research case
studies about efforts taken by companies on this front.
2. Go online and search through recruitment blogs and websites for

information on improving interviewing skills apart from what has been
discussed in this chapter.
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1. What are the essential steps that need to be taken by a recruitment

professional before conducting an interview?
2. Cite the reasons behind the concept of choosing a diverse selection

committee before conducting an interview.
3. Enlist and describe the factors to consider in determining if a function is

essential, as a part of the first step involved in interviewing.
4. Enlist the Ten Step Interview Process and describe any three in detail.
5. Write a note describing the importance of letting the candidate do most

of the talking.
6. Discuss the characteristic of Be Tough but Fair, as a part of the Key

characteristics of an interviewer.
7. Enlist and describe the forms of aptitude test which are used in the
Employee selection Process.
8. What kind of Problem Solving should an effective recruitment

professional possess?
9. What are the steps that an effective recruitment professional should

take towards putting the candidate at ease?
10.Describe in detail the importance of possessing the correct body

language for interviewing.
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
! !372
HIRING STRATEGIES FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Chapter 10
HIRING STRATEGIES FOR SENIOR
MANAGEMENT
Objectives:
The concept of Retained executive search and its relevance in executive

recruitment
Steps in planning an effective transition when hiring senior executives
The process of anticipating conflict and managing change
New Dynamics in Executive Recruiting
Structure:
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Retained Executive Search
10.3 Executive Fit Planning an Effective Transition when Hiring Senior
Executives
10.3.1 Five Point Executive Integration Plan

10.3.2 Integration: A Shared Responsibility
10.3.3 Anticipate Conflict and Manage Change
10.4 The New Dynamics in Executive Recruiting
10.4.1 Trends Effecting Talent Recruitment

10.4.2 Adoption Strategies by Organizations
10.5 Summary
10.6 Activities
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10.1 Introduction
In todays highly competitive, complex economy, the quality of an

organizations senior executive team is critical. It is the key factor that will
determine an organizations success or failure. Why is it then that some
organizations still use shortcuts, gut feel, the old boy network or, worse
still, family connections, when recruiting senior executives?
A more reasoned approach is to employ specialized professionals who will

help the organization identify the best executives in the market for a
particular appointment and then effectively recruit them. Since many
organizations employ outside advisers and professionals for key legal,
financial and other needs, it makes sense to do the same with a critical
task such as senior management recruitment.
But how should such professionals be employed? What qualities should

they offer and under what terms should they be engaged? The answer lies
in retained executive search consulting, a specialized branch of
management consulting that is specifically designed to assist clients with
the critical and challenging task of bringing top executives into an
organization.
10.2 Retained executive search
Developed in the United States after the Second World War, retained
executive search is today employed by thousands of organizations around
the world in a wide range of industries and for many different functions. It
is not by chance that the profession has grown to almost US$8 billion in
worldwide revenues. It is a reflection of the increasingly important role that
! !374
it plays in economies and societies where merit and ability are the key
criteria for success.
So what differentiates retained executive search consulting from other

forms of recruiting? The retainer agreement is the key. It is signed in
recognition of the consultants reputation and skill in the market and
commits the consultant to their best efforts to complete the recruitment
assignment as effectively and as speedily as possible. The consultant will
be fully committed to success, not only because retainer fees are normally
paid in installments a dissatisfied client is unlikely to pay promptly but
because they know that they have an exclusive mandate from the client
and their reputation with that client will depend upon successful completion
of the assignment.
The client, thus, buys full commitment, focus and resources and can expect
regular feedback and consultation throughout the search. The commitment
to a mutual goal and to full collaboration between the consultant and the
client as expressed in the retainer agreement is the key to success.
Without it, the highly complex and sensitive task of recruiting a senior
executive into the organization can easily go away.
Picture 10.1
The process of retained executive search is essentially straightforward but

it is the skill, judgment and experience of the consultants and their
research teams that qualifies executive search consulting as a profession in
its own right. Separating the exceptional from the average performer and
assessing them against the needs of the position and the potential of the
client organization requires more than just pedestrian skills. It needs the
! !375
focus of senior professionals who can relate to client management and the
executive community as their equals and who can bring to their work
comparative judgment and the experience of meeting and assessing
thousands of executives.
Today, executive search consultants have backgrounds as diverse as the

industries that they serve. But the best have often left successful careers in
management consulting or industry because of the satisfaction of helping
clients to solve problems with the elusive solution of the right person.
McKinsey & Co. has examined the impact of high performing individuals on
organizations in their War for Talent study. In their judgment, the
difference between A and B performer is so quantifiable that it makes great
sense to invest considerable time and effort in engaging and exploiting the
potential of scarce A players.
When it comes to the recruitment and development of executive talent, the

rewards of getting it right and the penalties for getting it wrong are so
great that many successful chief executives consider getting people into
the right positions to be their most important task. Seeking the help of
professionals who are outside the organization gives the CEO a critical
advantage that may be one of the most important in his arsenal of
management tools.
The confidentiality and targeted nature of retained executive search also

helps to minimize the danger of information leaks during the recruitment
process that might endanger the clients strategic plans or indicate
management instability. Worries and speculation on the part of employees,
shareholders and suppliers can also be avoided. Search consultants are
highly sensitive to these issues the retainer agreement reinforces the
obligation on both the client and the search consultant to ensure that the
highly sensitive search process will be carefully and professionally handled.
Top rate candidates may not indicate interest in a position except through a
retained search consultant who will act as a professional and discreet
intermediary. Their own reputations are at stake and they will only venture
into discussions knowing that the client has made a professional
commitment to handling the process correctly. The retained executive
search consultant will also provide feedback to management on the market
perception of their organization, on compensation levels and other issues
that can affect their ability to recruit the best. Advising clients on realistic
! !376
expectations, job descriptions, job titles and reporting relationships can be

crucial to a successful search assignment.
The costs of retaining an executive search firm should be weighed against

the potential costs of a hiring mistake. Whether you are a small or large
organization, a bad appointment to a crucial position can have
consequences that can take much time and expenditure to recover from.
Supporting the profession of retained executive search consultants is a
code of ethics and professional practice established by their worldwide
professional association. As the global representative for retained executive
search consulting firms, The Association of Executive Search Consultants
has established clear-cut guidelines of how to practice this specialized
branch of management consultancy. It only permits the highest quality
firms into its membership and acts as a guardian of best practice to the
benefit of clients and the profession itself.
Senior management recruitment is too important to be left to chance. By

retaining an executive search consulting firm, leaders of organizations can
satisfy themselves and their stakeholders that they are making a prudent
investment in getting the process right.
Search Consultants: Key Skills
The AESC recently surveyed member consultants under 40 to get a feel for
the next generation of executive search consultants: who they are, how
they came into executive search, and where they see the industry headed.
The survey asked respondents to tick up to five skills/characteristics they
thought were the most important for an executive search consultant to
have from the list below. Each option shows the percentage of consultants
who voted it one of the most important.
Communication skills (69%)

Interpersonal skills (60%)
Integrity (58%)
Sales skills (51%)
Persistence (47%)
Drive (44%)
Problem-solving skills (41%)
Thoroughness/detail orientation (31%)
Analytical skills (29%)
! !377
10.3 Executive fit planning an effective transition when

hiring senior executives
The new executive seemed perfect for the job. His resume was impeccable.
Having received an MBA from a well-respected business school, he had
moved quickly into the management ranks of a Fortune 50 company. When
the high-flying technology company hired him as Senior Vice-president of
Finance, they expected that his credentials would give him instant
credibility.
Soon after his hiring, however, there were signs that things would not play
out as planned. The executive's straitlaced approach clashed with the
freewheeling style and laid back attitude of most of the rest of
management. He was described by some as uptight, and by some others
as the book kind of guy who did not know how to relax; he always seemed
to be on one urgent mission or another. Some in senior management took
his hiring as a direct threat. They felt that this polished outsider suddenly
had the inside edge to the chairman's office. That, coupled with his abrupt
style, quickly created a wide chasm between him and the rest of the
executive team who questioned aloud the prudence of his hiring. It soon
became apparent to everyone that this was not working.
Some situations involving executives mismatched to positions or

companies cannot be resolved. More care should have been taken to find
! !378
the right person during the search process. But often, major problems can
be avoided by attending to important aspects of executive integration. This
requires attention by both the newly hired executive and the organization
as a whole. Proper conceptualization and implementation of an integration
process can greatly enhance the chances of a smooth and productive
relationship between the new executive and the organization.
10.3.1 Five Point Executive Integration Plan
1. Recruit realistically: When recruiting an executive from the outside, it

is crucial that the organization portray the company as accurately as
possible to reduce disenchantment upon entry. While organizations
clearly don't want to scare off attractive candidates, such realistic
portrayals lay the groundwork for a productive long-term relationship
built on trust and openness.

Carefully consider the types of leadership skills and styles that will most
likely succeed in the organizations culture. Becoming blinded by a
candidate's credentials during the courting period of the recruiting
process can create disaster. It is essential that a company recognizes
the key compelling attributes of its executive group and builds these
attributes into the specifications for positions.

For example, a global high tech manufacturing company had grown so
quickly that it needed to bring in a much more sophisticated senior
executive to be in charge of manufacturing. The company's senior
executive group was so intellectually gifted that only individuals who
could think as quickly and as comprehensively as the rest of the
executive team would succeed in this position. This company was wise
enough to recognize the intellectual capacity of the other executives and
made intellectual power a key criterion of the position.
2. Strategically plan entry into the company: Once an individual has

been selected, smoothing the way for the newcomer's arrival and entry
into the company can pay big dividends. Press announcements and
articles in the company newsletter can highlight how his/her background
fits in with the corporate strategic direction. When a fast growth
organization that wanted to expand globally brought in its new president
of the international operation, the company had a major story about the
individual in the company newsletter, using this as an opportunity to
! !379
reinforce the company's global aspirations.

It may be appropriate to alert people that the newcomer will do things
somewhat differently than has been done in the past; point out that this
is part of the reason the company selected the executive. Having private
discussions with key veterans likely to be affected and making the new
executive's success one of the job responsibilities of the rest of the
senior executive group is a key point. As the new executive comes on
board, there are many opportunities and also pitfalls. Now is the time
for the new executive to listen and grasp the complexities of a new
environment. It is vital that the new executive not be swept away by
his/her understandable desire to appear especially knowledgeable.

One fatal error is to repetitively refer to how things were done in their
previous company. It is important to bring the content of what was done
in other places without identifying the source.
3. Build in a plan for two-way feedback early and often: Another set
of interesting dynamics typically involves the boss/new hire relationship.
The individual's boss does not want to be seen as lacking confidence in
the executive, and thus often manages in a hands off fashion. Likewise,
the new executive wants to demonstrate competence and seeks little
supervision. However, the first few months are the very time when the
new hire most needs help and guidance from the boss. It is important
for both to recognize these natural tendencies and schedule more time
with each other initially. The boss can help the new executive interpret
the culture and its implications. He or she can also collect data about
other people's reactions to the new executive and discuss any need for
fine tuning.

The CEO and the new international executive communicated extensively
with each other during the first six months to determine how the new
executive was fitting in. They both made sure that he did not go too far
too fast, potentially leaving the rest of the organization behind. The
CEO also made sure that the other executives had as one of their job
responsibilities the successful integration of the new head of the
international operation. After about a year, the new president of the
international operations had made significant progress in growing the
international business as well as educating the rest of the company
about how to be a global company.
! !380
4. Forge effective alliances: One of the key tasks for new executives is
to establish effective networks of support throughout the organization.
The first step is identifying key individuals inside the organization who
will be crucial to continued success. Building effective cross relationships
increases the sphere of influence of the newcomer.

Executives should carefully explore others' mental models and actively
seek out common ground where multiple parties agree, leading to
subsequent focus of effort and resources. New executives should avoid
"quick wins" that sacrifice key long-term objectives and relationships. It
is important to look beyond the formal organizational chart and identify
informal ways of building support and coalition for change. Be
particularly careful to not come in with all the answers and not to
denigrate any existing systems or procedures. Begin the development of
these relationships by assuming he had something to learn from each of
his new colleagues. This respectful approach and careful listening to the
needs of his or her colleagues will allow the new executive to develop
the types of alliances necessary for success.

When a software development company brought in a new Senior Vice-
president of human resources, the CEO expected the new executive to
precipitate change in the company but not get too far ahead of the
culture. The Senior Vice-president of human resources established a
biweekly, hour-long meeting with department leaders in which feedback
about how things were unfolding was the main issue. Thus, the new
Senior Vice- president was able to engineer the needed change and
accomplish the progress for which he was hired.
5. Honor tradition Pioneer change: Celebrating past success and

valuing key pieces of an organization's culture, while at the same time
advancing new ideas and vision, is a critical challenge for executives
integrating into new companies. The ability to discriminate between
those cultural norms that are vital and immutable and those that are
less pivotal and more malleable is critical. This central theme will assist
the new executive to successfully communicate a new vision to his or
her organization and successfully transform it.
! !381
10.3.2 Integration: a Shared Responsibility
The success of an executive who is new to an organization hinges on many

factors. The acceptance of the individual, as well as his or her acceptance
of the organization and those within it, should not be left to chance. Both
the executive and the organization share responsibility for planning an
effective integration effort. It can be helpful to think about executive
integration as spanning three critical time periods: recruiting and selection;
orientation, organizational socialization (shown in the diagram below).
Figure 10.1
The process should begin even before recruitment and continue for a
lengthy period after the executive comes on board. This helps to eliminate
expensive hiring mistakes and false starts, ultimately ensuring that
business momentum are maintained.
Recruiting: Successful integration requires a realistic description of the

needs of the position. Outlining job-related skills and abilities is an
important first step in this process. Honestly assessing the organizational
culture and factors that are key in navigating successfully inside the
company is another key component to consider prior to launching the
recruiting process. Selecting an external executive who fits well with both
the skills required by the company and the culture of the organization
provides important momentum for the executive to quickly have an impact
on his/her new company.
Orientation: Psychologically, orientation to the new company begins once

the individual has accepted the position. Orientation incorporates a wide
range of activities, including introductions to key people, learning new
! !382
policies and procedures, and surveying the lay of the land. Executives often
describe their orientations to new organizations as "drinking from a fire
hose," as they rapidly try to assimilate as much information as possible in
a short timeframe.
Organizational Socialization: Too often, organizations stop thinking

about executive integration after a month or two of orientation. For
ultimate success, a longer-term process known as organizational
socialization takes place. Important milestones during this period include
fitting into the culture of the company and learning the informal rules of it,
while at the same time not having the new executive's fresh perspective
co-opted by the new organization.
10.3.3 Anticipate Conflict and Manage Change
As the economy has heated up once again, employers are hiring to build
their bench strength and talent assets. Those employees new to the
organization need to learn or recreate the culture. The new hires will
be different than the people who left during the economic downturn, and
different than the people who remain. Some may be more entrepreneurial.
Others will be accustomed to an incompatible reward structure or have
more expertise. They may be more comfortable with a "matrix
organization" or less hierarchy.
Picture 10.2
! !383
CEOs need to anticipate conflict between these various groups of

employees because of their experience and expectations. The mission of
the senior leadership is to clearly define the desired culture, then
communicate that culture effectively to all members of their team...as the
organization goes through a metamorphosis while in motion. Leaders who
plan and are proactive in assimilating new executives will gain a
competitive advantage and higher ROI on their human capital.
10.4 The New Dynamics in Executive Recruiting
Events during the past five years have resulted in a sea change which has
brought a new set of dynamics to senior level executive recruiting. In
short, it has become more challenging to recruit senior executives.
Successful employers today understand that the single most important key
to their success is the right people in the right jobs. They understand the
implications of shifting demographics and psychographics, and will respond
to them in the context of their own organizations in order to position
themselves for a successful future. Times are more competitive than ever
and smart companies have recognized the value of their top employees
and are investing in their retention. To do this requires more than just
money.
It involves showing employees recognition, appreciation, respect,

sensitivity toward lifestyles and assuring them of a sense of longer term
financial security. This has also brought about a resurgence in counter
offers. Today, when executives inform their bosses that they have been
offered a better opportunity elsewhere, the boss often responds with a
counter offer and sweeteners. We counsel executives in this situation that
accepting the counter offer may be short-sighted, because if it takes such a
dramatic event to get your employers attention it will likely be a matter of
time before you are back in the market again.
Recently, there has been a greater commitment from employers to support

their senior executives and develop their in-house talent by providing
coaching and other developmental tools, and allowing greater flexibility in
working schedules. Boards of Directors are requiring, and companies are
adhering, by creating succession plans and following them.
Increasingly, companies are putting their employees in stretch jobs

because there just isnt enough talent to go around and they feel due to
! !384
the pressure of business, there isnt time to go out and look in the market.
Plus, it seems safer to go with the employee you know and trust and try to
develop him or her, rather than risk bringing in unknown and untested
talent in these fast paced, challenging times. The upside of the internal
route is it can be less disruptive, it gives employees more incentive, and
the risk of perceived failure is minimized. The downside is you miss out on
bringing in new talent with fresh ideas, new approaches, more advanced
skillsets, and deeper experience.
10.4.1 Trends Effecting Talent Recruitment
As employers scramble to retain good people, the candidates themselves

have defined a number of issues they consider important, and which are
pivotal to companies who want to hire and retain them. These include
work/life balance, professional development programs, family
considerations and values, as well as new ideas about retirement.
In a recent MetLife Benefits Study, more than half of the respondents rate
work-life balance as a key job selection criterion, with a roughly equal
percentage of men and women saying it was a critical factor for them.
Another indication of changing attitudes and priorities is that over half of
those polled said they will actively seek to work for an organization whose
purpose or mission they agree with.
Interestingly, a new retirement study by Merrill Lynch found that three-

quarters of all baby boomers now do not plan to retire in the traditional
sense, with many looking at changing careers. This raises other issues in
terms of patterns of early retirement once thought to be the dream
come true. Many executives who retire in their late 50s and 60s find that
after only a short time, they are tired of playing golf and facing boredom.
They do not necessarily want to be back on the fast track, but would like to
feel that they are making a contribution to something worthwhile. There is
a new appreciation for these former executives experience and skills,
especially by corporate and not-for-profit Boards of Directors. Sarbanes-
Oxley has increased the time and experience required, especially for
serving on Corporate Boards, and these people are highly sought after.
A trend in the US is around regulatory changes, which have significantly

effected talent recruitment. Public companies, having had the regulatory
heat turned up by Sarbanes-Oxley, need high level executives and Board
! !385
members with a precise mix of experience. CEOs in public companies with

good reputations are in great demand and organizations are lined up to
hire them away. There is a shortage of the right kind of experienced talent
to fill many existing CEO and CFO openings.
10.4.2 Adoption Strategies by Organizations
Companies must be ready to adjust to the changing trends in hiring.

Organizations that prepare for the changes in talent recruitment by
understanding the issues and developing strategies will be the clear
winners.
The role of the executive search firm and in-house corporate recruiters is
more important than ever as human capital partners in this war for talent
atmosphere. In fact, developing a close working relationship with a search
firm partner is an important element in a companys strategy to gain
access to the best available candidates. Search firms are best utilized in a
true partnership and consultative role where they have access and input to
their clients strategic plans. This allows them to make suggestions on
organizational structures, take a proactive approach to positions expected
to become available, and offer a viewpoint on competitive marketplace
events and information. Good search firms today want to foster committed
long-term and binding relationships with clients, and understand that both
parties have the responsibility to meet each others needs and
expectations. Clients expect a timely and high quality process with a
reasonable number of qualified candidates to choose from at a fair cost.
Search firms want to be on an exclusive shortlist of search providers who
can expect ongoing search projects at appropriate levels.
Compensation, as always, is a key point in securing top talent. Companies

who want to attract top candidates need to be willing to structure attractive
packages that have the right blend of base salary, performance based
bonuses and long-term incentives. The search firms role as an advisor in
this area is crucial since they have access to extensive competitive market
data in terms of what others are doing. The use of stock options has vastly
altered due to new expensing requirements and employers and Board
Compensation Committees are taking harder looks at the specific terms of
employment contracts, change of control agreements, non-competes and
company perks. It is a fine line between what it will take to attract top
talent, and what the shareholders will tolerate in terms of reasonable
! !386
packages. Succession planning is another important strategy. Companies

who prepare proactively for a change in leadership or corporate
restructuring will avoid costly issues down the road created by a void in a
key position. Forward thinking search firms can help in providing market
intelligence and timing advice.
Uncovering executive excellence An article by Diversified Search
www.diversifiedsearch.com.
The company offers comprehensive international coverage through a global

network, predicated on developing a comprehensive understanding of the
clients past, current and future needs.
HR Management caught up with three of Diversifieds experts Judith von

Seldeneck, Chairman and CEO; Tracy Murdoch OSuch, Managing Partner,
New York and Practice Leader of the Media and Entertainment division; and
Keith Gaspard, Managing Director and Practice Leader for Life Sciences to
discuss why executive search is such a potential minefield, and what
organizations need to do to ensure recruitment success.
With new dynamics in executive recruiting, will the issue of cultural fit be
seen as just an added bonus, or is it as important as the specific skills and
experience of the candidates? What do companies need to do to ensure
that new hires match the culture of the company?
TMO. Cultural fit has definitely become paramount because companies are
moving faster and have the need to build teams that work as a cohesive
group. They want to bring in people who are like-minded and goal-
oriented. In my field, Media Entertainment, it has become a critical
component. Working with an executive recruiter gives companies an
advantage because we only present candidates we feel strongly will be
successful in that culture. The position as described on paper is one aspect,
but the x factor, or the connection the individual has with the interview
team and the company, is also important.
KG. I think cultural fit is as important as specific skills and experience. If

you look at statistics, people who fail in a new job typically do so in the
first 6-12 months and its because of the issue of fit. Theyre not able to
work well with the team to effectively help move the organization forward.
! !387
And with the tightening talent pool, cultural fit is even more important;
companies can ensure that new hires match the culture by partnering with
an executive search firm that understands how employees think and act
within the organization, in order to know what type of executive is going to
fit into that culture seamlessly.
JVS. To ensure that new hires match their culture, companies must first
understand and clearly define what their culture is. In order for companies
to fully understand what works for them, they need to articulate the five
top-line bullet points that answer the question what is our culture all
about? They can then determine how these points match up with the
skillsets and the qualities of the candidates being presented to them.
There is a trend toward looking at out-of-the-box candidates when is

hiring someone with a background outside your specific industry sector a
good idea, and when should it be avoided?
TMO. In Media and Entertainment, the convergence of broadcast cable,

radio and publishing studios has meant that its almost standard operating
procedure to hire someone from the publishing world into the cable
network, or out of the cable world into an AT&T. Clients are looking for
other industry experience and exposure, so theyre not really considered
out-of-the-box candidates anymore. Of course, there are certain
functional areas that are not transferable and are more industry-driven. An
example would be the CTO function, which is specific to technology and the
internet and doesnt translate well to the publishing world because the
technical pieces are so different. On the other hand, in the same example,
the CFO position may well be transferable.
KG. I believe companies should always be encouraged to look outside the

box for candidates because many skills are transferable. Just look at two
of the most successful executives in the past decade Lou Gerstner, who
came out of the food industry to transform IBM, or Meg Whitman, who was
a branding and marketing expert before revolutionizing eBay. You always
need to look at great talent, no matter what field it is in. In some sectors
and industry segments, there are functional areas where it doesnt fit, but
overall its important for the client to look broadly.
JVS. Its certainly a good idea to look outside the box when youre looking
for creativity, new thinking or new ideas. Perhaps, you have people whove
! !388
been with the company for a long time and you would like to stimulate and
challenge their thinking. However, when a company is in a turnaround
situation, its probably not a good idea because you need people who can
hit the ground running with very specific expertise and minimum risk.
Your website describes the environment around board composition as

highly charged. What are the biggest challenges around board-level
recruitment today, and how do companies deal with them?
TMO. The introduction of regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley means that

boards are being held so much more accountable these days a board is
no longer a place where you attend meetings a couple of times a year and
arent held accountable. Its more of an active rather than passive role
today.
KG. I agree and I see time as a significant change factor. These days, not
only do you need to make time for board meetings and prepping, but you
also need to be a really effective board member and be accessible to the
CEO at times in-between the board meetings. The time commitment and
the regulatory commitments are now more significant than ever, and in
light of these commitments its important to partner with an executive
search firm to help you define the skillsets you need and find someone who
fits well and is willing to serve.
JVS. The ideal choice for corporate and public company boards, a sitting
CEO, has become extremely difficult to find. CEOs are now limited by their
companies in their ability to serve on boards, so the traditional pool for
board members has become less accessible. In addition, the demands that
are made on board members require that they truly understand business
issues, have expertise and contribute. More than ever, boards are
evaluating their members and replacing those who arent adding value.
And, with boards becoming smaller, it is vital that each member is effective
and fits in well with the culture of the board. Making a mistake in the
selection of even one member can impact the dynamic of the entire board.
At the end of the day, skillset, experience, credibility and credentials are
what make an effective board member.
Given your name, its no surprise that Diversified has been a champion of
diversity recruiting. What advice can you give to companies that want to
build a more diverse workforce?
! !389
TMO. The most obvious strategy is working with a search firm that, as part
of its standard operating procedure, presents a diverse slate. That is
clearly something in which we excel.
KG. I would agree with Tracy. Additionally, companies need to clearly

define the business case for diversity internally what it means to the
organization and why its important. It is critical that there is management
buy-in from the highest levels of the organization, as well as strategies that
involve all employees. If you have a diversity council, it should be a
diagonal slice through the organization involving all functional areas and all
levels of the organization working toward that initiative.
JVS. The most important thing is that diversity has to start at the highest
levels of the company. The board of directors should issue a mandate to
management and include, as part of the CEOs objectives (and bonus) that
the company will meet specific diversity goals. This directive should trickle
down from the top to be effective, not come from the bottom up. I would
also caution clients to look at the composition of their search firms. At
Diversified, we have a very impressive blend of diversity in our firm and I
feel that it goes a long way to truly understanding the issues.
Globalization has brought many advantages to business, but how has it

affected recruitment? In reality, are companies tapping into a global talent
pool, or is there more that can be done to attract the very best, wherever
they are?
TMO. One of the changes we see is that globalization has created a longer
workday for us. Were talking to the UK at five in the morning and Tokyo
and Australia at eight at night. Were finding that clients are looking around
the globe for talent because with all the movement worldwide, there are no
boundaries. Your talent could be working in Ireland, but have US
citizenship and a desire to return there.
KG. Globalization has become a hotter issue for executive recruitment as

businesses truly globalize and move executives from one geographic region
to another. Developing recruiting executives that have intercultural skills to
work effectively across borders is increasingly important in this
environment. It requires a much broader reach and network than some
search firms can deliver, and a focus and understanding of what it takes to
be effective in a worldwide company.
! !390
JVS. I think its a whole different type of recruitment business. Global

companies want people who have global knowledge and understand,
through hands-on experience, whats going on in various parts of the
world. There are all sorts of dynamics involved and the recruiting process
for top talent is more difficult than people realize. Right now, the control is
in the candidates court, and they can literally name their own employment
terms, timing, etc. The bottom line is that top-notch people are in great
demand and theres a shortage of supply.
In this very competitive environment for talent, what should companies be

looking for from a search firm beyond recruitment?
TMO. Companies should be demanding a true executive search partner

who is very involved in the companys goals and objectives beyond the
talent component. As it relates to the talent component, the search firm
should be providing compensation information on the cost of this talent to
help the client adjust their cash and equity components, depending on the
offer. Companies can also look to search firms for validation that their
strategy of recruitment is spot on. So, in essence, the executive search
partner is looked at as a human capital partner.
KG. The expectations a company should have of their search partner is

that they take a very consultative approach and really are a seamless
extension of the company out in the marketplace. They should provide
market and business intelligence in addition to compensation, and be able
to advise on what the talent pool looks like for that position. Beyond that,
once the placement is made, is the effective transition and assimilation into
the culture, working with the candidate and the client. One example is
working with HR to evaluate, assess and, after 90 days, set up a meeting
where all the direct reports to the executive can share information on
whats working and whats not. Other services include helping companies
with in-house developmental plans and succession plans.
JVS. I think a company needs to look at the search partners attributes and
ask themselves: Is this the person I want representing my company out in
the marketplace? Does he or she understand our company business
strategy and what were trying to do?
! !391
10.5 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the Hiring Strategies for Senior
Management. Here we have seen that, in todays highly competitive,
complex economy, the quality of an organizations senior executive team is
critical. It is the key factor that will determine an organizations success or
failure. The process of retained executive search is essentially
straightforward but it is the skill, judgment and experience of the
consultants and their research teams that qualifies executive search
consulting as a profession in its own right. Separating the exceptional from
the average performer and assessing them against the needs of the
position and the potential of the client organization requires more than just
pedestrian skills. It needs the focus of senior professionals who can relate
to client management and the executive community as their equals and
who can bring to their work comparative judgment and the experience of
meeting and assessing thousands of executives.
The costs of retaining an executive search firm should be weighed against

the potential costs of a hiring mistake. Whether you are a small or large
organization, a bad appointment to a crucial position can have
consequences that can take much time and expenditure to recover from.
Supporting the profession of retained executive search consultants is a
code of ethics and professional practice established by their worldwide
professional association.
We have also discussed about the five point executive integration plan.
Those five points are:
Recruit realistically
Strategically plan entry into the company
Build in a plan for two way feedback early and often
Forge effective alliances
Honor tradition Pioneer change
The success of an executive who is new to an organization hinges on many

factors. The acceptance of the individual, as well as his or her acceptance
of the organization and those within it, should not be left to chance. Both
the executive and the organization share responsibility for planning an
effective integration effort. Executive Integration as Spanning three critical
! !392
time periods: recruiting and selection, orientation and organizational

socialization.
Recently, there has been a greater commitment from employers to support

their senior executives and develop their in-house talent by providing
coaching and other developmental tools, and allowing greater flexibility in
working schedules. Boards of Directors are requiring, and companies are
adhering, by creating succession plans and following them. As employers
scramble to retain good people, the candidates themselves have defined a
number of issues they consider important, and which are pivotal to
companies who want to hire and retain them. These include work/life
balance, professional development programs, family considerations and
values, as well as new ideas about retirement. The role of the executive
search firm and in-house corporate recruiters is more important than ever
as human capital partners in this war for talent atmosphere. In fact,
developing a close working relationship with a search firm partner is an
important element in a companys strategy to gain access to the best
available candidates. Search firms are best utilized in a true partnership
and consultative role where they have access and input to their clients
strategic plans.
10.6 Activities
1. The process of retained executive search is critical when hiring member

of the top management, research online blogs of organizations to
develop your knowledge on this concept.
2. What are the endeavors undertaken by organizations in India and

across the globe towards planning an effective transition when hiring
senior executives?
! !393
1. In todays highly competitive, complex economy, the quality of an

organizations senior executive team is critical. Give reasons to support
this statement.
2. Explain the concept of Retained executive search and its essence in

recruiting senior executives.
3. What are the aspects that differentiate retained executive search

consulting from other forms of recruiting?
4. Describe the importance of Executive fit in planning an effective

transition when hiring senior executives.
5. Write a note describing the importance of Forge effective alliances as a

part of the Five Point Executive Integration Plan.
6. Write a note describing the importance of Strategically planning entry

into the company as a part of the Five Point Executive Integration Plan.
7. Enlist and describe the executive integration process as spanning three

critical time periods.
8. Explain the role played by the CEO in the process of anticipating conflict
and managing change.
9. What are the different trends effecting Talent Recruitment? Discuss two
important trends that exist prominently in todays organizational
scenario.
10.Describe in detail the Compensation as a key strategy in securing top

talent as a part of the adoption strategies by organizations.
! !394
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
! !395
ROLE OF INDUCTION PROCESS IN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Chapter 11
ROLE OF INDUCTION PROCESS IN
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Objectives:
Why an induction program in needed

Objectives and benefits of induction program
The various elements of an Induction Kit
Structure:
11.1 Introduction to Induction Process

11.2 Need of Induction Program
11.3 Objectives of Induction
11.4 Benefits of Induction
11.5 Summary
11.6 Activities
! !396
11.1 Introduction to Induction Process
Induction = orientation
Define Induction
Induction can be defined as a process of introducing the employee who is

newly elected to the organization. When an employee is given a letter of
appointment, he/she joins the company on duty. The very first thing that
the company does is, introduces the new employee to the organization and
people working there. An induction program may be conducted at a
particular center for all employees or at different places (branches of the
company) for different employees.
The induction starts with an introduction session about the company,

number of branches, a brief history of the company, number of products,
number of countries operating in, organizational structure, culture, values,
beliefs, the names of top management personnel etc. Apart from this
introductory session, there will be other sessions also like sessions on
behavioral science, soft skill training, sessions on giving details about the
job, salary, bonus, information about different leaves that can be taken by
the employee about upward mobility in the organization etc. There are
different ways in which sessions can be conducted, i.e., using lecture
method, power point presentation, group discussion, psychological test,
role play sessions etc. The induction program concludes with the employee
reporting for duty at his respective branch after induction. When he reports
for duty, the senior most people in the branch takes the new employee
around the office and introduces to all other employees and gives
information about the working of the branch. The senior people regularly
stay in touch with the new employee in the first week so that he can make
the new employee comfortable and help him to adjust to the company.
After this, the company may start a training program for the new
employee.
! !397
Picture 11.1
11.2 Need of Induction Program
It is easy to forget that the selection process is only the beginning of the
employment relationship, and the future of that relationship depends to a
considerable extent on how the new employee is settled into the job. Most
labor turnover is among new employees, and work efficiency is reached
only after a period of learning and adjusting to the new environment.
By planning an induction program, in consultation with trade union or other

employee representatives if available, the organization can quickly build on
the positive attitude of the successful candidate. However, keen new
recruits may be, they may have anxieties about how well they will:
get on with their co-workers
understand the standards and rules (written and unwritten) of the

organization
make a good impression on their new manager or supervisor
be able to do the job.
! !398
A good induction program makes business sense, whatever the size of the
organization, and whatever the job. It introduces the newcomer not only to
their immediate colleagues, but to other workers with whom they may
have less day-to-day contact, including trade union representatives (if they
are recognized in the organization) or employee representatives on any
staff committee or council.
The Need for and Benefits of a Structured Induction Program in the
Telecommunications Industry, Dated: May 2011
Starting a new job is a daunting experience for most people. This is further
compounded when joining an organization in a dynamic, fast changing and
complicated industry such as the telecommunications industry.
Indian Atlantics consultants have been working in the telecommunications

industry for over 20 years and through our extensive experience working
with both start-up and mature organizations, we have identified a strong
need for structured and formal induction programs. Such programs are
aimed equipping new starters in an organization with the essential
knowledge, background and skills to accelerate personal effectiveness in
their new organization.
Research has shown that employees who have been subjected to tailored
company orientation and induction processes tend to be retained much
longer in the organization. In return, organizations that apply best practice
orientation and induction programs tend to attract and retain high caliber
employees.
There are vast benefits of induction programs to employees and employers.

An Induction process is an effective way of introducing new employees to
an organization to allow them to understand how their new employer
operate, what the business drivers of the organization are, what the
context is that the organization operates within, how the organization
operates in its daily business, the strategic and operational objectives of
the organization, the support structures within the organization and what
the organization expects of them culturally and operationally. When a new
employee joins an organization, it is vital to get the individual productive
and efficient as quickly as possible and induction training is a fundamental
part of this process.
! !399
Having a structured program with material, the employee can take away
alleviates the stress of starting a new job and leaves the employee with a
greater sense of comfort with their decision to join the organization.
When a new employee joins an organization, there is always a large

volume of information that the employee is required to absorb in a short
timeframe. This includes technical, functional and role related information
and skills as well as the culture and climate of the new organization.
Induction programs help new employees gain a better understanding of
where they fit into the organization, how their personal value make a
difference to the organization and understand what support and guidance
they can expect from within the organization. Induction programs also
allow new employees to ask questions to clarify uncertainties in a safe
environment and therefore to accelerate the trust relationships between
the employee and the employer.
It is an employers obligation to ensure a smooth transition for an

employee into an organization. The Induction program is often the first
formal interaction an employee has with the organization and is a
fundamental part of settling the employee into the new position. Having a
successful induction process creates the right first impression with new
employees. Orientation and induction programs help the organization to
quickly and effectively integrate new employees into its structures and
systems, clarify to new employees what the organization expects from
them in order to be effective corporate citizens, create an understanding of
how the people measurement systems and processes work, minimize new
employee uncertainties within a very short period of time and accelerate
the building of a relationship between employee and employer. For direct
and indirect channels, an induction program has additional benefits.
Dealers and outsourced services are tasked with the important
responsibility of representing the organization. It is critical that these
partners fully understand the organization structures, policies and
procedures in order to convey the correct messages to customers.
A structured induction strategy and induction program allows an

organization to have a model to follow and ensures all new staff is
introduced to the organization in the correct and a consistent way.
We have identified an additional problem that organizations often do not

have dedicated and tailored orientation and induction programs as they do
! !400
not have enough resources that can design and deliver such programs due
to the primary focus being on meeting the daily operational management
demands. Also, such programs need to be constantly updated and
maintained. Indian Atlantic has the telecommunications and organizational
design expertise to tailor, develop and maintain such programs for not only
startup organizations but for all kinds of developing and developed
organizations.
Indian Atlantic works with organizations to tailor-make an induction

strategy and programme that fulfills the organizations specific needs. The
bespoke program is designed based on the experience and subject matter
knowledge of the employees joining the organization and the maturity of
the organization.
A strategy for orientation and induction is of paramount importance to the

design and successful implementation of such programs. The purpose of an
orientation and induction strategy is to define the scope and extent to
which an organization wants to induct its employees into its culture and
day-to-day operations. The strategy influences the content and design of
such a programme. We work in collaboration with senior management and
appropriately identified internal resources to design an orientation and
induction program that fulfills the specific requirements of the organization.
Should you require any further information on this or any other Indian
Atlantic product offering visit www.indianatlantic.com.
11.3 Objectives of Induction
Orientation or Induction is the first important step in the process of human

resource management. It involves familiarization of the newly appointed
employees to the work environment of the organization as well as to the
fellow employees. Induction is a socializing process by which the
organization seeks to make an individual its agent for the achievement of
its objectives. The new employees should be oriented to the organization
and to its policies, rules and regulations. An induction or orientation
program is designed to achieve the following objectives:
To build up the new employee's confidence in the organization and in

himself so that he may become an efficient employee.
! !401
To develop among the newcomers a feeling of loyalty towards the

organization.
To foster a close and cordial relationship among the employees.
To ensure that the new employees do not form a false impression and
negative attitude towards the organization or the job.
To give the employees the necessary information like facilities, rules etc.
about the organization.
Generally, the process of orientation begins by taking the new employees

around the factory and offices of the company. The supervisor gives new
employees' introduction to the fellow employees and provides the
immediately needed information about others as well as about the
organization, so that he feels comfortable in the new surroundings.
Lectures and discussions may be arranged to provide the necessary
information and guidance. Handbooks, manuals and pamphlets may also
be supplied for the orientation of the new employees. The information
provided to the new employees, during the orientation process may
include:
Brief history of the company

Operations and products of the company
Company's organizational structure
Location of departments and employee facilities
Personnel policies and practices
Rules and regulations
Employee activities
Grievance procedure
Safety measures
Standing orders
This orientation programme should not be very lengthy and it need not
necessarily be given on the same day when the employees join the
organization. It may be given formally after some time. Also, in case of
small firms, the induction program is likely to be more informal and of
short duration. While, in big organizations, it is more of the formal types
and of longer duration which may extend up to two to four weeks.
! !402
Orientation programs may also be in the form of providing induction

training to the new employees where they are familiarized with the work
environment and the fellow employees; the new employees are taught
basic techniques or methods to do the work for which they are recruited,
etc.
11.4 Benefits of Induction
The Need
Induction and orientation training programs for new employees are

essential these days for all companies in order to ensure that the new
employee can adopt the new working environment fast with ease and
comfort.
The Induction and orientation training programs benefits are explained

below:
(A)Benefits to the Company:
It creates a positive perception of the organization and an

understanding of the corporate culture, values, vision, mission and
goals.
It can set a precedent for ongoing training, by showing the employee

that the organization is serious about developing his skills to perform
his job competently.
It can also help in motivating the existing employees who are included
in the process.
A good induction program can also help in cutting down recruitment

costs as new staff is more likely to give longer term commitment to the
organization.
Can benefit from the insights, objectivity and fresh ideas of a new
employee. A new employee can also give insights onto how the
company is perceived externally.
! !403
(B)Benefits to Employees:
Feel welcomed and comfortable (building relationships).

It confirms the employee's decision to join the organization.
It helps to build self-esteem, morale and motivation.
It establishes good communication and relationship between the
employee and his supervisor from the first day.
Makes the employee familiar with the corporate environment, rules,

systems and regulations.
Some Examples of Induction Programme
Picture 11.2: Source: www.e-learningstrategy.sa.gov.au
! !404
Picture 11.3: Source: www.emeraldinsight.com
11.5 Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed about the Induction Program, which is a

process of introducing the employee who is newly elected to the
organization. When an employee is given a letter of appointment, he/she
joins the company on duty. The very first thing that the company does is,
introduces the new employee to the organization and people working
there. An induction program may be conducted at a particular center for all
employees or at different places (branches of the company) for different
employees. A good induction program makes business sense, whatever the
size of the organization, and whatever the job. It introduces the newcomer
not only to their immediate colleagues, but to other workers with whom
they may have less day-to-day contact, including trade union
representatives (if they are recognized in the organization) or employee
representatives on any staff committee or council.
! !405
An induction or orientation program is designed to achieve the following

objectives:
To build up the new employee's confidence in the organization and in

himself so that he may become an efficient employee.
To develop among the newcomers a feeling of loyalty towards the
organization.
To foster a close and cordial relationship among the employees.
To ensure that the new employees do not form a false impression and
negative attitude towards the organization or the job.
To give the employees the necessary information like facilities, rules etc.
about the organization.
The information provided to the new employees, during the orientation

process may include:
Brief history of the company

Company's organizational structure
Personnel policies and practices
Employee activities
Standing orders.
Induction and orientation training programs for new employees are
essential these days for all companies in order to ensure that the new
employee can adopt the new working environment fast with ease and
comfort.
11.6 Activities
1. The concept of Induction has been discussed in this chapter. Research

case studies and articles online to prove the effectiveness of business
orientation and induction.
! !406
2. Using online blogs and websites, elaborate the fact that induction
programs help in building up the new employee's confidence in the
organization.
11.7 Self assessment Questions
1. Write a short note in order to explain the process of organizational

induction.
2. Enlist the important sessions that form of key part of the introductory
session of the process of organizational induction.
3. Apart from the introductory session, enlist the important sessions that
form of key part of the process of organizational induction.
4. Describe in detail the need of Induction Program.
5. Why is it an employers obligation to ensure a smooth transition for an

employee into an organization?
6. Identify the benefits of a structured induction strategy and induction

program.
7. Discuss the key constituents of the process of employee orientation and
enlist the key information provided to the new employees during this
process.
8. Provide the reason behind the statement Orientation programme should

not be very lengthy.
9. What are the specific benefits of the induction and orientation training
programs from the organizations perspective?
10.What are the specific benefits of the induction and orientation training
programs from the employees perspective?
! !407
REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
! !408
Appendix A: Indian Laws for Recruitment and

Selection
The Legal View Laws governing recruitment in private sectors are a few.
The Child Labor [Prohibition and Regulation] Act prohibits employment of
children in certain employments and regulates their working hours and
conditions. Employment Exchanges [Compulsory Notification of Vacancies]
Act requires public sector and those private sector employers who employ
25 or more persons to notify all vacancies to their prescribed Employment
Exchange.
The Legal View Apprentices Act, 1961; the Interstate Migrant Workmen
Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service Act, 1979; the
Factories Act, 1948; and the Mines Act, 1952 are some other Acts dealing
with recruitment. Unlike UK and USA, India does not have comprehensive
legislations regarding equal employment opportunities. Indian employers
are expected to have a fair and non-discriminatory recruitment policy.
Equal Remuneration Act in India: The Convention concerning equal

remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value was
adopted by the general conference of the International Labor Organization
in 1951. India is one of the parties to this Convention. Article 39[d] of the
constitution of India provides that the state shall, in particular, direct its
policy towards securing that there is equal pay for equal work for both men
and women.
Equal Remuneration Act in India was enacted to prevent discrimination

among workers on grounds of gender. The Act aims at prohibition of
discrimination during recruitment and wage fixing. The section 5 of this Act
forbids discrimination during recruitment and the section 4[1] of the Act
makes it mandatory to pay equal wages for women for the same work
done.
Employee State Insurance Act: Employee State Insurance Act, 1948 is

a piece of social welfare legislation and applies to establishments notified
by the Government. The promulgation of the Act envisaged an integrated
need-based social insurance scheme that would protect the interest of
workers in unforeseen events such as sickness, maternity, temporary or
permanent physical disability, death due to employment, injury resulting in
loss of wages or earning capacity.
! !409
The Section 46 of the Act offers six social benefits: Medical benefit
Sickness benefit. - extended sickness benefit. - enhanced sickness benefit.
Maternity benefit. Disablement benefit. - temporary disablement benefit. -
permanent disablement benefit. Dependants benefits. Funeral Expenses.
8Chapter Eleven Indian Laws for Recruitment & Selection
In the ESI scheme, the contributions are related to the paying capacity as
a fixed % of the workers wages, whereas, the workers are provided social
security benefits according to individual needs without distinction. In
addition, the scheme also provides other need-based benefits like
rehabilitation allowance, vocational rehabilitation and unemployment
allowance under Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana.
Law and Indian MNC: More and more Indian Organizations are recruiting
a pool of talent. It is imperative that the recruiter is aware of the legal
issues surrounding recruitment in country of operation. USA, UK have very
stringent laws and what may be acceptable in India may be a case of
lawsuit in those countries. There are legal pitfalls in job ads, job application
forms, interview questions. It is essential that selection team is educated
of all these pitfalls to avoid expensive lawsuits.
! !410
Appendix B: Sample Interview Questions
Here are some very important HR questions which are often asked during
Interviews:
Tell me something about yourself?

What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
How do you handle pressure/can you work well under pressure?
What are your short-term goals?
What are your long-term goals?
Where do you see after 5 years?
Why should we hire you?
What is your salary expectation?
Why do you want to leave your current job?
Do you prefer to work alone or as a team player?
What made you choose your major/stream?
Why didnt you pursue a career in your major/stream?
Why do you want to work for us?
Are you willing to travel?
Are you willing to take risks?
What do you know about this company?
What do you seek from a job?
How do you evaluate success?
During your performance reviews, what criticism do you hear the most?
Is there anything else that we should know about you that would impact
our decision?
If i tell you, you are an IDIOT, a FOOL, a RASCAL; can you think anything
positive about it?
! !411
If you were an animal/a can of soup/some other random object which

one would you prefer & why?
What will you do if you are asked to give a bribe?
Suppose i tell you i dont like your face? then why should i select you?
If your boss is taking all the credits for your work, what will you do?
Suppose you find yourself in a deserted island. What three things you will
need to survive?
How do you think you conducted or performed during this interview?

How mobile are you?
If after sometime you start disliking the job, What would you do?
What have you learnt from your failures?
Tell us an incident where you had a problem with your team-mate. How
did you handle it?
Twenty-five Other Critical HR Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself?
2. What do you know about our organization?
3. Why do you want to work for us?
4. What can you do for us that someone else cant?
5. What do you find most attractive about this position? What seems least
attractive about it?
6. Why should we hire you?
7. What do you look for in a job?
8. Please give me your definition of [the position for which you are being
interviewed].
9. How long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to our

firm?
! !412
10.How long would you stay with us?
11.Your resume suggests that you may be overqualified or too experienced

for this position. Whats your opinion?
12.What is your management style?
13.Are you a good manager? Can you give me some examples? Do you
feel that you have top managerial potential?
14.What do you look for when you hire people?
15.Have you ever had to fire people? What were the reasons, and how did
you handle the situation?
16.What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager or
executive?
17.What important trends do you see in our industry?
18.Why are you leaving (did you leave) your present (last) job?
19.How do you feel about leaving all your benefits to find a new job?
20.In your current (last) position, what features do (did) you like the
most? The least?
21.What do you think of your boss?
22.Why arent you earning more at your age?
23.What do you feel this position should pay?
24.What are your long-range goals?
25.How successful do you youve been so far?
! !413
Appendix C: References and Sources of information

Books:
Recruitment and Selection - Hiring the People You Want: Eric Garner
Recruitment and Selection: Gareth Roberts
Recruitment and Selection: How to Get it Right: Gerard V. McMahon
Recruitment and Selection: N.K. Chatham
Assessment Methods in Recruitment, Selection and Performance: A

Managers Guide to Psychometric Testing, Interviews and Assessment
Centers
URLs:
www.era.org.in studytipsandtricks.blogspot.in
work.chron.com blog.hirerabbit.com
www.knowinfonow.com www.webpronews.com
www.daxtra.com www.employwise.com
www.allbestarticles.com www.articlesnatch.com
tips-opinions.com www.ere.net
www.exforsys.com www.simplehrguide.com
tranzition.com.au www.nd.gov
www.simplehrguide.com www.docstoc.com
thegfp.treasury.gov.uk www.careerfaqs.com.au
www.mbaknol.com recruitment.naukrihub.com
studyvalue.com www.mfihr.com
www.articlesbase.com hrlink.in
www.indiasocial.in recruitmentstrategy.wordpress.com
! !414
www.ehow.com humanresources.about.com
www.inc.com in.reuters.com
www.citeman.com www.sooperarticles.com
www.managementstudyguide.com www.yourbusiness.azcentral.com
www.managementone.in en.wikipedia.org
www.chrmglobal.com www.wisestep.com
www.accountlearning.blogspot.in www.simplifiedrecruitment.com
www.recruiter.com
! !415

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RECRUITMENT MANAGEMENT

Chapter No. Chapter Name Page No.

1 Introduction to the Recruitment Process 3-29

2 Recruitment: An Indian Perspective 30-80

3 Sources of Recruitment 81-106

4 Recruitment Process: From Posting Advertisements 107-155

5 Recruitment Process: Critical Essentials of 156-188

6 Improving the Recruitment Process through Use of 189-231

7 Innovative Recruitment Practices 232-301

8 The Selection Process 302-333

9 Techniques for Effective Interviewing 334-372

10 Hiring Strategies for Senior Management 373-395

11 Role of Induction Process in Recruitment and 396-408

Appendix A: Indian Laws for Recruitment and 409-410

Appendix B: Sample Interview Questions 411-413

Appendix C: References and Sources of Information 414-415

After discussing this chapter, you will be able to understand:

The Recruitment process

1.4.1 Personal Liking

1.5 Factors Affecting Recruitment

1.5.1 External Factors Affecting Recruitment Process

1.6 Recruitment Methods An Overview

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of qualified applicants for

Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees and

Picture 1.1: Stock Images

The objective of the recruitment process is to obtain the number and

1.2 Objectives of recruitment

Following are the objectives of the recruitment process:

2. Determine present and future manpower requirements of the

5. Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the

6. Increase the pool of candidates at minimum cost.

7. Acts as a link between the employers and the job seekers.

8. Infuse fresh blood at all levels of the organization.

9. Meet the organization's legal and social obligations regarding the

10.Increase the effectiveness of various recruiting techniques.

12.It forecasts how many people will be required in the company.

14.It provides different opportunities to procure human resource.

1.3 The Recruitment Process in a Nutshell

In this section we are going to discuss about:

Workforce Requisition: The Workforce Requisition is the process through

Picture 1.2: Basic Workforce Requisition Form (Source: Stock

Using sources to generate a qualified pool of applicants: Once the

Internal Methods: Organizations may decide to move people into open

The merits of sourcing candidates internally are:

There is no substitute for knowing the candidates performance,

Commitment levels of internal candidates may be higher.

Internal candidates will have a better understanding of the organization

Training and orientation time will therefore be saved.

Telling unsuccessful candidates why they were rejected and what

Inbreeding is another potential drawback. When a lot of managers

Advertisement (Choice of publication is critical)

Levels entry level, mid manager, senior manager

Picture 1.4: Workforce Requisition (Source: Stock)

Difference between Recruitment and Selection: Both recruitment and

Table 1.1: Difference between Recruitment and Selection

The basic purpose of recruitments is The basic purpose of selection

1.4 Approaches to Recruitment

Recruitment is one of the key processes of any business. It is the means by

1.4.1 Personal Liking

The recruitment process is a personalized one. We like to get to know

However, to be fair and to be effective, personal liking must be balanced by

Mahesh Mehta is the VP HR in Versatile Solutions one of the private

We dont use standard selection methods. We like to know the person

1.4.2 The Systems Approach