Week 20 - Selection

Week 20 – Selection

There are various selection methods used by businesses in order to select the right candidate for the job, my step dads company Collaborate London is a company that I am particularly familiar with. I have experienced the selection process and have been told about it by my step dad. Selection is extremely important and has to be done properly, to be done successfully a company will have to gather as much information about the candidates as possible, organise and evaluate this information and compare and contrast this information between candidates. Collaborate London is a growing business, it is only three years old and has over 10 employees and some part time staff. Because it’s a relatively small business every employee has to be able to perform well and do the job assigned to them. The selection process they use is to first short list from the information on CV’s and application forms, then carry out interviews on the candidates that have the best suited skills for the job based on the information from the CV’s. The final process is work simulation, the tasks the candidates will be asked to perform on a day to day basis are explained to them and the Collaborate interviewer overlooks them carrying out this task and judges how well they do. 

Shortlisting information from CV’s and application forms is often most businesses first step of the selection process, it is crucial to examine all CV’s and application forms and wean out the ones that don’t meet the company’s expectations and shortlist the ones that stick out from the rest. There are massive advantages of carrying out this process as it is the first step to choosing a possible candidate.

The next step is to interview the candidates left from the first stage of the selection process. There are many advantages and disadvantages of interviewing. These are –

Advantages:

The interviewer can obtain detailed information about the candidate, including feelings towards the company, perceptions and opinions. Detailed questions can be asked to clarify ambiguities and pressing on for full answers and following up on incomplete answers. Questions can be created by the interviewer to suit each candidate, blank spots on the cv or application form can be filled in. Face to face interviews mean that the interviewer can observe the candidates facial expressions and body language which will give the interviewer an indication of the candidate’s honest feelings. 

Disadvantages:

Interviews give only the interviewer the chance to assess the candidate, other employees at the company may prefer other candidates, but it’s only the choice of one employee of the company to make the choice. So no other members of the company have a say in which candidate they think is the best suited to the role. Some possible candidates may not excel in one to one situations, shyer candidates may not put their skills and experience forward, and although they might perform best at the job required of them, they might find it hard to convince the interviewer.  Interviews are also very time consuming, and time costs money. The interviewer will have to put aside projects and work that they are currently working on to interview potential candidates.

Work simulations, realistic job simulations is the last part of the selection process that Collaborate use. The advantages of this process are that if two or three possible candidates from the interview process it can help a company to decide. Putting the remaining candidates into realistic job simulations is the best way to separate the candidates, if one of the candidates excels and completes the task well before the others then it can be clear that he or she is the person to hire. A disadvantage of this could be that the candidates could crumble under the pressure, a pressure that on a normal day to day basis at work they wouldn’t be under, so it can be a bit biased if one of the candidates struggles under pressure. 

During my A-levels at sixth form I entered an extra-curricular activity called business enterprise, in which business studies students were given the opportunity to create a product and sell it at various craft fairs. In order to get into the project each student had to go through an interview to be selected. As the project was over-subscribed there was no guaranteed place for any of the students. During the interview I was asked various questions regarding my interest in the subject and why I felt I would be good for the project. I felt the interview was particularly effective, the interviewer had a good set of questions lined up regarding the project and I felt comfortable whilst in the interview.  

As the blog said earlier I am familiar with Collaborates selection process, although I feel it is a good process there are one or two areas which could be improved. One of which, during the interview process more employees could get involved with the interviewing, although it would take up time and the employees would have to put their current work and projects on hold, it would be a worthwhile process so that all employees, or at least the management and higher level employees can make a decision together.

Conclusion – This blog has looked mainly at Collaborates selection process, and through looking at it and analysing it I have learnt that the process is good, the business is going well which is also a sign that the process is working. The blog has looked at different types of selection and which processes are good.