SELECTION

Meaning and Definition

Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidates from those who
apply for the job.

It is picking up of applicants or candidates with requisite qualifications and qualities

to fill jobs in the organization.
The process of selection follows a methodology to collect information about an individual
in order to determine if that individual should be employed.

Dale Yoder said, “Selection is the process by which candidates for employment are
divided into classes those who will be offered employment and those who will not.”
Difference between selection & recruitment
 Importance of selection
● Developing a strong HR selection process can help ensure that your company hires
competent, loyal employees who help you to reach your business goals. In contrast, if there
is bad hire with a bad selection process, then the work will be affected and the cost
incurred for replacing that bad resource will be high.
● Selection gives the managers an opportunity to assess the candidate's character and
personality
● Proper selection of candidates reduces the cost of training because qualified personnel have
better grasping power.
● Proper selection of personnel reduces personnel problems in the organization. Many
problems like labour turnover, absenteeism and monotony
 Selection Process

Selection is a long process, commencing from the preliminary

interview of the applicants and ending with the contract of
employment.
Selection process differs from one organisation to the other and is
influenced by various factors.
This process is established to achieve a good match between the job
requirements and the candidates’ skills and motives.Hence the
organisation should review and implement the best selection process .
 Environment factor affecting selection
Selection is influenced by several factors. More prominent among them are

➔ supply and demand of specific skills in the labor market,

➔ unemployment rate,
➔ labor- market conditions,
➔ legal and political considerations,
➔ Company’s image,
➔ Company’s policy,
➔ Human resources planning
➔ Cost of hiring.
 1. Preliminary Interview

➔ Preliminary interviews are the very first interview in the selection process.
➔ It is an initial screening process, where most eligible candidates are called for
it.
➔ It's mainly an initial meeting to gather basic information and discuss the job
description.
➔ Its purpose is to find suitable candidates and reject those who do not fit the
company's needs.
➔ Preliminary interviews are usually shorter than the other formal interviews
and fast paced to gather much information about the candidate.
 2. Selection Test

Job seekers who pass the screening and the preliminary interview are called for
tests.

Tests play vital role in employee selection.

Different types of tests may be administered, depending on the job and the
company. Generally, tests are used to determine the applicant’s ability, aptitude
and personality.

Cronbach defines it as, “A test is a systematic procedure for comparing the

behaviour of two or more persons.”
a.aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are also known as potential ability tests and specific cognitive tests and are used
to measure the ability of a candidate to learn a given job if he/she is given the required training.

Specific aptitude tests have to be designed for jobs that require mechanical, clerical, musical,
academic, linguistic, motor capacities and abilities.

They consists of

➔ IQ test
➔ Emotional Quotient
➔ Skill Tests
➔ Mechanical Aptitude
➔ Psychomotor Tests
➔ Clerical Aptitude Tests
b. ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
Achievement tests measure the job knowledge of the applicants in the areas such as
marketing, HR,Finance,Economics. When an applicant claims to know something, an
achievement test is given to measure how well he/she knows it. It is for this reason
that achievement tests are also known as proficiency tests or performance tests.

They include

➔ Job Knowledge Tests

➔ Work Sample Tests
c. Situational tests
These tests evaluates a candidate in a similar real-life situation.how the candidates are coping
up with the situation or solve a problem in a critical situation is assessed.

It includes:

➔ Group Discussion
➔ In Basket-An in-basket test or an in-basket exercise is a test used by companies in hiring and
promoting employees. During the test, job applicants receive a number of mails, telephone calls,
documents and memos.It helps in acquainting employees about their job where a number of problems
are kept in the "in basket "(usually kept on the desk of the employee). The worker has to look at the
problems which could also be complaints from different employees and simultaneously deal with those
problems. As the employee solves these problem, he/she transfers them to the "out-basket"
d.Interest tests
Interest tests have been designed to discover a person’s field of interest and to identify the
kind of work that will satisfy him/her. They are in a sense inventories of the likes and dislikes
of the people of some occupations.

Although the interest tests have been mostly standardised, some organisations have devel
oped tests to suit their own requirements, especially when there is a continuing demand for a
large number of new personnel for a single job. Such developed tests are also known as
‘Tailor- made Tests’.

Interest inventories can be a great starting point in your search for a career that you will love.
Interest inventories look at a person's likes and dislikes, their favorite activities, and their
personality. Then they compare those qualities with the qualities of people who are already
working in specific careers.
5. Personality tests
➔ Thematic Apperception Tests- a type
of projective test that involves describing
ambiguous scenes.It is designed to reveal an ➔ Ink Blot Tests- a psychological test in which
individual's perception of interpersonal subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then
relationships. Thirty-one picture cards serve as analyzed using psychological interpretation &
stimuli for stories and descriptions about complex algorithm. this test is to examine a person's
relationships or social situations. personality characteristics and emotional functioning
Other tests
➔ Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and
cognitive ability in adults .
➔ Wonderlic Personnel Test-a popular assessment used to measure the cognitive ability
and problem-solving aptitude of prospective employees for a range of occupations
➔ Polygraph Test- popularly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure
that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure,
pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series
of questions.
➔ Honesty Tests-An integrity test is a specific type of personality test designed to assess
an applicant's tendency to be honest, trustworthy, and dependable.
➔ Multi dimensional testing -various traits and abilities are tested
➔ Graphology -inference of character from a person's handwriting. The theory
underlying graphology is that handwriting is an expression of personality; hence, a
systematic analysis of the way words and letters are formed can reveal traits of
personality
Criteria for choosing tests
1. Reliability- It refers to standardization of the procedure of administering and scoring
the test results. A person who takes tests one day and makes a certain score should be
able to take the same test the next day or the next week and make more or less the
same score
2. Validity-It is a test, which helps predict whether a person will be successful in a
given job. A test that has been validated can be helpful in differentiating between
prospective employees who will be able to perform the job well and those who will
not
3. Objectivity-When two or more people can interpret the result of the same test and
derive the same conclusion(s), the test is said to be objective
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 3. Employment interview
Interview is formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the applicant’s
acceptability. It is considered to be excellent selection device. It is face-to-face
exchange of view, ideas and opinion between the candidates and interviewers.
Basically, interview is nothing but an oral examination of candidates.

Interview has at least three objectives and they are as follows: –

1. Helps obtain additional information from the applicants

2. Facilitates giving general information to the applicants such as company
policies, job, products manufactured and the like
3. Helps build the company’s image among the applicants.
Types of interview
After the testing procedures ,interviews are
conducted by the organisations. Interviews are an
essential step in the selection process as direct
observation and communication with the candidate is
held at this stage.
There are commonly divided as
➔ Preliminary interview
➔ Core Interview
➔ Decision-making interview
1.preliminary interview
A preliminary interview is an initial meeting to gather basic information about how an applicant's goals, skills and
qualifications can benefit a company's needs. A preliminary interview can possibly result in a “no” decision, but is not able
to result in a final “yes” decision.It could be a

➔ Informal interview- , the overall tone of an informal interview will generally feel more casual, and rather than a
question-and-answer session, the interview will be more likely to feel like a conversation.. Although an informal
interview is not structured like a traditional, and more formal, job interview, the interviewer's aim is the same, to
assess whether the candidate would fit in the organization.
➔ Formal interview - Where similar set of structured questions are asked to all the candidates in a more formal way
while compared with the informal interviews.
➔ A telephone interview is an interview for employment conducted on the phone. •Telephone interviews are often
used to screen candidates in order to narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person
interviews.Telephone interviews are hugely valuable because they speed up the interview process
2. Core interview
Once the candidates are filtered in the preliminary stage ,a
in depth interviews are needed to assess them. Core
interviews are done with the higher authorities,direct line
managers and various experts. The candidates knowledge and
other skills are tested through this interview.
They could in the form of
➔ Job & Probing interview
➔ Stress interview
➔ Group interview
➔ Panel interview
➔ Video conferencing
A.Job & Probing interview

Job & Probing interview-aimed at testing the candidates job knowledge about duties,activities,methods of doing the
job,critical details and methods of handling the job. Examples of probing questions are

➔ “Tell me more about that.”

➔ “What led you to . . . “
➔ “What eventually happened?”
➔ “Looking back, what would you do differently now, if anything?”
➔ “Compare this to what others have done
B.Stress interviews
A stress interview is used to put an interviewee in an awkward position and to throw them off balance. It is designed
to reveal how a candidate acts under pressure, deals with stress, and handles workplace conflict.Some examples are:

Showing contempt: "Is that all you can come up with? Let's move on"
Throwing you off balance: "How do you like the interview so far?"
Hostile body language: The interviewer is not looking at the candidate, rolls his eyes, lays back in his chair,
takes phone calls in the middle of the interview or lets his secretary interrupt him for mundane matters
Quick fire: The interviewers asks questions in quick succession, not letting the candidate complete his/her
answers
Odd and unrelated questions
C.Group DISCUSSION interviews
Group interviews are not too common but still used by certain companies. It, pits one candidate against one
or more of the competitors who are also interviewing for the exact same position. Group interviews are often
fast-paced and designed specifically to test reaction to pressure.

It can also be conducted as asking exactly the same questions that would be ask in an individual interview,
openly, to the whole group, allowing candidates the chance to compete to impress.
D.Panel interview
It involves being questioned by several members of the business at one time. Each interviewer
will prepare their own question, and candidates will be evaluated both on their expertise and
cultural fit within the company. Panels are designed to give a wider impression to senior staff
about candidate’s abilities, reaching a consensus rather than just one interviewer’s opinion.
E. Video conferencing Interview

A video conference interview allows a hiring manager or recruiter to use a video conference call to conduct a long

distance, face-to-face interview with a job seeker. The exact formal approach is maintained in this interview where

candidates are expected to be professional even though they can be within the comfort of their house.
F.Final decision making interview
When there are few candidates who have excelled in the core
interviews , a final interview is conducted to finally to examine the
interests and the attitude of the candidates. The job terms like
work timings,salary,allowances,promotion opportunities are also
explained for the candidate to make the decision.
The line manager concerned usually makes the final decision of
selection.
pRINCIPLES OF INTERVIEWING
1. PREPARATION- Considerable time and efforts are
required to prepare the types of interview,what
information is to be gathered?, questions
structure, who should be the interviewers? Etc
2. SETTING - The environment needed for the
interview,to establish a rapport with the
candidate,a comfortable space where there are not
much distractions,etc.
3. CONDUCT OF THE INTERVIEW- Actual interview being
conducted,where the interviewee is assessed on the
job related parameters.
4. CLOSE- As the interview should open smoothly so
should it close, without awkwardness and
embarrassment. The organisation’s culture and image is
projected through the interview, hence should be dealt
carefully.
5. EVALUATION- The interviewers should immediately
evaluate the candidate while the details are fresh in
mind. The panel members should discuss their notes or
rating sheets in case of a structured interview.
 4. REFERENCE CHECK /BACKGROUND CHECK
A reference check is when a hiring manager, employer, or recruiter contacts a job candidate's
former workplace/ educational institute to get more information on the candidate's performance
and skills.

The purpose of a reference check is to ensure the candidate has the qualifications needed for the
role the employer is trying to fill.

Also to genuinely check if the candidate has submitted the true certificates and has the
qualifications mentioned in the resume.

Reference checks allow a recruiter to get independent insight about a candidate's previous
on-the-job performance

It verifies the information provided by the candidate on their resume and during the interview
5. Selection decision
After obtaining information through the preceding steps, selection decision- the most
critical of all the steps- must be made.

The other stages in the selection process have been used to narrow the number of the
candidates. The final decision has to be made the pool of individuals who pass the
tests, interviews and reference checks.

The view of the line manager will be generally considered in the final selection because
it is he/she who is responsible for the performance of the new employee.

The selection decision impacts the whole organisation’s performance hence should be
done carefully.
6. Physical examination
Certain organisations after the selection decision and before the job offer is made,ask their
candidate to undergo a physical fitness test.

The results of the medical fitness test are recorded in a statement and are preserved in the
personnel records.

The test assists in determining whether an applicant is physically fit to perform the work.

Medical check-up protects applicants with health defects from undertaking work that could
be detrimental to them .

Such an examination also at times can l protect the employer from workers compensation
claims that are not valid because the injuries or illness were present when the employee
was hired.
7. Job offer
Job offer is made through a letter of appointment . Such a letter generally contains a date by
which the appointee must report on duty. A job offer is an invitation for a potential employee
to work in a specific position for an employer.

Job offers typically contain the details of the employment offer, including salary, benefits, job
responsibilities, and the reporting manager's name and title.The appointee must be given
reasonable time for reporting.

This is particularly necessary when he or she is already in employment, in which case the
appointee is required to obtain a relieving certificate from the previous employer.

In case of new employees, training information ,probationary period are all to be informed.

Other Contracts, terms and conditions are all explained clearly to the candidate.
8. Concluding the selection process
There is another step-a more sensitive one – reassuring and informing those
candidates who have not been selected.

Yet another development has taken place – a development that has become a
serious concern for HR managers. The issue relates to ‘No Shows’ by selected
candidates. These are the individuals who pass through the selection rigor,
receive employment offers, but fail to report to duties.

No shows cost money. Hence other shortlisted candidates can be called again for
another final interview decisions.
9.EVALUATION OF THE SELECTION PROGRAM
The broad test of the effectiveness of the selection process is the quality of the
personnel hired.

The selection process, if properly done, will ensure availability of such

employees.
A periodic audit and evaluation of the selection procedures should be
conducted to know the success of the selection techniques adopted.
Effective selection is based on

● Competency based hiring

techniques.
● Training the interviewers
● Assessing the culture fit of
the candidates and not only
the knowledge based fit.
● Having an effective selection
team who concentrates on the
3 R’s of the selection policy
.
induction
It is the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first joins a company and
giving him the basic information he needs to settle down quickly and happily and start work. In
the process of induction the new comer is explained his duties and responsibilities, company
rules, policies and regulations so as to make him familiar to the organization.

As companies work hard to recruit the right candidate for their organization, it is equally important
for them to carry out a well-planned and organized induction session for the new recruits.

Objectives of Induction – Overcoming Employee Anxiety, Overcoming Reality

Shock and Accommodating Employees.

The induction programme is an ideal occasion for the managers to influence the candidates
positively, in order to extract the best possible outcome from them.
Process of induction
A Noogler is the affectionate term Google uses to refer to new hires!!

Google has a two-week induction programme in place for all its “Nooglers” which
introduces them to the organisational structure, practices and programming
technologies.
PLacement
Placement is the act of offering the job to a finally selected candidate. It is the act of finally assigning the rank
and responsibility to an employee, identifying him with a particular job.

The following principles are required to be observed while making placement of an employee:

(i) Job requirement – Candidate should be placed on the job according to the requirement of the job rather than
qualification and requirement of the candidates .

(ii) Qualification – The job offered should match with the qualification possessed by an employee.

(iii) Information – All the information relating to the job should be given to the employees along with the prevailing
working conditions. They should also be made known that they have to pay penalty for wrong doing.

(iv) Loyalty and Co-operation – Every effort should be made to develop a sense of loyalty and co-operation in
employees to make them understand their responsibilities