Recruiting

Recruiting, Resumes, Applications, Biodata, & Reference.

Talent Manager

Focuses on the pool of applications and subsequent employees we are trying to acquire. It includes all the ways that organizations bring employees on board, keep them happy and productive, and help them continue to develop their skills over time.

Talent acquisition -> talent assessment -> talent evaluation

Activities:

• finding and hiring the right people (talent acquisition)
• learning and growing
• managing and rewarding performance
• tailoring the employee experience
• optimizing workforce planning and strategy

Recruiting Process

Overview of the steps:

1. Job Analysis: questionnaires, observation, interviews
2. Employee Specifications: KSAOs, job description
3. Recruiting: internal/external, who to recruit, recruiting source (where)

Factors affecting recruiting:

• labor market characteristics - is the economy growing, what is the unemployment rate.
• societal values - fewer men in elementary education teachers, what are the societal benefits of widening the applicant group.
• value placed on internal vs external recruiting
• difficult in filling position
• recruitment information (e.g., type of reach, amount)

Factors

Labor market characteristics, societal values, value placed on internal vs external, difficulty of filling position, recruitment information (type of reach, amount and timing, budget).

Sources

Where do people find jobs?

Professional / "White collar":

• job far, professional orgs/newsletter/conferences, headhunters, references/network, internet job board ads (indeed, glassboard, usajobs)

Skilled labor / "Blue collar":

• print/internet, temporary agencies, outplacement agency, Maryland Job Service, Federal Job Listings, job fairs, community centers, unsolicited job applications.

Recruiter Personnel

Characteristics of the recruiter that might affect the recruiting experience are:

• demographics
• position of recruiter
• personality traits/interpersonal behavior
• amount of knowledge and training

They must decide the message content for recruiting: do we sell the organization or do we give them a realistic job preview (RJP)

People want to see that there's

• an opportunity to learn and use their abilities (this is why it's so hard to maintain people for low-skill jobs.)
• a variety of activities
• an opportunity for rapid advancement
• challenging and interesting work

Networking

Employment experts' opinions vary as to what percentage of hires are due to networking, but most state something in the ballpark of 70-80%.

Screening vs Selection

Screening is the first step of the hirign process after candidates have responded to your recruiting efforts.

A screening system usually serves to eliminate applicants who do not meet the minimum qualification. Qualifications may be:

• evaluate their training and experience from their resume application
• perform a required background check
• social media profile
• brief pre-screen telephone interview.

For example, an air carrier indicates that you must have 1200 of flight time to be considered. There will still be applicants, so a screening system would eliminate them.

The screening process comes before the selection process.

The selection process is an in-depth evaluation of the candidate's qualification and competencies for the position, as well as a comparison of job candidates. This process can include:

• interviews
• cognitive/physical/other ability measures
• situation judgement tests
• work sample
• assessment centers
• psychological interview
• polygraph test
• references

Tests can be used as a screening tool or a selection tool.

• for example, USPS requires everyone sit through an exam before consideration. Therefore, it may be considered an initial screening tool because a candidate that doesn't pass is no longer considered a qualified candidate.

Steps in Pre-Screening

1. Review of resume or application
2. Review of social network profile
3. Review of references and background checks

A resume is a summary of your personal data, educational background and training, and business/professional experience and qualifications.

• It should touch on all things which influence your qualifications for a particular position or type of employment.
• It should be concise.

A curriculum vita (CV) is submitted for jobs that lists information relevant to the position. They are lengthier and contain more information, particularly details about one's academic and research background. Includes:

• education, skill, experience
• research and teaching experinece
• publications, grant, fellowships,
• professional associations
• awards

Problem with resumes and CV is that there can be

• fraud- no information on reliability, validity, costs, or adverse impact
• may not address specific areas that are important to the job
• may change with resume tracking software.

Resume Evaluation Software should be used to tailor resumes to job descriptions by matching resume keywords. Other tips:

• don't use hybrid resume format
• don't use tables
• use traditional font
• don't use headers or footers
• use standard section headings.
• save as .docx if possible.

Application Blanks

Step 1.

Organization dictates information to be provided Only ask about information relevant to the job; review appropriateness of all items Should include disclaimer statement Check and verify responses to items many items on the applications have evidence of validity.

Weighted application blanks: these are job applications on which different information receives different weights. This addresses the need for systematic scoring of applications:

• select an employee characteristic to be measured
• identify which job application questions predict the desired employee behaviors and outcomes
• evaluate the questions' relative predictive power
• assign weighted values to each relevant question
• score each applicant's completed application form using the scoring key.

Biographical data (biodata)

Collected as part of job application or separate questionare: interests, work experience, training, education, hobbies, community organizations, personal characteristics such as achievement orientation and preferences for group versus individual work.

A questionnaire can ask you to describe your education, work, and other experience in specific areas which relate to successful job performance.

Pros:

• can be administered via paper/pencil/computer for large numbers without skilled administrators
• cost effective and reduces costs by identifying individuals for hiring/promotion/training that possess the needed skills.
• demonstrated to produce valid inferences for a number of organizational outcomes (e.g., turnover, performance)
• typically less likely to differ in results by gender and race than other test

Cons:

• lead to individuals responding dishonestly for a better outcome
• does not always provide sufficient information for developmental feedback
• time-consuming to be developed.

Consider the following:

• validity: biodata has been shown to be effective predictors of job success (moderate degree of criterion-related validity) in numerous settings for a wide range of criterias
• face validity/application reactions: perceived as unfair and invasive
• administration method: can be administered individually and large numbers
• subgroup differences: less adverse impact on minority groups. Make sure items are written to avoid stereotyping and should be about an experience under the person's control.
• development cost: creating biodata items, scoring strategy, and validation procedures can be difficult and time consuming. We also need large sample of applicants to develop and validate the scoring strategy. Mores samples needed to monitor validity of items for future applicants.
• administration cost: cost and time effective to administer if automated scoring system is implemented
• common use: used in addition to cognitive ability test to increase validity and lower adverse impact

Legal implication: restriction across certain data from being included to protect applicant from being denied based on factors unrelated to jobs.

Review Social Networking Profile

Step 2

An employer can decide not to hire you or can fire you over comments made on social media.

Reference Data

Step 3

Reference checks:

• 80% of companies do reference checks with former supervisors. Concerned with integrity, personal adjustment.

sources of ref data

• former employees
• personal references/rec letters
• investigative agencies
• public records (criminal, driver, workers' comp, federal court, educational)

Letters of recommendations tend to always be positive, and do not discriminate. Alternative: structured reference form, ask for examples, use standardized scoring key

Background checks: look out for legal issues like discriminatory impact (arrest), defamation of character, negligent hiring, social media sites