SELECTION PROCESS-

TECHNIQUES
Importance Of Selection Process:
under recruitment the manager identifies the sources for
prospective candidates and stimulates them to apply for
various openings in his organization, under selection he
compares their qualifications with the requirements of a
job and eliminates all those who do not stand up to this
comparison. There are several advantages of proper
selection procedure. As the employees are placed in the
jobs for which they are best suited, they derive maximum
job satisfaction and reap maximum wages. Labour
turnover is reduced and the overall efficiency of the
concern is increased. And finally, good relationship
develops between the employer and his workers
Steps in the selection procedure
Job Analysis:
Job analysis is the process by means of which a description
is developed of the present methods and procedures of doing
a job, physical conditions in which the job is done, relation
of the job to other jobs and other conditions of employment.
Job analysis in intended to reveal what is actually done as
opposed to what should be done. Therefore, if a man is
found doing some activity not required of that job, it should
still form part of the job analysis. The purpose of job
analysis is not to describe the ideal but to show the
management how at the moment the constituent parts of its
business are being carried out.
Job Description:
The results of a job analysis are set down in job
description. Writing job descriptions for production
workers, clerical people and first-line supervisors is
a fairly established practice. A more recent
development is job description for managers. The
two types of job description differ from each other
in many ways.
1. The lower level job descriptions are generally
written by the personnel department but
managerial job description are written by the
incumbent executive himself or by his superior
2. The lower level job descriptions are written inter
alia for wage and salary administration and so
center directly around tangible duties and day to
day assignments, while higher level description
are more closely related to organization planning
and so naturally are description of intangible
interrelationships, over-all responsibilities and
lines of authority. Further, the emphasis in
managerial descriptions is not on “what” work is
done.
Job specification:
A job specification is a statement of the minimum
acceptable human qualities necessary to perform a
job satisfactorily. Making job description has its
base, it lays down the abilities and qualities of that
worker should posses in order to hold the job in
question.
In the next step, the company taps various sources
of recruitment and selects individuals. There is no
standards selection procedure followed by all
organization. The steps commonly followed are as
under.
1. Application blank
2. Initial interview
3. Employment tests
4. checking references
5. Physical or medical examination
6. Final interview
1) Application blank: filling of the “application blank” by
the candidate is the first step in in the process of selection.
In this form, the applicant gives relevant personal data
such as his qualification, specialization, experience, firms
in which he has worked, etc. the application blanks are
carefully scrutinized by the company with reference to the
specifications prescribed for the jobs to decide the
applicants who are to be called for interview
2) Initial interview: those who are selected for
interview on the basis of particulars furnished in the
application blank are called for initial interview by the
company. This interview, according to mandell, is the
most important means of evaluating the poise or
appearance of the candidate. It also used for
establishing a friendly relationship between the
candidate and the company and for obtaining addition
information or clarification on the information already
on the application blank. The interview must be
properly planned and the interviewers, consisting of
specialists in different fields, must make the applicant
feel at ease, discount personal prejudices and note
their opinion about the applicants interviewed
3) Employment tests: for the further assessment of
candidate’s nature and abilities, some tests are used
in selection procedure. Psychologists and other
experts have developed certain tests by which a
candidates particular traits or abilities, his likes and
dislikes, his intelligence, manual dexterity, his
capacity to learn and to benefit from training, his
adaptability, etc. can be estimated. There are several
types of tests that are used in selection procedure.
The more commonly used are:
a. Aptitude test: this test measures the applicant’s
capacity to learn the skill required for a job. It helps
in finding out whether a candidate is suitable for a
clerical or a mechanical job. His test helps in
assessing before training as to how well the
candidate will perform on a job after he is given the
necessary training.
b. Interest test: this is used to find out the type of work
in which the candidate has an interest. An interest
test only indicates the interest of a candidate for a
particular job. It does not reveal his ability to do it.
Interests tests are generally used in interest test
c. Intelligence test: this test is used to find out the
candidates intelligence. By using this test, the
candidate’s mental alertness, reasoning ability,
power of understanding, etc. are judged
d. Trade or performance or achievement test: this
test is used to measure the candidates level of
knowledge and skill in the particular trade or
occupation in which he will be appointed, in case he
is finally selected. In this test, the candidate is asked
to do a simple operation which is a part of, or
similar to his proposed job.
e)Personality test: personality test is used to measure
those characteristics of a candidate whish constitute
his personality, i.e., self confidence , temperament,
initiative, judgment, dominance, integrity,
originality, etc., personality test are very important
in the selection process, particularly in the case of
appointments to the posts of supervisors and higher
executives
4. Checking references: if the candidate has been found
satisfactory at the interview and his performance is good in
employment or proficiency tests, the employer would like
some important personal details , such as character , past
history, background, etc., verified from the people
mentioned in the application.
5. Physical or medical examination: physical or medical
examination is another step in the selection procedure. The
objectives of this examination are: (i) to check the physical
fitness of the applicant for the job applied for; (ii) to protect
the company against the unwarranted claims for
compensation under certain legislative enactments, such as
workmen’s compensation Act; and (iii) to prevent
communicable diseases entering the business concern.
6. Final interview: this interview is conducted for
those who are ultimately selected for employment.
In this interview, the selected candidates are given
an idea about their future prospects within the
organization.