Selecting Employees and Placing Them in Jobs: Mcgraw-Hill/Irwin

a
CHAPTER 4
Selecting Employees and Placing
Them in Jobs
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6-1
Introduction
• The chapter starts by describing the selection

process and how to evaluate possible methods
for carrying out that process. It then takes an
in-depth look at the most widely used
methods: applications and résumés,
employment tests, and interviews. The chapter
ends by describing the process by which
organizations arrive at a final selection
decision.
6-2
Selection Process
• First, a human resource professional reviews the
applications received to see which meet the basic
requirements of the job. For candidates who meet the
basic requirements, the organization administers tests
and reviews work samples to rate the candidates’
abilities.
• Those with the best abilities are invited to the
organization for one or more interviews.
• By this point, the decision makers are beginning to
form opinions about which candidates are most
desirable.
6-3
Continued
• For the top few candidates, the organization

should check references and conduct
background checks to verify that the
organization’s information is correct.
• Then supervisors, teams, and other decision
makers select a person to receive a job offer.
• However, what organizations should do is to
create a selection process in support of its job
descriptions.
6-4
Figure 4.1: Steps in the Selection Process
6-5
Criteria for Measuring the Effectiveness of
Selection Tools and Methods
6-6
Legal Standards for Selection
• All selection methods must conform to

existing laws and legal precedents.
• Three acts have formed the basis for a
majority of the suits filed by job applicants:
– Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991
– Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
– Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991
6-7
Job Applications and Résumés
• Nearly all employers gather background

information on applicants at the beginning of
the selection process.
• The usual ways of gathering background
information are by asking applicants to fill out
application forms and provide résumés.
• Organizations also verify the information by
checking references and conducting
background checks.
6-8
Application Forms
• Asking each applicant to fill out an

employment application is a low-cost way to
gather basic data from many applicants.
• employment applications include areas for
applicants to provide several types of
information:
 Contact information —The applicant’s name,
address, phone number, and e-mail address.
6-9
Continued
 Work experience —Companies the applicant

worked for, job titles, and dates of
employment.
 Educational background —High school,
college, and universities attended and
degree(s) awarded.
 Applicant’s signature —Signature following a
statement that the applicant has provided true
and complete information.
6-10
Résumés
• The usual way that applicants introduce
themselves to a potential employer is to submit
a résumé.
• An obvious drawback of this information
source is that applicants control the content of
the information, as well as the way it is
presented.
• Review of résumés is most valid when the
content of the résumés is evaluated in terms of
the elements of a job description.
6-11
References
• Application forms often ask that applicants

provide the names of several references.
• Applicants provide the names and phone
numbers of former employers or others who
can vouch for their abilities and past job
performance.
• Usually the organization checks references
after it has determined that the applicant is a
finalist for the job
6-12
Continued
• Part of that burden is the risk of giving

information that is seen as too negative or too
positive.
• If the person who is a reference gives negative
information, there is a chance the candidate
will claim defamation, meaning the person
damaged the applicant’s reputation by making
statements that cannot be proved truthful.
6-13
Continued
• At the other extreme, if the person gives a

glowing statement about a candidate, and the
new employer later learns of misdeeds such as
sexual misconduct or workplace violence, the
new employer might sue the former employer
for misrepresentation.
6-14
Background Checks
• A background check is a way to verify that

applicants are as they represent themselves to
be.
• Unfortunately, not all candidates are open and
honest
• About 8 out of 10 large companies and over
two-thirds of smaller organizations say they
conduct criminal background checks.
6-15
Gathering Background Information
6-16
Employment Tests and Work
Samples
• The employment tests fall into two broad
categories:
• Aptitude tests assess how well a person can
learn or acquire skills and abilities. In the
realm of employment testing, the best-known
aptitude test is the General Aptitude Test
Battery (GATB), used by the U.S. Employment
Service.
6-17
Continued
• Achievement tests measure a person’s

existing knowledge and skills. For example,
government agencies conduct civil service
examinations to see whether applicants are
qualified to perform certain jobs.
• Before using any test, organizations should
investigate the test’s validity and reliability.
6-18
Employment Tests and Work Samples
6-19
Interviews
• Supervisors and team members most often get

involved in the selection process at the stage of
employment interviews.
• These interviews bring together job applicants
and representatives of the employer to obtain
information and evaluate the applicant’s
qualifications.
• Most organizations use interviewing as part of
the selection process.
6-20
Interviewing Techniques
• In a nondirective interview, the interviewer

has great discretion in choosing questions. The
candidate’s reply to one question may suggest
other questions to ask
• A structured interview establishes a set of
questions for the interviewer to ask. Ideally,
the questions are related to job requirements
and cover relevant knowledge, skills, and
experiences.
6-21
Continued
• A situational interview is a structured

interview in which the interviewer describes a
situation likely to arise on the job and asks the
candidate what he or she would do in that
situation.
• A behavior description interview (BDI) is a
situational interview in which the interviewer
asks the candidate to describe how he or she
handled a type of situation in the past.
6-22
Interviews
6-23
Selection Decisions
• After reviewing applications, scoring tests,

conducting interviews, and checking
references, the organization needs to make
decisions about which candidates to place in
which jobs.
• In practice, most organizations find more than
one qualified candidate to fill an open position.
6-24
How Organizations Select Employees
Multiple-Hurdle Model Compensatory Model

• Process of arriving at a • Process of arriving at a
selection decision by selection decision in
eliminating some which a very high score
candidates at each on one type of
stage of the selection assessment can make
process. up for a low score on
another.
6-25
Summary
• Selection typically begins with a review of candidates
’ applications and résumés. The organization
administers tests to candidates who meet basic
requirements, and qualified candidates undergo one
or more interviews. Organizations check references
and conduct background checks. A candidate is
selected to fill each vacant position. Candidates who
accept offers are placed in the positions for which
they were selected.
6-26

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a

• The chapter starts by describing the selection

• For the top few candidates, the organization

• All selection methods must conform to

• Nearly all employers gather background

• Asking each applicant to fill out an

 Work experience —Companies the applicant

• Application forms often ask that applicants

• Part of that burden is the risk of giving

• At the other extreme, if the person gives a

• A background check is a way to verify that

• Achievement tests measure a person’s

• Supervisors and team members most often get

• In a nondirective interview, the interviewer

• A situational interview is a structured

• After reviewing applications, scoring tests,

Multiple-Hurdle Model Compensatory Model

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