Employee Recruitment & Selection

I think the most important thing I have learned throughout this course is that recruitment isn’t as straightforward as I originally thought. There is a lot of critical thinking and strategy that goes into choosing the right recruitment strategy for the job. I have noticed that I even look at job descriptions and ads differently, I really analyze them rather than just skimming them. The methodology behind recruitment strategies was very interesting to me.

Week 4’s recruitment goals & methodology, was something that I didn’t expect to learn anything from, but ended up giving me a new outlook towards these strategies. I like that they went through the pros and cons of each strategy and noted when it would be helpful to use or not use each one of them. 

The videos gave me a better understanding of how to achieve the goal of finding the right fit for the job, versus just recruiting anyone and everyone. Not all of the recruitment strategies work for every type of company and job. Every recruiter wants to have success and to ensure that success, you have to be strategic in the recruitment strategy you choose.

I liked that they went over incentives, because this is something that could help or hurt the company depending on what the incentives are and how they are presented. It’s also something that when I think about recruitment, is one of the last things I think about, but as a potential employee it’s one the first things I think about. So making myself go and analyze recruitment strategies as both a potential recruiter and as a potential employee, and really compare my outlook towards them has been helpful in finding what I think will be one of the best recruitment strategies for the occupation in our group project.

What am I good at?

• I am always positive, I don’t let negative people or situations affect me. I am a good leader, people respect my decisions and knowledge. I find it easy to work in a team, I’m very punctual and organized. I thrive when I am able to be creative and take the reigns on whatever project I’m working on.

What do I value?

• So if I was doing well in my company the thing I would value most is a pay raise. Positive recognition doesn’t do anything for me. I don’t like being the center of attention or being publicly awarded for anything. Monetary rewards/ recognition mean more to me.

How did I get here?

• I took a few detours to get to the path that I am on now. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, but the first path I took just wasn’t me. The next path I took lead me to business and I have been on this path now for two years, and as I continue down it, I notice the path gets narrower. I think this is because this path is complementary to my goals.

Where am I going?

• The job I wish to pursue after graduation matches well with my values and allows me to use my strengths. Answering these questions was a nice clarification that I am still on the right path for me at this time. What I see when I look down the path is a career that will allow me to show/ use all my best qualities.

My test results:

• Openness to experience score: 29, I scored low which indicates that I like to think in plain and simple terms. Other’s often describe me as down-to-earth, practical, and conservative.

• Conscientiousness score: 31, I scored low which indicates I like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. My work tends to be careless and disorganized.

• Extraversion score: 29, I scored low which indicates that I’m introverted, reserved, and quite. I enjoy solitude and solitary activities.

• Agreeableness score: 74, I scored high, which indicates I have a strong interest in other’s needs and well-being. I’m pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative.

• Neuroticism score: 56, I scored average which indicates that my level of emotional reactivity is typical of the general population. Stressful and frustrating situations are somewhat upsetting to me, but I’m generally able to get over these feelings and cope with the situation.

Strengths and weakness as a potential employee:

• Strengths: From my test results a potential employer will be able to see that my strengths fall under introversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Because I scored low in extraversion, they will be able to see that I am high in introversion, and so that I prefer to work independently, am reserved, and enjoy solitude. From my agreeableness score, they will be able to see that I am very compassionate and care deeply about others. With my neuroticism score falling almost in the middle it shows that I have my emotions under control and while some situations might make me uncomfortable, I am still about to not let things get to me and work through it and cope with the situation.

• Weaknesses: From my test results a potential employer can see that my weaknesses are in conscientiousness and openness to experience. Being on the low end of conscientiousness, they will be able to see that I’m no where near a perfectionist or workaholic. But falling low in this category could be a positive for certain employers because they might like that I’m down-to-earth and am focused on the now. Testing low in openness to experience also shows potential employers that I lack creativity and imagination. This could be the difference between getting the job or not in a marketing setting. But in a job setting where there isn’t much room for creativity and is more plain and simple, they wouldn’t have to worry about me becoming bored.

1. If you were in the shoes of the business owner and had to choose which person would you hire (Avery or Jaime) and why?
   • I would hire Jaime, because with it being an essential position that I am needing to fill, I need someone who performs well and is consistent in the day to day operations of the business. I know that some people perform better than others when in a high pressure project, I’d rather have someone who is reliable because you don’t know when big high pressure projects are going to present themselves and so I would choose the candidate that was the best fit for the day to day operations. 
2. Describe a type of job where it would be better to hire someone like Avery (i.e., high potential, poor consistency) than Jaime? What is it about that job that makes someone like Avery more valuable than Jaime?
   • Avery would perform best in what could be considered high stress and rapid change, like the stock exchange for example. It sounds like they may get bored in the day to day operations and that is why they seldom perform at their best, but if put in a position where you never know what your day is going to be like and always having to be on top of everything would keep them engaged in the work and so you would see maximum performance out of them the majority of the time.
3. Describe a type of job where it would be better to hire someone like Jaime (i.e., low potential, high consistency) than Avery? What is it about that job that makes someone like Jaime more valuable?
   • Jaime would perform best in a position that doesn’t involve a lot of change, by this I mean the type of work is very consistent, you know exactly what to expect when you go into work and the opportunity for big issues to arise, that aren’t easily fixed, are very slim. An example of where people like this thrive would be in an assembly line, maybe at a distribution center, where they are a cog in the wheel. Stresses are bound to arise no matter what occupation you are in, but I think you would see the best performance in the day to day operations if you fill the positions with a personality type similar to Jaime’s.

I would want to make my personal brand known in my ad, this way I will be sure to attract employers who align with my beliefs and values. It’s as equally important to me that an employee finds a good fit as it is for the employers to find a good fit for their company. I am diligent, I am very determined to match honest and reliable employees with honest and reliable employers. I consider these attributes just as important as the potential employee’s skills and experience. You can have all the skills, abilities, and experience required but if you aren’t honest, transparent, and reliable, I won’t work with you and that goes for both employers and employees. 

I think my brand is what I would lead with in my ad, this way people can see right off the bat if they will be compatible working with me or not. I would also be strategic in where I placed my ad to attract the businesses and people that I’m looking to work with. I want not only the structure and content of my ad to be creative but also the artwork accompanied by it. When I’m just glancing through ads the artwork and structure is what I look at first and if that catches my eye then I will dive deeper into it to see what it’s about. Your content is important but the art and layout is what brings people in. The ad needs to be aesthetically pleasing. I think symmetry plays a big role in that and making sure it looks clean and neat. For the “novel” part I want just short little blurbs about me and the services I provide, because no one actually wants to see a novel on an ad. Putting a lot of information on your ad is a waste of space and can be overwhelming for people, and it’s not aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. I would have information on the ad as to how and where they can contact me if they feel called to work with me and links to where they can find out more about me if the ad intrigued them.

Think of the last job you had. How much did the job description influence your decision to apply for the position? How closely did your experience on the job match the job description? In what ways was it similar and in what ways was it different? 

• The job description for my last place of employment wasn’t listed out anywhere before applying. I heard about the position from an employee who was currently working there at the time. She explained the job description and duties of a barista in that shop to me, that is the position they were looking to fill, and said that they didn’t have any applications but if I was interested in working there that I could bring a resume and that they would give it to the owner. During the interview is when I was formally told the job description by the employer and when I was offered the position, I decided to take it because the job description sounded like it was a close match to what I was looking for in a job at the time. The only experience I had coming into the position was customer service, I didn’t have any actual experience as a barista or ever working with coffee. The only job where the level of customer service was similar was a sandwich shop I had worked at eight years prior. The owner of the shop said that they actually don’t look for people with coffee experience, that they have hired both people with a background in coffee and those without, and sometimes it’s better if the person doesn’t have coffee experience. Some coffee shops use syrups and some use powders, this was something I didn’t know before working in coffee; and so some people that she had hired in the past with coffee experience had a hard time adjusting and getting used to their recipes versus the people who came in with no prior coffee knowledge.

Would the outstanding claims of discrimination change the way you felt about the company? Would it influence your decisions to support that company? Would it change whether or not you applied to work for that company in the future? Why or why not?

• The outstanding claims of discrimination would absolutely make me think differently about the company as a whole, whether it was a company I loved or a company I had never heard of. If I were to ever take a job there in the future, some groups of people would associate this incident with me, even if it happened and was over with by the time I started there. I think the only way I would take a position with the company, would be if they took public responsibility and humility on the matter. The company would have to change their policies, decision making process, as well as whatever it takes to prove to the general public that they really have changed. I wouldn’t continue to support the company either unless they made these changes and stances. If they don’t do any of the things I’ve mentioned, they also run the risk of losing current employees who  don’t want to stay or be with a company that thinks lightly of this issue. I think they’d also have a hard time bringing on new employees with this being a public lawsuit and everything on social media. I don’t think anyone would want to work for them unless some drastic changes were publicly made. Furthermore I would want the group that was discriminated against, who is in the lawsuit against them, to feel like the company has changed, not just give them a lump sum of money and consider the situation dealt with and continue to discriminate against this group in the future.

Why might organizations decide to allocate more resources toward marketing or product design rather than using those same resources to do a really good job in employee recruitment and selection?

• Companies often allocate a bigger budget for marketing because if you aren’t selling your product, you won’t need employees. They don’t think about the cyclical side of employees. For example, if it’s hard to find a job in a specific area because the market is flooded, no one goes into that market for 5 years, after 5 years companies are looking to hire people in that area and have a hard time finding good candidates because they often will make an online application and don’t go further than that, they don’t want to spend the extra money to hire a recruiter to find a potential fit for the company. This leaves them with a pool of applicants that are sub-par, hoping that there is a diamond in the rough. Where if they poor their money into marketing and product design they are retaining and bringing in new customers, rather than employees.

What are the potential strengths and weaknesses of an organization’s decision to not prioritize recruitment and selection in favor of a focus on other aspects of the business?

• Strength: When a company looks at all areas and decides which area is the “weakest” they often allocate money to that area. So, if the employee part of the company is doing better than the product design, they will allocate more money towards that.
• Weakness: The employment area might not be doing well but it looks like product design is doing worse so they only focus on fixing that one area instead of looking at why the other area(s) have started declining.
• This is the reason companies need to analyze all aspects of the business for weakness to allocate resources in the right area(s). It can be easy to focus on one area that you think could be affecting other areas instead of looking into each area individually and the business as a whole.

Describe your experiences from the perspective of an applicant for the last job you for which you applied.

• I was talking to my friend about her job one day before she went to work and she had nothing but good things to say about the owners, her co-workers, customers, and the job itself. I asked her if they were hiring and she said they were, and that I should bring by a copy of my resume because they don’t have applications. I updated my resume to fit the job I was applying for and took a copy down to the shop later that day and gave it to her to pass on to the owner. My friend said most of the people who work there, got the job because they had a friend who worked there and referred them.

Explain how your experiences during the job application process shaped your impression of the job you were applying for and your desire to work there (or in some cases to not work there).

• After I dropped my resume by the shop, I received a phone call for an interview two days later. We set up an interview for later that week. The owner is the one who interviewed me and showed up 5 minutes late to the interview. I thought this was unprofessional and wasn’t a very good first impression. But the interview went very well, we talked for over an hour, it was very informal, and she only asked one or two actual interview questions. Our personalities meshed together well and I knew she was someone I would like to work for. She talked very highly of her employees and mentioned multiple times that they have a really good group of employees right not and she is looking for someone that will make a good fit. She said she would be in touch by the end of the week with her decision either way. She kept true to that and called and offered me the position a few days later.

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