Author: Matthew Brabham

I believe the most important topics we learned about this term would be the testing and interview sections of this course. I believe this is the most important thing for me personally because it is beneficial for both my current work situation and my career in the future. Currently I am able to take the information I learned from these topics and implement or suggest the use of them when I aid in the recruitment and selection process at my job. along with this I am able to better understand the purpose, advantages and disadvantages of different testing and interview process as an applicant.

For the interview process I have learned about the different types of interviews conducted and how to use these methods for my benefit. In my current job we often used group-panel interviews and after going through these lectures I realized that this is not the best process for us at this time. The first reason for this is that the group interview allows the applicants to fed off each other when answering questions or they alter answers towards what they feel is working for the other applicants. The second problem with our current process is that we use a panel to interview the applicants. This is not typically an issue however, we had only gone off the job description instead of the job analysis and/ or scorecard. By using the job analysis and scorecard all interviewers are on the same page about what the company is truly looking for in an employee for this role. I also learned about the benefits of a structured interview which we hadn’t typically done before. By having structured interviews the applicants are able to see the job relatedness more, it helps eliminate bias, and they are more legally defensible if a discrimination issue arises.

As for the testing during the hiring process I hadn’t had much experience being involved in these methods at this point. By learning about how personality tests, situation analysis tests, integrity tests, job knowledge tests, and cognitive ability testing I know how they could be used throughout the hiring process. I now feel more confident in determining if these tests are related to the position I am applying for, how the results might be used for both the hiring decisions and how they may use this information for selling the job, in the terms of the hiring company the cost and benefits of these tests. For a hiring manager using these tests they have to decide if they will be using custom or standard tests and the cost tradeoffs of these tests. Obviously the custom tests will fit better for the position making it more acceptable by applicants and reduce the risk of legal issues as a result. Many of the tests also help decrease subgroup differences decreasing the risk of discrimination lawsuits.

1. What am I good at?

I am good at planning out my schedule, time management and holding myself accountable. I am good at working individually and using feedback to cultivate new ideas into my projects. I am good at collecting a larger picture, I want to know how each department works so that I know how my job affects the entire company and how I can increase a positive impact.

2. What do I value?

I value respect and responsibility within the workplace. I value family and leisure time outside of the workplace. I value work that makes a difference in someone’s life.

3. How did I get here?

I currently am where I am is mainly because of my parents. Growing up responsibility was a huge expectation in our household and that has carried through in my school work, personal life, and work life. My dad wasn’t able to attend college until later in life so it was always expected that we attend college directly after high school. I got a job at 15 that impacted the way I look at simple things in life and the community. This ultimately led to my want to make a difference. I attended OSU after years of saying I was going to go out of state because of a family members health which lead to me deciding to go into business.

4. Where am I going?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know where I am going. There are things that I know I want to do with my personal life such as travel the world and step outside of my comfort zone, but as far a what career I want to take I’m not entirely sure. I know I want to work somewhere that has the same values as me and I have always imagined moving somewhere else. I am open about my future at this point right now I am focused on finding things I enjoy doing.

After taking the long version of the test I got the following results:

• I scored low in extroversion, meaning that I am introverted, reserved and quiet.
• I scored high in agreeableness, meaning I have a strong interest in other peoples’ needs. I show characteristics such as pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative.
• I scored high in conscientiousness. This means that I am described as hard working and set clear goals.
• I scored low in neuroticism. I tend to be calm and composed in most situations.
• I scored low in openness. I tend to think in more simple terms.

What a potential employer might see:

When looking at my results a potential employer might see an applicant that is quite and observes the things going on around them. I might not be the best candidate for sales but I may notice thing other people wouldn’t. They would see someone who isn’t going to cause conflict or drama and who cares about the people around them. This might make an employer believe that I won’t handle conflict well, even if in reality I can when needed. They would see someone who is hard working and strives to learn and grow with new opportunities. I like to make sure things are done to the best of my ability so I might take more time than some other people to complete a task. I think out decisions before acting on them and some companies want fast action over that. I handle stressful situations well and can help the company navigate through those times. This might also mean I don’t see things to be as daunting or serious as other people. I think practically and provide consistency in that since. However this may mean I am slower to adjust to change than other people.

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 feel like most business owner’s would go about hiring Jaime, however I would hire Avery. Jaime is the obviously safe choice, you know what Jaime is capable of and the performance you will get. However, this candidate has little room to grow as they can not handle the pressure of being pushed past their limits. Avery on the other hand isn’t as predictable. Avery has the potential to be a great resource for the company if we are able to find a way to provide employee satisfaction for Avery. Avery has more potential to be an A player than Jaime even though Jaime looks better on paper.

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?

A person like Avery would be well suited in a job that offers movement within the company. Jobs that will look at internal candidates when positions open and promote employees. This would be a great job opportunity for people like Avery because it allows them time to show off their skills, demonstrate their commitment to the job, and continue to push themselves to prevent the feeling of being stuck in a job. A job like this allows people to grow within the company and maintain their interest while showing off their potential.

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?

A job that is consistent and doesn’t change much over time would be best for people like Jaime. These people know what they are comfortable with and will perform that task well but are intimidated and stressed out when pushed to do more. The Jaimes of the world aren’t looking to constantly move up in a company but rather are happy with the job that they do on a day to day basis.

My brand is developed through my personal experiences and the people I have met along the way. The number one thing to know is I am a hardworking person. I was raised to value hard work and I have continued to demonstrate this throughout my work experience. I am compassionate, but capable for making tough decisions. The experience I have gain in my current job has helped me work under pressure and to become adaptable to ever changing circumstances. I am willing to learn and hope to continue to grow as a person through my future experiences.

While I can explain my different characteristics, I feel that words can only show people so much. My first choice if given the chance would be to sit down and talk about examples of how I demonstrated these characteristics. Not in the way listed above where you just say I am this, but talk about my real experience. Honestly, at this point in my life it is that experience that sets me apart from so many people. However, sometimes you have to get their attention first. A potential Ad to get attention could be something about the unique experience that I have had. Experience varying from customer service and excel to aiding in major event planning to coordinating flights full of animals from out of state. A simple ad that is visually appealing and could demonstrate how I stand out. Or to really stand out, while not necessarily in my comfort zone, I do have a creative way to show these skills. I have worked at my current place of employment for nearly five years and over the years we have taken many video clips and pictures. none of it people talking at the camera, just simply a look into the work we do. Through this resource I could actual show potential employers who I am as an employee. Each option allowing me to hopefully demonstrate enough value to the company to catch their eye.

https://osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs.dir/3767/files/2020/04/Adoption-Employee-Outreach-Coordinator.docx

The above link is a copy of my current job description.

How much did the job description influence your decision to apply for the position?

When looking at my job description you can see that it is broken into three sections. Perviously I was already doing the Rescue Group Liaison Duties; however, we found that I still had a lot of free time. As a result of open positions and internal needs I was offered the following two sections and my job description was made after I took on some of the tasks. The job descriptions biggest influence to me taking the job was that it was a mix of things I already knew how to do and things that I could challenge myself with.

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 tasks and competencies listed in my job description match up pretty closely with my experience on the job. In the rescue group liaison duties the main task is being the main contact between them and the shelter to select animals for the shelter and express concerns or changing protocols with our rescue partners. One things that I don’t have to do often unless an issue arises includes: creating weekly lists of animals that need to be networked to other shelters. This is a task I might do once a month after we attempt many different marketing and training resources for the animal. In the Employee Engagement Duties all tasks are preformed however these are typically done once a week. The Adoption Program Duties are always preformed on every day I work. There are a few tasks that are on all of the job description when dealing with animals in the shelter where I don’t have to perform the tasks often but from time to time I might. Overall, the job description follows my experience in the job pretty well.

Discrimination is a big word that has continuously been a part of history. While in some aspects the amount of discrimination seen has decreased, it still lives on. The unfortunate truth is that discrimination lives on in peoples lives and that includes in some businesses. Typically these businesses are not open about their discrimination but for time to time we hear of a company that is discriminating against certain ethnicities, culture, or belief system. This week we are asked to evaluate how we would respond to a company that is in a lawsuit do to widespread discrimination.

Would the outstanding claims of discrimination change the way you felt about the company? 

In simple terms, yes. Depending on the information given in the article and the information exposed during the case the extent to which this news changes my view may vary; however, there would always be something in my mind that reminded me of the lawsuit and charges. If the information is extremely vague my opinion of the company may not change drastically until more information is released. I like to see the facts before changing my mind about something.

Would it influence your decisions to support that company?

The news of the company participating in discrimination would most likely influence my decision to no longer support the company. However, there could be cases where despite knowing about the charges the company supports something extremely important. In these cases I would probably continue to support from time to time but not as often. In terms of general businesses like a grocery store or retail store I would stop supporting them if they were discriminating against people and I knew about it.

Would it change whether or not you applied to work for that company in the future? Why or why not?

I would most likely not apply for a job with the company. This would be because of my own morals and I would not feel right in doing it. If the case did not hold up in court I might consider applying for a job there if I truly needed the job or it was a dream company to work for but not if the charges held up.

While the recruitment and selection of staffing can be a very important aspect to a company, some companies will focus there resources on other aspects such as marketing or product design instead. A company may decide that their customers are more focused on the product or appearance of the company rather than the staffing done within the company. For new businesses and products the decision makers may see that getting the word out through marketing is more important than finding the perfect staffing for the company. On the other hand companies that already have a lot of recognition may focus there resources on product design so they can get the next hot product out on the shelf and bring in new revenue.

When prioritizing different aspects of the business other than recruitment and selection there are different strengths and weaknesses associated with it. These strengths could include building up other aspects to be very strong, creating several products within a cycle, high production output, or high action from positive marketing. The company may be able to obtain many different positive attributes by focusing their resources outside of recruitment and selection. One the opposite hand, if the staffing is not done right it becomes easier for these positive attributes to become at risk. Customer service rating could drop due to a bad employee. Employee satisfaction could decrease resulting in a decrease in productivity. There could even be understaffing issues that slow down production lines. Overall it is important to realize that staffing plays a large role in an organization just like the other processes happening within the company.

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

My experience applying for my job, while not completely uncommon, was different than many people can relate to. I have been working for the same company for five years now as I started when I was only fifteen years old. I have a relative that is the Executive Director and the company has always been a part of my life. From the time I was two years old I would be there every chance I had, volunteering my time and helping anyone that would let me. I spent hours leading up to actually being hired working on a volunteer basis as I was too young to be hired at the time. Right before my fifteenth birthday the Operations Manager handed me an application and asked me a few questions. He already knew that I was a hard worker from my volunteer work so the interview was more of a casual conversation and on my birthday I had my first day as any actual employee with the company.

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).

As you just read above the job application process wasn’t really the shaping factor for wanting the job. I alway knew I would work there someday. I grew up with the company and watched as it evolved throughout my life. The one thing that the application did help ease my mind with was the fact that I was the youngest employee at the time. I grew up talking to many of the staff members but the year before I was hired the company expanded and there were suddenly many faces I didn’t know. Being the youngest person intimidated me at first but, after walking around and talking to staff members during my application process I soon saw that nobody really cared how old I was as long as I did my part of the work. Since I was first hired I have moved around in the company and taken on different responsibilities and that was possible by demonstrating my work ethic both as a volunteer and during my entry level position.