Author: norlandt

The most important thing I have learned throughout the course of this term is all of the various things that go into the hiring process. Before taking the class, I had a general understanding of the hiring process, however throughout the course of the term, I have gained a much better understanding of the process as a whole and all of the components that make up the process. I think that the group assignment in which we created a hiring plan was very beneficial. This project gave all of us a great opportunity to apply all of the concepts we had been learning about during the course. I think it was a great project that was well suited for group collaboration. the project had multiple components that were all interdependent. The parts of the project I thought were most interesting were the styles of interviews we planned on using and the questions and qualifications we were looking for. One thing I learned in the class was that all parts of the hiring process have a financial implication that goes along with them. It would be great to conduct a panel interview with all of the heads of the departments, pour a bunch of money into advertising to attract more applicants, conduct complex tests to make sure we are making the right selection, etc. however, all of these things cost money. Which things a company decides to employ will depend on their current situation. When selecting a candidate for an entry level position, many of these things may be just a waste of money. When selecting a new CEO for a company, more in-depth tests and interviews may likely be worth the investment.

I have strong communication skills that allow me to work well in group settings. I also am extremely organized and work well under structure. My motivation also keeps me going to work towards my goals and better myself.

I value having meaningful relationships with those around me, including family, friends and co-workers. It is also important for me to start a career that allows me to separate home life from work life.

I am currently managing a Valvoline store as I finish up my undergraduate studies at Oregon State University. I got to this point by prioritizing the things that will lead to a successful life and keeping my motivation. I make sure to cut out some time in my schedule to pursue hobbies that allow me to take a break from the stress of work and school.

I am going to further my career by spending some more time at Valvoline to get more experience as a manager. I will either receive a promotion at Valvoline or find another job in the next couple years. While money is not my first priority, I hope to increase my salary within the next five years. 

Share the results of your test in a short paragraph (100-300 words) summarizing what the test results say about you on each of the five dimensions of personality.

Step 4: Summarize (200-300 words) what a potential employer looking at these results might say are your strengths and weakness as a potential employee.

In the first dimension of personality, extraversion, my score was high (80). The highest-scoring traits in this category were Gregariousness and Activity Level. The lowest was Cheerfulness. The next dimension of personality is Agreeableness. I scored very very low in this category (1). I scored 1/100 in all categories except for one, trust, where I scored 16. The next dimension of personality is conscientiousness. In this category I scored low (26). I scored an 80 in self-efficacy, but also scored an 8 in Dutifulness. The next dimension of personality is neuroticism, where I scored (41). The highest trait in this category was Anger (yikes). The website states “Your score on Neuroticism is average, indicating that your level of emotional reactivity is typical of the general population. Stressful and frustrating situations are somewhat upsetting to you, but you are generally able to get over these feelings and cope with these situations.” The final dimension of personality is openness to experience. I scored very low in this category (6). I scored well in liberalism, adventurousness, and intellect. The rest of my scores were 1’s.

As an employer, looking into traits can be an important component of selecting the right candidate for the job. finding someone with the right traits and personality can benefit both the employee and the organization. If an employer were to look at my test results here is what I think they would think. In the first dimension, I scored an 80, this presents me as an extrovert, who would be able to make friends with my coworkers and would easily form relationships with others. This could be a beneficial trait, especially if I will be meting with customers or clients on a regular basis. the next dimension of personality is agreeableness. I scored very very low in this category. I think this would give a negative perception of myself to a potential employer. It would make me seem hard to get along with or that I may cause some conflict down the road. While this would likely be a negative thing, there is some potential for this to be a positive in certain roles. The next dimension of personality is Conscientiousness, where I scored low. This low score would likely also be seen as a negative for many employers, making me seem like I don’t care about others feelings or problems. Again this could also be seen as a positive for some roles where emotion should not be an important decision maker. In the next dimension, neuroticism, I scored average. This puts me in the middle of the pack for this trait, not telling the employer much about myself in this area. The final dimension is openness to experience, which I scored low as well. This is another trait that could be seen as both a negative or a positive thing, depending on the role. Some jobs require you to be innovative and creative, while others are more clearly outlined with quantifiable expectations and goals.

You are a business owner interested in hiring a new employee to fill an essential opening in your company. After an extensive search, you narrow your choice of candidates down to two people. 

The first person, Avery, has a high-performance ceiling. By this, I mean that when they are at their best, few people are better than Avery at what they do. However, in most situations, Avery can be considered somewhat of a slacker. Day in and day out, the level of performance they give you could be described at best, a little below average.

The second person, Jaime, is known for consistency. Jamie is the type of person that will give you pretty good results every time they show up for work. However, in clutch situations, Jaime struggles to provide you with any more than what they already give you daily. That is, when pushed to their limit, we find that Jaime’s upper potential is nowhere near what Avery is capable of producing.

If I were in this situation, I would hire Jaimie, however it depends on the industry and needs of the company. Overall, I would pick Jaimie. the reason I would pick Jaimie over Avery, is because I can count on her to deliver consistent results. This makes it easy to plan out workload and easily project where we will be in the future. This could for example make it easier for a company to make commitments for clients and give reasonable and accurate estimates for work.

A type of job where it would be better to hire someone with high potential with low consistency would be in a job with workload/ volume that has large fluctuations. Having someone like Avery in this type of job would allow the employee to ramp up production/ performance when needed. This would be useful because in very important situations, Avery can be counted on the make it happen, where someone like Jaimie would not be able to perform at a high level when we need it.

A type of job where it would be best to have someone like Jaimie would be a job that has a very consistent workload/ volume. Having a consistent workload for someone like Jaimie would be very good because the results, costs, and amount of time that it takes to take care of their tasks is always the same. If the inputs are consistent, then the results will be consistent. As I mentioned earlier, this would be advantageous for planning and estimating purposes.

My brand is being someone who is not necessarily knowledgeable in all subjects, but is able, willing and enthusiastic to learn new things. I want employers to know that while I may not know how to to something right now, I am a fast learner because I want to learn. I also have the philosophy that anything is possible given the proper resources such as finances, time, and skills.

To make this apparent to employers, I would create an ad, posted online where I show examples of instances in the past where I have exhibited this type of behavior. I could tell stories about how I have learned new things and picked up on how to do things in situations I am uncomfortable in quickly. I would also share accomplishments of things I have done or impressive feats I have accomplished. This could include things about my professional life, or things such as achieving a 60 mile, 3-day hike. A creative way to convey this to employers would be to make a YouTube channel highlighting these attributes.

The last job I had was an internship working for a contractor doing safety coordination at Intel in Hillsboro, OR. There was no formal job description for the position. The interview and hiring process was very informal. When I discussed the job duties that were associated with the position, I learned more about what i would be doing and exactly what I would be involved with. Over the course of the internship, I ended up doing more than was initially discussed. This included being more involved in the processes as well as doing some things that were never discussed prior to employment.

To be entirely honest, the job description did not have very much influence on my feelings about taking the position. The main reason was that there was not much of a concrete description of my duties. Most of the information I learned about the job came from emails, text messages, and talking to the leadership team of the company. I was expecting most of the duties of the job, however there were some things I was regularly expected to do that I was not anticipating.

Overall, I would have preferred to have a better, more concrete job description so that i could have a better idea of the duties associated with the job. While i would have preferred this, I didn’t mind very much that the duties of the job were vague.

If I was interested in a company who had been faced with a lawsuit regarding widespread discrimination against individuals from an ethnicity, culture, or belief system that I associate with, it would absolutely deter me from supporting and potentially working for that company. Even if the allegations were false, the lawsuit would be enough for me to not want to work for the company. While it would not be a make or break for me, it would defiantly influence my decision. Even if the allegations were not pertaining to the discrimination of a class that I belong to, the idea that the company is discriminating against anyone would deter me from working for them.

On the other hand, the fact that the company was engaged in a discrimination lawsuit may mean that they are less likely to engage in that discrimination in the future due to being publicly scrutinized for such actions. In my experience as a white male, I have not experienced much discrimination against myself. While I have not been discriminated myself, I have seen discrimination take place in my current position. In the industry I currently work in, most of the employees are male. Women are viewed by some members of the industry as less competent and likely to cause problems. This is an issue because some women may be passed up for a position or a promotion, even though they may be the most qualified applicant.

Overall, I believe that discrimination is a prominent issue in today’s world. It is an issue that we should be working to solve. The company that has been accused of discriminatory practices may be worth avoiding if possible.

The last job I applied for was a safety coordinator internship with a contractor working on site at the Intel campus in Hillsboro, OR. The application process was very informal. I was put into contact through one of my parents who had worked with the company in the past on a different project. She knew they were offering an internship and suggested I apply. I reached out to the superintendent expressing my interest. He replied back and told me that they were looking for an intern in the near future. We emailed back and fourth a few times and agreed to meet in Hillsboro at their office for an informal interview where we discussed the position as well as what the company does. After this, I did not hear anything from them for almost a month. When I reached out to them, they said they were still making their decision, after another few weeks they gave me a call and said that they would like to have me as an intern this Summer. The whole experience was interesting because I never had a formal interview, just a short talk about what I wanted to do in my career and what they were looking for. In the past, I have applied and worked for retail jobs which have a much more straightforward and traditional approach to the application/ interview process.

Companies might be more inclined to spend more money/ resources on marketing and product design than employee recruitment and selection because they want a faster, more tangible return on investment. When spending money on marketing or improving products, the company is able to see quick, measurable results that can be directly attributed to the investment. When spending more money on doing a great job at employee recruitment, the company is not able to easily attribute the success of the company to this in-depth recruiting and selection process. Prioritizing employee recruitment and selection over other functions of the business can be beneficial in the long run because it ensures that the company is comprised of the best people in their respective positions available. Putting employee selection/ recruitment behind other aspects of the business can also be benefical by allowing the improvement of other components of the business such as sales, marketing, product development, etc. This can be beneficial by improving sales, reducing profits, growing the business, and other forms of short-term success.

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