Contents

PART I

I.I.A

Warm-up

Finding a job

Work in groups. You have just met some people who would like to work in your country. What advice can you give them about current job prospects and how to go about finding a job? The following headings may help you:

• availability of jobs in different industries

• availability of jobs geographically

• employment sources (newspapers, agencies, etc)

• part-time/full-time work

• blue collar/white collar jobs

• seasonal work.

I.I.B

Reading

Recruitment

Read the following extract from a recruitment handbook and answer the questions which follow it.

There are many ways in which an organisation can recruit personnel. Posting a list of vacancies on the company noticeboard or publishing it in employee magazines is fairly common and gives current employees the opportunity of applying for a position. Similarly, a subordinate may be referred for a position by his or her superior.

Another means of recruiting internally is to search in the organisation's existing files. Some companies have a data base of their employees' skills and special interests. Reviewing these files periodically may reveal employees who are well-suited to a particular position.

Although recruiting people within the organisation can have many advantages it does have its limitations. If companies wish to be dynamic it is essential to inject new blood from time to time. Similarly, existing employees may not have the necessary skills that the position requires. Consequently, it is often necessary to recruit people from outside the organisation.

Advertising is a commonly used technique for recruiting people from outside. The advertising medium should be chosen according to the type of public the organisation is aiming at. If a highly specialised person is required, a speciality publication such as a trade magazine may be most appropriate. National newspapers and magazines sometimes carry a Senior Appointments section for specialised personnel. Many national and local newspapers have a General Appointments section or a Classified Ads section for less specialised personnel. Radio and television advertising of vacancies is relatively underdeveloped in most countries.

Employment agencies may be another source of recruitment. State-backed agencies compete with private agencies in many countries. In general, private agencies charge a fee whereas public sector agencies offer their services free of

Recruitment sources

charge. Another difference is that private agencies tend to offer more specific services; for example, they may specialise in a particular area of recruitment such as temporary secretaries, middle managers or senior executives. They may also include search services, otherwise known as headhunting, or provide management Consulting.

Current employees are sometimes encouraged to refer friends, family and ex-colleagues to fill a particular vacancy. This is particularly true in occupations such as nursing where there is a shortage of trained people.

Other valuable sources of recruitment may be university campuses, trade unions, professional organisations and unsolicited applications.

1 List all the forms of internal recruitment mentioned in the passage.

2 Why do companies often recruit from outside the organisation?

3 Which kinds of organisations are most likely to recruit through referrals by existing employees?

I.I.C

Vocabulary

Explaining key terms

Write a sentence explaining what each of the following words mean as they are used in the above passage.

I.I.D

Discussion

Pros and cons of recruitment sources

Work in small groups. Choose four of the following recruitment sources and discuss what you think are the advantages and disadvantages of each from the recruiter's point of view. When you have finished your discussion, report back to the rest of the class.

• publishing vacancies in the company magazine

• keeping a data base/files

• advertising in speciality publications

• advertising in the national or regional press

• radio and television advertising

• employment agencies (public and private)

• unsolicited applications.

I.I.E

Analysis

Recruitment sources

Table 1 is part of a study into the effectiveness of different recruitment sources in six American states. The figures are based on a sample of 100 companies. They represent the successful recruitment over the past five years of five employee groups according to recruitment source.

Look at Table I and answer the questions which follow it.

Table 1

The effectiveness of different recruitment sources

Recruitment source

Occupation

Office/

clerical

Plant/

service

Sales

Professional/

technical

Management

Company noticeboards

12

15

5

1

0

In-house magazine

8

7

4

2

0

Data base/files

7

3

2

1

8

Speciality publications

0

0

3

5

8

National/regional press

31

23

28

30

26

Radio and television

0

1

0

1

0

Public employment agencies

7

14

2

8

0

Private employment agencies

8

2

25

15

25

Referrals from current employees

14

15

10

6

5

Campuses

1

3

8

10

6

Unions

0

2

0

1

0

Professional organisations

0

1

1

2

4

Unsolicited applications

12

14

8

10

1

Search firms

0

0

4

8

17

Total

100

100

100

100

100