2. Recruitment

When a company needs to recruit or employ new people, it may decide to advertise the job or position in the appointments section of a newspaper. People who are interested can then apply for the job by sending in a letter of application or covering letter and a curriculum vitae or CV and in American English resume containing details of their education and experience. A company may also ask candidates to complete a standard application form.

Headhunters or executive search firms specialize in finding the right person for the right job. The advantages for the employer are that it doesn’t have to organise the costly and time-consuming process of advertising, selecting and interviewing suitable candidates. In some cases, the search firm may already have a list of people with the appropriate skills for the job.

A growing number of companies are not satisfied with traditional job interviews. Instead, they are requiring applicants for many white-collar jobs to submit to a series of paper-and-pencil test, role-playing exercises, simulated decision-making exercises and brainteasers. Others put candidates through a long series of interviews by psychologists or trained interviewers. These tests, which can take from an hour or two days, are all part of a broader trend. Companies are getting much more careful about hiring.

Ten years ago, candidates could win a top job with the right look and the right answers to questions. Now, many candidates having to face questions and exercises intended to learn how they get things done. Psychologists say that the answers reveal much about a candidate’s management style and about himself or herself.

The reason for the interrogations is clear: many hires work out badly. The cost of bringing the wrong person on board is sometimes huge. Years ago, employers looked for experience. But having experience in a job does not guarantee that you can do it in a different environment. At this point, most companies have not shifted to this practice.

Those companies which have not started extensive testing also have toughened their hiring practices. Many now do background checks, but the more comprehensive testing aims to measure skills in communications, analysis and organization, attention to detail and management style; personality traits and motivations that behavioral scientists say predict performance. In firms the selection procedures begin with advertising in national newspapers. They look at the backgrounds of applicants: their experience of different jobs and their educational qualifications. The head of recruitment don’t ask for handwritten letters of application as people usually apply by e-mail. Then they invite the most interesting candidates to a group discussion. Then they have individual interviews with each candidate and ask the candidates to do written psychometric tests to assess their intelligence and personality. After this company shortlists three or four candidates. Their references are checked by writing to their referees. If the references are Ok, the head of recruitment ask the candidates to come back for more interviews. Finally, they offer the job to someone, and if the candidates turn it down they have to think again. If the candidates accept it, they hire them.

There are some main stages of an interview. Interviewer is informed that the candidate has arrived. The interviewer greets the candidate and brings him into the office. Then candidate is asked what he or she knows about the job and the company. After candidate’s answer the interviewer reviews the CV and gives the candidate his views on the job and the company. Next 5 or 10 minutes the candidate may ask questions. Finally the interviewer asks more general questions about the candidate’s life, and adds one or two trick questions. When the candidate goes out the interviewer makes an interview assessment. He points in it main characteristics of the candidate, his experience, the place of living, his wills, targets and even habits.

The candidate should write his or her job application in blank ink on white unlined paper looks professional. There is impossible to put an address, telephone number and date in the top right-hand corner and the name of the person he or she are applying to on the left, level with the date. The company name and address must be written below.

In the application letter the candidate should describe him or herself like a product on sale, list skills and personal qualities. The main aim or the job application is to ask an interview. Every candidate should remember: the longer an application the less chance it has of being read.

Curriculum Vitae should be typed on untitled white paper. The candidate should put in it his or her health record, date of birth, marital status, education, work history, may be duties, hobbies and interests. The interview is the opportunity for the applicant to project his or her personality and convince the interviews of his or her suitability for the job.

Many attention must be paid to the way of dressing. The candidate must be ready to speak about him or herself. One should organize his or her thoughts logically, have self-confidence, never distort facts and try to persuade people to his or her way of thinking. It’s too important to ask about sum of expected salary. And the main rule for every applicant is never be late.

So that it’s too difficult to choose right person at position as well as to find a work you really want.