06 – Employee Selection: Recruitment and Interviews

PY108 | IOPSY | 2023 - 2024

Main Reference: Aamodľ Addiľional References: Dessler and Muchinsky Compiled by: Kyra Alexandra U. Ramirez, RPm

○ If the decision is accepted, the process ends

○ If he did not accept, then he is issues a
OUTLINE
1. Legal Issues “right to sue” letter (entitling him to hire
a. The Legal Process private lawyer and file the case himself)
b. Employment Decisions ● If the discrimination has merit, it will try to
c. Harassment work out a settlement between the claimant
d. Family Medical Leave Act and employer without taking the case to the
e. Affirmative Action court
f. Privacy Issues
● If a settlement cannot be reached, the case
2. Recruitment
a. Types of Recruitment goes to a federal district court
b. Realistic Job Previews ● When the district court makes a decision,
c. Effective Employee Selection the decision becomes Case Law
Techniques ○ Judicial interpretation of a law
3. Interviews ○ It is important because it establishes
a. Employment Interviews a precedent for future cases
b. Job Search Skills
EMPLOYEE DECISIONS

LEGAL Does the Employment Practice directly refer

ISSUES to a Member of Federally Protected Class?
● An employment practice is any decision
THE LEGAL PROCESS that affects an employee
● Practices include
Resolving Internal Complaints ○ Hiring
● Before a complaint can be fired with the EEOC, ○ Training
an employee must utilize whatever internal ○ Firing
resolution process available within the ○ Promoting
organization ○ Assigning employees to shift
● Grievance System: employee take their ○ Determining pay
complaints to an internal committee that makes ○ Disciplining
a decision regarding the complaints ○ Scheduling vacations
○ If the employees does not like the decision, ● Protected Class: any group of people for
they can take the complaints to EEOC (DOLE which protective legislation has been passed
or CSC) ● It is illegal to discriminate against a person
● Mediation: employees and the organization based on race
meet with a neutral third party who tries to help ○ Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1964, and 1991, Fourth
the two sides reach mutually agreed upon and Fifth Amendments to the U.S.
solution Constitution
● Arbitration: two sides present their case to a ○ Civil rights also mandated to protect
neutral third party who then makes a decision individuals against discrimination based on
to which side is right skin color
○ If Binding Arbitration is used, neither side ● Civil Rights Act and Equal Pay Act of
can appeal the decision 1963: prohibits discrimination based on
○ If Nonbinding Arbitration is used, the sex
parties can either accept the decision or ● National Origin is protected under the Civil
take the case to the court Rights Act
○ It is illegal to use an individual’s religion as
Filing a Discrimination Charge a factor in an employment decision unless
● A charge of discrimination is usually filed with the nature of the job is religious
a government agency ○ Such nonwork requirements should not be
● A state agency is sued if the alleged violation confused with preferences for nonwork on
involves a state law; and a federal agency days of worship
handles alleged violations of federal law ● Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA): forbids an employer or union from
Outcomes of an EEOC Investigation discriminating against an individual over the age
● If, after reviewing a complaint, the of 40
government agency does not find merit ● Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973:
prohibits discrimination against people with

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disabilities

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● American with Disabilities Act (ADA):
prohibits discrimination against the disabled by Can the Employer Prove that the
any other employer with 15 or more employees Requirement is Job Related?
○ Disability: a physical or mental ● An employment practice resulting in adverse
impairment that substantially limits one or impact may still be legal as long as the test is
more of the major life activities of an job related
individual; a record of such impairment; or ● Reasonable attempts have been made to find
being regarded as having such an other tests that might be just as valid but
impairment have less adverse impact
○ If an impairment was expected to last less ● For Seniority System to be considered as bona
than six months, it would not be considered fide, the purpose of the system must be to
a disability reward seniority; not to discriminate
● Pregnancy Discrimination Act: states that ● In certain circumstances, it is legal for an
women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or employer to discriminate against a member of a
related medical conditions shall be treated the particular national origin or other protected
same for all employment related purposes, class when it is in the best interests of the
including receipt of benefit programs, as other nation’s security to do so
persons not so affected but similar in their ● Most civil service jobs provide extra points
ability or inability to work on tests for veterans of the armed forces
● Vietnam-Era Veterans Readjustment Act:
mandates any contractor or subcontractor with Did the Employer look for reasonable
more that $10,000 in federal government alternatives that would result in a lesser
contracts to take affirmative action to employ adverse impact?
and promote Vietnam-era veterans ● If an employer proves a test is job related, the
final factor looked at by the courts is the extent
Is the Requirement a BFOQ? to which the employer looked for other valid
● Bona Fide Occupational Qualiffication selection tests that would have less adverse
(BFOQ): if a job can only be performed by a impact
person in a particular class
HARASSMENT
Has Case Law, State Law, or Local Law
expanded the Deffinition of Any of the Types of Harassment
Protected Classes? ● Quid Pro Quo: granting of sexual favors is tied
● An employment on may not violate a federal to such employment decisions such as
law, but it may violate one of the many state promotions and salary increases
and local laws that have been passed to protect ● Hostile Environment: sexual harassment
additional groups of people occurs when an unwanted pattern of conduct
● The definition of protected classes can related to gender unreasonably interferes with
be expanded or narrowed by court an individual’s work performance
decisions ○ Conduct must be a pattern of behavior
rather than an isolated incident
Does the Requirement have Adverse Impact ○ Conduct must be due to the sex of employee
on Members of a Protected Class? ○ Any pattern of behavior based on gender
● Adverse Impact: a particular employment that causes an employee discomfort might
decision results in negative consequences constitute sexual harassment
more often for members of one race, sex, or
national origin than for members of another Organizations’ Liability for Sexual Harassment
● Four-Fifths Rule: the percentage of ● The organization must have
applicants hired from one group is compared ○ Well-conceived policy regarding
to the percentage of applicants hired in most sexual harassment
favored group ○ Communicated that policy to its employees
● Adverse impact refers to percentage rather ○ Enforced that policy
than raw numbers ● If there is complaint, it is essential that the
organization investigate the complaint quickly
Was the requirement designed to and then promptly take any necessary action
intentionally discriminate against a to rectify the situation and punish the offender
Protected Class? ○ All complaints must be investigated
● If an employment practice does not refer ○ The organization’s policy must
directly to a member of a protected class but encourage victims to come forward and
adversely affects the protected class afford them
● The courts will look closely at whether the
practice was initiated to intentionally reduce
the pool of qualified minority applicants
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 multiple channels or sources through which ○ Criteria 1: whether there has been a history
to file their complaint of discrimination by a particular organization
○ Complaint must be confidential ○ Criteria 2: concerns the extent to which
● Action must be taken to protect the the plan benefits people who were not
accuser during the time the complaint is actual victims of discrimination
being investigated ○ Criteria 3: concerns which of two types of
○ Both the accused and accuser must be population is used to statistically
given due process determine discrimination and to set
○ The results of the investigation must be affirmative action goals
communicated in writing to both parties ○ Criteria 4: whether the remedy designed
● The severity of the punishment must match to help minorities is narrowly tailored.
the severity of the violation ○ Criteria 5: an affirmative action plan
● It is the best of an organization to be cannot continue indefinitely it must end
proactive and prevent harassment when certain goals have been obtained

FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE Consequences of Afffirmative Action Plans

ACT
● Employees hired due to affirmative action plans
were perceived by coworkers are less
● Provides eligible employees a minimum of
competent, devalues their performance, and
12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to deal
behave negatively towards them
with family matter
● Employers can decide if they want to define
PRIVACY ISSUES
the eligibility period as calendar year or as
rolling
● Drug testing of current employees must be
12-month period as calendar year
based on reasonable suspicion
● Serious Health Condition: any period of
● The court should consider the extent to
incapacity of more than 3 consecutive days and
which special needs of the employer
at least 2 visits to a healthcare provider or one
outweigh the employees right to privacy
visit and issuance of medicine; or
● Other factors to be considered are accuracy
○ Any period of incapacity due to chronic
of drug testing and the care and privacy
serious health condition requiring periodic
taken during the testing
treatment
● Office and locker searches are allowed as long
○ Any period of absence to receive multiple
as it is reasonable and with cause
treatments for a condition that would
● Psychological tests may be illegal if its
result in a 3 or more day period of
questions unnecessarily invade the privacy of
incapacity if left untreated
an employee
● Organizations should tell their employees
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
that they are being monitored
● At the time of hire, get new employees to
Afffirmative Action Goals
sign consent forms agreeing to be monitored
● Monitoring Hiring and Promotion Statistics
● Intentional Recruitment of Minority Applicants
● Identification and Removal of Employment
Practices working against minority applicants and RECRUITMENT
employees
● Preferential Hiring and Promotion of Minorities
DEFINING
RECRUITMENT
Reasons for Afffirmative Action Plans
● Involuntary Recruitment – attracting people with the right
○ Government regulation qualifications to apply for the job
○ Court Order ● Internal Recruitment: promote someone
● Voluntary from within the organization
○ Consent Decree ● External Recruitment: hire someone
○ Desire to be a good citizen from outside the organization
● To enhance employee morale and motivation, it
Legality of Preferential Hiring and Promotion is often good to give current employees an
Plans
advantage in obtaining new internal positions
● Any form of preferential hiring or promotion must
undergo a strict scrutiny analysis
TYPES OF
● The plan must be narrowly tailored and meet RECRUITMENT
a compelling government interest
Media Advertisements
● Newspaper Ads
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 ○ Respond by calling minimum requirements needed to apply to a
○ Apply-in-person ads particular job
○ Send-resume ads ○ Applicants can download their resumes,
○ Send resume to a blind box answer questions designed to screen
● Electronic Media: television and radio unqualified applicants, and take employment
● Situation-Wanted Ads: placed by the tests
applicants rather than by organizations ○ Use of job domains have been rampant
○ List extensive qualifications, some give ● Internet Recruiters
applicant’s names, and some are ○ A private company whose website lists job
generally more creative than others opening for hundreds of organizations and
● Point-of-Purchase Methods: based on the resumes for thousands of applicants
same point-of-purchase advertising principles ○ It’s less costly than newspaper
used to market products to consumers advertisement and reaches more people
○ Job vacancy notice is placed over a larger geographic area
where customers are likely to see ○ Blogging allows recruiters to discuss an
them organization’s career opportunities and
● Recruiters corporate culture informally with
○ Campus Recruiters potential applicants
○ Outside Recruiters – outside recruiting
sources as private employment agencies, Direct Mail
public employment agencies, and ● An employer typically obtains a mailing list and
executive search firms sends help-wanted letters or brochures to
people through the mail
Employment Agencies and Search Firms ● Especially useful for positions
● Employment Agencies involving specialized skills
○ Either charge the company or the applicant
○ Especially useful if an HR department is Job Fairs
overloaded with work or if an ● Designed to provide information in a
organization personal fashion to as many applicants as
○ Company loses control over its possible
recruitment process and may end up with ● Many types of organizations have booths at
undesirable applicants the same location
● Executive Search Firms ● Also held when an event or disaster occurs
○ Jobs they represent tend to be higher-paying, that affects local employment
non-entry level positions ● Many organizations in the same field in
○ Fees charged are usually 30% of one location
the applicant’s first-year salary ● Organization holds it own job fair
● Public Employment Agencies
○ Designed primarily to help the unemployed Nontraditional Population
find work, but they often offer services such ● Forming partnerships with local churches
as career advisement and resume ● Developing recruitment strategies and such
preparation gay-friendly benefits as domestic partner benefits
○ Often, government programs are also to recruit and retain gay and lesbian employees
available that will help pay training ● Using inmates to perform work
costs ● Recruiting ex-convicts
○ State and local employment agencies ● Hiring PWDs
● Hiring married couples
Employee Referrals
● Current employees recommend family members Evaluating the Effectiveness of Recruitment
or friends for specific job openings Strategies
● Most effective recruitment method ● Rehires or applicants who are referred by
● Care must be taken when developing referral other employees receive more accurate
program to ensure that the referral pool is information about the job than do employees
representative of the ethnic and racial makeup recruited by other methods
of the qualified workforce ● Differences in recruitment-source
● At risk of possible discrimination effectiveness are the result of different
recruitment sources reaching and being used
Internet by different types of applicants
● Fast growing source of recruitment ● Employee referrals result in great tenure than
● Employer-Based Websites do other recruitment strategies
○ An organization lists available job openings
and provides information about itself and
the
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● An employee recommending a friend for a job asking questions and evaluating answers of
will more than likely recommend one similar the same applicant at the same time
to herself

REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS

● Involve giving an applicant an honest

assessment of a job
● Even though telling the truth about the job scares
away many applicants, the ones who will stay will
not be surprised about the job
● Informed applicants tend to stay longer
● Expectation-Lowering Procedure: lowers
an applicant’s expectations about work and
expectations in general

EMPLOYEE SELECTION
TECHNIQUES

● Effective employee selection systems share

3 characteristics
○ Valid
○ Reduce the chance of a legal challenge
○ Cost-effective
● Valid selection test is one that based on a job
analysis, predicts work-related behavior, and
measures the construct it purports to
measure

INTERVIEWS

EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS

Interviews – most commonly used method to

select employees

Types of Interviews
● Structure: determined by the source of the
questions, the extent to which all applicants
are asked the same questions, and the
structure of the system used to score the
answers
○ Structured Interview: the source of
questions is job analysis; all applicants are
asked with the same questions; and there is
a standardized scoring key
○ Unstructured Interview: free to ask
anything you want
○ Highly structured interviews are more
reliable and valid
● Style: determined by the number of
interviews and number of interviewers
○ One-on-One Interviews: involve
one interviewer interviewing an
applicant
○ Serial Interviews: involves a series of
single interviews
○ Return Interviews: similar to serial
interviews with difference being a passing of
time between the first and subsequent
interview
○ Panel Interviews: multiple interviewers
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 ○ Group Interviews: have multiple
applicants answering questions during the
same interview
○ Serial-Panel-Group Interview:
combination of different styles
● Medium: method which they are done in person
○ Face-to-face Interviews: both the
interviewer and the applicant are in the
same room
■ Provide a personal setting and allow
the participants to use both visual and
vocal cues to evaluate information
○ Telephone Interviews: often used to
screen applicants but do not allow the use
of visual cues
○ Video Conference Interviews: the
applicant and the interviewer can hear and
see each other, but the setting is not as
personal, nor is the image and vocal quality
of the interview as sharp as in face-to-face
interviews
○ Written Interviews: involve the
applicant answering a series of written
questions and then sending the answers
back through regular mail or through
email

Advantages of Structured Interviews

● Interviews high in structure are more valid
● Viewed more favorably in courts

Problems with Unstructured Interviews

● Poor Intuitive Ability
● Lack of Job Relatedness
● Primacy Effects: first impressions
● Contrast Effects: the interview performance
of one applicant may affect the interview
score given to the next applicant
● Negative-Information Bias: negative
information apparently weighs more heavily
than positive information
● Interviewer-Interviewee Similarity:
interviewee will receive a higher score if she is
similar to the interviewer in terms of
personality, attitude, gender, or race
● Interviewee Appearance
● Nonverbal Cues

Creating a Structured Interview

● Determining the KSAOs to tap in the
interview
○ Conduct through job analysis and
write detailed job description
○ Determine the best way to measure an
applicant’s ability to perform each of the
tasks identified in the job analysis
● Creating Interview Questions
○ Clariffiers: allow the interviewer to clarify
information in the resume, cover letter,
and application, fill in gaps, and obtain
necessary information

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 ○ Disqualifiers: questions that must be ● Signature
answered a particular way or the applicant ● Avoid sounding so desperate
is disqualified ● Avoid grammar and spelling errors
○ Skill-level determiners: tap an ● Avoid officious words or phrases
interviewee’s level of expertise ● Don’t discuss personal circumstances
○ Future-Focused Questions or Situational ● Tailor your letter to each company
Questions: ask what they would do in ● Don’t write your cover letter on the stationery
particular situation of your current employer
○ Past-focused Questions or Patterned
Behavior Description Interviews: focused on Resume – summary of an applicant’s professional and
previous behavior educational background
○ Organizational-fit questions: tap the extent ● Viewed as a history of your life or
to which the applicant will fit into the culture an advertisement of your skills
of an organization or with the leadership ● Must be attractive and easier to read
style of a particular supervisor ● Cannot contain typing, spelling, grammatical,
● Creating a Scoring Key for Interview or factual mistakes
Answers
● Should make the applicant look as qualified
○ Right/Wrong Approach
as possible
○ Typical-answer approach
○ Key-Issues Approach
Types of Resume
● Chronological Resume: list previous jobs in
Conducting Structured Interview
order from the most to least recent
● Build Rapport
● Functional Resume: organizes jobs based
● Set the agenda for the interview by explaining
on skills required to perform them rather than
the process
the order in which they were worked
● Ask interview questions
● Psychological Resume: contains the strengths
● Provide info about the job and the organization
of both the chronological and functional styles
● Answer the questions the applicant might have
and is based on psychological theory and
● End the interview with compliment
research

JOB SEARCH SKILLS

Successfully Surviving the Interview Process

● Scheduling the Interview
○ Arriving late will result in lower scores
and bad first impressions
● Before the Interview
○ Learn about the company
○ Dress neatly and professionally (adjust
your style as necessary to fit the situation)
● During the Interview
○ Firm handshake, eye contact, smiling,
and head-nodding
○ Ask questions, not ask salary, not speak
slowly, and not hesitate when
answering questions
○ First impressions lasts
● After the Interview
○ Write a brief letter thanking the
interviewer for time

Cover Letters – tell an employee that you are

enclosing your resume and would like to apply for a
job
● Salutation: name of the person to whom
you want to direct the letter
● Paragraphs: opening should be one or two
sentences long communicating that your resume
is enclosed, name of the job you are applying
for, and how you know about the opening

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