Recruitment and Potential Candidates

Evaluate the usefulness of the documents used in the interview pack for a given organisation, in facilitating the interview process. Job description: The importance of job descriptions is that it helps potential candidates to know what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated within the interview process. With job descriptions it can be of great value to employers as it helps them to relate potential candidates back to the job role and see if they fit well with the description of the ideal candidate they are looking for. Job descriptions are very useful for both Tesco and the potential candidates who are applying for the vacancy as it lists all the activities which will need to be done whilst working with Tesco, it would give the potential candidate an idea of what the job role consists of, what their daily jobs would be whilst working for Tesco. It is also very useful for the employers at Tesco as it will show them whether the potential candidates experiences matches up to what the vacancy is looking for.

For example within the job description it may say that the role consist of “always putting the customers first and provide them with great service. You must get to know the customers and serve them with pride, also help to ensure that the products and services of Tesco are available for the customers at all times.” With this description the employers can match the potential candidates CV with the description made to see whether they have any customer service experience to add to whether they are good potential candidate to fill in the vacancy. Having the job description with the employer at all times during the interview process is very useful as it helps the employer’s to make a decision for the selection process after the interviews.

The reason for this, is because with the job description it clearly states as to what the job role duties and responsibilities consist of, with the duties and responsibilities that the job role has the candidates would need some sort of retail experience to match with the duties and responsibilities. For example if the potential candidates didn’t have any retail experience matching to what the duties and responsibilities will consist of within the job role daily then how will they be able to work. This is why it is very useful for both the employer and potential candidates because they can both make decisions beforehand to see whether it is suitable or not. However there are some disadvantages with job descriptions, for example with job descriptions they contain a lot of detail to list the roles and responsibilities of the job role.

This can potentially have a negative effect on the potential candidates as they feel that it is an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities which they will need to fulfil and as a result they may feel overwhelmed and intimidated by it all. Also job descriptions can take a lot of time and effort to maintain, so for example when a key feature of a job changes then the job description must be updated. This then requires more effort by managers to revise job descriptions needed, also creating job descriptions can cost a lot of money to make and then post online for the potential candidates to view.

Job person specification:
The reason as to why job person specifications are so useful is because it shows the potential candidates what Tesco are looking for within the persons, some of the qualities which they look for are things such as knowledge, experience, skills, special aptitude, personal qualities, attainments and qualifications, hobbies and interests, personal circumstances and finally physical characteristics. Within the person specification, all of these are listed which is useful as it is fully developed for the potential candidates to have a look over to see whether they match up to the qualities needed to be successful for the role. For example when we were doing interview role plays for the P5 task I had made use of the job person specification when I was the interviewer, so that way I can see whether the candidate in front of me was matching up to the qualities which Tesco are looking for. For example with “attainments and qualifications” the potential candidate needed to Have a C grade in GCSE in English and Maths to be able to communicate with customers and to be able to use mental maths for till worker. (Essential)

To have previous experience in retail and an NVQ in Retail Operations at levels 2, 3 and 4. (Desirable) So whilst I was playing the role of the interviewer I was looking over at the candidates CV to see if she had any of the essential or desirable qualities which would’ve benefited her as she would get a better chance of being hired if she had some of the qualities listed above. When looking at her CV, whilst interviewing her I had seen that she did have the essential qualities which matched to the job person specification. As you can see having a job person specification can be very useful during the interview process as the interviewer can look back to see if the candidates information match’s up to the qualities needed. The job person specification contributed well for the management of Tesco and conduct of the interview and the process of making a selection and decision as it had helped them to be able to see whether the potential candidates match up to what they are looking for in the person who they hire for the job.

It is a very useful piece of document as it makes the selection and decision process quite easy and well thought out, as they can match the potential candidates to the qualities and description made within the job description and person specification. However there are some drawbacks with person specifications, the reason why person specifications can be negative sometimes is because if it isn’t created effectively by Tesco then this type of specification can endure legal consequences for a number of reasons. Sometimes with person specifications, the terminology within it can disclose biases which can make it harder for some candidates to be applicable for; by doing so it can cause the person specifications to be considered discriminatory. Also with person specifications it takes up a lot of money and time to create as it would need to be changed for many different roles within the business.

Application form:
Application forms are very useful documents which are used as part of the interview pack; the reason for this is because it is a tool for screening out undesirable applicants. Most employers including the mangers in Tesco treat application forms as a way of obtaining contact information for the applicant and more. Application forms are very useful for the employers at Tesco as it allows them to dictate the content of the candidate’s response and it establishes the control over the pre-hiring process. For example during the role play interviews when I was playing the role of the interviewer it was very useful for me as I could look back to it to see what the candidate’s responses were to the questions asked and try to get some more information on the candidate from the application form. I was able to use the extra information from the application form and make some more questions from that to challenge the interviewee a little more and to also get more information about them to see whether they fit the role of being the best candidate to hire for the vacancy available.

The application form contributes to Tesco as it helps the organisations management to be able to screen them and see who is a better candidate to take further for the interview process. It was also a good contribution to the conduct of the interview and the process of making a selection decision because it allows the management of Tesco to be able to bring the application form in with them to interview for them to review it whilst questioning the interviewee to be able to get more information from them to see whether they are really interested in getting the role and also whether they have information about the company and what the job role consists of.

The interviewer can use the candidate’s application form to then use it within the process of making a decision of which to hire, the reason why application forms are useful for this area is because they can once again screen and review as to who matches and best fits the role which is available. However there are some disadvantages with application forms, these are that they are very time consuming for the candidate to fill out, also they are very tricky to design for the company’s different roles and responsibilities. Tesco would need to make a design were it matches all criteria for each department role, so it makes the interview process fair for all job roles. There is also a cost involved when producing and sending out application forms to the potential candidates. Also application forms can be very lengthy and can also sometimes be off-putting as some of the candidates may be confused with some of the questions which are being asked. CV:

The reason as to why CV’s are a very useful document within the interview pack is because it can help Tesco to have an overview of the candidates. The reason why is because the CV contains a short summary of the candidate, about themselves and their work experience which therefore helps Tesco to see how their work ethic is like, which therefore helps Tesco to compare the candidates together within the selection process. With CV’s it helps the management Tesco to see what type of person the candidate is and what qualifications they have. The CV is the most important document to have at the beginning of the recruitment process as it shows the organisation who you are and in a short summary it summarises what qualifications you have, what your previous work experience is and this then helps Tesco to base their decision on who they would like to bring into the interview process.

The CV’s help to pick out any potential applicants who Tesco may want to interview and offer the job to. Within Tesco store branches the main roles which need to be filled in are mainly sales assistants, to become a sales assistant you would need previous experience in order to be able to fulfil the job role duties and responsibilities, otherwise without the previous experience it would be pointless to hire someone as it would be a waste of money. This is why CV’s are the most important documents which are part of the interview pack as it will summarise their previous experience and knowledge they have which will contribute to whether they are a candidate to choose to pass through to the interview stage or not. CV’s help to contribute to the management of the interview as it can help the interview to be able to then come up with any subjects who they may want to talk about within the interview referring back to the candidates CV.

For example within the CV the candidate might have mentioned about their previous experience, the interviewer may see the previous experience which is noted down within the candidates CV and would then be able to ask the candidate as to what they did within their previous experience. This will be useful for the management of Tesco especially during the interview as they will be able to see how much experience they have had and whether they are worth to hire for the vacancy. However with CV’s there are some disadvantages, these are that some candidates can lie about the information they put on the CV so then they can mislead the managers to bring them in for the interview process. There can be some candidates who might put information down which isn’t true and then later on whilst they are working you can see how they don’t actually match the criteria they had put down onto their CV, this can incur a loss for Tesco as they have hired someone who might not been be able to complete the job role duties they have been given as they lied about some of the experience they said they had. Interview questions:

Interview questions are the most important part of the interview pack as it is the most important source of finding out more on the candidate. With interview questions it allows the management of Tesco to be able to find out what type of person the candidate is, are they someone who is serious about getting the job role, do they have any previous experience which will help them to progress within the company and so on. The interview questions are the most important and useful part of the interview pack as it will help the management of Tesco to be able to see whether they candidates they have chosen for the interview stage are the right candidates to be chosen for the vacancy. For example during the role play of the interviews whilst I had the role of the interview I was able to get more information about the candidate for example, what she is currently doing at the moment, what her previous experience consisted of and what her job role was whilst working in her previous job, why she is applying for Tesco.

Interview questions are very useful as I was able to get a lot of information about my candidate and it had helped me more to make a decision as to whether she is the right person for the job role and whether she will be working to her full potential and meeting the targets of Tesco. With the interview questions it is very useful as it helps the management of Tesco to make a thorough and good decision of who should be successful to get the job. The interview questions had contributed a lot to the interview as it had given the management of Tesco a clearer idea of who the candidate is and what their previous experience and skills consist of. It is useful for the management of Tesco to make their decision based on the thorough detailed answers which they have received in the interview.

However with interview questions there are some drawbacks, the reason why is because with interview questions the answers which the candidate response with might not be truthful, they may be lying so that they can match the criteria and get the job. Also there answers may be biased and doesn’t truly reflect the person they say they are. Another reason why interviews can be negative is because it takes up a lot of time and cost to train the people who are interviewing the candidates. Plan of day:

Plan of day is a very useful piece of document, the reason is because it helps you to be structure with the day you’re having especially during interviews it is very useful to have a plan of the day as it will help you to get through everything needed. It is a very useful and important formula as it will help to keep you on course of achieving you’re goals and objectives. I felt having a plan of the day was very useful when participating in the interview role plays; the reason is because I had a clear structure of what I was going to do next and it kept me on track with time also. With a plan of the day it helped me to make sure that I don’t forget anything when going through with the interviews. With the employers at Tesco having a plan of the day would be the most important and useful piece of document for them as they would have a very busy life at work, they would need something for the interview days to help them to structure the day fully so they don’t miss anything out and it stops them from any obstacle’s or mistakes which may come along the way.

The reason why plans of the day can be very useful is because it gives you peace of mind of knowing that you have formulated a feasible plan of action and that your goals are attainable. Also with planning the day it can help the mangers at Tesco to be prepared for any obstacles because a part of the planning process is creating a contingency plan for any unexpected problems. Another reason as to why having a plan of the day was very useful is because it helps to evaluate your progress during the interviews. By having a plan of the day it clearly illustrates whether or not you are staying on schedule. However having a plan of the day can be a disadvantage, the reason being is because you might not be able to deviate from the plan; there might not be much flexibility with the plan due to the detailed structure of it. Also there might be so much to do from the plan but there just isn’t enough time to be able to complete all of the things planned for the interview day. Also as the mangers of Tesco would be planning the day beforehand, as they are planning for the future they are estimates of what they would want to happen for the interview day but due to the uncertainty of the future some things on the plan for the interview might not be able to take place. Company Information:

For the potential candidates having researched Tesco’s information it can help them to see what the company is about, it gives them an idea of what types of job roles are available and also what is expected of them if they are successful to work for Tesco. For example during our interview role-plays I had gathered some information about Tesco to help me get an insight as to what types of products they sell and what their job roles duties and responsibilities consist of. This had really helped me during the actual interviews as I was able to use the information to my advantage and use the information I gathered into my answers so that I come across as I know what I’m talking about.

Some of the disadvantages about company information is that the information which the candidates collect and gather together may be old information which therefore means that if the candidate had used the old information during the interview the interviewer would get quite confused as they would be talking about past information within their answers which would show the interviewer that they have researched past information about Tesco which wouldn’t leave a good impression as they haven’t done their research properly. Also another disadvantage of researching company information is that what if Tesco aren’t actually performing well as a company, this would then lead them not to apply for such a company who isn’t even performing well as a business. It would put them off and stop people from applying; this is just a possibility of what could be a disadvantage. In-tray activity:

In-tray activities are very useful as it allows the employers of Tesco to check how well the potential candidates are suited for the particular work role they are applying for. It was very useful for me when I was acting as the interviewer as I was able to see how the candidate would react if they were serving a customer in store, so it gave me an idea if they would be suitable to hire for the job role or not. Also with in-tray activities it allows the employers of Tesco to be able to stimulate working attitudes, for example with the activities it helps the employers to find out if the candidate would be able to fulfil the job roles duties and responsibilities.

In-tray tasks are designed to represent the tasks which employee’s usually encounter with in the job; therefore by performing the in-tray task it provides evidence on a variety of relevant skills. However the disadvantage to having in-tray tasks it that it only really evaluates on section of skills the interviewer is looking for. So if the in-tray task is just based on how well the candidate would react with customers and if the candidate didn’t perform well it would mean that they might not get the job just because of one section of the interview which they didn’t perform well in. With in-tray tasks they are biased for when the employers have to make a decision on who to hire as it is based on only on section of the job role which is customer service.