Human Resource Management Assignment 2

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5 Recruiting Job Candidates

Case 5.1. The Recruiting Process: The Growth of E-Recruitment in Recruiting Job Candidates The most popular place to look for prospective employees used to be classified ads in newspapers. However, electronic recruitment (e-recruitment) in the last few years has certainly taken the number one spot for finding new employees.

What are the different type of e-recruitment platforms? They include websites such as Facebook, Blogs, Google+, LinkedIn, Myspace, Podcasts, Twitter, YouTube, and Monster.com. Each form of e-recruitment is a growing area for human resources to find prospective employees.

Companies used to be able to communicate in a downward, one-way fashion when the only real form of looking for prospective employees were newspaper advertise- ments. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn create a more two- way shared communication process. For example, one human resource manager likes to review the LinkedIn account of upcoming interviewees. She likes to have a gen- eral idea of what the interviewee looks like to help greet the person when he or she arrives at the reception desk at her company. Employers and prospective employees can engage in a dialogue by interacting online about the specific job opening. Even simple e-mail exchanges, arranging the date and time for the interview, can create a bond between the interviewer and the candidate.

Using social media as a recruitment tool does require considering many issues that didn’t quite exist before the widespread use of the Internet. For example, a positive use of social media would be a prospect who posts well-written responses using Twitter or Facebook. Such people might show knowledge or an understanding of the industry for which they are applying. For example, an applicant might demonstrate the knowledge to be a sports information director if he or she demonstrates good writing skills and an understanding of college athletics. A candidate who discusses Adobe Photoshop skills and experiences would be a potentially good fit for graphic design positions.

However, just as with face-to-face interviews, the HR person wants to be careful about the legal issues of conducting a search online. Monster.com suggests that HR people use social media after the first live interview so they don’t make a quick judgment based on what they see online. Plus, reviewing social media should be conducted at the same time in the search process for each candidate to be fair in the evaluation process.1

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Unlike other platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn focuses on the busi- ness environment. LinkedIn has over 364 million members in 200 countries and ter- ritories. There are over 39 million students on LinkedIn. People who go to LinkedIn are interested in finding people they have worked with or would like to meet in regard to their career. Each user maintains an account and approves connections with other people. A user can ask to form a connection or, likewise, be asked to join someone else’s connection. The list of connections can be used as a contact list, to follow spe- cific companies, or to look for jobs, people, and business ideas.2

LinkedIn allows companies to create a job posting with a job description, experi- ence required, and educational requirements. Employers can also reach out to specific users to gauge their interest in a job opening. At the same time, individuals can choose to contact the employer to help show their interest.

When creating a professional network online, the first step is for users to include a picture that reflects that you are professional in your field. You want to portray your- self as being a professional. Having an interesting but professional picture can attract the attention of potential employers. For example, if you were looking for a writing position, you might wear a large brim fedora hat to show you possess some creative ideas that could be used in public relations and advertising positions.

Many companies have denied giving a job candidate a position because either they or their friends have posted embarrassing photos or used improper language. A recent college senior wasn’t offered a job at an accounting firm because of a picture posted by a friend on Facebook. Although the picture was only of the two friends sharing a selfie and a drink, the accounting firm felt the applicant would not be a proper fit.

A second piece of advice is to keep your status area updated with current work, edu- cation, and experiences. Third, complete all pages about yourself to help prospective employers learn about you quickly. And fourth, don’t just focus on your latest job. The employer might like something you did in a previous job or charity where you donated time.3 One recent applicant traveled throughout Europe right after college graduation. Upon returning home, he was interviewed by two large insurance companies. The insurance company recruiters were interested in him because he showed the ability to travel overseas. The recruiters felt the ability to travel globally would be a valuable skill for their insurance companies since they had operations in different countries.

Case Questions

1. Why is a newspaper classified as a one- communication vehicle compared to a two-way process, such as Twitter or LinkedIn?

2. Why would the human resources department of a company not like to use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn?

3. Why would human resources like to use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn?

4. Should college students have a Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account?

5. Review your own Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account and indicate which of them should be modified before going on an interview.

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Part II • Staffing2 4

Case 5.2. Internal Versus External Candidates: Which Candidate Is More Valuable?

Organizational Recruiting Considerations Organizations need to build a list of internal employees who can be tapped when

high-level employees change companies, retire, or pass away. Much like a baseball team, there must be good people on the bench in lower-level positions ready to take the place of players/employees who are no longer able to do their job.

Internal recruiting involves filling job openings with current employees or peo- ple the employees know. Promotion from within means the organization posts job openings on company-wide e-mail, company newsletters, bulletin boards, and other internal mechanisms to promote the open positions. Employee referrals are a second type of internal recruiting. Referrals mean employees are encouraged to refer friends and relatives to apply for a position.

The advantage of internal recruiting is that it increases employee commitment and job satisfaction because employees feel they have an opportunity to advance in the company; the employee already works for the company, which shows interest in working at the company; the company already has knowledge of the employee’s work habits; and it is often quicker and less costly than a full external search.

The disadvantage of searching to fill positions internally in the company is the pool of potential applicants is much smaller; there may be better qualified applicants in the external pool of prospects; employees will feel that they are guaranteed to fill open positions, which will lead to a lack of new people who can provide new ideas and creativity; and success in a lower-level position does not mean the employee will be successful in the higher-level position.

External recruitment also has advantages and disadvantages when a company is looking to fill a position. External recruiting sources include people who walk in to the position either in-person or online, recruitment at high schools and colleges, employment agencies that focus on finding talented employees to match with job openings, and advertisements online, in newspapers, and through various media.

External recruitment will lead to new people being hired who should have inno- vative ideas to operate the company. We can also find people who have experience in the position we are trying to fill. However, new people might cause some disruption in the way things are normally done, which can cause some conflict. External recruit- ments can take more time and will cost more money than an internal search. Most important, the internal candidate might have a nice looking résumé and references, but the company has no real data to support the assumption the employee is a good fit for the open position.

Amanda Clark is an internal candidate for an open assistant director position at the nonprofit community center where she has worked for nearly 30 years. Amanda has a bachelor’s degree in education and was a program director for teens for 9 months of the year. She would then switch hats and become the summer camp director for the remaining three months. She ran the youth theater group for the nonprofit commu- nity center. She was also involved in finding 50 teenagers to participate in a summer sport tournament. The list of tasks she completed is extensive and would be hard to list in its entirety.

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Chapter 5 • Recruiting Job Candidates 2 5

However, Amanda had two male direct superiors. She always got along well with the director, Bob Gold, and the assistant director, Mike Woods. Bob decided to retire, and Mike was appointed to be the new director of the Community Center. Mike was an internal candidate who had spent 25 years preparing to succeed Bob as director.

An external recruitment search began to find a new assistant director. This is where the case becomes interesting. The nonprofit placed an advertisement to the public in various local and national newspapers and websites looking for talented external candidates. But Mike never looked for internal candidates, such as Amanda, to be promoted to the assistant director position.

An external candidate, Sam Riddle, was hired after a lengthy 9-month search to fill the position. Sam worked in a management position at a hardware store 1,500 miles away. He created a hostile work environment, where at least half of the employees did not appreciate his in-your-face management style.

At the same time, Amanda was sought out by a local for-profit competitor to run its new youth facility. She would be in charge of the daycare facility and summer camp. Feeling overlooked at the nonprofit community center, she was honored to be asked to work at the local competitor only five minutes away. She accepted the job at the new for-profit organization. As an external candidate, Amanda was sure she was selected to use her experience and creativity to help build the for-profit youth facility.

At the nonprofit community center, Sam Riddle lasted about 3 years in his role as assistant director. He apparently interviews very well, since he was promoted to be a director at another facility within the organization.

Amanda used her great enthusiasm to build the daycare and camp at the new for-profit company. She left after about a year due to the lack of ethics on the part of management. The for-profit was a family-owned business that was generally well oper- ated. However, there was one family member who helped manage Amanda’s facility who was hard to manage and would routinely make mistakes, such as leaving children unattended.

Amanda was fortunate to return to her original nonprofit organization and to work part-time helping the programs that are most dear to her heart. She was paid an hourly wage, instead of her previous full-time pay. She applied for the now vacant job of assistant director. At this point, Amanda is unsure if she is considered an internal or external candidate at the nonprofit community center.

Case Questions

1. Did the original nonprofit appear to develop internal candidates?

2. If the agency didn’t develop internal candidates, why do you think this would happen?

3. Did the nonprofit develop and use its bench strength?

4. At what point(s) was Amanda an external candidate?

5. Is it better to hire from within or outside your organization?

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Part II • Staffing2 6

Notes

1. Berkowitz, Melanie, “Social Media Recruiting: Understand the Legal Guidelines,” Monster. com, retrieved September 19, 2015.

2. Archanal, L, V. G. Nivya, and S. M. Thankam, “Recruitment Through Social Media Area: Human Resource,” ISOR Journal of Business and Management, 2014, pp. 37–41.

3. Kane, Libby, “8 Mistakes You Should Never Make on LinkedIn,” Forbes.com, March 4, 2013.

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