Analysis of a Vacant Position of an Administrator - Essay Example

Running head: Analysis of a Vacant Position Your name Course name Professors’ name Date Outline Recruitment strategy a. Internal recruitment method Promotion, transfer and recommendation by relations b. External recruitment approach Job centers Job advertisements Recruitment agencies Personal recommendations Analysis of a vacant post of an administration officer Location of the vacancy Roles of successful applicant Qualifications for the job Salary requirement Application procedures i.e. detailed resume and copies of professional certificates Selection strategy Interview Personality test and biographical inventory Work sample test Self assessment and assessment centre Introduction Recruitment process is the backbone of Human Resource Department and is described as the procedure where qualified individuals are pooled together with an objective of obtaining person who fits well in a job opening. A good recruitment strategy will indicate whether organizations will actualize their dreams and aspirations. Many organizations have adopted recruitment strategies in order to employ individuals who will earn the company substantial returns to their investment. It is important to note that a successful recruitment strategy calls for an excellent planning process where many qualified individuals are attracted to apply for the job in the organization. Internal recruitment method Recruitment is usually conducted within an organization by means of promotions and transfer of present staff or through recommendations by existing staff members, acquaintances and relatives (Susan, 2006). An advantage attached to internal method of recruitment is low cost and fast pace of recruitment exercise. In addition, people already know the organization and how it conducts its daily activities. With regard to motivating staff, internal advertisement through promotions, provides members an opportunity to exploit their skills positively. In the same vein, a business establishment seeking to conduct an internal advertisement, already knows the strengths and weakness of the potential candidate thus can draft a workable plan of action to improve staff. Nevertheless, internal method of recruitment limits the number of applicants since it will only select candidates from the present staff members. New productive knowledge and skills cannot be obtained externally as the method covers on existing staff only. Competition for the same post in an internal advertisement may lead to conflict between staff members consequently pulling down productivity in a firm (McLean, 2006). After promoting a staff member to a new position, it is imperative that the new vacant position created is field immediately. This observation is a big contrast with external recruitment which seeks to seal a vacancy by deriving its candidates from outside world. External recruitment method In the case of internal recruitment, jobs are advertised by placing notices on instruction manual and electronic bulletins boards, in company newsletters and memos. Nevertheless it does not always produce the caliber of individuals required for the jobs thus organizations favors conducting external recruitment. This is where information about a particular job is advertised on print or non-print media and applicants are invited to apply. Following advent of information technology, most job advertisements are done online (Wallace, 2000). This criterion is contributed by a fact that electronic means of conveying information is fast and can reach a wide geographical cross-section. Furthermore, people have resorted to internet means of sourcing information. Moreover, public sectors emphasize on scrutiny therefore conduct both recruitment and selection in an open and transparent manner. One of the rationales for external recruitment is that new employees bring into the organization innovative and unexploited ideas (Dessler, 2000). The method also brings together a large pool of persons from which to select the best candidate during the selection process. Furthermore, we can note that people have varied span of experience. External recruitment can as a consequence, reach out to this class of individuals who will bring much needed change in an organization regardless of their physical disabilities (Prost, 2006). Notwithstanding the positive dimensions of external method of recruitment, there exists its negative aspect given the length of time spent in recruiting candidates. The process of external recruitment is also expensive due to substantial number of advertisements and costs incurred in interviews as a selection methodology (Jones, 2006). Contrary to internal recruitment, there is no guarantee that the selection process in external recruitment will reveal appropriate candidate to take up the task in a vacant position. There are popular ways of executing external advertisement. Job center is initiatives by a government to assist college levers secure a job or further training in their respective professions. Organizations can also advertise existing vacancies through these job centers. Job advertisement is another common form of external recruitment methodology where adverts are placed on print and none print media (Jones, 2006). The advert contains job title, detailed description of the salary, location of such job, professional requirement and the application criterion. Other recruitment approaches is via recruitment agencies. The agency provides employers with specifications of suitable candidates for a particular job vacancy. They usually work for particular sectors such as audit firms, financial advisors, and trainer recruitment. Finally, personal recommendation is part of external recruitment methodology. This approach minimizes expenses attached to placing an advert on the media. Analysis of a vacant post of an administrator In the advertisement of a vacant post of an administration officer on 27th August this year, there is clarity in location of the job which is in Sydney CBD, Inner West and Eastern Suburbs. The job will provide successful applicant an opportunity to wok with diverse and supportive team in the medical school, University of Sydney. It is in the advert that a detailed description of the tertiary college is offered. We can also note that an appointed administrative officer will be responsible for the provision of assistance to postgraduate degrees within the college of research and clinical studies. Further analysis of the vacancy specify that such candidate will offer support both to executive officers and those supervising academic work within the discipline of surgery. This simply is liaison between postgraduate office, students and academic supervisors. Development and execution of effective filling and recording systems which will lead to efficient management of postgraduate students remain in the office of the administrator. Interpretation of University policies rests on the shoulders of administration officer. The occupier of the vacant post will further liaise with postgraduate students in relation to daily coursework requiring supervisors specific to the discipline and department. The advertisement states clearly the qualification required of an administrator. Educationally, the candidate should be a graduate who is experienced in administrative duties or a holder of an advanced diploma with subsequent work experience. It is stated in the advertisement that the person to occupy administrator’s office must possess: outstanding communication, organizational and interpersonal skills, well polished analytical, computer and problem solving skills. This is the descriptive literature of a person to occupy the office. As enumerated in the advertisement knowledge of web development as well as administrative experience is important in a college of higher education. The salary scale for the administrate range from $67,962 - $76,152 PA. Selection strategy Recruitment process connote that applicants have been assessed and narrowed to few individuals. This calls for a selection process which will lead to a conclusive end of finding the right person for the job. One of the basics to consider when selecting a candidate is whether the applicant will fulfill the long term goals of an organization (Shipton, 2005). Candidate must have good span of experience and show concern for new ideas in the industry. The selection panel will further look into the ability and willingness of the applicant to undergo constructive training in order to expand on his or her knowledge. In recognition of the fact that market conditions vary directly with time, the panel must consider choosing individual who will respond positively to change. While selecting individuals, diversity in an organization and guidelines provided by Equal Opportunity Employment Commission must be considered (Duff, 2006). Interview is one of the approaches to select a candidate for a vacant position. To supplement on this method, practical test, psychometric tests, assessment centers, and biodata is used. Interview method This is a procedure whereby prediction into future performance is made by use of interviewee’s oral responses to interview questions. This method will determine if the candidate has pre-stated communication, organizational and interpersonal skills. In the case of an administrator, the interview process will appraise verbal fluency required in a candidate. The strategy additionally reveals compatibility between the applicant and co-workers thus act as a detection tool for team spirit required in administrator’s office. The job applicant in an interview asks question pertaining the organization consequently gaining insight. Another advantage attached to the use of interview as a selection methodology is the possibility to modify questions for the sole purpose of gathering intelligence. Although interview is frequently used to select candidates for a job, the approach is subjective and gives more weight to negative information. Moreover, its reliability as compared to test is low. For an interview to be a success, sex and racial stereotypes must be minimized (Bourke, 2005). This is achieved by offering interviewers a job description and an outline of requirements needed for the job. Interviewers who have explicit information about a vacancy are more likely to make candid decision on selection. Interview questions must be job related in order to validate interview process. An example of interview question related to administration is ‘How will you ensure that supervisors and students co-operate together for the common goal of making learning a success?’ Besides, interviewers must be trained on interpersonal skills consequently eliminating non-job related questions. While interviewing candidates for the post of an administrator, situational interview can be used. This is where a candidate is drilled on actions he or she will initiate in different situations i.e. conflict of interest between a student and supervisor. Since the vacant post of an administrator is vested with many responsibilities, oral interview is applicable. Members in the interview panel afterward compare their notes before pointing out to a successful candidate. Personality test and biographical inventory Personality test is also a selection approach which entails a gauge of candidate’s traits related to future performance in the job. The test measures such aspects as agreeableness, conscientiousness, and exposure to practice. This reveals applicant’s ability to serve in the vacant position. Interpersonal traits necessary for an administrator is deduced through personality check. Biographical inventory is a selection method where application forms are scored (Tipper, 2004). If the applicants for the vacant post of an administrator are many, then biodata is applied. The post of an administrator requires experiences. It is then imperative that background information is sourced from previous employers. Such information will examine behavioral factors such as consistency, truthfulness and adjustment of an individual. Work sample tests Work sample tests examine content validity by a close association with the job. This test is based on the reality that the best forecaster of future performance is observed deeds under same situations. The interviewee performs tasks similar to those performed while working as an administrator. A critical factor to consider when constructing work sample tests is high content validity. One of the types of work sample test applicable when selecting a suitable candidate for an administrator is low fidelity simulations where an applicant is given a chance to make a choice between several courses of actions. An example is how an administrator can implement a policy of excellent research in academic work especially surgery. Self assessment and assessment centers To clarify job performance between students and supervisors, self assessments are used as selection strategy. However, this method show greater lenience, minimum variability, more bias, and disagrees with the judgment of others. The last selection method to be discussed in this paper is assessment centers consisting of a homogeneous judgment of behavior based on numerous appraisals including: job related simulations, interrogations, and test of the psychology. Simulations evaluate relevant behavior of a candidate to occupy a specific vacant position. An administrator is required to show perfection in relating well with a cross-section of people. During the assessment, trained observers and other approved techniques are used. Verdict about behavior is made and recorded. The findings are brought together and ranked in assessor’s meeting before concluding on an appropriate behavior for the job. Leaderless group discussion and role playing are examples of assessment centers. In leaderless group, candidates meet to discuss problems related to the job. Interaction between the participants in a meeting is observed to deduce behavioral factors. It is in the meeting that leadership and communication skills appropriate for an administrator are displayed. The selection tool is criticized for lack of standardization and its biased nature. This approach was also not practicable in a case where applicants are many i.e. 8,000 because of time constraint. The cost of group discussion is likely to go high due to logistics needed for the project. On the other hand, role play selection strategy is where a candidate takes up the office of the incumbent to deal with another person in a job related circumstances. This technique is applicable as a selection strategy for an administrator is supposed to offer solution to administrative issues. Conclusion Recruitment and selection strategies are critical factors when filling a vacant post in an organization. Both internal and external methodologies are available to an organization during a recruitment exercise. As elaborated in the essay, electronic means of advertisement was exploited when advertising the vacant post of an administrator in University of Sydney. The advertisement stated both the person and job requirement. As a selection strategy interview method, personality test, assessment centers and work samples can be used. Read More