For the branch manager's job, the human resources for the whole of Barclays bank will decide whether there is a job vacancy for that job.There could be many reasons why there would be aa job vacancy, for instance:

The person who decides whether there is a job vacancy is most probably the branch manger, and maybe for the branch manager’s job, the human resources for the whole of Barclays bank will decide whether there is a job vacancy for that job.

There could be many reasons why there would be aa job vacancy, for instance:

A person could have retired
A person may have been made redundant
A woman may have left for pregnancy leave
A new branch could have opened and they will need staff

In the matter of the last case, many jobs would be needed so everything like advertising, job descriptions, interviewing etc will have to be done on a much larger scale.

If a job was vacant for just a short while, and then a few other employees would do some of the tasks each to make up that job until that person returned. Though, if it is for a long while, then the branch manager needs to check if the job is very important and if it really does need for them to get somebody to replace the last. When that has been identified they need to ensure that the duties of the job are the same as they were originally, and if the job may need a change in technology e.g. if it was the job of a cashier and the old till had been changed to a computer during the course of the last employees term at the company, or if the products of the job have changed over the years, all of that has to be taken into consideration.

In Barclays bank the manager can recruit in two ways:

Internal recruitment: This is when the company aim to fill the vacancy from within its existing employees.

External recruitment: This is when the company aim to fill the vacancy from any appropriate applicant outside the company.

The four most popular ways of recruiting externally are:

Job centres - These are paid for by the government and are accountable for assisting the unemployed find occupation or get training. They also supply a service for companies needing to promote a vacancy and are generally free to use.

Job advertisements - Advertisements are the most common form of external enrolment. They can be found in numerous places e.g. local and national newspapers, notice boards, and should contain some significant information relating to the job e.g. job title, pay package, location, job description, how to apply-either by CV or application form. Where a company chooses to advertise will depend on the cost of advertising and other various factors.

Recruitment agency - offer employers with details of suitable applicants for a job, they can also be called ‘head-hunters’. They often specialise in particular employment areas e.g. nursing, financial services, teacher recruitment.

The advantages of internal recruitment are:

Cheaper and quicker to recruit
People already familiar with the business and how it operates
Provides opportunities for promotion with in the business – can be motivating

The disadvantages of internal recruitment:

Limits the number of potential applicants
No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business
May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed

The advantages of external recruitment are:

Outside people bring in new ideas
Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate
People have a wider range of experience

The disadvantages of external recruitment are:

Longer process
More expensive process due to advertisements and interviews required
Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal the best candidate

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The disadvantages of internal recruitment:

Limits the number of potential applicants
No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business
May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed

The advantages of external recruitment are:

Outside people bring in new ideas
Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate
People have a wider range of experience

The disadvantages of external recruitment are:

Longer process
More expensive process due to advertisements and interviews required
Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal the best candidate

Personally, I think that if you had to pick from either internal or external recruitment then I would pick internal if I were working there, mainly because that you be promoted quite easily and would not have to stay at the same job for years without any hope of excelling or moving on. Though, if I were looking at it from the outsider point of view then I would say that it would be best if they promoted externally, because you will get a person who may have more qualifications and experience than most of the people that you would be promoting internally also promoting externally helps you get a wider range of people so you will be closer to getting the perfect person for the job than the select few from the business already.

A summary of the most important features of a job, including the general nature of the work performed (duties and responsibilities) and level e.g. skill, effort, and responsibility and working conditions, of the work performed. It typically includes job specifications that include employee characteristics required for competent performance of the job. A job description should describe and focus on the job itself and not on any specific individual who might fill the job.

The manager of the branch states what the feature of a job are, then maybe a subordinate would type it up and then add any of the basic requirements of the job that would be necessary. They would probably not right it up all the time and if they did they would probably be in the human resources department, there fore the branch manager would have to send the requirements to that particular person and then they would have to do the typing up of it in their own department of the business.

Job descriptions are important to both the employee and employer because they can be used for many purposes for instance:

- Recruitment and Selection: Because job descriptions contain information regarding training, education and experience requirements, they are important in selecting experienced, qualified employees. For internal promotion purposes, well-written job descriptions provide employees with specific information about promotional opportunities.

- Performance evaluation: Job descriptions serve as a basis for specific performance standards for each position. Performance standards should come directly from job descriptions, telling what each job achieves. If employees know what is expected and what makes up good performance, they are more likely to perform adequately.

-Legal Compliance/Defence: Job descriptions can be help in determining conformity with the government policy and in defending actions based on the employment relationship. Employers should keep in mind, however, that job descriptions are valid only to the extent that they accurately reflects job content. Out-of-date job descriptions may not be valid, but even recently-written job descriptions can lack validity. Only by tying requirements to specific job factors can an employer defend employment practices as job-related and a business necessity.

A personal specification describes the requirements a job holder needs to be able to perform the job satisfactorily. These are likely to include:

- Education and qualifications

- Training and experience

- Personal attributes / qualities

This compares to a job description because, a job description describes the job, and a personal specification describes the person needed to do the job. A person specification can, therefore, form the basis for the selection of the most suitable person to fill the job.

The advantages of a personal specification for the employer are:

it narrows down the amount of applicants needed for the job
it gives an idea of an applicants personality without meeting them in person
it gives an insight to the applicants capabilities in relation to the job.

The disadvantages of a personal specification for the employers are:

- it is extra work to add to the job description and higher cost for the advertisement e.g. higher cost for advertisement inside a newspaper

- it may be harder to find someone who fit the job description and the personal specification as well.

- You have to be very careful with the wording on the personal specification so that you are not discriminating against anyone

The advantages of a personal specification for the applicant:

more description for the job that you are applying for
Narrows down the competition because not many people may fit in to the job description.
It gives you a chance to write about some of the skills that you may have that are not well known, or some of the qualities you have that go with the job.

The disadvantages of a personal specification for an applicant are:

you may not match the qualities needed in the job
you have more work to do

Personally, I think that a personal specification is a good thing because it really specifies who is needed for a job. It helps save time for both the employer and the applicant won’t apply to a job they do not match and an employer will not interview an applicant if they do not match the criteria. If you do not use a personal specification then, it would be quite frustrating when many people apply for the job and many get interviews, but they are actually not what you want at all. A personal specification really specifies what type of you need for the job, and the job description describes the job, if you do not have both then it will be very hard to find the person you are looking for if you do not specify.

There is a sample job description and personal specification for Barclays bank in the appendix.

For Barclays bank the operatives in human resources write up the advertisements for the business.

The good things about this advertisement are:

it’s quite colourful so it catches you attention
it gets to the point, and its organised i.e. it tells you when and where to phone
it states ate the bottom left hand corner that “ we’ll judge you on your ability an nothing else”

The bad things about the advertisements are:

it is quite basic
it does not give much information
it is not as short as it could be.

It took me quite a while to find this advertisement, so I don’t think that I was really made for the general public. I also think that it was very cheap to advertise because it was on their website; I think that was a very smart idea. When they advertise on their website it is very cheap but also people will see it. Sadly, not as many people would see it on their website as they would in a newspaper.