Another good thing about the recruitment process I carried out was the seating arrangement of the interview. The interviewee was standing in front which meant we could see their body language. The fact that they were standing in front of the panel members meant they we didn’t have to project their voice across the room. This helped me to reach a decision about the candidate as it means I was able to see if they could cope with being under pressure. If they couldn’t cope with it, then it meant they weren’t capable of teaching a lesson. It also meant that I could understand the candidate more clearly and the answers that they gave.
However the things that didn’t go well were mainly during the interview process. These included the layout of the interview and for some of the interviewees, their dress code. These points are mentioned in more details below
In order to improve the selection process, I could have conducted more research for example in the recruitment documents. I could have looked at existing job descriptions, person specification and job adverts and base my recruitment document on that; being mindful not to copy it as it would be plagiarising.
In the job description I could have included more motivational factors beside salary such as promotion. This will make the candidate more interested in the job making them more likely to apply for it. I could have also made it look more professional by keeping the layout consistent throughout the job description. The current one had different spacing between each heading for example the ‘Position’ and ‘Location’ heading.
In the person specification, there weren’t enough skills mentioned. This meant that candidates who weren’t suitable for the job applied. I would change this be listing more specific skills such as ‘Be able to communicate with parent and students effectively’ rather than just putting ‘Good communication skills’
Finally in the job advert there was too much going on for example there was more than enough picture and the font was too big. There also wasn’t enough information about the job. This however could be classed as a good thing as if there wasn’t enough information and if a candidate and contacted Greenford High School to know further information, it meant that they were really interested in the job and potentially a good candidate. To improve the job advert, I would make the page fairly simple so it looks organised and include more information about the job itself.
I could have also conducted more research on my interview question that was asked to the candidate. A way I could have done this was by looking at the other interviewee’s questions and changing my questions so that they’re not similar. Another way I could have done this is by preparing more questions and choosing the best ones. This way, I could get the right information from the candidate.
There were many factors that affected the recruitment and selection process both internally and externally.
The factors that affected the process internally are the time the interview had taken place. One internal factor that affected the recruitment process was the type of people who were interviewing them. If the interviewers were too soft on the candidate then the right candidate couldn’t be found. Similarly, if they were too harsh it would mean the right candidate may not have been chosen. As the interview was taking place during normal school time, it meant that that the school had to recruit supply teachers to cover the lessons that were meant to be taught by the teacher that were taking the interviews. This will costs the school money as it means they will have to pay the supply teachers as well as the teachers taking the interviews.
One of the factors that affected the recruitment process externally was the distance the school was located from the candidates home. If the distance was too far then there was a slight chance they could be late as it would take a long time to get to the school. This also applies to the interviewers as well. If they were late, it would delay the interview process and would also give the school a bad image.
One of the major drawbacks of the interview was the facts that the interviewee had to stand while the panel asked them the questions. The main reason for this was because we didn’t know due to the lack of experience we had in regards to interviews.
Making the interviewee’s stand was bad because they could get tired standing all throughout the interview. I would change this by offering the person a seat; that way they feel more relaxed and can get the best answers from them. It also meant that we couldn’t have effective face-to-face communication which is important during interviews.
At the start of the recruitment process, 3 people (Angela, Ms Saleem and Mr Manby) gave a presentation about what roles the play in Greenford High School such as head of a department; and the factors that affected them when they’re teaching such as disruptive students. This helped me when creating the job description and person specification as there were points mentioned about motivation and training which I included in my recruitment documents. It also helped me during the interview as it helped me when planning out the question I was going to ask the candidate. For example in the presentation it included information that was required by her to get the job.
Introducing psychometric tests to the recruitment process would be a great way to see an insight of how well the candidate can work with other people. Psychometric tests are used by employers to measure the candidate’s attributes such as intelligence, personality, skills etc. An example of how psychometric tests could be included in the recruitment process is by giving the candidate various task to complete such as quizzes, optical illusions and puzzles. These results can be analysed and can tell the candidates areas of strengths and weaknesses. The result won’t help when selecting a candidate rather it would be used to get more knowledge about the candidate. The disadvantage of using psychometric tests is that it is time consuming and the results may not always be accurate.
Having a second round of interviews would help us make a better informed decision on whom to apply. The second interviews mean we could evaluate the things went wrong during the first interview and allow us to fix it. This reduces the chance of something going wrong again as we know what we can do to fix it. It also allows the interviewees more time to prepare for example writing up the interview questions and answer sheet. As well as the candidate, it will also help the interview as the feedback we give them would allow them to improve it when they come back for the second time. To make it different from the 1st round of interviews, I will make sure that a seat if offered to the candidate – after I have greeted them, so I don’t forget afterwards. I would also give them feedback on how well they did so they can improve.
Having an open day for the candidates to browse around Greenford High School would allow them to get an insight of the school and what it does. This would allow the candidate to know the surrounding areas, the facilities and the teaching resources of the school. It would also allow them to meet the other teachers they would work with and get to know them better. The open day would help me to learn more about the candidate as it would allow me to get a brief insight of what they are like.
The other panel members that were helping me with the interviews were not sufficiently trained. One way I could tell this was by the way one of them had dress. This person wasn’t wearing formal clothing; rather he wore a shirt that wasn’t tucked in, tracksuits and trainers. This led me to believe that this person wasn’t sufficiently trained. Another way I could tell this was the fact they hadn’t given the candidate a formal introduction nor did they give them any feedback at the end. One major way I could tell was the fact that they didn’t offer the candidate a seat to sit on. However there were slight indications that led me to believe they were trained a little. For example, they weren’t hesitating when asking the questions. Another reason was that they were well prepared for example they had their interview questions and they arrived early to go over what they were going to do.
To get this right, I believe the interviewees need more training. To do this, they could look over sample interview videos so they get more knowledge about how interviews are carried out or by attending more interviews so they get more experience. They would need to get a better understanding of the criteria taken from the job description and person specification
I was to overcome this was to give the interviewees training. An example of training I could give them was to give them practice interviews. This way they can get the experience required and also used to it as if they get it wrong, there is no real danger and they can learn from it. I would tell the candidate a week or two before the actual interviewee start; that way they won’t forget what to do.
