Daily Archives: December 15, 2010

General

Interview Techniques – The Apprentice

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Well, did you watch it? I hope so, because it dealt with a lot of areas regarding what should be included in an ideal interview. It opened up lots of issues regarding the Interview. What it highlighted to me included the following:

  • do not be flippant or attempt humour on a CV or application form (Jamie’s attempts at being funny about himself)
  • do not behave in a personal manner with an Interviewer (Stuart’s “hello, Margaret!”)
  • do your research of the company before attending an interview – they will do their homework on you! (Joanna not knowing about Lord Sugar’s companies)
  • be honest in any document you prepare and remember that Interviewers will pick up on anything listed there (Stuart’s Telecom licensing details)
  • be careful of what you say in an interview – your words may well come back and haunt you (Stuart’s big fish in a small pond) or (Chris having so many previous starts in life)
  • try to come over in a personable manner (Chris sounding monotonous in an interview)

Based on the programme, who do you think is the ideal candidate?

Starter Questions

Starter Question – Wednesday 15th December

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The solution to this week’s Starter Question is given below. Please remember that you really need to build up a Discussion-based answer. Read the actual notes issued for markers for this question.

If no attempt at discussion then only 50% of the marks available. If no discussion please

indicate with “NO D”. Must hit each of the 4 areas to gain the first 4 marks – 2 additional

points from any area to gain final 2 marks.

Internal

  • It gives employees within the company a chance to develop their career.
  • Shorter induction period needed as the employee is likely to be familiar with the company
  • Employers will know more about internal candidates’ abilities – this should reduce the risk of employing the “wrong” person.
  • May be quicker and less expensive than recruiting from outside the business.
  • With internal recruitment another vacancy will be created.
  • Smaller pool of applicants.

External

  • Introduces new or fresh ideas/skills. Could produce a bigger pool of applicants.
  • Candidates might be of better quality.
  • Candidates less well known and therefore more risk in employing the wrong person.
  • Could demotivate existing employees.
  • Expensive
  • Time consuming …

Notes:

  • Accept views of organisation and employees
  • Be aware of awarding an extra mark for simply stating the opposite/flip side of an answer.
  • Second mark can be awarded if there is development.
  • Do not award marks for outsourcing recruitment.
  • Accept 2 separate paragraphs on internal and external as an example of discussion
Homework

Admin Services 3 – Homework Sheet 1

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This week’s homework was rather well done. However, here are a few pointers for you all:

The recruitment process takes in:

  • identifying that the job exists
  • creating a job description and person specification
  • then advertising the job

Comparing internal and external recruitment for 4 marks means 4 total and complete comparisons. Examples are given below:

  • internal recruitment involves recruiting an existing employee whereas external recruitment involves recruiting someone outside of the organisation.
  • internal recruitment is a cost effective method as posters can be put on a staff notice board but external recuitment is costly as adverts have to be placed on websites and newspapers.
  • internal recruitment requires that the candidate will need less training whereas external recruitment will be more costly and time consuming as the new candidate needs induction training perhaps followed by more specific training.
  • internal recruitment can mean that the new member of staff is already known in the organisation and their strengths are obvious, whereas external recruitment means that “new blood” and fresh ideas can be included in the organisation.

The same goes for the Internet versus a National Newspaper. Examples are given below:

  • The National newspaper is targeted to a specific target market whereas The Internet can be accessed by anyone
  • It is very expensive to advertise a job vacancy in the National newspaper compared to The Internet which is a far cheaper method of advertising
  • The National newspaper has a lifespan of one day in contrast to The Internet which exists on a daily basis
  • In order to see a National newspaper it requires effort and time to gather the information compared to The Internet which can be accessed 24/7 in the comfort of one’s own home or in one’s own working environment
  • The design and positioning of the advert in the National newspaper lies in the hands of the editor compared to The Internet, where the organisation has more freedom to decide where and how the advert is displayed (able to be more specific to the tastes of target market)
  • In order to respond to the advert in the National newspaper the candidate will have to either create a CV, Letter of Application etc whereas Using the Internet often asks the candidate to simply e-mail a response/application form which is far more easier and time effective.

Let me know if you find this helpful. Remember The Apprentice is on Wednesday evening – 15th December – Interview time!