employee selection
Steps to conducting an effective selection process
1- Conduct a thorough job analysis
Although time consuming, it is crucial to conduct a throrough job and up-to-date job analysis including the tasks, workpload, and other information needed to get a good understanding of the position you wish to fill.
2- Choose the competencies needed for the position
Looking at the list of tasks associated with the position and considering other external elements identified, such as context, culture, supervisor, and team, extract competencies from the list that you judge as necessary for the candidate to succeed. You can use the list of competencies that you will find below.
3- Create a job posting
Job postings should be written to attract the best candidate. To create a job posting, you can follow the suggestions I offer below in the section “What to include in a job posting”.
4- Create a competency framework
Create a table in which you add in the first column all of the competencies you have chosen to evaluate for the position, in the second column, insert the definition for each competency, and in the last column, insert how each competency will be assessed (interview, psychometric testing, in-basket). For an example of a competency framework, see the section below on the subject.
5- Create interview questions and the interview canvas
Create interview questions for each of the competencies in your competency framework. Sample questions for each competency in the competency table presented below are available in the section on interview questions below. An example of an interview canvas can be found in the section below.
6- Conducting the interview
Research has indicated that structured interviews where the sames questions are asked to every candidate are more valid (they give a clearer picture of the candidate) than unstructured interviews. See the section below for tips on conducting a good structured interview.
7- Additional information on the candidate
Background checks, psychometric testing and in-baskets (a simulation to test the candidate’s skills) are a great way to increase the quality of your assessment of the candidate. Candidates with dark personalities are experts at using impression tactics that favour them in a selection process. That is why collecting as much information on the candidate as possible is crucial.
8- Create a scoring table to assess candidates
Creating a scoring table in which you add the competencies used to assess the candidates for the position, the methods used to assess the competencies (interview, psychometric testing, in-basket), and the score obtained on the competency.
9- Final assessment and selection decision
Once you have the final scores on all competencies for each of your candidates, you can make a decision on the best candidate for the position.
Dark personalities competency profile
In the “Dark personalities traits and competency profile” table, I provide information about how candidates presenting dark personalities would score on competencies used for employee selection and promotion. I believe that this table can be useful for reference purposes during a selection process.
Competency profile
After conducting a thorough job analysis where you identified the tasks associated with the position you wish to fill, you will need to identify the competencies needed to complete these tasks. This table presents competencies to choose from when you are creating a competency profile for a selection process.
Job posting
The job posting is the first impression candidates have of your organization. It is the “window to your organization’s soul.” As I mention in my book, individuals presenting dark personalities are attracted to money, fame, and power. They prefer to operate in environments where rules and regulations are not clearly defined. Power can come in many shapes and forms, putting many organizations at risk for attracting and hiring dark individuals. Candidates assess the organization based on job postings and establish whether they want to contact the organization by assessing the fit between who they are, what they want, and what the job posting seems to offer/promise. Needless to say, companies need to create attractive job postings. However, they also need to attract the right candidates. Since individuals are attracted to organizations that fit their personality profiles and values, organizations must put forward values that would not be a great fit for individuals with dark personalities, such as “respect, empathy, people-first culture, inclusion and diversity, and anti-harassment policies.” For a list of the elements that should figure in a job posting, click on the link.
