timing of the interview
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Selecting Applicants
Sales ManagementChapter 6
Irene Mae SimonGenevieve Lara
Selecting Applicantsand Strategic Planning
Selecting applicants is an integral part of implementing the strategic sales force planning.
Matching company needs and applicants’ potential is very important to the strategic and tactical aspects of sales forcemanagement.
The key here and the central theme of this chapter is for management (1) to select the best processing tools and then (2) to use them effectively to match the applicant with the hiring specifications.
The sequence in which selection tools are used varies among companies. Initial screening (beyond that done in recruiting) may start with an application blank, an interview, or some form of test.
Legal Considerations
Hiring decisions may no longer be made on “gut feeling.” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides that the selection of employees must be based on the objective criteria. These criteria must be (1) independently measurable, (2) job related, and (3) predictive of performance.
is the statistical process of
measuring the extent to which a given selection
tool or hiring qualification is a predictor of, or is
related to, job performance.
Validation
The application blank – or personal-history record, as it is sometimes called, is one of the two most widely used selection tools.
(The other is the interview.)
Application Blanks
Information Asked for on Application Blanks
On the application blanks, experience requirements are usually divided into two groups, educational background and work experience.
Most application blanks ask for information about the candidate’s employment history, including periods of unemployment
PERSONAL INTERVIEWSA personal interview is
used basically to determine a person’s fitness for a job. Moreover personal interviews disclose characteristics that are not always observable by other means.
Another purpose in interviewing is to interpret and get further information about facts stated on the application blank.
Fundamentally, all the questions asked during an interview are aimed at learning four points about the applicant:
• Is this person capable of excelling at this job?
• How badly does this applicant want the job?• Will the job help this person to realize his or
her goals?• Will this applicant work to his or her fullest
ability?
Reliability of Personal Interviews as Predictors of Success
It has been discovered that behavioural/performance-based interviews are better predictors of success in the sales job than other types of interviews.
Improving the Validity of Interviews
There are ways to offset these weakness and improve the validity of interviews as predictors of job performance. It is important thoroughly review the applicant’s resume or application before proceeding further in the selection process.
Interview Structure
Selection interviews
can differ, depending on
the extent to which
the questions are detailed in advance and the conversation is guided by the interviewer. At one end of the scale is the totally structured or guided interview and at the other end is the informal, non directed type.
Guided InterviewsThe guided interview seeks to overcome problems
encountered in using personal interviews as a selection technique.
Non Directed InterviewsThe interviewer ask a
few questions to get the applicant talking on certain subjects, such as his or her business experiences, home life or school activities. The interviewer does very little talking – just enough to keep the conversation rolling.
Interview Focus
One type poses questions concerning the candidate’s past or intended behaviours which relate to their sales
aptitude. Another
focuses on the
candidate’s
performance of
selling related
exercises.
Behaviorally Based Interviews
Questions which focus on past behavior are based on the premise that what a person has done in the past is indicative of what he or she will do in the future. Applicants who have performed successfully in the past are expected to be successful in the new job
Some companies ask candidates to perform exercises simulating selling situations.
Performance-Based Interviews
Stress Interviews
The stress interview is one in which the interviewer intentionally places the applicant under stress.
Timing of the Interview
During Initial Screening
Companies often use an interview as the initial screening device.
At Later Stage Firms that do a thorough selection job ordinarily interview applicants several times before they are hired.
Psychological Test
Major tools often used in the sales selection process.
Psychological testing has undoubtedly been the most controversial of all selection tools
What is Psychological Test?
A field characterized by the use of samples of behavior in order to assess psychological construct(s), such as cognitive and emotional functioning, about a given individual. The technical term for the science behind psychological testing is psychometrics. By samples of behavior, one means observations of an individual performing tasks that have usually been prescribed beforehand, which often means scores on a test
Psychometrics
the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological
measurement, , which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities,
attitudes, personality traits, and education measurement. . The field is primarily concerned with the construction and
validation of measurement instruments such as question, tests, and personality
assessments.
REASONSEmployers has become more knowledgeable about
the legal requirement surrounding the use of test.Some studies have shown that testing is a better
predictor of job performance than any other section job.
Finally as the cost of making a poor selection decision continue to rise , employers are turning to testing as an additional mean of improving their selection decision.
Legal Aspect of Testing
Legislation put restraints on the use of testing in the selection “testing is legal”. Properly validated and standardized employee selection procedures can significantly contribute to the implementation of non-discriminatory personnel policies.
Framework for Testing
Ideally, test should be used to provide objective information about a candidate’s skills and abilities.
* It is important to remember that no test can predict with 100% accuracy. Therefore the result should not be used as the sole acceptance or knock out factor.
Selecting and Developing Test
In building a good testing program, a company should use test which measure the criteria develop during the planning phase of the hiring process.
Problem In Testing
Testing may eliminate the truly creative person, who may fall in the average or normal range in testing at the same time. Creativity may be the very trait that would make that person an outstanding sales representative.
• Test are sometimes misused because executive fail to apply the concept of a range of score.
• All who fall within that range should be judged as equally qualified for the job.
• Another factor to watch for in testing is that applicants can fake the answers on some tests.
Reference and Other Outside Sources
Reference checks may be made by letter, telephone or personal visit,
and each method has some limitations.
• Personal visit may take too much time, or the telephone is advantage because nothing is in writing.
• Some companies will not supply information to a stranger over the telephone.
• A letter is used more frequently than the two other methods.
Assessment Centers
A Technique centralized, comprehensive evaluation procedure involving tests, interviews and simulation exercises such a business games, discussion group, role playing and individual presentation.
Reaching A Decision About An Applicant
When all the steps in the selection process have been completed, one thing remains to be done. A company must decide whether to make a job offer. This decision involves a review of everything know about each applicant.
Summary The last step in the sales
force selection process involves (1) developing a system of tools and procedures to measure the applicants against the predetermined hiring specification and the (2) actually putting this system into operation to select the salespeople.