The document outlines a recruitment and selection training course by Manage Train Learn that covers advertising job vacancies, marketing strategies, and the structure of effective job advertisements. It emphasizes the need for accurate and attractive advertisements, the choice between internal and external candidate pools, and the importance of a fair recruitment process. Additionally, it discusses the steps in handling applications, shortlisting candidates, and maintaining communication with applicants.

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Filling the Vacancy
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION
Filling the Vacancy

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Filling the Vacancy
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Filling the Vacancy
Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
Advertising a job vacancy is the point in the recruitment
process when the groundwork of defining the job ends and
the search for suitable people begins. This process requires
a balance between truthfully presenting the requirements
of the job, as described in a job description or person
specification, and catching the attention of those who might
be interested. It means devising advertisements that are
accurate as well as attractive. To do this, you need to
acquire and employ the very best of marketing and
promotional techniques.

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MTL Course Topics
MARKETING STRATEGIES
There are three questions to consider before you decide
where and how you will advertise a job vacancy:
1. Where are the people with the skills I need?
2. How do I get to them?
3. How much will it cost?
You can use both internal and external marketing strategies
to advertise your job.
Internal strategies include:
• personal recommendations, such as "bounty" schemes
where employees are paid for recommending friends
• notice boards, newsletters, memos, e: mail.
External strategies include:
• word of mouth
• notices around the premises, at shops, at job centres
• schools, colleges, professional institutes
• the press, radio, TV
• targeted locations for special groups.

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MTL Course Topics
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL?
When advertising a job vacancy, you have the choice of
restricting yourself to either internal or external applicants
or of opening up the job to both.
The advantage of seeking only internal candidates is that the
process is likely to be quicker, cheaper and more reliable.
You know your own people better than you know outsiders.
Vacancies can also be tied in with staff development
schemes.
On the other hand, seeking recruits from outside the
organisation means you can introduce new blood, fresh
ideas and new thinking. Although it is more costly and
lengthy, you have a wider choice of applicants and can avoid
"clubbability" - the tendency in internal promotions to stick
with people who are already in the club and probably only
promote the current way of doing things.

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MTL Course Topics
WHAT SHOULD YOUR ADVERT DO?
A good job advertisement aims to do a number of things:
1. it aims to bring your vacancy to the attention of those
who are likely to be interested in it. This means placing
the advertisement where you believe you will attract
the largest number of replies.
2. it aims to represent the job accurately. This means
designing the advertisement around an outer shell
based on your organisational procedures and an inner
core based on the person specification.
3. it aims to explain how people should go about applying.
This means stating the procedures to follow.
4. it aims to convey to the casual and interested reader
what your organisation is all about. This means making
sure your advert looks good.

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MTL Course Topics
ATTRACTIVE AND ACCURATE
Adverts come in all shapes, sizes and styles. Accuracy
demands that the advertisement conveys a correct
impression of the job; attracting people demands that
information is eye-catching and well-presented.
An accurate advert:
"Manager required for our new distribution centre..."
Attractive adverts:
"Body Builders" and "Body Piercers" (The Army's recruiting
campaign, highlighting food distribution to refugees and
inoculation programmes)
"What language can you smile in?" (British Airways' advert
for cabin crew)
"Pilot wanted - previous experience required" (RAF advert
focusing on young people's dreams)
"Rare type required" (Blood transfusion service staff)

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MTL Course Topics
THE OUTER SHAPE
The classical shape for the outer shell of an advertisement is
in two parts: the Heading at the beginning and the
Application instructions at the end. This is how the outer
structure appears on the page:
Heading:
1. your organisation name and logo
2. the title of the vacancy
3. the salary and important benefits
4. who the organisation is and what it does
Instructions:
1. how to apply with deadline and address
2. a contact point for queries
3. statement of equal opportunities and/or Mission
Statement

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MTL Course Topics
THE MEAT OF THE ADVERT
The inner core of an advert slots into the gap between the
Heading section at the beginning and the Action section at
the end.
It consists of 5 parts:
1. why the vacancy exists
2. a summary of all the essential criteria in the person
specification
3. a summary of all the desirable criteria in the person
specification
4. a summary of the disqualifier in the person specification
5. terms and conditions of the job
You cannot write an accurate job advert without first putting
together a person specification which is also accurate.

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WOULD YOU APPLY FOR THIS JOB?
The following is the classic shape of a job advertisement:
SuperStores are part of one of the largest grocery chains in
the UK. We have recently opened a new 60,000 sq.ft. store
in Newtown and are set on an expansion programme of 50
new stores. To complete our new team at Newtown, we are
seeking a Store Detective.
Candidates must have around a minimum of two years
experience of similar work, and must be able to work under
their own initiative. The need to handle difficult situations
well and report incidents efficiently is essential. A
knowledge of shop legislation and the ability to handle
customers correctly is desirable.
Candidate must be fit and have no criminal record.
We offer good working conditions and an annual bonus on
top of weekly earnings.
Applications in writing should be made by May 10th to...

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MTL Course Topics
FLIGHT CREW WANTED
The following is an advertisement for flight crew on Virgin
Atlantic using a witty and attractive style:
Work over Christmas. Travel Around the World. Spread Joy
and Happiness. Wear a Red Suit.
St Nicholas isn't the only one who's built a long-term career
on an uncanny ability to suss out just what people need. Our
cabin crew have done it too. Cheery and full of personality,
they're a big reason why the atmosphere on our flights is
always so festive.
You'll need good GCSE's as well as a generous nature. You
should be aged 19-28 and at least 5'2" without boots.
Give and you'll receive. We offer a good basic salary plus
one of the best concessionary travel schemes in the country.
Set our planes jingling! Call us now on... And make next
Christmas even merrier. (Barkers agency)

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MTL Course Topics
IN TODAY'S ARMY
The following advertisement is an award-winning
advertisement for officers in the British Army. It is an
example of how to write a witty and attractive job
advertisement.
“In today's Army, blacks and Asians get called all sorts of
things.
Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel.
We now have more ethnic minorities in positions of real
power than ever before. So, nowadays, there's only one
group of people who are being held back.
Racists.
If you think you could be an officer in today's Army, call
0145 3000111.”

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STRAIGHT TALKING
The following are extracts from an advertisement by the
London Fire Service:
"A career as a London Firefighter certainly has plenty going
for it. Every day, you prove your mental and physical
abilities. You become someone who can make a difference
within your own community. But the closer you get, the
more a nasty little thought gets in the way. Will you risk
discrimination if you make your sexuality public, or give
yourself the pain and indignity of living in the closet? We've
made giant strides in re-educating ourselves at every level
to be sensitive to the needs of minorities but without giving
anyone any favours. And we're tackling head-on the task of
changing a culture that we recognise has been dominated
by straight macho males for too long.
We hold open sessions for women only who want to find
out more about a career as a firefighter. Ring us on..." (TMP
Worldwide)

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MTL Course Topics
THE RESPONSE
Depending on the speed with which you wish to fill the
vacancy and your administrative resources, you can ask job
applicants to respond to advertisements in any of several
ways.
These could include:
1. asking people to call in person at set times
2. asking people to send letters of application together
with cv's
3. asking people to write in for an application form and
further details
4. asking people to fax details, use e: mail or the Internet.
Every application needs to be logged and remains live until
one of the following happens:
1. they are rejected by letter at an early stage
2. they are rejected after interview
3. they are appointed.

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APPLICATION FORMS
How you design your application form for employment is an
indication of your commitment to a fair and effective
recruitment policy. You might, for example, wish to include
minimum details but keep details of age, marital status,
ethnic origin, sex, nationality and religion on a separate
sheet purely for monitoring purposes. The interview panel
would not see this information.
The application form must provide sufficient information for
you to discover at the initial stage who meets the essential
criteria of the job and who does not. If it is clear from the
form that even one essential requirement has not been met,
you cannot continue with an application.
Unless you indicate to the contrary, you should not use the
application form itself as a test of handwriting, accuracy,
literacy, creativity or other requirement.

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SEND-OUTS
Send-outs are documents which accompany the despatch of
application forms to job applicants.
Send-outs can be of three kinds:
1. background information about the organisation, such as
publicity brochures on what the business does. These
should aim to sell the organisation to prospective
members.
2. background information about the job. These can
include the job description, organisation chart and
relevant terms and conditions. These are important to
help applicants decide if the job really is for them or
not.
3. personal information for monitoring purposes that
needs to be kept separate from the application form.
These are principally equal opportunities monitoring
forms and medical health forms if relevant to the post.

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MTL Course Topics
SHORTLISTING
Shortlisting is the process of turning applicants into
candidates. The aim is to reduce the number of people you
need to consider to the minimum necessary.
These are the shortlisting steps once all applications are in:
1. scan each application for any disqualifiers from the
person specification and reject those with disqualifiers
2. check each application for evidence of each of the
essential criteria from the person specification. Reject
those who clearly do not meet all the essential criteria.
3. now rank applicants according to evidence of which
desirable criteria they meet
4. give priority to applicants who meet all the essential
criteria and are members of under-represented groups
5. record your reasons for shortlisting.

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KEEP PEOPLE INFORMED
There are four kinds of letters, texts, or emails which need
to follow the receipt of applications:
1. Acknowledgements: these should be sent out as soon
as you receive an application. Acknowledgements let
people know that their application has been received
and what the next stage is.
2. Call-to-interviews: once you have decided on the
shortlist for your vacancy, you should write to those you
wish to call for interviews. It is wise to contact people
by phone first to agree times and dates.
3. Progress: superior recruiters will notify candidates of
progress just to keep people informed.
4. Rejections: rejection letters to unsuccessful applicants
should be sent out without delay. It is fairer on the
applicants and makes your system more efficient.

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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Recruitment and Selection
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn