This material is design after the first training of the project Leadership for mid-level managers which took place in Romania in December 2018. The project LMM is a Strategic Partnership project, founded by Eramsus+, for 16 months.

1. LMM - Leadership for Mid-Level Managers
Monica Zaharie / Babeș-Bolyai University

2. Leadership for Mid-Level Managers is a Strategic Partnership project,
founded by Eramsus+.
Developed by a consortium of 6 partner organisations from 4 countries, it
aims to fill leadership skills gaps, identified among mid-level managers from
small, medium and large organisations.
To reach these objectives, over a period of 16 months, we are holding 5
meetings to discuss specific case studies of mid-level managers where
leadership skills can be improved and 3 training meetings that will reveal
various practices in regard of enhancing leadership skills of mid-level
managers.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.
Following material has been developed for the purpose of a HR training
meeting in Cluj Napoca, Romania in December 2019, held as a part of
LMM - Leadership for Mid-Level Managers Project
About the project
LMM - Leadership for Mid-Level Managers

3. Job profile - Competing models
Person-Job Match
vs
Person-Organisation Match
Staffing

4. Competing
models
Staffing

5. Selection is a critical process .
bringing the “wrong” person can have
very serious negative consequences,
not only in terms of low performance, but
also, in terms of morale drop of other
members of the organisation or unit…
Selection of Human Resources

6. Selection of Human Resources
Selection
factors

7. aims of the selection process:
realistically
the major aim is to
minimise/eliminate
the false positives
Selection of Human Resources

8. Selection
methods
LMM - Leadership for Mid-Level Managers

9. Selection Methods
• CVs & application forms
• biographical information (“biodata”)
• psychometric tests
• interview
• work samples
• assessment centres
predictive
validity

10. Selection Methods
Unstructured Interview
reasons for its mediocre validity
• low inter-rater reliability (i.e. agreement between interviewers)
• applicant appearance does seriously affect interviewers’ evaluations
• interviewers are affected by non-verbal cues (e.g. eye contact, smiles)
• negative information is given more weigth than positive information

11. Selection Methods
Preliminary Interview
A preliminary interview - often conducted via telephone
(it may be an application form/screening interview)
• provides a way for the employer to verify that the
applicant is interested in the job and meets the job’s
minimum requirements
• pre-selects the candidates
• should include a predefined set of questions

12. Selection Methods
Competency based interview
Background (CV) check - provides a way for the employer to verify
the accuracy of factual CV information provided by the applicant
(e.g. education, previous work experience)
Behavioral questions
• Based on the fact that
past behavior is the best
predictor of future behavior
• Asks the interviewee to
describe how they reacted
in real past situations
“Tell me about a situation when you
had to deal with an angry customer”
“Give me an example of how you
solved a difficult work duty”

13. Job selection interview-content
Situational questions
• What the behavior would
be in a given situation
Job related questions
• past work experience, job performance results
• motivation and attitude towards work
• awareness about the job, expectations
• professional goals, aspirations
“What would you tell an employee
getting again late to work”

14. Interview errors
• Hasty judgments: first impression of the candidate
• Halo effect: a certain candidate’s feature (positive or
negative) strongly impresses the reviewer, which may
cause other features to be seen in a similar way
• Prejudices
• Contrast effect: evaluating a candidate based on a
comparison to precedessors instead to default standards
• Emphasizing negative information (unfavorable)
• Interview resulting with not enough information about
the candidate relevant to the job

15. Assessment centres
• In basket tasks: a basket of reports, memos, email
messages, organization charts, policy documents,
calendars, letters which have to be managed by the
candidate
• Management activities: assign priorities; delegate
actions; resolve conflicts; make decision based on
given information; plan actions; answer questions; draft
letters/memos

16. Assessment centres
• analyse situations
• foresee potential problems
• generate practical solutions
• plan implementation procedures
• identify issues and setting priorities sensibly
• be aware of resource constraints
• handle interpersonal relationships
• manage time and people well
• communicate clearly in writing
• manage paperwork efficiently
• work well under pressure
Recruiters
look for
ability to:

17. Assessment centres
• Leaderless group discussions (discussion topic)
• Individual presentations
• Objective tests
– Don’t analyze the topics in too much detail
– Work quickly and accurately
– Don’t obsess over lack of information, do
the best you can with what you’ve got
– Priorities
– Be prepared to indicate the reasons for
your decisions
Tips for
tested
candidates:

18. About the Author
Contact
Monica Zaharie is an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics and
Business Administration, Babeș-Bolyai University, specialized in the
area of Human Resource Management.
Contact: monica.zaharie@econ.ubbcluj.ro
For further details and information on the project please contact Alina
Babasan or Andreea Muresan at the co-ordinating office of Integra HR:
alina.babasan@integrahr.ro or andreea.muresan@integrahr.ro
www.integrahr.ro / Str. G-ral. Dragalina, nr. 81/ Cluj Napoca, Romania
The general public is granted an open use of the above material under regulations relevant to educational resources produced
with support of Erasmus+. In result, this work can be: adapted as needed (e.g. translated, shortened, modified for local contexts,
etc.); reproduced and shared with others in the original or adapted form. The work cannot be used commercially (e.g. sold by
others, integrated in a commercial textbook, etc.); and any derivatives have to be shared under the same open licence or open
licensing terms. The above disclaimer excludes the stock photography utilised for producing the front and mid covers’ artwork on
pages 1 and 8, sourced at pexels.com, bound by the company’s seperate licensing terms.
In order to popularise the information contained in the material, the author and LMM team kindly encourage indicating the LMM -
Leadership for Mid-Level Managers Project as a source and a link to project’s Facebook page (fb.com/Lead4Managers) whenever
the work or a derivative is used or shared.
LMM - Leadership for Mid-Level Managers