Study Notes
Overview
Recruitment and Selection is a cornerstone of Human Resources in any business. For GCSE Business, this topic is not just about listing methods; examiners expect you to apply these concepts to specific business contexts and evaluate which approach is best. You need to understand why businesses recruit (e.g., to replace leavers, support growth, or fill skills gaps) and clearly distinguish between the process of attracting candidates (recruitment) and choosing the best one (selection). The most successful candidates are those who can link recruitment decisions directly to business objectives, such as reducing costs, improving productivity, or driving innovation.
The Recruitment Process
1. Identifying the Vacancy
What it is: The business recognises a need for a new employee. This could be due to a staff member leaving, business expansion, or a lack of specific skills internally.
Why it matters: Examiners often ask why a business is recruiting. Identifying the exact reason helps justify the subsequent recruitment methods chosen.
2. Creating Key Documents
Job Description: A document that outlines the duties, responsibilities, reporting lines, and conditions of the job itself. It is about the role.
Person Specification: A document detailing the ideal candidate, including essential and desirable qualifications, skills, and experience. It is about the person.
Exam Tip: Never confuse these two. Job = Role. Person = Candidate.
Recruitment Methods
Internal Recruitment
What it is: Filling a vacancy from within the existing workforce (e.g., promotion or transfer).
Advantages: Cheaper (no agency fees), faster, candidate is a known entity, motivates existing staff.
Disadvantages: Limited talent pool, leaves another vacancy to fill, can cause resentment among unselected staff, no fresh ideas.
External Recruitment
What it is: Finding candidates from outside the business using job boards, agencies, or social media.
Advantages: Brings in fresh ideas and new skills, access to a much larger talent pool, avoids internal friction.
Disadvantages: Expensive (advertising/agency fees), time-consuming, higher risk as the candidate is unknown.
Selection Methods
Once candidates apply, the business must select the best fit. Common methods include:
- Interviews: One-on-one or panel discussions.
- Testing: Aptitude tests (skills) or psychometric tests (personality).
- Assessment Centres: A combination of role-plays, group tasks, and interviews.
Podcast Revision
Listen to our 10-minute deep dive into this topic, complete with examiner tips and a quick-fire quiz!
Worked Examples
3 detailed examples with solutions and examiner commentary
Practice Questions
Test your understanding — click to reveal model answers
State two reasons why a business might need to recruit new staff. (2 marks)
Hint: Think about what happens when someone leaves, or when the business gets bigger.
Explain one disadvantage of using internal recruitment. (3 marks)
Hint: What does the business miss out on by only looking at current staff?
Explain the difference between a job description and a person specification. (4 marks)
Hint: Define both clearly, mentioning what each focuses on.
An expanding graphic design agency needs a new Senior Designer. Evaluate whether they should use internal or external recruitment. (9 marks)
Hint: Consider the context: 'expanding' and 'graphic design' (needs creativity/new ideas). Weigh both options.
Identify two methods of selection a business could use after shortlisting candidates. (2 marks)
Hint: How do you test if someone is good for the job?