Recruitment and selection Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies revision
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In plain words
When a business needs a new worker, it has to find people who might do the job and then choose the best one. The first half is recruitment. The second is selection.
It follows a set order, and each stage has its own document.
5 things to know
- A job description sets out the job: its title, duties, responsibilities, hours and pay.
- A person specification sets out the person: the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities needed.
- Then the job is advertised, applicants send an application form or a curriculum vitae (CV), a shortlist of the best is drawn up, and they are interviewed before one is selected.
- Internal recruitment fills the vacancy with someone already in the business. It is quick and cheap, the person is known, and it motivates staff. But it brings no new ideas and leaves another vacancy to fill.
- External recruitment brings in someone from outside. There is a wider choice and new ideas and skills. But it costs more, takes longer, and the person needs induction.
Tips and tricks
- Job description is about the job. Person specification is about the person. A question often asks which document would contain a particular item.
- Shortlisting means choosing the few applicants who best match the person specification, to invite for interview.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Recruitment and selection: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
Which document lists the duties of a job?
It describes the job itself.
"Must have a degree in engineering and five years' experience." This would appear in the
It describes the person needed.
Which is an advantage of external recruitment?
People from outside bring experience from elsewhere.
What is shortlisting?
It narrows the applicants down to a few.
Which is a disadvantage of internal recruitment?
The person promoted leaves their old job empty.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 8 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Recruitment and selection
Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies 0450 · 8 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
Explain the difference between a job description and a person specification.[2]
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A job description lists the duties and responsibilities of the job. A person specification lists the qualifications, skills and qualities the person doing it should have.
Explain two advantages of internal recruitment.[3]
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It is quicker and cheaper, as there is no need to advertise outside. The business already knows the person's abilities, so there is less risk of choosing the wrong person.
Explain why a business might prefer external recruitment for a senior manager's job.[3]
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There is a wider choice of applicants, and someone from outside may bring new ideas and experience from other businesses that nobody inside has.
Answers: Recruitment and selection
- 1. A job description lists the duties and responsibilities of the job. A person specification lists the qualifications, skills and qualities the person doing it should have.
- 2. It is quicker and cheaper, as there is no need to advertise outside. The business already knows the person's abilities, so there is less risk of choosing the wrong person.
- 3. There is a wider choice of applicants, and someone from outside may bring new ideas and experience from other businesses that nobody inside has.