Selection and invitation to interview
Examples of selection methods
A number of different selection and assessment methods may be used to support the appraisal of a person's future performance.
Examples of methods are
- CV reviews
- Interviews
- Psychological tests
- Works samples
- Reference checks
The choice of selection methods depends on the dimension of the requirement profile to be examined; several methods can be combined to ensure correct competence.
Recruitment without a cover letter
It has long been common practice to ask candidates to write a cover letter when applying for a position. The cover letter contains information that risks influencing recruiters both consciously and unconsciously. There is no established structure for how a cover letter should be written, which means they can contain information of no significance when assessing skills and suitability for the position in question. The cover letter often includes private information about a candidate’s family situation or pasttimes, with a photo of the candidate and information about their age also common additions. This type of information increases the risk of bias during the recruitment process.
Selection should be carried out based on merit and skills, with any assessment using the stated requirements in the person specification as a foundation. Removing the cover letter section reduces the risk of being influenced by irrelevant information with no bearing on the assessment of a candidate’s skills.
Focus on the requirements profile
Regardless of the selection method, it is important that the requirements profile always underlie the assessment in order to guarantee an objective and informed choice. It is also important that the selection methods used are neutral regarding discrimination grounds. When reviewing the applications, the requirement profile should be used as a basis to identify applicants who meet the requirements on e.g. education, experience, knowledge and skills. It is a major advantage if two or more people from the recruitment team read and assess the applications in order to compare and discuss the selection of suitable candidates. A manageable number of applications to proceed with is usually five to ten people.
Equal opportunities
It is also important that the selection methods used are neutral regarding discrimination grounds. By focusing on the requirements profile and by using structured selection methods throughout the selection process, the risk for discrimination diminishes. The Discrimination Act (SFS 2008:567) prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other faith, disability, sexual orientation or age. The prohibition applies to both direct and indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination is when someone is disadvantaged by being treated worse than somebody else in a comparable situation. Indirect discrimination means that the applicant is disadvantaged by the application of rules, criteria or practices that appear to be neutral, but which in practice particularly disadvantage people on the aforementioned grounds.
In order not to risk the selection being based on the current norm at a workplace, an advisable procedure may be for those selected in the first screening to be compared with the other applicants to the position with regard to discrimination ground.
Assessment criteria for government employment
In the case of decisions on government employment, attention may only be paid to objective grounds, such as merit and skill, according to Chapter 12, Section 5 of the Instrument of Government. This law is supplemented by Section 4 of the Public Employment Act (1994:260), which states that skill is to be put first, unless there are special grounds otherwise. Discrimination is prohibited by the Discrimination Act (2008:567).
In addition to skill and merit, the authority should also take into account such objective grounds as are consistent with general labour market, equality, social and employment policy objectives, pursuant to Section 4 of the Public Employment Act.
Follow these steps:
- Read the application documents.
- Use the support in Varbi's different functions
- Select those that match all the requirements and those who seem particularly interesting based on the requirements profile.
- Discard the applications that do not fully match all requirements or those that for other reasons make you doubtful. These applications can be returned to at a later stage if a candidate in the first group does not go further.
- Discard the applications that match few or none of the set requirements and thus will not be considered in the process.
- The recruitment team meets for a selection meeting, where the selection is compared and discussed.
- Select 5-10 applicants to invite to a first interview. If there are ambiguities during the CV review, a first remote interview by phone/Skype can be a good way to find out more about the applicant's qualifications.
Applications with protected identity
Read more about how to administrated applications where the applicant has a protected identity
Contact
HR specialists at the HR Division
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