Selecting and Appointing Candidates

It has already been established that interviews are a very subjective method of evaluating the suitability of a candidate and some guidance has been provided above on how you might reduce the subjective nature of your interviews. There are of course many other recruitment methods that can be used in conjunction with interviews to reduce subjectivity, such as psychometric testing or assessment centres but for many tourism businesses, interviews remain the primary tool used.
Whatever selection method you use, at the end of the process, you must still
make the decision as to who you feel is the most suitable candidate. The decision on the person or persons to be appointed should be made after all the interviews have taken place.
If you interview a candidate early in the process who you feel is suitable for the job, then the danger is that you have already made up our mind; subsequent candidates are then measured in comparison to them. This does not give everyone an equal opportunity. Maintaining objectivity is not easy – you are only human after all and you have to work extremely hard at it.
To maximise the potential for selecting the best candidate the following steps are worth noting:
 As stated, prepare a job description and employee profile at the outset of the recruitment process. These are then the criteria against which you will measure each candidate.
 Prepare a simple assessment form incorporating these criteria. This can be based on a numerical or descriptive scale and could follow the format below:
 During each interview take only brief notes on candidate responses.

 After each interview complete the assessment form for the candidate in question while the details are fresh in your mind.
 When you have completed all the interviews compare the assessment forms to identify the most suitable candidate.
 For more senior positions it is important to conduct a second interview, with more than one interviewer seeing the candidate.
Appointing Candidates
Every company will have its own procedure for appointing successful candidates and clearly you will follow your own approach.
The procedure will generally entail these steps:
1. Candidate selected.
2. Verbal offer of appointment made.
3. Medical completed if appropriate.
4. Letter of appointment sent.
5. Contract signed.
This may vary slightly depending upon the urgency for filling the vacancy. Whatever procedure you follow it is important to remember that this is the beginning of your new employee’s formal introduction to your company, so first impressions last.

Follow