Today when you hear such a tall-claim, it sounds a far fetched one as though it were to be from the Stone Age. Not really. This used to be the stock sentence in all the job applications in the early fifties. Perhaps a relic of the bygone Raj. The court-language in the applications; was a legacy of an omni-present professional of that period, i.e. the BOND-WRITER.
UNDERTONE
“I beg to apply, for an opportunity to serve under your kind and esteemed honor”
“If given a chance I shall diligently and honestly serve your reputed Company to the very best of my abilities”
“Being given to understand that there are a few vacancies under your able, competent and generous control; I most humbly submit the following for your perusal, Sir; I shall work to the utmost satisfaction of my superiors”, etc.
The overall tone of a job applicant used to be abjectly servile, to say the least, and very verbose. He was over-polite, awe-struck, tensed up and scared; of the reception to his communication.
TEA-GUZZLER
The prospective candidate could be noticed scribbling draft applications on the best available paper from some musty corner of an Irani Hotel. Drafts would follow drafts till the dust-bin would overflow. Over a shared cup of tea, he would scan ‘situations vacant’ ads with the expectancy and a hungry look, a famished person would give to food. The newspaper, light, fan, and iced water used to be, on the house.
GROWLING MONSTER
The reason for this approach also lay in the interviewing techniques used those days. The mental make up of the interviewer was domineering, condescending and making the job-aspirant generally uncomfortable.
Those were the days when a job aspirant entering a cabin for an interview, felt as if he were about to face a firing squad. He used to invariably dress in his best Sunday suit & still shiver in his shoes. The room used to be occupied by men with solemn and long faces; atmosphere; sombre.
They were more interested in finding out the candidate’s ignorance-zones so as to eliminate him from the process of selection.
“What is the difference between a High Commissioner and an Ambassador when both are diplomats from one sovereign country to another”?
!! None could answer!!
Later I learnt that the exact answer i.e. the Ambassadors within Commonwealth countries are called High Commissioners, was not known to the interviewer too!
The entire process of interviewing sounded as if they desired to create a respect for themselves by striking fear in the interviewee’s heart than by winning him over, through a confident and friendly attitude. This is akin to the present-day stress interviews, which a few uppity panels resort to.
Each interviewer on the panel would try to impress the others by displaying one’s erudition and GK vis-à-vis the abominable ignorance of the candidate. It was quite common to notice the questioner trying to assess, the impact of his question on the other panel members, than the interviewee.
THE CHANGE
Contrast this with the goings-on in a modern-day interview room. The atmosphere is more congenial, candidate-friendly and professional. The interviewer’s behavior today is focused more, to put the prospective candidate to ease. Today’s interview brings out the strengths of the candidate to the fore. Such an approach has given a distinctly human face to the personnel selection process which essentially is prediction of the potential of the candidate.
One of the reasons for this change can be found in the realization that, just as a job seeker needs a job; it is the company, which too needs to recruit the right professional by providing him a congenial working atmosphere.
That an interview is a two-way traffic, and not a dead-end; is dawning upon the minds of the employers as a class.
INTRODUCTION OF OBJECTIVITY
Tests are used to assess various facets of a personality of the interviewee. There are about 4000 registered tests which are administered by practicing behavioral scientists. These professionals have to be certified practitioners, since the tests, in addition to their utility for personnel selection, can be used for clinical purposes also.
The relevance of tests is pronounced in today’s interviews. Tests bring out the latent capacities, potential for growth, and not-so-manifest aptitudes and traits in an individual. Tests also ensure a certain kind of objectivity in the process of selection.
PANEL VS. INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
A panel is constituted to select the right candidate. They are preferred to an individual one on one interview. Basically the candidate is assessed during a very short period and the full potential may not be apparent due to the time constraints. Hence, persons from diverse disciplines interview the candidate and opine on their findings which are consolidated; to reach the final decision of selection.
A few companies prefer separate meetings by the panel members with the candidate and their individual opinions are pooled for a decision. Especially for selecting personnel for marketing assignments, a group discussion on a specific topic by all the candidates is resorted to. This brings to the fore the communication expertise, leadership qualities and interpersonal skills in an individual. Of course the GD method has its limitations as it cannot be employed for senior positions; and in a few cases GDs are orchestrated by participants.
HEAD-HUNTERS
Your man may be serving in some company and you would not like to disclose your identity till the final round of interviews. Until you are certain about the willingness of the individual concerned for a change of horses it is under wraps. In such cases one uses Head-Hunters, who may contact your man discreetly & keep the corporate identity of the employer fuzzed.
COMPENSATION PACKAGE
In some cases the compensation offered may sound obscene, however, getting an individual for a specific need may compel an employer to agree to this. The fancy package may upset the apple cart of an organization. Hence engagements on assignments basis of individuals is also the in-thing. The earlier pay , or ‘salary & perks’ are fast being replaced by a broader term ‘Compensation Package’, which is ‘protected’, not negotiated, in the modern interviews. That is one of the last items discussed, as if it were too mundane a subject to be surfaced in an affluent society.
COMPLACENT MR. RIGHTS
Today there is a desperate dearth of people who have the requisite competence in specific job-profiles and a proven track record. The Mr. Rights are grooved in and contented with their current placements. So far there used to be protracted negotiations of the salaries of people as they were more treated as commodities being horse-traded. This has given way to a touchy-feely Manager, who reassures the candidate about the salary structure; job-profile; career advancement; pays him air fare to the venue of the interview and the like.
GLASNOST
The old cloak and dagger operation of applying in ‘strict confidence’ to a Post Box No. where the candidate used to be reluctant to disclose his employer’s name, terms, job-content, etc. is soon being replaced by a walk-in-interview or a friendly ad which goads you to telephone the prospective Mr. Employer; by his name; or better still calls you up with your Career Vitae, at a specific address. No appointments, no show-off, no inaccessibility; which would be associated with the Boss image.
Today’s interviews are becoming more friendly and informal. This starts right from the way the recruitment ads are worded e.g. just ring up 8496580 and speak to me about your aspirations. There are also the campus-interviews, where the interviewers go out (physically), in search of talent to various Institutes, to catch them young, as it were.
WALK-IN-INTERVIEWS
In some quarters or some trades there is a colossal contentment prevalent. Mr. Right may not take the trouble of applying in a structured format mailing the same and waiting for the response. One has to shake him out of the complacency. He has to be made to sit up. Hence, some walk-in-interviews. They serve as a good means of recruitment and are effective if held on Sundays. This facilitates candidates who need not have to seek leave of absence from their present employer. Its superiority lies in the speed & informality.
PEEP IN THE FUTURE
Applications need not now be received through a postman to a Post Box No., but, they can be FAXED or sent on the email and instantaneously reached to the places desired.
With the advent of electronics, advancement of informatics, the entire process of interviewing is likely to undergo a metamorphosis.
TELECOMMUNICATION
Visits to various metropolitan towns for interviewing candidates will soon be an old hat. A combination of techniques such as FAX, E-MAIL, AUDIO /VIDEO conferencing will be the features of 21st century interviews. The technology will bring about a sea-change when “CENTURY COMES OF AGE AT 21”. We may able to interview a candidate by using an extension of the technology and a number of persons can put questions to the candidate who may be hundreds of Kilometers away from the panel and his response could be seen and heard by them.
PSYCHOGRAPHALOGY
This new science/art portrays the personality of a candidate (both apparent and latent) by interpreting an individual’s hand-writing. The revelations by the expert practitioners are simply amazing and have to be seen, to be believed. It is not so rampant to use this expertise yet in the selection process.
HOLOGRAMS
Instead of the passport size photograph on the application, soon one may be able to project a holographic 3 D image, with the help of LASERS. Later, projections can be of a moving image too.
RECRUITMENT ADS
Today when one has to attract talent, one engages oneself in using all the PR skills that one can muster. That is the reason why creation of recruitment ads is becoming an art by itself. Either, have a novelty introduced such as giving an excellent visual of one’s factory. Use some poetry, giving some topical theme, such as cricket , tennis, or using a striking theme which may send shock waves such as, ”We do not want you”, or “Put your salary details down, we shall sign the cheque”. The entire purpose seems to be to attract attention and consequently the right people.
SYNERGY
There is a special kind of symbiotic relationship emerging between Advertising & Personnel as the limelight and expenses are shared to secure a corporate publicity in the process of selection.
Visuals in recruitment ads would have been as imponderable, only a decade back. Today it has become almost an integral part of it.
TODAY’S ADS
As we can see, a synergy is perceived by the Personnel & Advertising departments in this crusade to attract attention of the right segment. The job ads should really speaking serve the purpose of reaching the target audience, whose response is aimed at.
But the ads are too costly, a half page ad in a reputable National Daily will cost upwards of Rs.50000/-, so why not get some mileage out of the expense and say a lot about the company. The recruitment ads serve as good PR material for the project and company and secure the desired response; too. Here we are attempting to catch two birds in one STONE, perhaps the one, all applicants were attempting to turn up in the early fifties.
M.S. RANADE,
mranade@vsnl.com
PUBLISHED IN ECONOMIC TIMES MUMBAI, ON THURSDAY 13TH AUGUST 1992.
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