外文原文一
Recruiting and Selecting Professionals: Context, Qualities and Methods
Published by International Journal of Selection and Assessment
Evidence based on a survey of professional firms and in-depth interviews with decision-makers responsible for selection examines the most frequently used and valued methods for hiring qualified professional staff in a sample of Scottish accountancy, architecture, law, and surveying practices. The survey suggests an emphasis on personality, work experience and general attributes for senior posts, and that high value is placed on interviews and informal sources of information in assessing these qualities. Firm characteristics and context, particularly size of practice, the role of the partner in the selection process, labour supply, and perception of recruitment difficulties are shown to be related to the type of selection method used. Consistent with the view of selection as a social process, the case study evidence suggests that ‘informality’ may play an important role when partners responsible for selection have long tenure with their firm and when firms experience recruitment difficulties. More generally, informal networks and interview processes may act as effective information and communication vehicles for small and medium-sized professional practices.
Key words: recruitment, selection, professionals, social process
Introduction
This article examines the recruitment and selection methods used by professional practices to employ qualified staff and shows that smaller firms in particular rely largely on informal local networks of information sources to assist in their selection decision-making. While no attempt 15 made in this study to evaluate the predictive validity of these selection methods for hiring high performing professionals it 15 proposed that firms perceive a value in informal strategies because of the type of qualities sought in senior professionals and the perception amongst some that they may be unable to attract appropriate candidates . The inherently social and interactive nature of technically less rigorous recruitment and selection methods used by professional firms 15 shown to enable the convergence between candidates ' and firms ' perceptions and needs and hence facilitate the selection process .
