Ch 9 Mini Sim on Human Resource Management

In addition to interviewing, you've decided to have the candidates take a pre-employment test. Which of the following pre-employment tests would be most useful in predicting the candidate's job success?

Ask the candidates to perform a job skill test: Hand the candidate a pen or a pencil from your desk and ask him or her to "sell" it to you.

The hiring deadline is fast approaching, and you need to act quickly to fill the position before the end of the fiscal year. What should you do?

Contact the others who interviewed the candidates and ask for their feedback.

Before the interview, you were briefed by the HR Manager to be careful not to ask any questions that might violate any employment-related laws. Which of the following questions should you AVOID asking during an interview?

Question 1: You have an unusual accent. What's your native tongue? Question 2: I love that cross necklace you're wearing. What church do you belong to? Question 3: What is your date of birth? Question 5: I notice that you're walking with a cane. Are you okay?

Unfortunately, your efforts to identify a qualified internal candidate didn't pan out. You asked your current sales representatives if they could recommend someone, and you posted the job on Monster.com. Resumes soon began pouring in. You've narrowed your choices down to the six resumes shown. You really don't want to spend too much time interviewing, so you've decided to bring in your top three choices for an interview. Based on the six resumes shown, whom should you interview? (Choose three resumes.)

Resume 2 - Mallory Martin Resume 3 - Mark Riggeri Resume 4 - Egan Kowen

You're intrigued with this candidate's answer to the first question, so you decide to probe a little deeper. Because the successful candidate must be able to not only initiate and follow through on a sales call, but also effectively handle dissatisfied customers, you decide to ask about the candidate's ability to handle disgruntled customers. You pose the following scenario: "Assume that you have a sales appointment with a client to sell health supplements. However, you discover that the client had purchased the company's line of steam inhalers only last month and already faced issues with them. During the meeting, the client tells you, 'Although my shop needs a new stock of health supplements, I'm reluctant to buy any other products from your company. The three batches of inhalers I bought last month were all faulty. I emailed the customer service department, but I still haven't received a response.' How would you handle such a situation?" Which candidate appears to have the strongest response to this question?

You chose Candidate B. This was the best choice because it indicates that the candidate can effectively handle dissatisfied customers and also meet the company's sales targets. (focus on resolving)

Together with the HR Manager of QueStar, you arrange interviews with the three candidates you have selected. They will interview not only with you (as their immediate supervisor), but also with your boss (the Director of Sales), the HR Manager, and a couple of the current sales representatives. Because you know that structured interviews are more effective than free-wheeling interviews at predicting job success and eliminating interviewer biases, you have prepared a list of questions that you plan to ask each candidate. Your first question is open-ended and is intended to tell you about their training and work habits. You ask each candidate, "When are you the most satisfied in your job?" Which candidate appears to have the strongest response to this question?

You chose Candidate B. This was the best choice because it indicates that the candidate is focused on meeting customers' needs and solving their problems. These are the hallmarks of an effective salesperson. (people person)

Now that you've ironed out the details of the job description with Human Resources, you're ready to begin the recruiting process. What should be your first step in recruiting qualified candidates for this position?

You chose to post on the intranet. This was the best choice. Internal recruiting means considering present employees as candidates for openings. Promoting from within has a number of benefits. First, it can help build morale within the organization, because employees see that there is room for growth within the company. Second, current employees are already familiar with the company's goals, processes, and ways of doing things, so hiring from within can reduce training time. Third, current employees already have a proven track record within the organization. Finally, hiring from within saves money. Advertising on job boards or placing ads in newspapers -- as well as other recruiting methods like using employment agencies or executive search firms -- can be expensive.

You meet with the Manager of Human Resources, who suggests that the two of you first update the job description. Keeping in mind the profile of the position, which of the following would you list as work experiences required for the job?

not 3+ years in marketing and promotion maybe 3+ years experience in the health sector