Introduction

The selection process begins when you start to assess the applications you've received. It includes:

• creating a shortlist

• assessing the shortlisted candidates

• making a decision

• communicating the outcome.

The success of the selection process is, to a large extent, dependent on the foundations you laid during the recruitment process. As with recruitment, it is essential that all the actions you take follow your organization's policies and procedures.

Creating a Shortlist

A shortlist is a list of the candidates who will move into the next stage of the selection process. After sifting through applications, a manageable shortlist is generally up to twelve candidates.

The key to creating a shortlist is to review the applications against the person specification. It needs to be done systematically so that applications are assessed only against criteria in the person specification. If you receive a huge number of applications you may need to first create a 'longlist' of the applicants who meet selected essential criteria. You can then focus on your longlist in more detail in order to draw up the shortlist.

Prepare a form which lists the criteria on the person specification so you can record the strength of each applicant against each criterion. You may decide to use some form of scoring process, e.g. 1 = strongly met, 2 = partly met, 3 = not referred to at all. It may not be sensible to try to assess all the criteria from the application form so there may be certain criteria that you...