Recruitment and selection - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

15 original exam-style questions - 5 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

Download PDF Jump to mark scheme (page 6)Recruitment and selection revision guide

This topic is chapter 2 of GCSE Business: People and human resources Practice Book.

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4.2 Recruitment and selection

AQA 8132 · Calculator allowed · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions in the spaces provided. Show your working for any calculation: method marks are available even if your final answer is wrong. Silverwood Furniture, used throughout this pack, is a fictional business.

Which one of the following best describes 'internal recruitment'?

A) Filling a vacancy with someone who already works for the business
B) Advertising a vacancy in a national newspaper
C) Using a recruitment agency to find candidates
D) Filling a vacancy with a completely new employee from outside the business

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Which one of the following documents lists the qualifications, skills and experience an ideal candidate for a job should have?

A) A job description
B) A person specification
C) A contract of employment
D) A payslip

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

State two advantages to Silverwood Furniture of recruiting internally.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

State two advantages to Silverwood Furniture of recruiting externally.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

State two costs to Silverwood Furniture of recruiting the wrong person for the store manager role.

(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)

Define each of the following recruitment documents.

(a)Job description(1)

(b)Person specification(1)

(c)State one way Silverwood Furniture would use both documents together during recruitment.(1)

(Total for Question 6 is 3 marks)

Silverwood Furniture advertises its store manager vacancy and receives 80 applications. Of these, 10 are shortlisted for interview. Calculate the percentage of applications that are shortlisted. Show your working.

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

Of the 10 shortlisted candidates (question 7), 2 are invited to a final assessment centre. Calculate the percentage of shortlisted candidates invited to the final stage. Show your working.

(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)

Recruiting the store manager externally costs Silverwood Furniture: £380 for job advertising, £1,750 in recruitment agency fees, and £270 in staff time for interviewing and administration. The store manager role pays an annual salary of £32,000.

(a)Calculate the total cost of recruiting the store manager.(2)

(b)Using your answer to part a, calculate the total recruitment cost as a percentage of the store manager's £32,000 annual salary.(2)

(Total for Question 9 is 4 marks)

If Silverwood Furniture had instead promoted an existing member of staff internally, it estimates this would have cost only £500 in training and induction. Using your answer to question 9a, calculate how much more the external recruitment (question 9a) cost than this internal alternative. Show your working.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for a business to discriminate against a job applicant because of a protected characteristic, such as age, sex, race, disability or religion.

(a)State what the Equality Act 2010 requires of Silverwood Furniture when recruiting.(2)

(b)Explain one practical implication of this law for how Silverwood Furniture designs its store manager job advert and interview questions.(2)

(Total for Question 11 is 4 marks)

Silverwood Furniture is considering using a skills test as part of its selection process for the store manager role, in addition to an interview.

(a)State one other selection method, besides an interview and a skills test, Silverwood Furniture could use.(1)

(b)Explain one disadvantage to Silverwood Furniture of using a skills test as part of selection.(3)

(Total for Question 12 is 4 marks)

Of the 2 candidates who reached the final assessment centre (question 8), 1 is offered the job. Calculate the overall percentage of the original 80 applications (question 7) that resulted in a job offer. Show your working.

(Total for Question 13 is 2 marks)

Explain one risk to Silverwood Furniture of the store manager vacancy taking a long time to fill through the external process described in questions 7, 8 and 13.

(Total for Question 14 is 3 marks)

External recruitment for the store manager role cost £2,400, 7.5% of the role's annual salary (question 9), and £1,900 more than an internal promotion would have cost (question 10), while also taking several weeks to complete (question 14). However, question 4 shows external recruitment brings in a wider pool of candidates and fresh skills.
Recommend whether Silverwood Furniture should adopt an internal-first recruitment policy for future store manager vacancies, only recruiting externally if no suitable internal candidate is available. Justify your answer using the figures and points made earlier in this pack.

(Total for Question 15 is 9 marks)

Mark scheme · 4.2 Recruitment and selection

Question 1

B1 A cao
Answer: A

Question 2

B1 B cao
Answer: B

Question 3

B1 one acceptable advantage, e.g. the candidate already knows the business, its systems and its culture
B1 a second acceptable advantage, e.g. it is usually cheaper and faster than external recruitment, or it can motivate other staff by showing there are promotion opportunities
Answer: Any two, e.g. the candidate already knows the business; it is usually cheaper and faster, and can motivate other staff by showing there are promotion opportunities.

Question 4

B1 one acceptable advantage, e.g. it brings in a wider pool of candidates with fresh ideas or skills the business does not currently have
B1 a second acceptable advantage, e.g. it avoids creating a new internal vacancy elsewhere in the business, or reduces the risk of internal favouritism/rivalry
Answer: Any two, e.g. a wider pool of candidates with fresh ideas or new skills; avoids creating a new vacancy elsewhere in the business.

Question 5

B1 one acceptable cost, e.g. the original recruitment cost (question 10a) is wasted if the person leaves or is dismissed
B1 a second acceptable cost, e.g. lower store performance/sales while the wrong person is in post, or the cost of repeating the whole recruitment process
Answer: Any two, e.g. the original recruitment cost is wasted; lower store performance while the wrong person is in post, and the cost of repeating recruitment.

Question 6

(a) B1 a document setting out the duties, responsibilities and main tasks of a job role
(a) Answer: A document setting out the duties, responsibilities and main tasks of a job role.
(b) B1 a document setting out the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities an ideal candidate should have
(b) Answer: A document setting out the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities an ideal candidate should have.
(c) B1 e.g. to shortlist applications by comparing each candidate's CV/application against both documents, or to write the job advert
(c) Answer: For example, to shortlist applications by comparing each candidate against both documents.

Question 7

M1 (10 / 80) x 100 seen
A1 12.5% cao
Answer: 12.5%.

Question 8

M1 (2 / 10) x 100 seen (ft from question 7)
A1 20% cao
Answer: 20%.

Question 9

(a) M1 380 + 1,750 + 270 seen
(a) A1 £2,400 cao
(a) Answer: £2,400.
(b) M1 (2,400 / 32,000) x 100 seen (ft from part a)
(b) A1 7.5% cao
(b) Answer: 7.5%.

Question 10

M1 2,400 - 500 seen (ft from question 10a)
A1 £1,900 cao
Answer: £1,900.

Question 11

(a) B1 identifies that it is unlawful to discriminate against an applicant because of a protected characteristic
(a) B1 gives an example of a protected characteristic, e.g. age, sex, race, disability or religion
(a) Answer: It is unlawful to discriminate against a job applicant because of a protected characteristic, such as age, sex, race, disability or religion.
(b) B1 identifies a practical implication, e.g. the advert and interview questions must be based only on the person specification's job-related requirements
(b) B1 develops the point with an outcome, e.g. so questions about a candidate's age, family plans or health must be avoided unless directly relevant to the job, to avoid unlawful discrimination
(b) Answer: The advert and interview questions must be based only on the job-related requirements in the person specification, avoiding questions about a candidate's age, family plans or health unless directly relevant, to avoid unlawful discrimination.

Question 12

(a) B1 e.g. taking up references, an assessment centre, a work-trial/trial shift
(a) Answer: For example, taking up references.
(b) B1 identifies the point, e.g. designing, running and marking a skills test takes staff time and money
(b) B1 develops the point, e.g. this adds an extra stage to the process, which can lengthen the time it takes to fill the vacancy
(b) B1 links clearly to an outcome, e.g. a strong candidate could accept another job offer while waiting, meaning Silverwood loses them
(b) Answer: Designing, running and marking a skills test takes staff time and money and adds an extra stage, lengthening the time to fill the vacancy, so a strong candidate could accept another offer while waiting.

Question 13

M1 (1 / 80) x 100 seen
A1 1.25% cao
Answer: 1.25%.

Question 14

B1 identifies the point, e.g. moving from 80 applications down to 1 job offer (questions 7 to 9) takes several stages and several weeks
B1 develops the point, e.g. during this time the store may be left without a manager, or run by temporary cover
B1 links clearly to an outcome, e.g. this could reduce staff supervision and customer service in that store until the role is filled, alongside the £2,400 cost already calculated in question 10a
Answer: The multi-stage process from 80 applications down to 1 offer takes several weeks, during which the store may lack a permanent manager or rely on temporary cover, reducing staff supervision and customer service on top of the £2,400 cost in question 10a.

Question 15

Level 1 (1-3): Makes simple, undeveloped comments about the recruitment policy, with little or no use of the pack's figures and no clear recommendation.
Level 2 (4-6): Gives a developed argument for or against an internal-first policy, using some of the pack's figures, but does not fully weigh both sides or reach a clearly justified recommendation.
Level 3 (7-9): Weighs the evidence for and against an internal-first policy, using the cost, time and candidate-pool figures from this pack, and reaches a justified recommendation supported by that analysis.
Indicative content:
- For an internal-first policy: it would save £1,900 compared with the external process (question 11), cutting recruitment cost from 7.5% of the role's salary (question 10b) to a much smaller share, and it is faster, avoiding the multi-week gap identified in question 13.
- For an internal-first policy: it also motivates existing staff by showing a genuine promotion route (question 3), which could improve retention across the wider business.
- Against an internal-first policy: question 4 shows external recruitment brings a much wider pool of candidates, only 80 applications were needed to find 1 strong external hire, and it avoids simply moving the staffing gap to wherever the promoted internal candidate came from.
- Against an internal-first policy: an internal candidate may not have all the skills a person specification demands, especially for a more senior or specialised role, risking a weaker appointment than an open external search would find.
- Judgement: given the clear cost saving of £1,900, the faster appointment and the motivational benefit for existing staff, a reasonable recommendation is that Silverwood Furniture should adopt an internal-first policy, provided it only proceeds internally when a candidate genuinely meets the person specification, falling back to external recruitment when no suitable internal candidate exists.

Recruitment and selection - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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Related topics

4.2 Recruitment and selection

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15

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Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

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Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15