Analysis and Selection Methods for Job Advertisement - TMA Part 1

Job Advertisement Description

Part 1: Analysis of job advertisement and discussion of selection methods and job design Part 1 of this TMA will be marked out of 90 marks. The total word limit for Part 1 is 1000 words. This TMA requires you to search for a job advertisement either online or through a different medium (newspapers, job centre, the HR department of the company you work for, etc.) and then to discuss ideas from Block 2 in relation to this job advertisement. The job advertisement should reflect a role and a company you envisage working for, even if it’s the same one you are working for currently. Before writing your TMA, go online to find a job advertisement that interests you or liaise with the HR department of the company you work for to get an advertisement close to the scope of this assignment. Then write an informal report with the following parts and insert a copy of the actual advertisement at the end of your report. Part 1 questions 1. Briefly describe the job that you have found and explain how it fits with your current personal interests and professional development plans. Indicate how an applicant might demonstrate three of the main competencies required by the employer. (20 marks) 2. Imagine you are the HR manager for the company that placed this job advertisement. Explain what selection methods are available to you and which one(s) you would choose for selecting a candidate for this particular job. Give reasons for your answer. (40 marks) 3. Imagine you are the candidate selected for the job. How do you think this job could be designed to give you high job satisfaction? Give reasons for your answer. (30 marks) Guidance to students Remember to include the text or a picture of the actual job advertisement at the end of this assignment. The advertisement does not form part of the overall word limit. Question 1: This question tests your ability to search for and identify a suitable job advertisement that you can use to help you answer Questions 2 and 3. Therefore the job advertisement you choose should include a reasonable amount of detail (for example, a job description and/or a person specification). If there are further particulars available you may also want to look at those. Start with a brief description of the advertised job and say how it relates to your current personal interests and professional development plans. You should also identify three competencies required by the current job (see Section 1.2 of Reading 13). Then create a simple table to show how an applicant might demonstrate these competencies (see sample table format below). Write approximately 200 to 250 words on this question. Competency (i.e. insert brief descriptions based on the job advertisement) How it might be demonstrated (i.e. give examples of relevant behaviours, skills, knowledge and attributes) 1. 2. 3. Question 2: This question asks you to apply the concepts of selection methods to the example of the chosen job. Reading 13, including Section 1.4, will be useful here. Remember that you are answering this question from the perspective of an HR manager in the firm that is advertising the job. Start your answer by explaining what selection methods exist and summarising their strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you do this in your own words, rather than just repeating any paragraphs from the Block 2 readings. Then discuss how each selection method could be applied to the chosen job and which one(s) you consider to be most suitable for selecting the best candidate for the job. Make sure that you explicitly refer to module concepts and to the chosen job. Give reasons for your answer. Write approximately 400 to 450 words on this question. Question 3: This question asks you to apply the concepts of job design to the example of the job in the advertisement that you have chosen. Use concepts from Reading 14, particularly the job characteristics model (JCM) (Section 3) to help you with this answer. Remember that you are writing this answer from the perspective of the successful applicant for the job. Start by explaining some of the principles of job design (with reference to the JCM or other models if appropriate) and how these principles can help with job satisfaction. Then consider what you would find satisfying in a job and how you think the chosen job could best be designed so that you would find it satisfying. Make sure that you explicitly refer to module concepts and to the job in the advertisement. Give reasons for your answer. Write approximately 350 to 400 words on this question.