Outline the key differences between a job description and a person specification, and their uses during the recruitment and selection process

In analysing the job description and job specification, and their uses during the recruitment and selection process I will make reference to some practical examples from my industrial placement as a telephone operator in the Front Desk Department in the Hilton Sofia Hotel, Bulgaria. Although, I had some little experience as applying for the position of a trainee and as I attended the training process of the receptionists. So, I will use my experience in developing the uses of job description and job specification during the recruitment and selection process, which I passed through for applying as a trainee.

Job description and job specification are important part of the recruitment and selection of applicants, as they play a central part for the applicant to get familiar with the requirements for the job offered.

As a 'selection process involves decisions about who will best fit a particular job vacancy' (Redman, 2001, p.24)

English: Logo of the China-based recruitment compa...

Paris Hilton

A British armed forces recruitment centre in Oxfor...

it should be viewed from a decision-making prospective. 'The decision-making perspective has been dominated by normative research, which prescribes how decisions should be made (Brunsson, 1982). This assumes that the desire is to make decisions as 'rational' as possible. The prescription for making decisions rational is to follow a sequence of specific steps: understand the situation and identify the problem; generate potential solutions to the problem; systematically evaluate each solution; select the best solution; monitor and evaluate the results; identify the problem and the circle repeats itself etc.' (Redman, 2001, p.25) So, each of the steps of the decision-making process could be applied to the steps in the selection process.

Before making job description and job specification the HR manager of Hilton Sofia first selects the job that will be posted for people to apply. This means to understand the situation and identify the problem...