Recruitment or selection – which is harder?

In human resources, there are two inseparable services: recruitment and selection. Although recruitment company usually simply perform both services in a single project, they are quite different and require different competences.

Recruitment

Recruitment is a more technical process than selection. In particular, recruitment does not involve assessing candidates and instead focuses on attracting candidates. In particular, the recruitment process, unlike selection, is more dependent on managed resources: candidate databases, job search platforms, etc. Even a highly competent recruiter will not be able to achieve good results without investing in recruitment resources. The aim of recruitment is to attract as many suitable candidates as possible and to present them properly to the hiring manager. This part of the recruitment process is crucial, because without the knowledge and experience to present the candidate, the recruitment process itself can become futile.

Selection

Recruitment either follows the recruitment process or goes hand in hand. The recruitment process already involves not only the recruiter but also the hiring manager. While recruitment requires more external resources, selection also requires external resources, e.g. the application of testing methodologies, the preparation and assessment of tasks for candidates, etc. Recruitment is characterised by a greater direct involvement of recruiters through the assessment of candidates, peer comparison, etc. Whereas in recruitment the whole process is quite technical and it is difficult to deviate from the plan, recruitment is characterised by greater uncertainty. This is why the recruiter needs to coordinate with the hiring manager all the stages of the recruitment process, their duration, the methodology for assessing candidates, etc.

Can recruitment exist without recruitment?

Yes, this service is possible. Of course, recruitment makes it easier for the employer to get to the candidate, but the result is a list of untested candidates that is qualitatively inferior to the list of candidates already selected. It is always a good idea to use recruitment and selection services together as they not only save the employer time but also take the whole process to the next level of quality. This is why only recruitment without selection services exist, most often for the selection of entry-level staff. For the selection of experienced professionals or managers, recruitment combined with selection is used.

Which service is more complex: recruitment or selection?

This question is quite complex because recruitment requires a long experience and a database. In particular, a quality recruitment process is not even theoretically possible when all the resources needed are not available. As far as recruitment is concerned, once the search has been carried out, it is a task for the hiring manager. In any case, recruitment does not exist without recruitment and, even if recruitment is done extremely well, you cannot expect good results if the recruitment has not been done properly. This is why recruitment is the more important process.

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