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The candidate fits into the interviewer's stereotypes. The candidate with positive impression relaxes the interviewer. There is a sharing of identity. The interviewer is stimulated, feels good, is enlivened. The interest may lead to more time being allocated to the candidate than the candidate with negative impression.

This process even goes out of control when we find that in order to achieve success in the highly materialistic glamorous corporate world, today many young and restless next generation job seekers are not hesitating to follow the so-called "Short-Cut" route at any cost, even if it demands making a glorified superficial presentation in the interview or presenting false information, data, etc., to the employer as part of the recruitment process. Personal values, professional and moral ethics, character, etc., have become the concept of history books for many youngsters of today's market place. As a result, false impressions are being deliberately created through various means by many job seekers during the process of interview. In case of many youngsters, it has even become the new definition of so called "Smart Employees".

On the other hand, due to the tough competition in the marketplace, top executives of all the companies are under tremendous pressure to generate visible results in the immediate future. Top line, bottom line and order book for the current and immediate next quarter remain the only focus area for many top executives. Hence, getting a guy in order to offer quick-fix solution to the immediate concern area of the company remains the prime objective for many companies. As a result, very few of them are in a position to devote sufficient time in an interview forum to assess and understand real individual. Hence, many recruitment related decisions are being taken only on the basis of "gut feeling" or instinct, and not on the basis of available objective evidence.

Effective recruitment and selection should not be about the luck of the draw. Systematic planning and preparation will increase the likelihood of taking on the right person. The key to effective recruitment is preparation: knowing the job and what is required of someone to perform it well. The cost of recruiting the wrong person can be significant. The cost of hiring someone may be at least twice their salary when factors such as training, expenses and employer's contributions to their pension are added.

Concluded.

* Contributed by: -
Joydip Dey is a Post Graduate in Human Resources from XLRI Jamshedpur, and has spent more than 15 years in the Fortune 500 Technology Companies, and is currently VP-Human Resources at Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd., New Delhi.