Everything you need to know about the key differences between recruitment and selection process. Recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process.

These two are not one and the same. Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and encouraging them to apply for vacancies in the organisation. Whereas selection involves choosing the most promising candidates for vacant posts.

The basic purpose of recruitment is to create a talent pool and help the organisation attract a large number of applications from applicants having relevant qualifications.

Whereas the basic purpose of selection is to choose the right candidate to fill vacant positions in an organisation. Recruitment encourages a large number of prospective job-seekers to apply whereas selection prevents the entry of unsuitable ones at the gate itself.

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It involves the rejection of the unsuitable candidates various hurdles are deliberately and consciously created to screen and weed out the candidates not meeting an established criteria. It should be noted clearly that recruitment is just an invitation to prospective job seekers.

It does not compel a company to enter into any kind of agreement or contract with job seekers at any stage whereas selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.


Learn about the Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process in HRM

Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – 5 Points of Difference

Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and encouraging them to apply for vacancies in the organisation. Whereas selection involves choosing the most promising candidates for vacant posts.

The basic purpose of recruitment is to create a talent pool and help the organisation attract a large number of applications from applicants having relevant qualifications. Whereas the basic purpose of selection is to choose the right candidate to fill vacant positions in an organisation.

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Recruitment encourages a large number of prospective job-seekers to apply whereas selection prevents the entry of unsuitable ones at the gate itself. It involves the rejection of the unsuitable candidates various hurdles are deliberately and consciously created to screen and weed out the candidates not meeting an established criteria.

It should be noted clearly that recruitment is just an invitation to prospective job seekers. It does not compel a company to enter into any kind of agreement or contract with job seekers at any stage whereas selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.

Recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process.

The differences between the two are:

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1. Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation whereas selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

2. The basic purpose of recruitment is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organisation whereas the basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the vacant position in the organisation.

3. Recruitment is a positive process, i.e., encouraging more and more employees to apply whereas selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candi­dates.

4. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources whereas selection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests.

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5. There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment whereas selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – 12 Points of Difference

Difference # Recruitment:

1. Meaning – It is the process of searching candi­dates for vacant jobs and making them apply for the same.

2. Nature – It is a positive process as more & more candidates apply for the vacant jobs.

3. Focus – It focuses on attracting potential candidates.

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4. Scope – Restricted to receipt of applications.

5. Objectives – It aims at keeping labour turnover as low as possible.

6. Process – It is simple process that only involves identifying and attracting pool of candidates for a specific job.

7. Procedure – Recruitment doesn’t carry any formal process.

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8. Stage – Recruitment is carried out before selection hence it precedes the selection.

9. Contract of service – There is no contractual relationship created at this stage.

10. Time involved – Recruitment consumes less time.

11. Economy – Recruitment is economical.

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12. Obligation – No contractual obligation.

Difference # Selection:

1. Meaning – It is the process of screening & selecting the most eligible candidates to fulfil the vacant positions in the organisation.

2. Nature – It is a negative process, as maximum candi­dates are rejected in this process.

3. Focus – It focuses on eliminating unsuitable candidates for the job.

4. Scope – Scope includes sorting of applications and final selection.

5. Objectives – It aims at placing the right person at the right job.

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6. Process – It is complex process that involves creation of number of stages to be placed in a specific job.

7. Procedure – A formal and systematic process is followed in selection.

8. Stage – Selection is followed after the completion of recruitment.

9. Contract of service – Selection involves contract of service between employer and employee.

10. Time involved – Selection consumes more time.

11. Economy – Selection is very expensive.

12. Obligation – Contract of service is made.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – On the Basis of Meaning, Orientation, Purpose, Sequence and Contract of Service

Once the required number and kind of human resources are determined, the management has to find the places where required human resources are/will be available and also find the means of attracting them towards the organisation before selecting suitable candidates for jobs. All this process is generally known as recruitment. Some people use the term ‘recruitment’ for employment. These two are not one and the same.

Recruitment is only one of the steps in the entire employment process. Some others use the term recruitment for selection. These two terms are not one and the same either. Technically speaking the function of recruitment precedes the selection function and it includes only finding, developing the sources of prospective employees and attracting them to apply for jobs in an organisation, whereas the selection is the process of finding out the most suitable candidate to the job out of the candidates attracted (i.e., recruited). Formal definition of recruitment would give a clear cut idea about the function of recruitment.

Recruitment and selection, both the important activities of the human resource planning are different from each other on various perspectives; some of the important differences are listed as under-

Basis of Distinction – Recruitment:

1. Meaning – It is a process of searching for prospective candidates and encouraging them to apply for vacant jobs.

2. Orientation – It has a positive orientation as the focus is on encouraging more and more people to apply for job.

3. Purpose – Is to create a large pool of prospective candidates.

4. Sequence – A process which precedes selection.

5. Contract of service – It does not result in a contract of service.

Basis of Distinction – Selection:

1. Meaning – It is the process of choosing the right candidate.

2. Orientation – It has a negative orientation as the focus is on cutting down the number of people from one stage to another.

3. Purpose – Is to select the best candidates out of those who have applied for the job.

4. Sequence – A process which follows recruitment.

5. Contract of service – It results in a contract of service between the company and the selected employee.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – As Described by Flippo

Difference between recruitment and selection has been described by Flippo in the following statement:

“Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization. It is often termed positive in that it stimulates people to apply for jobs to increase the hiring ratio, i.e., the number of applicants for a job. Selection, on the other hand, tends to be negative because it rejects a good number of those who apply, leaving only the best to be hired.”

Recruitment and selection differ in terms of objective, process, technique, and outcome, which are as follows:

1. The ultimate objectives of both recruitment and selection are to acquire suitable candidates but their immediate objectives differ. The basic objective of recruitment is to attract maximum number of candidates so that more options are available. The basic objective of selection is to choose best out of the available candidates.

2. Recruitment differs from selection in terms of process. Recruitment adopts the process of creating application pool as large as possible and, therefore, it is known as positive process. Selection adopts the process through which more and more candidates are rejected and fewer candidates are selected or sometimes even not a single candidate is selected. Therefore, it is known as negative process or rejection process.

3. There is difference between recruitment and selection so far as techniques involved are concerned. Recruitment techniques are not very intensive, requiring high skills. As against this, in selection process, highly specialized techniques are required. Therefore, in the selection process, only personnel with specific skills like expertise in using selection tests, conducting interviews, etc. are involved.

4. Since recruitment and selection are two interrelated steps in the process of manpower acquisition, they differ in terms of their outcome. The outcome of recruitment is application pool which becomes input for selection process. The outcome of selection process is in the form of finalizing candidates who will be offered jobs.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – 7 Key Points

Recruitment:

1. Process – It adopts the process of creating application pool as large as possible. Hence it is known as positive process.

2. Nature – It is a positive process.

3. Sequence – It always precedes selection.

4. Objective – To attract maximum number of candidates so that there may be availability of more options.

5. Techniques – Recruitment techniques are not so intensive, as to require high skills.

6. Outcome – The outcome of recruitment is application pool which becomes input for selection process.

7. Contract of Service – It does not result in contract of service.

Selection:

1. Process – It adopts the process through which more and the more candidates are rejected and the fewer candidates are selected.

2. Nature – It is a negative process.

3. Sequence – It always succeeds recruitment.

4. Objective – To choose best out of the available candidates.

5. Techniques – The selection process, requires highly specialised techniques. Hence, in the selection process, only personnel with specific skills like expertise in using selection tests, conducting interviews, etc., are involved.

6. Outcome – The outcome of selection process is in the form of finalising candidates who will be offered job.

7. Contract of Service – It leads to contract of service between employer and the selected candidate.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – Explained

Recruitment:

i. Recruitment process precedes the selection process.

ii. It has a positive connotation due to encouragement given to potential applicants to apply for a job.

iii. Its basic purpose is to create a pool of qualified human resources.

iv. It does not result in any contract between the applicants and the organization.
Selection

Selection:

i. Selection process succeeds the recruitment process

ii. It has a negative connotation due to rejection of unsuitable candidates who applied for the job.

iii. Its basic purpose is to “choose” the best persons from the pool to fill the vacant positions.

iv. It results in a job contract between the selected applicants and the organization employing them.

It is quite a challenging task to find the right person to perform a job in an organization. A casual approach to selection and recruitment may result in problems of various sorts for the organization as well as the appointees. A proper matchmaking is required to ensure that the person being recruited for a particular position has the necessary skills, knowledge, and aptitude to perform the job.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment process begins only when the number of persons required for different jobs and requirements of different jobs are known. Recruitment process aims at developing and maintaining adequate manpower resources upon whom the organisation can depend when it needs additional employees.

Recruitment is basically a positive process of searching the prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for the jobs in large numbers in the organisation, it increases the selection ratio and enables the management to select suitable employees.

As against this, selection is a negative process as it involves the taking of suitable people for the organisation and rejection or elimination of the other applicants. The process of selection leads to employment which establishes more than contractual relationship between the employer and the employees.

The recruitment and selection process should look to the human adjustment with organisational objectives. It is important that the selected candidates possess the ability to perform the job assigned to them and have the opportunity for development and growth in the organisation. This is the most important feature of a sound personnel policy.

Recruitment:

1. It aims at attracting or stimulating qualified and competent candidates to apply for organisational jobs.

2. It is a positive process relating to searching for prospective employees.

3. Recruitment precedes selection.

Selection:

1. Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate to fill certain specific jobs of the organisation.

2. It is a process that aims at rejecting unsuitable candidates.

3. It starts where recruitment ends.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process

Recruitment is a positive process searching the prospective employees and selection is a negative process because it involves rejecting of unsuitable candidates. However, both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. Recruitment being the first phase envisages taking decisions on the choice of tapping the sources of labour supply. Selection is the second phase which involves giving various types of tests to candidates and interviewing them in order to select the suitable candidates.

Difference # Recruitment:

1. It aims at searching for sources of labour and stimulating people to apply for jobs.

2. It is a positive process.

3. It creates a large pool of applicants for jobs.

4. It is a simple process. It involves contacting the various sources of labour.

Difference # Selection:

1. It aims at selection of right kinds of people for various jobs.

2. It is a negative process as it involves rejection of unsuitable candidates.

3. It leads to screening out unsuitable candidates.

4. It is a complex and time-consuming process. The candidates have to clear a number of hurdles before they are selected for jobs.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process

Recruitment:

1. Meaning – It is an activity of establishing contact between employers and applicants

2. Objective – It encourages large number of candidates for a job

3. Process – It is a simple process

4. Hurdles – The candidates have not to cross over many hurdles.

5. Approach – It is a positive approach

6. Sequence – It proceeds selection

7. Economy – It is an economical method

8. Time consuming – Less time required

Selection:

1. Meaning – It is a process of picking up more competent and suitable employees.

2. Objective – It attempts at rejecting unsuitable candidates.

3. Process – It is a complicated process

4. Hurdles – Many hurdles have to be crossed.

5. Approach – It is a negative approach

6. Sequence – It follows recruitment

7. Economy – It is an expensive method

8. Time consuming – More time is required


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process

We can distinguish between recruitment and selection on the following points:

(a) Meaning – Recruitment is the process of searching capable people and inducing them to apply for and seek employment in the organisation. Selection is the process of choosing the person possessing requisite qualifications and hiring him to fill in the position.

(b) Process – The process of recruitment begins with seeking of new recruits and ends when potential candidates submit their application and seek employment in the enterprise. The selection process begins with screening of applications from the pool of recruits and ends with the hiring decision and placement.

(c) Purpose – The aim of recruitment is to create a pool of potential applicants for the jobs or positions in the organisation. The purpose of selection is to screen and evaluate the recruits, i.e., the pool of applicants created as the end result of recruitment, weed out or reject those who are not suitable and to select those who are most suited for the job.

(d) Nature – Recruitment aims at seeking potential people and persuading them to apply for jobs in the organisation and thus creating a pool of prospective candidates. In this sense, it is a positive activity. On the other hand the process of a big pool of recruits. It involves elimination and rejection of a large number of people out of the pool. In this sense, it is negative activity.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – 6 Points

Recruitment:

1. Meaning – It is the process of searching candidates for vacant jobs and making them apply for the same.

2. Nature – It is a positive process as it stimulates people to apply for vacant jobs.

3. Aim – Its aim is to attract more and more candidates for vacant jobs.

4. Procedure – The firm notifies the vacancies through various sources and distributes application forms to candidates.

5. Contract of Service – No contractual relation is created. Recruitment implies communication of vacancies only.

6. Number – There is no restriction upon the number of candidates.

Selection:

1. Meaning – It is the process of selection of right types of candidates and offering them jobs.

2. Nature – It is a negative process as it leads to rejection of unsuitable candidates.

3. Aim – Its aim is to pick up the most suitable people for the vacant jobs.

4. Procedure – The firm asks the candidates to pass through a number of stages such as filling of form, employment tests, interview, medical exam, etc.

5. Contract of Service – Selection follows recruitment and it leads to a contract of service between the employer and the employee.

6. Number – Only a certain number of candidates are selected.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection Process – 9 Major Differences

Recruitment is a positive process searching the prospective employees and selection is a negative process because it involves rejection of unsuitable candidates. However, both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. Recruitment being the first phase envisages taking decisions on the choice of tapping the sources of labour supply.

Selection is the second phase which involves giving various types of tests to candidates and interviewing them in order to select the suitable candidates.

Difference # Recruitment:

1. Meaning – Searching candidates to apply for the particular job.

2. Nature – It is positive process.

3. Aim – To attract more and more candidates for the vacant jobs.

4. Contract – No contractual relation is created.

5. Sequence – It precedes the selection.

6. Hurdle – No hurdles for the employees.

7. Process – It is a simple process.

8. Economy – It is economical.

9. Time – It is less time-consuming.

Difference # Selection:

1. Meaning – It is appointing the employees on the right jobs.

2. Nature – It is negative process.

3. Aim – To reject unsuitable candidates and select suitable candidates for jobs.

4. Contract – Contractual relation is created.

5. Sequence – It follows the recruitment.

6. Hurdle – Hurdles are created by the management.

7. Process – It is a complicated process.

8. Economy – It is expensive.

9. Time – It is more time-consuming.


Difference between Recruitment and Selection – Explained!

Recruitment and selection are closely inter-connected. Recruitment is inviting and procuring applications from various sources. Whereas selection starts after applications have been received, i.e., where recruitment ends.

In the recruitment process, there is matching of the applicants with the requirements of the job and selection tasks place after that thus, recruitment facilitates the work of selection. Recruitment is a positive process as it seeks to persuade people to apply for vacant posts. Selection is a negative process in the sense that it eliminates the unsuitable candidates while retaining the suitable ones.

Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the same process. Recruitment being the first phase envisages taking decisions on the choice of tapping the sources of labour supply. Selection is the second phase which involves giving various types of tests to the candidates and interviewing them in order to select the suitable candidates.

Difference # Recruitment:

1. Meaning – Searching prospective candidates and stimulating them to apply for jobs.

2. Nature – Positive process.

3. Aim – To create a large pool of candidates.

4. Process – Simple, as candidates are not required to cross many hurdles.

5. Number – No restriction upon the number of candidates.

6. Order – It is done prior to selection.

Difference # Selection:

1. Meaning – Choosing the candidates having necessary qualifications.

2. Nature – Negative process.

3. Aim – To eliminate all unsuitable candidates.

4. Process – Complex, as the candidates are required to cross several hurdles.

5. Number – Only a limited number of candidates are selected.

6. Order – It is made only after recruitment