What is a recruitment and personnel selection process

5 of March, 2025

A company needs to understand what a recruitment process and personnel selection is to have the best talent at its service. This will allow us to access suitable candidates, select those that best fit our needs and offer them a job to develop their career.

This process should be part of the organization’s strategic plan for personnel recruitment, and though they generally go hand in hand, they are two different processes. Many people consider them a single process, but understanding the differences will help us get the most out of each phase.

What is a personal recruitment process?

Recruitment involves finding, gathering and identifying the best candidates. In other words, it is about locating the aspirants that best match the job vacancy or offer we have published and the company itself.

To do this, we first have to post a job advertisement through websites and job portals, social networks, or other recruitment sources. In this process, the goal will be to attract as many people as possible with a profile that fits what the organization is looking for.

What is the personnel selection process?

This is the phase that follows recruitment. That’s why many people consider them the same thing. They go hand in hand, but they are not the same. Selection involves screening resumes and selecting the best-prepared aspirants to meet our expectations.

We all know that a good number of candidates who don’t meet the requirements often apply when a recruitment process is opened. Discarding them and selecting the most suitable candidates will help speed up the process.

The personnel selection phase is longer than the recruitment phase. Why? Because whereas the goal in recruitment is to get many applications, in the selection stage we need to refine and choose the best professional.

In the first stage, we don’t apply any filter, in the second it’s about checking the experience, skills, competencies, etc. Furthermore, in the selection phase, a series of tests such as interviews or exams will be carried out where the candidate can prove that they are the person we are looking for.

Differences between recruitment and personnel selection process

At this point, we have a clear understanding of what a recruitment process and personnel selection are. They are two concepts that go hand in hand but are distinct. Without recruitment, there would be no personnel selection; one is the start of the path and the other the end. But there are more differences that we should take into account not to make mistakes in the process of searching for employees for our company.

Isolation and coordination

This process is isolated, while the selection of workers requires coordination that may involve various departments of the company. The recruitment phase is an individual and simple phase.

It only takes posting a job offer and waiting for applications. And sometimes, not even that. Often workers randomly send their resume even when there’s no active process. That’s why this is considered an isolated stage.

The opposite happens in the personnel selection phase. Here, it is essential to integrate the different departments of the company thus it’s considered a coordinated process.

On the one hand, human resources must identify the need to reinforce the workforce and choose the right person. On the other hand, the administration and accounting departments must approve this addition. And finally, the management of the company will have the final say.

Strategies to follow

We will also follow radically opposed strategies in both processes. In recruitment, it is essential to have the definition of the candidate we are looking for. To streamline the process, you can use killer questions that allow you to filter out resumes. These are yes or no questions.

When the answer is positive, the application moves forward. If it’s negative, it gets discarded. Having a software like Sesame HR will help us optimize this phase.

These killer questions contrast with the techniques to choose the most suitable talent. In this phase, we will have to ask deeper questions and evaluate the answers.

It’s not as simple as a yes or no question. After the interviews, there should be a period of reflection and analysis that will take more time. The margin for error is smaller, and the strategy must be correct.

Difficulties in the processes

Both phases present a series of difficulties. In the case of recruitment, the great challenge will be managing the large traffic of applications that we will receive.

In the personnel selection process, problems may arise when discarding candidates who may be valid or getting agreements between departments. The demands of management or finance can condition HR’s work.

To face the challenges of what a recruitment and personnel selection process is, it is essential to get the help of a human resources software like Sesame HR. This will allow us to screen resumes, add comments to each application, evaluate them and more. Additionally, all the actors involved in the hiring can intervene, facilitating coordination throughout the process.

Cristina Martin

People and Talent Director | LinkedIn | | Web | +post

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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