The Scientific Approach to Recruitment

When it comes to selecting candidates through interview, more often than not the decision is made within the first five minutes of a meeting. Yet employers like to ….(217)…. themselves that they are being exceptionally thorough in their selection processes. In today's competitive market place, the ….(218)…. of staff in many organisations is fundamental to the company's success and, as a result, recruiters use all means at their disposal to ….(219)…. the best in the field.

One method in particular that has ….(220)…. in popularity is testing, either psychometric testing, which attempts to define psychological characteris­tics, or ability/aptitude testing. The idea is that testing ….(221)…. an organ­isation with an extra way of establishing a candidate's suitability for a role. It ….(222)…. companies to add value by identifying key elements of a posi­tion and then testing candidates to ascertain their ability against those iden­tified elements.

The employment of psychometric or ability testing as one ….(223)…. of the recruitment process may have some merit, but in reality there is no real ….(224)…., scientific or otherwise, of the potential future performance of any individual. The answer to this problem is experience in interview tech­niques and a strong definition of the elements of each position to be ….(225)…. As the whole recruitment process is based on few real certain­ties, the instinctive decisions that many employers make, based on a CV and the first five minutes of a meeting, are probably no less valid than any other tool employed in the ….(226)…. of recruitment.

217.

A. suggest

B. convince

C. advise

D. believe

218.

A. worth

B. credit

C. quality

D. distinction

219.

A. secure

B. realise

C. attain

D. achieve

220.

A. lifted

B. enlarged

C. expanded

D. risen

221.

A. provides

B. offers

C. contributes

D. gives

222.

A. lets

B. enables

C. agrees

D. admits

223.

A. portion

B. member

C. share

D. component

224.

A. extent

B. size

C. amount

D. measure

225.

A. occupied

B. met

C. filled

D. appointed

226.

A. business

B. topic

C. point

D. affair

Improved performance at Carter & Sons

There was good news in Carter & Sons' annual report yesterday. Three years of restructuring ….(227)…. in an upbeat statement from the company in advance of the official announcement of its interim ....(228).... due early in August. The chairman, David Carter, reported a "strong start to the year", which, although helped by a rather weak ....(229).... period last year, highlighted the logic of refocusing the group on growth sectors. Three years ago the company ....(230).... a review of all its operations in view of the serious financial difficulties that it was ....(231)..... As a result of this, its car ....(232).... business was sold to an American group, and its car sales and repair divisions were ....(233).... down so as to allow the company to ....(234).... on the sale of vans and heavy goods vehicles. Three new showrooms have been opened in the UK and Ireland, and the sales ....(235).... has more than doubled in the last two years. Growth in business across the group has gone up by almost 12 per cent in the first half of the year. This should reassure investors that Carter & Sons is now on ....(236).... to deliver increased earning in the years ahead.

227.

A. terminated

B. culminated

C. accomplished

D. completed

228.

A. economics

B. finances

C. outcomes

D. results

229.

A. relative

B. alike

C. comparative

D. equivalent

230.

A. commissioned

B. assigned

C. delegated

D. appointed

231.

A. dealing

B. facing

C. undertaking

D. withstanding

232.

A. additions

B. extras

C. accessories

D. supplements

233.

A. scaled

B. marked

C. slowed

D. put

234.

A. emphasise

B. concentrate

C. specialize

D. strengthen

235.

A. bonus

B. pack

C. force

D. band

236.

A. way

B. path

C. road

D. track

Should you open a second branch?

Choosing to expand your business by opening a second location can be one of the best decisions you'll ever make, or one of the worst. Before you ....(237).... at a decision, there are several things you should check to see if you are ready to take this big step towards expansion.

Firstly - your cash flow. Like starting up any business, a second loca­tion ....(238).... a large initial investment and usually takes a long time to turn a profit. Look at your firm's accounts carefully. If these ....(239).... that you cannot afford a long-term drain on your financial resources, then it is probably better to wait.

Secondly - your personnel and systems. If you don't have a manage­ment team ....(240).... place already, you should probably think about establishing one before opening a second branch. The same ....(241).... in the case of operating systems and controls. The better organised your business now, the better organised your second location will be, too.

Also, you need to think about your market. Is your current site doing as much business as it can ....(242)...., or are there ways you could grow without opening a second branch? Try expanding internally first. Similarly, don't ....(243).... that just because your business is successful in one town, it will immediately succeed in a ....(244).... community. Research your potential markets before setting up shop, and ....(245).... your new branch to answer the specific needs of these markets.

Finally, be realistic about the time you need to invest to make a second location work. You don't want to take ....(246).... so much work that you can't honour your commitments.