Job Postings

The typical selection process begins with posting a position internally, externally, or both. However, internal job-seekers are given first opportunity for available positions through CAMnet: An internal website which is used for employee communications, educational offerings, and announcing available positions (CAMC, 2007, p. D 5; E 3). Primarily, CAMnet is used to store and to manage applications.

Providing exceptions (e.g. hiring emergencies, legal grounds, or persuasive business explanations) are not granted, vacancies below senior management levels are posted internally for at least three working days. In practice, vacancies are announced on Fridays and closed after Tuesdays: Friday, Monday, and Tuesday constitutes the minimum waiting period. Each Wednesday, closed postings and the respective applications are evaluated. If no internal applications are received, managers are contacted and a posting is advertised externally. By using CAMnet to announce available positions, the potential applicant pool is reduced to current employees and those individuals having access to announcements. Any position not being posted must have the approval of the Human Resource Director (CAMC, 2007, D 5).

Requests for transfer or promotion must be completed using CAMnet by the deadline to be considered (CAMC, 2007, p. D 6). CAMC has built a foundation for having a preference for internal job-seekers over external job-seekers. This preference is codified and protected through extra assurances by Policy E-06: Recruiting from the Outside Labor Market. Whilst protected, transfer requests are greatly diminished during the summer months: “Yea. There are less transfer requests during the summer. If they transfer they have to reschedule their vacation and they may not get it. It’s all based on seniority” (S4).

External postings may be done concurrently if a position is particularly hard to fill or is deemed a critical need position. To facilitate job-seeker interest, advertisements in local

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newspapers may be placed. Other than information CAMC-EC distributes about specific positions, external candidates do not have access to general position descriptions. ”They’re [position descriptions] really not out there for them to review” (S5).

Generally, screeners follow basic concepts and processes to identify individuals that are a good fit for CAMC.

“And personality may come into play when I’ve got ten pharmacist positions that I need to fill. They can be somewhat more, now they won’t take the wrong person.

So, I mean if somebody comes in and they are just blatantly, not a good fit for the organisation they, they will, not just make it. Most departments will not just hire a warm body” (S5).

Consequently, a good fit and the complexity of a position can be subjective (S5) which may require position descriptions to be consulted prior to making informal filtering decisions (S9, S10).

“Which I didn’t know the positions. But job descriptions became my best friend.

And I learned very quickly that you think a manager kno…, a manager would contact you and say send me Suzy Smith’s application, for a phlebotomist position that I have and being naïve and green you would think well you helped write the job positions so certainly you know if Suzy meets the qualifications. No they don’t” (S5).

Moreover, specifications can be anchored upon a particular manager’s expectations. “It’s a matter of which one is my manager gonna pick” (S5). Sometimes screeners may have to anticipate a manager needs: “Most of them, in their areas, probably just need people that meet the qualifications so they’re willing to take a new grad” (S5).

Job-seekers exhibiting positive attitudes (i.e. sincerity and compassion) are assisted by screeners in finding relevant positions (S6). Applications from external candidates are filtered more stringently than internal job-seekers (S9). Finally, as screeners gain experience, filtering efficiency increases (S5).

6.5.3 Applications

The initial triggering event for informal decisions occur when job-seekers complete and submit applications, and if required, any qualifying skills tests. CAMC assumes that job-seekers understand the requirements of positions:

“probably the thought process is in the medical field of you [job-seeker] have, what you need to have, you know you have to have a Master’s degree to be an occupational therapist and you know you have to have a doctoral degree to be a physical therapist” (S5).

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Job-seekers may apply by submitting either an on-line or paper application (CAMC, 2010).

Paper applications are normally entered by S8 into CAMnet as all applications are extracted from this database. Applications are valid for at least six months; however, some applications may be retained for up to three years for critical positions.

“If its, now when we came into this situation recently with our OTs where we, um, ran into a problem with recruitment for them, we went back farther [than six months]. Then just to say that, ‘We know you applied back in 2009. Um, we didn’t have anything available then; and, are you still looking?’ And if so, in order to be a valid application they have to reapply” (S5).

When deadlines expire for job-postings, screeners pull applications from CAMnet.

“And they get pulled down on Wednesday; and on Thursday, um, you start looking at the application and seeing what we have” (S7). Screeners review applications to ensure that minimum requirements are met:

“I want to make sure that she has the education that’s required because some people just wake up and decide they want to be a brain surgeon. Oh yea. You have people that apply for positions that they completely don’t qualify for. Oh yea.

There tra-, and an, I think a lot of times it’s a, it’s really just a misconception because they think in occupational therapy assistant is just somebody that helps the occupational therapist. Do you know what I’m saying? They don’t realise that it’s something that somebody had to get an associate’s degree and a license to do” (S5).

As CAMC has numerous positions, CAMC-EC has a representative for each general family job classification.

Two classifications (i.e. internal and external) of job-seekers have a significant influence on when applications are considered (CAMC, 2007) with greater focus being placed on evaluating external job-seekers. This focus is due to managers having more control over internal processes and they usually have someone in mind to hire. This focus may be attributed to internal job-seekers having already been processed through the external hiring processes.

External job-seekers may apply by submitting a four-page application or completing an on-line application at www.CAMC.org. Job-seekers are encouraged to complete on-line applications as a possibility exists that paper applications will be delayed which may result in a job-seeker not being considered for a particular posting. Thus, it is in the best interest of job-seekers to complete on-line applications. However, there are problems with this process:

“They have to do, a separate application for each position they want to apply for.

Well, I would like for them to be able to include a couple. Like, maybe they want to be a Health Unit Coordinator or a Nursing Assistant. Or maybe they are willing to anything in dietary. Whether it be the aid clerk, or cashier, or cook: Any of them. It be nice if they could put on the application if they, without having to go

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down to the note section. If they could just click on each position; maybe two or three, instead of just one” (S7).

Job-seekers submitting résumés without applications are not considered. When this occurs, a letter informing the job-seeker that an application has not been taken is sent (S8).

Because résumés cannot be tracked or otherwise matched with applications, job-seekers are encouraged to submit only applications using the on-line system with résumés being taken during pre-screening interviews to support their application.

Individuals submitting paper applications will be processed in order of submission when time permits. Consequently that order is not standard.

“I start at the bottom. And work my way back instead of starting up the front.

Depending, I mean, depends on what I’m looking for. Like, my mechanics, I don’t have as many people apply for those, because they require more education, then a lot of the positions do. My dietary positions and nursing assistants, I have, hundreds of pages, so I always start at the bottom, go back to where I left off because it changes the colour when you click on that application” (S7).

In fact, job-seekers are not equally considered and the order effect does enter into these decisions especially which time frame to select applications. This modified time frame is a deviation in the organisational selection process which creates decision biases such as the recency effect as some applications being the last ones to ‘arrive’ are the first ones to be considered and the first ones to ‘arrive’ may not be considered.

When a critical employee is absent or other required duties takes precedence over application processing, processing delays will likely occur and potentially cause job-seekers not to be considered for positions. Every effort to mirror the electronic application with the paper application is made: “I enter them [applications] as best I can. If it is misspelled, it’s entered as they had it. So all CAPS, lowercase, I make it exactly as they have it” (S8).

Informal decisions focus on matching available positions with specific desires (i.e.

salary and working hours) of a job-seeker. “So if they tell me flat out their not willing to work weekends, I’m not even going to look at the application at all” (S7). Current applications have room to list three employers. “And the application itself really needs re-worked” (S7). Some screeners (i.e. S7, S9, S10) have suggested that additional space for employer details are necessary. “Well, I’d like to see more than just three, previous employment on there. And I’d like to have a little more, history than that” (S7). Whilst applications do not have to be complete, the more information provided by job-seekers helps facilitates informal decisions and allows screeners to build better profiles. Also, CAMC.org allows job-seekers to submit one position title on an application.

Screeners process the most recent applications: Last-in, first-out (S5, S7, S9, S10).

“We do the most recent [applications] first and we make comments so we know which ones we did” (S10). “It’ll [digital applications] change the colour of the link for it” (S7). Whilst this colour change is not permanent, it provides screeners with a temporary method to quickly

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identify unprocessed applications. Additionally, screeners make every effort to include permanent notations within these applications to avoid reprocessing applications.

An important deviation in processing applications is that sometimes those individuals calling more often are moved forward, providing their behaviours are not aggressive or rude.

Informally, screeners have categorised these job-seekers whom frequently contact screeners as “stalkers”.

“Now, we have ‘stalkers’. I mean, people that literally will hang up and call you back. Well, let me see. Usually I’ve got a number written beside their name where they’ve called me so many times” (S5).

Stalkers that are aggressive and rude are often removed from the selection process.

However, sometimes persistent job-seekers get priority. “So, once I did have her scheduled for an interview, I called her back. And then, she didn’t call me anymore. So, sometimes it’s a double-edged sword” (S5). Furthermore, S5 justifies this by saying, “So, I have, sometimes you have to set back and remember these people are trying to get a job. And it’s a big deal when you’re that person trying to get the job.”

From these informal decisions, two themes emerged: Collecting and Noting represent the methods of obtaining and capturing information concerning job-seekers. Both subgroups are discussed in turn. Collecting is the processes where an organisation obtains information. Although screeners may check daily on the number of received applications (S5), applicant pools are populated by the last-in first-out method (S5, S7, S9, S10) from digital applications (S8). Since each digital application may be used once, job-seekers must apply for each position separately (S7). This is viewed as a critical flaw within the collection process (S7, S9, S10). Collecting processes differ between internal and external job-seekers (S8, S9, S10) with different processes occurring at different times (S7). Information collected on internal job-seekers is less stringent as personnel files are electronically stored and available to screeners (S8, S9, S10). Some information collection (e.g. background checks) is outsourced (S8). Sometimes, information cannot be collected (S5, S8) and job-seekers may provide unrelated and unnecessary information (S5). Consequently, résumés are considered additions to the applications (S8, S9, S10). “Well the application only covers three employers. So, I usually want to see a résumé” (S10).

Information sharing amongst screeners concerning job-seekers’ behaviours, discussions, and observations is an integrated part of the collection process (S7). From these observations, Noting emerged. Noting is the process whereby an individual documents events and communications for later review.

“I can go back to the very beginning, and, see where I know I have sent something, because you can go in and note every application. And every one of

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them that I send, I put a note on there that I sent it. So I know, even the old ones, I know what I have done with that application” (S7).

To ensure that applications are not reprocessed, S7 makes notes when possible on processed digital applications whilst S9 writes notes on position descriptions to guide filtering processes.

In addition to noting on applications, “We keep a list of everything we rescind, our reason for rescinding, all of that. The date, everything. Its, we keep it, a record of it” (S7).

This is so resources are not spent on previously determined undesirable job-seekers as well as ensure that those job-seekers are not considered.