Recruitment & Selection Process:

Human Resource Management (HRM or simply HR) is the management of an organization's workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture, and ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union). HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and inclusion. Whereas in startup companies HR's duties may be performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by non-HR personnel, larger companies typically house an entire functional group dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications. Birth and Evolution of the HRM: By the time enough theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce management, changes in the business landscape (a l Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller) and in public policy (a l Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal) had transformed the employer-employee relationship, and the discipline was formalized as "industrial and labor relations". In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR associationsthe Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentwas founded in

England as the Welfare Workers' Association, then changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of Labor Management before settling upon its current name. Likewise in the United States, the world's first institution of higher education dedicated to workplace studiesthe School of Industrial and Labor Relationswas formed at Cornell University in 1945. During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations. "Industrial and labor relations" began being used to refer specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as "personnel administration". In 1948, what would later become the largest professional HR associationthe Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)was founded as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA). Nearing the 21st century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in machine. "Human resources management", consequently, became the dominant term for the functionthe ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998. "Human capital management" is sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include "organizational management", "manpower management", "talent management", "personnel management", and simply "people management". Business Functions of HRM: HR's overarching mission has been compartmentalized by industry expert Dave Ulrich as four-fold: aligning HR and business strategy (strategic partner), re-engineering organization processes (administration expert), listening and responding to employees (employee champion), and managing transformation and change (change agent). In practice, HR is responsible for employee experience during the entire employment lifecycle. It is first charged with attracting the right employees through employer branding. It then must select the right employees through the recruitment process. HR then onboards new hire and oversees their training and development during their tenure with the organization. HR assesses talent through use of performance appraisals and then rewards

them accordingly. In fulfillment of the latter, HR may sometimes administer payroll and employee benefits, although such activities are more and more being outsourced, with HR playing a more strategic role. At the macro-level, HR is in charge of overseeing organizational leadership and culture. HR also ensures compliance with employment and labor laws, which differ by geography, and often oversees health, safety, and security. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union). Consequently, HR, usually through industry representatives, engages in lobbying efforts with governmental agencies (e.g., in the United States, the United States Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board) to further its priorities. The discipline may also engage in mobility management, especially pertaining to expatriates; and it is frequently involved in the merger and acquisition process. HR is generally viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs and reduce risk. The following are the mainly covered aspects in HRM: 1. Employer Branding: The term employer brand was first used in the early 1990s to denote an organizations reputation as an employer. Since then, it has become widely adopted by the global management community. Minchington (2005) defines your employer brand as the image of your organization as a great place to work in the mind of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders). The art and science of employer branding is therefore concerned with the attraction, engagement and retention of initiatives targeted at enhancing your company's employer brand". While the term employer brand denotes what people currently associate with an organization, employer branding has been defined as the sum of a companys efforts to communicate to existing and prospective staff what makes it a desirable place to work, and the active management of a companys image as seen through the eyes of its associates and potential hires.

Just as a customer brand proposition is used to define a product or service offer, an employer brand proposition (otherwise referred to as an employer value proposition, employee value proposition or EVP) is used to define an organizations employment offer. Likewise the marketing disciplines associated with branding and brand management have been increasingly applied by the human resources and talent management community to attract, engage and retain talented candidates and employees, in the same way that marketing applies such tools to attracting and retaining clients, customers and consumers. 2. Recruitment:

The process of identifying and hiring the best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost effective manner. It involves various processes and procedures to hire or recruit an employee in the organization. There should be a necessity or requirement for the organization to first hire an employee to make the effective utilization of the additional resource. The recruitment process takes place after various steps such as: Identifying the nature of job, posting an advertisement for the job opening, filtering the candidate out of the total number of applicant and shortlisting the candidates by contacting them and conducting interviews, etc.

3. Onboarding:

Onboarding, also known as organizational socialization, refers to the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective organizational members and insiders. Tactics used in this process include formal meetings, lectures, videos, printed materials, or computer-based orientations to introduce newcomers to their new jobs and organizations. Research has demonstrated that these socialization techniques lead to positive outcomes for new employees such as higher job satisfaction, better job performance, greater organizational commitment, and reduction in stress and intent to quit. These outcomes are particularly important to an organization looking to retain a competitive advantage in an increasingly mobile and globalized workforce. In the United States, for example, up to 25% of workers are organizational newcomers engaged in an onboarding process. 4. Training and development:

In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field which is concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names, including human resource development, and learning and development. Training and development encompasses three main activities: training, education, and development: y Training: This activity is both focused upon, and evaluated against, the job that an individual currently holds. y Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an individual may potentially hold in the future, and is evaluated against those jobs. y Development: This activity focuses upon the activities that the organization employing the individual, or that the individual is part of, may partake in the future, and is almost impossible to evaluate. 5. Talent development: Talent development, part of human resource development, is the process of changing an organization, its employees, its stakeholders, and groups of people within it, using planned and unplanned learning, in order to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the organization. Rothwell notes that the name may well be a term in search of a meaning, like so much in management, and suggests that it be thought of as selective attention paid to the top 10% of employees, either by potential or performance. While talent development is reserved for the top management it is becoming increasingly clear that career development is necessary for the retention of any employee, no matter what their level in the company. Research has shown that some type of career path is necessary for job satisfaction and hence job retention. Perhaps organizations need to include this area in their overview of employee satisfaction. 6. Performance Appraisal: A performance appraisal, employee appraisal, performance review, or (career)

development discussion is a method by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost, and time) typically by the corresponding manager or supervisor. A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing career development. It is the process of obtaining, analyzing, and recording

information about the relative worth of an employee to the organization. Performance appraisal is an analysis of an employee's recent successes and failures, personal strengths and weaknesses, and suitability for promotion or further training. It is also the judgment of an employee's performance in a job based on considerations other than productivity alone. Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to: y y y y Give employees feedback on performance Identify employee training needs Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards Form a basis for personnel decisions: salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions, bonuses, etc. y y y Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development Facilitate communication between employee and employer Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. y To improve performance through counseling, coaching and development.

7. Remuneration:

Remuneration is the total compensation that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Typically, this consists of monetary rewards, also referred to as wage or salary. A number of complementary benefits, however, are increasingly popular remuneration mechanisms.

Remuneration can include:

y y y y y y y

Commission Compensation Executive compensation Deferred compensation Compensation methods (in online advertising and internet marketing) Employee stock option Fringe benefit

y y y

Salary Performance Linked Incentives Wage

8. Payroll:

In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons. From an accounting perspective, payroll is crucial because payroll and payroll taxes considerably affect the net income of most companies and they are subject to laws and regulations (e.g. in the US payroll is subject to federal and state regulations). From an ethics in business viewpoint payroll is a critical department as employees are responsive to payroll errors and irregularities: good employee morale requires payroll to be paid timely and accurately. The primary mission of the payroll department is to ensure that all employees are paid accurately and timely with the correct withholdings and deductions, and to ensure the withholdings and deductions are remitted in a timely manner. This includes salary payments, tax withholdings, and deductions from a paycheck.

9. Employee Benefit: Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. In instances where an employee exchanges (cash) wages for some other form of benefit is generally referred to as a 'salary sacrifice' or 'salary exchange' arrangement. In most countries, most kinds of employee benefits are taxable to at least some degree.

Examples of these benefits include: housing (employer-provided or employer-paid), group insurance (health, dental, life etc.), disability income protection, retirement benefits, daycare, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, vacation (paid and non-paid), social security,

profit sharing, funding of education, and other specialized benefits. The purpose of the benefits is to increase the economic security of employees.

The term perquisite (also perks) is often used colloquially to refer to those benefits of a more discretionary nature. Often, perks are given to employees who are doing notably well and/or have seniority. Common perks are take-home vehicles, hotel stays, free refreshments, leisure activities on work time (golf, etc.), stationery, allowances for lunch, andwhen multiple choices existfirst choice of such things as job assignments and vacation scheduling. They may also be given first chance at job promotions when vacancies exist.

10. Human Resource Management System: A Human Resource Management System (HRMS) or Human Resource Information System (HRIS), refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible.

The function of Human Resources departments is generally administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of "Human Capital" progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by inroducing specialized Human Resource Management Systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before

the clientserver architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally-developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of clientserver, Application Service Provider, and Software as a Service SaaS or Human Resource Management Systems enabled increasingly higher administrative control of such systems. Currently Human Resource Management Systems encompass:

y y y y y y y y

Payroll Work Time Appraisal performance Benefits Administration HR management Information system Recruiting/Learning Management # TrainingSystem Performance Record Employee Self-Service

The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems.

The work time module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions.

The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement.

The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to:

y y y

Produce pay checks and payroll reports; Maintain personnel records; Pursue Talent Management.

Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent Management systems typically encompass:

y y y y

Analyzing personnel usage within an organization; Identifying potential applicants; Recruiting through company-facing listings; Recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants.

The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a dedicated Applicant Tracking System, or 'ATS', module.

The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a Learning Management System if a stand alone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of

the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics.

The Employee Self-Service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR department. Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety and security, while others integrate an outsourced Applicant Tracking System that encompasses a subset of the above.

Issues of HRM:

1. Harassment:

Harassment is a topic which in the past couple of decades has been increasingly seriously and has been the subject of a number of pieces of major legislation. The best way an Employer can avoid complaints of harassment is by ensuring that harassment does not occur in the first place. The first step is to have in place an Equal Opportunities policy which, amongst other things, defines harassment and makes it clear to Employees that they should not allow it to occur. In addition, Employees must be made aware of these policies, education about them provided, and a set of consequences if they still harass made clear to them. Employees should certainly be made aware that the Employer takes seriously any claim of harassment, and such actions would be considered an act of Gross Misconduct.

2. Workplace Conflict:

Workplace conflict is a specific type of conflict that occurs in workplaces. The conflicts that arise in workplaces may be shaped by the unique aspects of this environment, including the

long hours many people spend at their workplace, the hierarchical structure of the organization, and the difficulties (e.g. financial consequences) that may be involved in switching to a different workplace. In this respect, workplaces share much in common with schools, especially pre-college educational institutions in which students are less autonomous.

3. Employment Discrimination:

Employment discrimination (or workplace discrimination) is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment. Many jurisdictions prohibit some types of employment discrimination, often by forbidding discrimination based on certain traits ("protected categories"). In other cases, the law may require discrimination against certain groups. In places where it is illegal, discrimination often takes subtler forms, such as wage discrimination and requirements with disparate impact on certain groups. In addition, employees sometimes suffer retaliation for opposing workplace discrimination or for reporting violations to the authorities. Like most discrimination, employment discrimination may occur intentionally or unintentionally, because of prejudice or ignorance.

4. Gender inequality:

Gender inequality refers to disparity between individuals due to gender. Gender is constructed both socially through social interactions as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. Gender systems are often dichotomous and hierarchical; binary gender systems may reflect the inequalities that manifest in numerous dimensions of daily life. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether empirically grounded or socially constructed.

5. Feminization of the workplace:

In response to the pressure from feminism and cultural trends highlighting characteristics in workers which have culturally been associated with women, feminization of the workplace is a label given to the trend towards greater employment of women, and of men willing and

able to operate with these more 'feminine' modes of interaction. Drivers of this change are said to be the increase in socially interactive work such as telesales, therapy, personal services, caring professions and the like which have tended to place a premium on empathy, listening and emotionally well-tuned responses.

These are the markers of the so-called Feminization: empathy, sociability, greater emotional engagement, a greater preference for non-confrontational interactions, emotional sensitivity.

6. Workplace stress:

Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. A variety of factors contribute to workplace stress such as negative workload, isolation, extensive hours worked, toxic work environments, lack of autonomy, difficult relationships among coworkers and management, management bullying, harassment and lack of opportunities or motivation to advancement in ones skill level.

Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array of conditions, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, etc.), maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse), and cognitive impairment (e.g., concentration and memory problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work performance, higher absenteeism, less work productivity or even injury. Job stress is also associated with various biological reactions that may lead ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular disease, or in extreme cases death.

7. Toxic Workplace:

In the context of a toxic workplace, a toxic employee is a worker who is motivated by personal gain (power, money, or special status), uses unethical, mean-spirited and sometimes illegal means to manipulate and annoy those around them; and whose motives are to maintain or increase power, money or special status or divert attention away from their performance shortfalls and misdeeds. Toxic employees do not recognize a duty to the

organization for which they work or their co-workers in terms of ethics or professional conduct toward others. Toxic employees define relationships with co-workers, not by organizational structure but by co-workers they favour and those they do not like or trust. The number of toxic employees in the workplace currently appears to be growing in relation to increases in workplace stress. This is due to lean staffing, the stress of potential layoffs and the fact that longer service employees typically survive layoffs. The issue of workplace bullying is getting increasing attention from state governments. Twenty-one states have introduced a version of the Healthy Workplace Bill which provides a definition of this conduct and support for employers to address the behaviour through discipline.

8. Workplace Politics:

Workplace politics, sometimes referred to as Office politics (which strictly only includes office workers, although the meaning is usually intended in the wider sense) is "the use of one's individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority. Those advantages may include access to tangible assets, or intangible benefits such as status or pseudo-authority that influences the behavior of others. Both individuals and groups may engage in Office Politics." Office politics has also been described as "simply how power gets worked out on a practical, day-to-day basis."

9. Absenteeism:

Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation. Traditionally, absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer; it was seen as a management problem, and framed in economic or quasi-economic terms. More recent scholarship seeks to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psychological, medical, or social adjustment to work.

10. Gossip:

Gossip is idle talk or rumor about the personal or private affairs of others. It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for

the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted. The term can also imply that the idle chat or rumor is of personal or trivial nature, as opposed to normal conversation.

The term is sometimes used to specifically refer to the spreading of dirt and misinformation, as (for example) through excited discussion of scandals. Some newspapers carry "gossip columns" which detail the social and personal lives of celebrities or of lite members of certain communities.

What is Taxation:

Definition: Tax is a means of money, by which government collects the finance for their expenditure by imposing charges on citizens and corporate entities. Governments use taxation to encourage or discourage certain economic decisions. For example, reduction in taxable personal (or household) income by the amount paid as interest on home mortgage loans results in greater construction activity, and generates more jobs. Five major types of business taxes are: (1) Corporate franchise tax, (2) Employment (withholding) tax, (3) Excise tax, (4) Gross-Receipts tax, and (5) Value added tax (VAT). Some types of firms (such as insurance, mining, and petroleum extraction companies) pay additional taxes peculiar to their industries. While firms also pay income, property, and sales taxes, such taxes are not specific to businesses. In terms of economic impact, however, all taxes are 'people taxes' because they affect human beings and not some abstraction labeled 'business', also called as business activity tax. US Taxation firms in India:

In the recent times, many a number of firms have been launched in India. These firms have been started to provide tax advices, processing of tax returns and filing of the income tax and corporate tax returns of the NRI (Non-resident Indian). Profile of the company: Advantage One is a full service Public Accounting firm providing reviews and compilations along with financial planning, tax preparation for individuals, estates, trusts, partnerships, corporations, not-for-profit and L.L.C's. It provides monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements, payroll preparation and new business start-up services. The firm principles have, jointly, more than fifty years' experience in the accounting profession.

Professional Philosophy To the extent and depth desired by our clients, it is committed to intimate knowledge of and involvement with the individual client's business. It recognizes that business today has financial and entrepreneurial needs frequently going beyond "generally accepted accounting principles" (GAAP). It continually strives for a close client relationship. This promotes their knowledge and understanding of specific client problems and objectives in turn allowing the firm to make recommendations to improve after-tax profits and institute controls to safeguard assets. In this sense, our professional posture is activist and consultative. It encourages and welcomes opportunities to work closely with clients, attorneys, bankers, and other professional business advisors. Customers choose the firm because our employees provide high quality service, using the resources available to them. Employee and customer relationships are based on trust and mutual respect. The firm recognizes the code of ethics of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Being governed by a strict code of ethics allows accountant's relations to their clients to be characterized by trust and confidence. Information received from clients and their affairs is regarded as confidential. Client business is never to be

discussed with anyone having knowledge of or interest in a client. We believe in our commitment to quality and to our clients... US Corporate Tax Services: Advantage One Tax Consulting advises clients ranging from growing owner-managed businesses to major international enterprises on strategies for managing their federal and state corporate income taxes. Its Business Tax Services are provided through the following service lines: 1) Entity Formation (C-Corp, S-Corp, Non-profit Organization, LLC, LLP, LP, etc.) 2) Tax Filing a) Corporate Returns (1120, 1120S, etc.) b) Partnership Returns (LLC, LLP, LP, etc.) c) Exempt Organizations (Form 990) d) Fiduciary Tax Returns (Form 1041) e) Sales Tax Returns f) Property Tax Returns g) Payroll Tax Returns 3) Computing Book / Tax Differences 4) US Payroll Processing 5) Computing Book / Tax Differences 6) Development of U.S. tax efficient structures for penetrating the U.S. market 7) Acquisition strategies for Indian companies expanding in the U.S. 8) Development of cross-border financing structures 9) Tax compliance matters, including companies with multi-state operations 10) Planning to minimize U.S. permanent establishment issues 11) State and Local Tax Planning 12) Audit Representation 13) Remedial planning for accidental tax exposures 14) International Business Expansion and Corporate Reorganization Payroll taxes in U.S.: Before considering the payroll taxes we need to talk about the Basic Formula for the Net Pay. Basically from gross pay is subtracted one or more deductions to arrive at the Net

Pay. In fact Employee's gross pay (pay rate times number of hours worked, including any over time) minus payroll tax deductions, minus voluntary payroll deductions, is equal to Net Pay. As you can see payroll tax deductions play a critical role and just because they are provided by law we can call them Statutory payroll tax deductions. The employer must withhold payroll taxes from an employee's check and hand them over to several tax agencies by law. Payroll taxes include: Federal income tax withholding, based on withholding tables in "Publication 15, Employer's Tax Guide"[2] by Internal Revenue Service - IRS; Social Security Tax Withholding: The employee pays 6.2 percent of the salary or wage, up to 106,800. The employer also pays 6.2 percent in Social Security taxes. If you are selfemployed, you pay the combined employee and employer amount of 12.4 percent in Social Security taxes on your net earnings; Medicare tax: The employee pays 1.45 percent in Medicare taxes on the entire salary or wage. The employer also pays 1.45 percent in Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed, you pay the combined employee and employer amount of 2.9 percent in Medicare taxes on your net earnings; State income tax withholding: This Includes various local tax withholding, such as city taxes, county taxes, school taxes, state disability, and unemployment insurance. As for the sources considered as references we can mention the following publications: Publication 15, (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide: This publication explains employer's tax responsibilities. It explains the requirements for withholding, depositing, reporting, paying, and correcting employment taxes. It explains the forms any employer must give to its employees, those employees must give to the employer, and the employer must send to the IRS and SSA (Social Security Administration). This guide also has tax tables needed to figure the taxes to withhold from each employee. Publication 15 - A, Employers Supplemental Tax Guide. This publication supplements Publication 15 (Circular E), Employers Tax Guide. It contains specialized and detailed employment tax information supplementing the basic information provided in Publication 15 (Circular E);

Publication 15-B. Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits. This publication supplements Publication 15 (Circular E), Employers Tax Guide, and Publication 15 - A, Employers Supplemental Tax Guide. This publication contains information about the employment tax treatment of various types of noncash compensation. In the earlier part we have considered payroll taxes related to employee's side. Now it's the moment to talk about the Employer Payroll Taxes Employers are responsible for paying their portion of payroll taxes. These payroll taxes are an expense over and above the expense of an employee's gross pay. The employer-portion of payroll taxes include the following: Social Security taxes (6.2% up to the annual maximum); Medicare taxes (1.45% of wages); Federal unemployment taxes (FUTA); State unemployment taxes (SUTA). Very often you can hear people using FICA in their terminology. FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and the FICA tax consists of both Social Security and Medicare taxes. As we explained earlier both parties pay half of these taxes. Employees pay half, and employers pay the other half. Social Security and Medicare taxes are paid both by the employees and the employers. In summary together both halves of the FICA taxes add up to 15.3 percent. Any employer is responsible for paying the employer's share of payroll taxes, for depositing tax withheld from the employees' paychecks, preparing various reconciliation reports, accounting for the payroll expense through their financial reporting, and filing payroll tax returns. As you see this suite of employer payroll tax responsibilities is far above issuing paychecks to employees. It has a team of dedicated Tax Experts who have the expertise and international knowledge to help minimize your income taxes and limit your exposure to penalties and interest. They review your tax situation from all possible outlooks, considering income and investments as well as the heap of complex tax laws that may affect your finances. They will help you take advantage of tax-saving opportunities and develop tailor-made solutions that meet both your personal and business needs.

Recruitment: Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting a qualified person for a job. All companies in any industry can benefit from contingency or retain professional recruiters or outsourcing the process to recruitment agencies. The recruitment industry has four basic types of firms. 1) Employment Agencies deal with clerical, trades, temporary and temporary to hire employment opportunities. 2) Recruitment Websites and job search engines used to gather as many candidates as possible by advertising a position over a wide geographic area. Although thought to be a cost effective alternative, a human resource department or department manager will spend time outside their normal duties reading and screening resumes. A professional recruiter has the ability to read and screen resumes, talk to potential candidates and deliver a selective group in a timely manner. 3) "HEADHUNTERS" for executive and professional positions. These firms are either contingency or retained. Although advertising is used to keep a flow of candidates these firms rely on networking as their main source of candidates. 4) Niche agencies specialize in a particular industrial area of staffing. Some organizations prefer to utilize employer branding strategy and in-house recruitment instead of recruiting firms. The difference, a recruiting firm is always looking for talent whereas an internal department is focused on filling a single opening. The advantage associated with utilizing a third-party recruiting firm is their ability to know where to find a qualified candidate. Talent Management is a key component to the services a professional recruiting firm can provide. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by networking, advertising or other methods. Utilizing professional interviewing techniques to understand the candidates skills but motivations to make a move, screening potential candidates using testing (skills or personality) is also a popular part of the process. The process is meant to not only evaluate the candidate but also evaluate how the candidate will fit into the organization. The recruiter will meet with the hiring manager to obtain specific position and type information before beginning the process. After the recruiter understands the type of person the company needs, they begin the process of informing their network of the opportunity. Recruiters play

an important role by preparing the candidate and company for the interview, providing feedback to both parties and handling salary/benefits negotiations. Process of Recruitment: Job analysis: The proper start to a recruitment effort is to perform a job analysis, to document the actual or intended requirement of the job to be performed. This information is captured in a job description and provides the recruitment effort with the boundaries and objectives of the search. Oftentimes a company will have job descriptions that represent a historical collection of tasks performed in the past. These job descriptions need to be reviewed or updated prior to a recruitment effort to reflect present day requirements. Starting recruitment with an accurate job analysis and job description ensures the recruitment effort starts off on a proper track for success. Sourcing: Sourcing involves 1) advertising, a common part of the recruiting process, often encompassing multiple media, such as the Internet, general newspapers, job ad newspapers, professional publications, window advertisements, job centers, and campus graduate recruitment programs; and 2) recruitment research, which is the proactive identification of passive candidates who are happy in their current positions and are not actively looking to move companies. This initial research for so-called passive candidates, also called name generation, results in contact information of potential candidates who can then be contacted discreetly to be screened and approached on behalf of an executive search firm or corporate client (see below). Screening: Suitability for a job is typically assessed by looking for skills, e.g. communication, typing, and computer skills. Qualifications may be shown through rsums, job applications, interviews, educational or professional experience, the testimony of references, or in-house testing, such as for software knowledge, typing skills, numeracy, and literacy, through psychological tests or employment testing. Other resume screening criteria may include length of service, job titles and length of time at a job. In some countries, employers are legally mandated to provide equal opportunity in hiring. Business management software is

used by many recruitment agencies to automate the testing process. Many recruiters and agencies are using an applicant tracking system to perform many of the filtering tasks, along with software tools for psychometric testing. A British Army etc, recruitment center in Oxford. Lateral Hiring: "Lateral hiring" refers to a form of recruiting; the term is used with two different, almost opposite meanings. In one meaning, the hiring organization targets employees of another, similar organization, possibly luring them with a better salary and the promise of better career opportunities. An example is the recruiting of a partner of a law firm by another law firm. The new lateral hire then has specific applicable expertise and can make a running start in the new job. In some professional branches such lateral hiring was traditionally frowned upon, but the practice has become increasingly more common. An employee's contract may have a non-compete clause preventing such lateral hiring. In another meaning, a lateral hire is a newly hired employee who has no prior specific applicable expertise for the new job, and for whom this job move is a radical change of career. An example is the recruiting of a university professor to become chairman of the board of a company. Onboarding: "Onboarding" is a term which describes the process of helping new employees become productive members of an organization. A well-planned introduction helps new employees become fully operational quickly and is often integrated with a new company and environment. Onboarding is included in the recruitment process for retention purposes. Many companies have onboarding campaigns in hopes to retain top talent that is new to the company; campaigns may last anywhere from 1 week to 6 months. Internet Recruitment and Websites: Such sites have two main features: job boards and a rsum/curriculum vitae (CV) database. Job boards allow member companies to post job vacancies. Alternatively, candidates can upload a rsum to be included in searches by member companies. Fees are charged for job postings and access to search resumes. Since the late 1990s, the recruitment website has evolved to encompass end-to-end recruitment. Websites capture

candidate details and then pool them in client accessed candidate management interfaces (also online). Key players in this sector provide e-recruitment software and services to organizations of all sizes and within numerous industry sectors, who want to e-enable entirely or partly their recruitment process in order to improve business performance.

The online software provided by those who specialize in online recruitment helps organizations attract, test, recruit, employ and retain quality staff with a minimal amount of administration. Online recruitment websites can be very helpful to find candidates that are very actively looking for work and post their resumes online, but they will not attract the "passive" candidates who might respond favorably to an opportunity that is presented to them through other means. Also, some candidates who are actively looking to change jobs are hesitant to put their resumes on the job boards, for fear that their companies, coworkers, customers or others might see their resumes. Job Search Engines: The emergence of meta-search engines allows job-seekers to search across multiple websites. Some of these new search engines index and list the advertisements of traditional job boards. These sites tend to aim for providing a "one-stop shop" for jobseekers. However, there are many other job search engines which index solely from employers' websites, choosing to bypass traditional job boards entirely. These vertical search engines allow job-seekers to find new positions that may not be advertised on traditional job boards, and online recruitment websites. Selection Process: Role of Selection Process: A job interview typically precedes the hiring decision, and is used to evaluate the candidate. The interview is usually preceded by the evaluation of submitted rsums from interested candidates, then selecting a small number of candidates for interviews. Potential job interview opportunities also include networking events and career fairs. The job interview is considered one of the most useful tools for evaluating potential employees. It also demands significant resources from the employer, yet has been demonstrated to be notoriously unreliable in identifying the optimal person for the job. An interview also allows the candidate to assess the corporate culture and demands of the job.

Multiple rounds of job interviews may be used where there are many candidates or the job is particularly challenging or desirable. Earlier rounds may involve fewer staff from the employers and will typically be much shorter and less in-depth. A common initial interview form is the phone interview, a job interview conducted over the telephone. This is especially common when the candidates do not live near the employer and has the advantage of keeping costs low for both sides. Once all candidates have been interviewed, the employer typically selects the most desirable candidate and begins the negotiation of a job offer. Contents of Selection Process: In light of its popularity, a stream of research has attempted to identify the constructs (ideas or concepts) that are measured during the interview to understand why interviews might help us pick the right people for the job. Several reviews of the research on interview constructs revealed that the interview captures a wide variety of applicant attributes.[2][3][4] These constructs can be classified into three categories: job-relevant interview content (constructs interview questions are designed to assess), interviewee performance (applicant behaviors unrelated to the applicant characteristics the interview questions are designed to assess but nevertheless influence interviewer evaluations of interviewee responses), and potentially job-irrelevant interviewer biases (personal and demographic characteristics of applicants that may influence interviewer evaluations of interviewee responses in an illegal, discriminatory way). Job-Relevant Interview Content: Interview questions are generally designed to tap applicant attributes that are specifically relevant to the job for which the person is applying. The job-relevant applicant attributes that the questions purportedly assess are thought to be necessary for one to successfully perform on the job. The job-relevant constructs that have been assessed in the interview can be classified into three categories: general traits, experiential factors, and core job elements. The first category refers to relatively stable applicant traits. The second category refers to job knowledge that the applicant has acquired over time. The third category refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the job.

General traits: y y Mental ability: Applicants capacity to learn and process information Personality: Conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability, extroversion, openness to new experiences. y Interest, goals, and values: Applicant motives, goals, and person-organization fits.

Experiential factors: y y y Experience: Job-relevant knowledge derived from prior experience. Education: Job-relevant knowledge derived from prior education Training: Job-relevant knowledge derived from prior training

Core Job Elements: y y Declarative knowledge: Applicants learned knowledge Procedural skills and abilities: Applicants ability to complete the tasks required to do the job y Motivation: Applicants willingness to exert the effort required to do the job

Interviewee performance: Interviewer evaluations of applicant responses also tend to be colored by how an applicant behaves in the interview. These behaviors may not be directly related to the constructs the interview questions were designed to assess, but can be related to aspects of the job for which they are applying. Applicants without realizing it may engage in a number of behaviors that influence ratings of their performance. The applicant may have acquired these behaviors during training or from previous interview experience. These interviewee performance constructs can also be classified into three categories: social effectiveness skills, interpersonal presentation, and personal/contextual factors. Social effectiveness skills: y Impression management: Applicants attempt to make sure the interviewer forms a positive impression of them

Social skills: Applicants ability to adapt his/her behavior according to the demands of the situation to positively influence the interviewer

Self-monitoring: Applicants regulation of behaviors to control the image presented to the interviewer

Relational control: Applicants attempt to control the flow of the conversation

Interpersonal Presentation: y y Verbal expression: Pitch, rate, pauses Nonverbal behavior: Gaze, smile, hand movement, body orientation

Personal/contextual factors: y y y y Interview training: Coaching, mock interviews with feedback Interview experience: Number of prior interviews Interview self-efficacy: Applicants perceived ability to do well in the interview Interview motivation: Applicants motivation to succeed in an interview

Job-Irrelevant Interviewer Biases: The following are personal and demographic characteristics that can potentially influence interviewer evaluations of interviewee responses. These factors are typically not relevant to whether the individual can do the job (that is, not related to job performance), thus, their influence on interview ratings should be minimized or excluded. In fact, there are laws in many countries that prohibit consideration of many of these protected classes of people when making selection decisions. Using structured interviews with multiple interviewers coupled with training may help reduce the effect of the following characteristics on interview ratings. The list of job-irrelevant interviewer biases is presented below. y Attractiveness: Applicant physical attractiveness can influence interviewers evaluation of ones interview performance[13] y Race: Whites tend to score higher than Blacks and Hispanics;[19] racial similarity between interviewer and applicant, on the other hand, has not been found to influence interview ratings[18][20]

Gender: Females tend to receive slightly higher interview scores than their male counterparts;[2] gender similarity does not seem to influence interview ratings[18]

Similarities in background and attitudes: Interviewers perceived interpersonal attraction was found to influence interview ratings[21]

Culture: Applicants with an ethnic name and a foreign accent were viewed less favorably than applicants with just an ethnic name and no accent or an applicant with a traditional name with or without an accent[22]

The extent to which ratings of interviewee performance reflect certain constructs varies widely depending on the level of structure of the interview, the kind of questions asked, interviewer or applicant biases, applicant professional dress or nonverbal behavior, and a host of other factors. For example, some research suggests that applicants cognitive ability, education, training, and work experiences may be better captured in unstructured interviews, whereas applicants job knowledge, organizational fit, interpersonal skills, and applied knowledge may be better captured in a structured interview.[3] Further, interviews are typically designed to assess a number of constructs. Given the social nature of the interview, applicant responses to interview questions and interviewer evaluations of those responses are sometimes influenced by constructs beyond those the questions were intended to assess, making it extremely difficult to tease out the specific constructs measured during the interview.[23] Reducing the number of constructs the interview is intended to assess may help mitigate this issue. Moreover, of practical importance is whether the interview is a better measure of some constructs in comparison to paper and pencil tests of the same constructs. Indeed, certain constructs (mental ability and skills, experience) may be better measured with paper and pencil tests than during the interview, whereas personality-related constructs seem to be better measured during the interview in comparison to paper and pencil tests of the same personality constructs.[24] In sum, the following is recommended: Interviews should be developed to assess the job relevant constructs identified in the job analysis. Process Model: One way to think about the interview process is as three separate, albeit related, phases: (1) the pre-interview phase which occurs before the interviewer and candidate meet, (2) the interview phase where the interview is conducted, and

(3) the post interview phase where the interviewer forms judgments of candidate qualifications and makes final decisions. Although separate, these three phases are related. That is, impressions interviewers form early on may affect how they view the person in a later phase. Pre-interview phase: The pre-interview phase encompasses the information available to the interviewer beforehand (e.g., resumes, test scores, social networking site information) and the perceptions interviewers form about applicants from this information prior to the actual face-to-face interaction between the two individuals. In this phase, interviewers are likely to already have ideas about the characteristics that would make a person ideal or qualified for the position.[29] Interviewers also have information about the applicant usually in the form of a resume, test scores, or prior contacts with the applicant.[28] Interviewers then often integrate information that they have on an applicant with their ideas about the ideal employee to form a pre-interview evaluation of the candidate. In this way, interviewers typically have an impression of you even before the actual face-to-face interview interaction. Nowadays with recent technological advancements, we must be aware that interviewers have an even larger amount of information available on some candidates. For example, interviewers can obtain information from search engines (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo), blogs, and even social networks (e.g. Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter). While some of this information may be job-related, some of it may not be. Despite the relevance of the information, any information interviewers obtain about the applicant before the interview is likely to influence their pre-interview impression of the candidate. And, why is all this important? It is important because what interviewers think about you before they meet you, can have an effect on how they might treat you in the interview and what they remember about you.[28][30] Furthermore, researchers have found that what interviewers think about the applicant before the interview (pre-interview phase) is related to how they evaluate the candidate after the interview, despite how the candidate may have performed during the interview.[31]

Interview phase: The interview phase entails the actual conduct of the interview, the interaction between the interviewer and the applicant. Initial interviewer impressions about the applicant before the interview may influence the amount of time an interviewer spends in the interview with the applicant, the interviewers behavior and questioning of the

applicant,[32] and the interviewers postinterview evaluations.[31] Pre-interview impressions also can affect what the interviewer notices about the interviewee, recalls from the interview, and how an interviewer interprets what the applicant says and does in the interview.[30]

As interviews are typically conducted face-to-face, over the phone, or through video conferencing[33] (e.g. Skype), they are a social interaction between at least two individuals. Thus, the behavior of the interviewer during the interview likely leaks information to the interviewee. That is, you can sometimes tell during the interview whether the interviewer thinks positively or negatively about you.[28] Knowing this information can actually affect how the applicant behaves, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy effect.[32][34] For example, interviewees who feel the interviewer does not think they are qualified may be more anxious and feel they need to prove they are qualified. Such anxiety may hamper how well they actually perform and present themselves during the interview, fulfilling the original thoughts of the interviewer. Alternatively, interviewees who perceive an interviewer believes they are qualified for the job may feel more at ease and comfortable during the exchange, and consequently actually perform better in the interview. It should be noted again, that because of the dynamic nature of the interview, the interaction between the behaviors and thoughts of both parties is a continuous process whereby information is processed and informs subsequent behavior, thoughts, and evaluations.

Postinterview phase: After the interview is conducted, the interviewer must form an evaluation of the interviewees qualifications for the position. The interviewer most likely takes into consideration all the information, even from the pre-interview phase, and integrates it to form a postinterview evaluation of the applicant. In the final stage of the interview process, the interviewer uses his/her evaluation of the candidate (i.e., in the form of interview ratings or judgment) to make a final decision. Sometimes other selection tools (e.g., work samples, cognitive ability tests, personality tests) are used in combination with the interview to make final hiring decisions; however, interviews remain the most commonly used selection device in North America.[35]

For interviewees: Although the description of the interview process above focuses on the perspective of the interviewer, job applicants also gather information on the job and/or organization and form impressions prior to the interview.[29] The interview is a two-way exchange and applicants are also making decisions about whether the company is a good fit for them. Essentially, the process model illustrates that the interview is not an isolated interaction, but rather a complex process that begins with two parties forming judgments and gathering information, and ends with a final interviewer decision. The below are the questions which were asked in an interview before selecting a candidate for job: 1. Tell me about yourself. 2.Why are you interested in our company? 3. Why are you interested in this position? 4. Where do you see yourself going? 5. What special qualities do you bring to this job? 6. What are your greatest strengths? 7. What are your greatest weaknesses? 8. Do you perform well under pressure? 9. Do you prefer to work on you own or with others? 10. I see that you majored in liberal arts. Did you take any business courses. 11. I see you finished only three years of college. Do you plan to complete your degree work? 12. Tell me about your extracurricular activities. 13. I see that you finished around the middle of your class. 14. Tell me about your last job. 15. Why did you leave your last job?

16. What were your biggest accomplishments in your last job? 17. How would your last boss describe you? 18. Looking back at your last job, where do you think your performance could have been improved? 19. What are your long-term goals? 20. Are you interviewing with other companies? History of interview questions

In interviews that are considered structured interviews, there are typically two types of questions interviewers ask applicants: situational questions [36] and behavioral questions (also known as patterned behavioral description interviews).[37] Both types of questions are based on critical incidents that are required to perform the job [38] but they differ in their focus (see below for descriptions). Critical incidents are relevant tasks that are required for the job and can be collected through interviews or surveys with current employees, managers, or subject matter experts [39][40] One of the first critical incidents techniques ever used in the United States Army asked combat veterans to report specific incidents of effective or ineffective behavior of a leader. The question posed to veterans was Describe the officers actions. What did he do? Their responses were compiled to create a factual definition or critical requirements of what an effective combat leader is.[38]

Previous meta-analyses have found mixed results for which type of question will best predict future job performance of an applicant. For example, some studies have shown that situational type questions have better predictability for job performance in

interviews,[41][42][43] while, other researchers have found that behavioral type questions are better at predicting future job performance of applicants.[44] In actual interview settings it is not likely that the sole use of just one type of interview question (situational or behavioral) is asked. A range of questions can add variety for both the interviewer and applicant.[40] In addition, the use of high-quality questions, whether behavioral or

situational based, is essential to make sure that candidates provide meaningful responses that lead to insight into their capability to perform on the job.[45] [edit] Behavioral questions

Behavioral (experience-based or patterned behavioral) interviews are past-oriented in that they ask respondents to relate what they did in past jobs or life situations that are relevant to the particular job relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success[46][47] The idea is that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance in similar situations. By asking questions about how job applicants have handled situations in the past that are similar to those they will face on the job, employers can gauge how they might perform in future situations.[48]

Behavioral interview question examples:.

Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way. Give me an example of a time when you set a goal and were able to meet or achieve it. Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone's opinion. Give me an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree.

One way individuals can prepare for behavioral type questions is to practice the STAR method. The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. This should describe specifics rather than general descriptions of past behavior.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with detail and focus on yourself. What specific steps did you take and what was your contribution?

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results. [edit] Situational interview questions

Situational interview questions[36] ask job applicants to imagine a set of circumstances and then indicate how they would respond in that situation; hence, the questions are future oriented. One advantage of situational questions is that all interviewees respond to the same hypothetical situation rather than describe experiences unique to them from their past. Another advantage is that situational questions allow respondents who have had no direct job experience relevant to a particular question to provide a hypothetical response.[48] Two core aspects of the SI are the development of situational dilemmas that employees encounter on the job, and a scoring guide to evaluate responses to each dilemma.[49]

Situational examples

You are managing a work group and notice that one of your employees has become angry and hostile in recent weeks, to the point of disrupting the entire group. What would you do? [45] You are in a meeting. Your manager blames you for not doing well on a task, in front of all your peers and managers from other divisions. You believe that your manager is wrong in his critique, and that he might have come to this conclusion hastily without knowing all the information. You feel you are being treated unfairly in front of your peers. You feel that your reputation may be affected by this critique. What would you do in this situation?.[50] A general request has been issued by the Dean for someone to serve on a new joint government/industry/university committee on business education. The objective of the committee is to design the budgeting allocation for the Faculty for the next fiscal year. It is well known that you have the necessary skill and expertise to improve the chances that the Faculty will receive budget increases for future operations. You have been told that it will require 23 days per month of your time for the next 9 months. Your tenure review is one year away. Although you think you have a good publication record, you have no guarantee of tenure at this point. You are concerned because you have already fallen behind on an important research project that you are pursuing with a colleague at another university. What, if anything, would you do?[49] You are in charge of truck drivers in Toronto. Your colleague is in charge of truck drivers in Montreal. Both of you report to the same person. Your salary and bonus are affected 100% by your costs. Your colleague is in desperate need of one of your trucks. If you say no, your costs will remain low and your group will probably win the Golden Flyer award for the quarter. If you say yes, the Montreal group will probably win this prestigious award because they will make a significant profit for the company. Your boss is preaching costs, costs, costs, as well as co-operation with one's peers. Your boss has no control over accounting who are the score keepers. Your boss is highly competitive; he or she rewards winners. You are just as competitive; you are a real winner! What would you do in this situation?[49]

[edit] Other types of questions

Other possible types of questions that may be asked in an interview include: background questions, job experience questions, and puzzle type questions. A brief explanation of each follows.

Background questions include a focus on work experience, education, and other qualifications.[51] For instance, an interviewer may ask What experience have you had with direct sales phone calls? Job experience questions may ask candidates to describe or demonstrate job knowledge. These are typically highly specific questions.[52] For example, one question may be What steps would you take to conduct a manager training session on safety? The puzzle interview was popularized by Microsoft in the 1990s, and is now used in other organizations. The most common types of questions either ask the applicant to solve puzzles or brainteasers (e.g., Why are manhole covers round?) or to solve unusual problems (e.g., How would you weigh an airplane without a scale?).[53]

[edit] Case Further information: Case interview

A case interview is an interview form used mostly by management consulting firms and investment banks in which the job applicant is given a question, situation, problem or challenge and asked to resolve the situation. The case problem is often a business situation or a business case that the interviewer has worked on in real life. [edit] Panel

Another type of job interview found throughout the professional and academic ranks is the panel interview. In this type of interview the candidate is interviewed by a group of panelists representing the various stakeholders in the hiring process. Within this format there are several approaches to conducting the interview. Example formats include;

Presentation format The candidate is given a generic topic and asked to make a presentation to the panel. Often used in academic or sales-related interviews. Role format Each panelist is tasked with asking questions related to a specific role of the position. For example one panelist may ask technical questions, another may ask management questions, another may ask customer service related questions etc.

Skeet shoot format The candidate is given questions from a series of panelists in rapid succession to test his or her ability to handle stress filled situations.

The benefits of the panel approach to interviewing include: time savings over serial interviewing, more focused interviews as there is often less time spend building rapport with small talk, and "apples to apples" comparison because each stake holder/interviewer/panelist gets to hear the answers to the same questions.[54] [edit] Stress

Stress interviews are still in common use. One type of stress interview is where the employer uses a succession of interviewers (one at a time or en masse) whose mission is to intimidate the candidate and keep him/her off-balance. The ostensible purpose of this interview: to find out how the candidate handles stress. Stress interviews might involve testing an applicant's behavior in a busy environment. Questions about handling work overload, dealing with multiple projects, and handling conflict are typical.[55]

Another type of stress interview may involve only a single interviewer who behaves in an uninterested or hostile manner. For example, the interviewer may not make eye contact, may roll his eyes or sigh at the candidate's answers, interrupt, turn his back, take phone calls during the interview, or ask questions in a demeaning or challenging style. The goal is to assess how the interviewee handles pressure or to purposely evoke emotional responses. This technique was also used in research protocols studying stress and type A

(coronary-prone) behavior because it would evoke hostility and even changes in blood pressure and heart rate in study subjects. The key to success for the candidate is to depersonalize the process. The interviewer is acting a role, deliberately and calculatedly trying to "rattle the cage". Once the candidate realizes that there is nothing personal behind the interviewer's approach, it is easier to handle the questions with aplomb.

Example stress interview questions:

Sticky situation: "If you caught a colleague cheating on his expenses, what would you do?" Putting you on the spot: "How do you feel this interview is going?" Popping the balloon: (deep sigh) "Well, if that's the best answer you can give ... " (shakes head) "Okay, what about this one ...?" Oddball question: "What would you change about the design of the hockey stick?" Doubting your veracity: "I don't feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter here. Start again tell me what really makes you tick."

Candidates may also be asked to deliver a presentation as part of the selection process. The "Platform Test" method involves having the candidate make a presentation to both the selection panel and other candidates for the same job. This is obviously highly stressful and is therefore useful as a predictor of how the candidate will perform under similar circumstances on the job. Selection processes in academic, training, airline, legal and teaching circles frequently involve presentations of this sort. [edit] Technical Further information: Microsoft Interview

This kind of interview focuses on problem solving and creativity. The questions aim at your problem-solving skills and likely show your ability and creativity. Sometimes these interviews will be on a computer module with multiple-choice questions. [edit] Telephone

Telephone interviews take place if a recruiter wishes to reduce the number of prospective candidates before deciding on a shortlist for face-to-face interviews. They also take place if a job applicant is a significant distance away from the premises of the hiring company, such as abroad or in another state or province. Sample Recruitment Process at Call Centres Sample Aptitude Test

Education and Careers over the past two decades has undergone a sea change. Until 20 years ago there were limited careers and standard routes to those careers. Today a student on the threshold of College Education or opting a Career is baffled by the myriad options before him. With the advent of liberalization and the opening of the economy to the international world, innumerable career opportunities are being created all the times.

If you are going for a voice-based call centre job, then how you communicate is very important. Focus on brushing up your grammar, pronunciation, pace and tone. Also, research the company you plan to interview; this will show you are serious about working there. Intonation is a fancy word that basically means 'putting emotion into voice'.

In order to improve your communication skills, you must read newspapers, good magazines and books. While you are reading, pay special attention to how sentences are formed. Watch television, especially news shows as hearing English spoken correctly will also help you immensely. You could also take a class on public speaking which will prepare you for the business world.

In all most all the companies there will be 4 to 6 rounds in interview

Self Introduction Aptitude Test (Test conducted by MPHASIS Bpo in Bangalore) Telephonic Interview Typing Skills Talk on a topic/ Group discussion HR

These are the main interview rounds in call center and BPO companies follow, there will be small changes between the companies. Let us see each round one by one.

1.Self Introduction: here you have to sell yours self to the interviewer. You have to mention all that your are written in your resume in another way. First you can mention your name, native, qualification, experience if any, hobbies, strengths and weakness (no need of saying more weakness), mention your family backgrounds, and at last give a conclusion.

2. Aptitude Test: It may vary from company to company. Mainly test will be based on English and Maths. English they may check your grammar, sentence formation and your mathematical ability. more >>

3. Telephonic Interview: In this you have to talk through telephone, in this round some times they may provide you some topics, and after reading such topic they may ask you some questions relating to any field, to know your telephonic etiquettes. And this round they will check your Accent and pronunciation skill.

4. Typing Skills: In this round they will give you a passage and you have to type those passage. They will check your typing skills in this round. They may say their required speed.

5. Talk on a topic/ Group discussion: This round the interviewer gives you a topic and you have to talk about that topic for 2 minutes. Sometimes they may allow selecting your own topic. In some companies they conduct Group Discussion, in this section they gives a topic and everybody must contribute their own views on that topic. 6. HR: It is the last round for a BPO interview. In this round the HR will ask you about your qualification and your aptitude to work in his company , like a general information and you should show your caliber in front of the HR. If you can convince, you will get offer letter from that company Interviewee strategies and behaviors: Nonverbal behaviors

It may not only be what you say in an interview that matters, but also how you say it (e.g., how fast you speak) and how you behave during the interview (e.g., hand gestures, eye contact). In other words, although applicants responses to interview questions influence interview ratings,[56] their nonverbal behaviors may also affect interviewer judgments.[57] Nonverbal behaviors can be divided into two main categories: vocal cues (e.g., articulation, pitch, fluency, frequency of pauses, speed, etc.) and visual cues (e.g., smiling, eye contact, body orientation and lean, hand movement, posture, etc.).[58] Oftentimes physical attractiveness is included as part of nonverbal behavior as well.[58] There is some debate about how large a role nonverbal behaviors may play in the interview. Some researchers maintain that nonverbal behaviors affect interview ratings a great deal,[56] while others have found that they have a relatively small impact on interview outcomes, especially when considered with applicant qualifications presented in rsums.[59] The relationship between nonverbal behavior and interview outcomes is also stronger in structured

interviews than unstructured,[60] and stronger when interviewees answers are of high quality.[59]

Applicants nonverbal behaviors may influence interview ratings through the inferences interviewers make about the applicant based on their behavior. For instance, applicants who engage in positive nonverbal behaviors such as smiling and leaning forward are perceived as more likable, trustworthy, credible,[58] warmer, successful, qualified, motivated, competent,[61] and socially skilled.[62] These applicants are also predicted to be better accepted and more satisfied with the organization if hired.[61]

Applicants verbal responses and their nonverbal behavior may convey some of the same information about the applicant.[57] However, despite any shared information between content and nonverbal behavior, it is clear that nonverbal behaviors do predict interview ratings to an extent beyond the content of what was said, and thus it is essential that applicants and interviewers alike are aware of their impact. You may want to be careful of what you may be communicating through the nonverbal behaviors you display. [edit] Physical attractiveness

To hire the best applicants for the job, interviewers form judgments, sometimes using applicants physical attractiveness. That is, physical attractiveness is usually not necessarily related to how well one can do the job, yet has been found to influence interviewer evaluations and judgments about how suitable an applicant is for the job. Once individuals are categorized as attractive or unattractive, interviewers may have expectations about physically attractive and physically unattractive individuals and then judge applicants based on how well they fit those expectations.[63] As a result, it typically turns out that interviewers will judge attractive individuals more favorably on job-related factors than they judge unattractive individuals. People generally agree on who is and who is not attractive

and attractive individuals are judged and treated more positively than unattractive individuals.[64] For example, people who think another is physically attractive tend to have positive initial impressions of that person (even before formally meeting them), perceive the person to be smart, socially competent, and have good social skills and general mental health.[63]

Within the business domain, physically attractive individuals have been shown to have an advantage over unattractive individuals in numerous ways, that include, but are not limited to, perceived job qualifications, hiring recommendations, predicted job success, and compensation levels.[63] As noted by several researchers, attractiveness may not be the most influential determinant of personnel decisions, but may be a deciding factor when applicants possess similar levels of qualifications.[63] In addition, attractiveness does not provide an advantage if the applicants in the pool are of high quality, but it does provide an advantage in increased hiring rates and more positive job-related outcomes for attractive individuals when applicant quality is low and average.[65]

Just as physical attractiveness is a visual cue, vocal attractiveness is an auditory cue and can lead to differing interviewer evaluations in the interview as well. Vocal attractiveness, defined as an appealing mix of speech rate, loudness, pitch, and variability, has been found to be favorably related to interview ratings and job performance.[66][67] In addition, the personality traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness predict performance more strongly for people with more attractive voices compared to those with less attractive voices.[66]

As important as it is to understand how physical attractiveness can influence the judgments, behaviors, and final decisions of interviewers, it is equally important to find ways to decrease potential bias in the job interview. Conducting an interview with elements of structure is a one possible way to decrease bias.[68] [edit] Coaching

An abundance of information is available to instruct interviewees on strategies for improving their performance in a job interview. Information used by interviewees comes from a variety of sources ranging from popular how-to books to formal coaching programs, sometimes even provided by the hiring organization. Within the more formal coaching programs, there are two general types of coaching. One type of coaching is designed to teach interviewees how to perform better in the interview by focusing on how to behave and present oneself. This type of coaching is focused on improving aspects of the interview that are not necessarily related to the specific elements of performing the job tasks. This type of coaching could include how to dress, how to display nonverbal behaviors (head nods, smiling, eye contact), verbal cues (how fast to speak, speech volume, articulation, pitch), and impression management tactics. Another type of coaching is designed to focus interviewees on the content specifically relevant to describing ones qualifications for the job, in order to help improve their answers to interview questions. This coaching, therefore, focuses on improving the interviewees understanding of the skills, abilities, and traits the interviewer is attempting to assess, and responding with relevant experience that demonstrates these skills.[69] For example, this type of coaching might teach an interviewee to use the STAR approach for answering behavioral interview questions. An example coaching program might include several sections focusing on various aspects of the interview. It could include a section designed to introduce interviewees to the interview process, and explain how this process works (e.g., administration of interview, interview day logistics, different types of interviews, advantages of structured interviews). It could also include a section designed to provide feedback to help the interviewee to improve their performance in the interview, as well as a section involving practice answering example interview questions. An additional section providing general interview tips about how to behave and present oneself could also be included.[70]

It is useful to consider coaching in the context of the competing goals of the interviewer and interviewee. The interviewees goal is typically to perform well (i.e. obtain high interview ratings), in order to get hired. On the other hand, the

interviewers goal is to obtain job-relevant information, in order to determine whether the applicant has the skills, abilities, and traits believed by the organization to be indicators of successful job performance.[69] Research has shown that how well an applicant does in the interview can be enhanced with coaching.[69][71][72][73] The effectiveness of coaching is due, in part, to increasing the interviewees knowledge, which in turn results in better interview performance. Interviewee knowledge refers to knowledge about the interview, such as the types of questions that will be asked, and the content that the interviewer is attempting to assess.[74] Research has also shown that coaching can increase the likelihood that interviewers using a structured interview will accurately choose those individuals who will ultimately be most successful on the job (i.e., increase reliability and validity of the structured interview).[69] Additionally, research has shown that interviewees tend to have positive reactions to coaching, which is often an underlying goal of an interview.[70] Based on research thus far, the effects of coaching tend to be positive for both interviewees and interviewers. [edit] Faking

Interviewers should be aware that applicants can intentionally distort their responses or fake during the interview and such applicant faking has the potential to influence interview outcomes if present. Two concepts that relate to faking include social desirability (the tendency for people to present themselves in a favorable light [75]), and impression management (conscious or unconscious attempts to influence ones image during interactions [76]). Faking in the employment interview, then, can be defined as deceptive impression management or the conscious distortion of answers to the interview questions in order to obtain a better score on the interview and/or otherwise create favorable perceptions.[77] Thus, faking in the employment interview is intentional, deceptive, and aimed at improving perceptions of performance.

Faking in the employment interview can be broken down into four elements.[77] The first involves the interviewee portraying him or herself as an ideal job candidate by

exaggerating true skills, tailoring answers to better fit the job, and/or creating the impression that personal beliefs, values, and attitudes are similar to those of the organization.

The second aspect of faking is inventing or completely fabricating ones image by piecing distinct work experiences together to create better answers, inventing untrue experiences or skills, and portraying others experiences or accomplishments as ones own.

Thirdly, faking might also be aimed at protecting the applicants image. This can be accomplished through omitting certain negative experiences, concealing negatively perceived aspects of the applicants background, and by separating oneself from negative experiences.

The fourth and final component of faking involves ingratiating oneself to the interviewer by conforming personal opinions to align with those of the organization, as well as insincerely praising or complimenting the interviewer or organization.

Of all of the various faking behaviors listed, ingratiation tactics were found to be the most prevalent in the employment interview, while flat out making up answers or claiming others experiences as ones own is the least common.[77] However, fabricating true skills appears to be at least somewhat prevalent in employment interviews. One study found that over 80% of participants lied about job-related skills in the interview,[78] presumably to compensate for a lack of job-required skills/traits and further their chances for employment.

Most importantly, faking behaviors have been shown to affect outcomes of employment interviews. For example, the probability of getting another interview or job offer increases when interviewees make up answers.[77]

Different interview characteristics also seem to impact the likelihood of faking. Faking behavior is less prevalent, for instance, in past behavioral interviews than in situational interviews, although follow-up questions increased faking behaviors in both types of interviews. Therefore, if practitioners are interested in decreasing faking behaviors among job candidates in employment interview settings, they should utilize structured, past behavioral interviews and avoid the use of probes or follow-up questions.