A. Job Analysis and Descriptions

* Decide on a job you would like to have. Or, if appropriate, you may use the job you currently hold.

* Search for at least three descriptions for this job online. One source to research is the Occupational Outlook Handbook at O*Net Online (US Department of Labor). http://www.occupationaloutlook-handbook.net/. You can also search in onetonline.org (same database). Find two other sources-perhaps a company website's job description, information provided by a professional organization (IIE, IEEE, SHRM, etc.)

Secure copies of the job descriptions you located and include the source(s) with the respective job descriptions.

Be sure to locate job specifications for the job. The specifications should include the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities, including education, experience, and certification required for the job. They should be set at a level for someone who enters the job.

Working Conditions might be important for some jobs. If the job is performed under adverse conditions or if it requires travel, be sure to include this.

How to organize this part of the assignment:

Provide a Project Introduction: In an introductory paragraph/page, identify the job you are interested in and explain why that job is attractive to you. Discuss the state of the job market for that job--what are the prospects for growth, in what industries, who might be key hiring companies

Next create a summary job description based on the three job descriptions you obtained. Include job specifications (relevant experience, education, and qualifications--not the extensive listing one would find in O*NET online). Include the references consulted.

Place the job descriptions you obtained from outside sources in an appendix to the final project.

B. Recruitment Plan for the Job

Consider yourself a consultant to an employer who needs to hire at least two individuals for the job you described in the previous assignment. Assume that the employer's business is located in metropolitan Atlanta. The employer needs to hire one person within the next four weeks and a second person within three months. (Two different hiring dates)

Identify fourdifferent and specific recruitment sources (name them, not just the general type of source) from which the employer could recruit candidates for this position. This means that you should not list just websites. Be specific, not general, in naming these sources (example: Wall Street Journal, Manpower Associates, Institute of Industrial Engineers, Career Services at XYZ University, a specific website for professionals, etc. ).

For each source, provide the following information:

• Your rationale for recommending the source. Explain why the source would be a good recruitment source for the specific position.

• An estimate of how much it costs to advertise with that source (based on actual information that you gather). Call the source, research the website in-depth, or email the source for details. Obtain real data, not speculation. Cite sources used. [Do not make up your own numbers.]

C. Selection Guide for Your Job Description

You are assisting the Atlanta-based company to create a hiring plan for the job that is the focus of this project. After reviewing the job description and specifications, develop a list of the different kinds of selection methods that you would recommend be used in the selection process for the position. Be as specific as possible. What method? How would it help? What would it measure? For each method, state the type(s) of information you would expect to obtain (how is it relevant). For example, if you selected computer programmer for the job description, one of the selection methods you recommend might be to ask an applicant to outline the logical sequence required for a particular programming application. You could create a table which lists job selection methods along the left side and then indicate for each one which specific types of information would be gathered using that source. Be sure to include different selection methods that will help you to gather the kinds of information needed to make the selection decision.

Generate a list of five good open-ended interview questions that would be specific to the position.

Avoid "Tell me about yourself" or "Where will you be in five years" types of questions.

Be specific and develop questions that will help you to identify skills, knowledge, successes/failures, motivation, etc. of an applicant that will help an employer to evaluate an applicant's fit for a job. Hint: You could convert "Tell me about yourself..." into a more job relevant question.

D. Competitive Pay and Benefits for the Job Data

The employer would like your advice on appropriate compensation for the job you selected. Use the job description you prepared for this course as the basis for this assignment.

Objectives:

• Obtain relevant pay data for a job from other sources.

• Display the pay data in a way that is useful for comparison. (see form provided)

• Provide information about aspects of total compensation for the position.

Assignment steps:

Identify several potential sources for pay data. For example, the textbook mentions O*Net (from the Department of Labor); salary.com is another useful source. In addition, students from your class (you included) were encouraged to post useful sources on the Bulletin Board.

1. Using the job description you wrote look for comparable jobs in published pay surveys (ones you identified in step 1. Job titles may not be identical, but the job content should be similar (again, not always 100% identical). Example: Your job title might be Entry-Level Accountant.

At another company, the title might be Accountant 1. Match up job content and experience.

2. Make sure that you identify at least three different sources for comparative pay data. Example: bls.com, iie, glassceiling.com, a company website, and salary.com. [Caution: Do not provide three different job titles from the same source]

3. For each source of pay data, gather the following data (or as much as you can obtain):

* Job title
* Indicate whether the form of pay data is presented as an hourly rate, a weekly rate, monthly rate, or annual.
* Minimum pay (or 10th percentile, or 25th percentile, or whatever is provided-indicate which percentile)
* Average and/or median pay (indicate which one)
* Maximum (on 90th percentile or 75th percentile, or whatever is provided-indicate which percentile)
* Source of the survey (What organization sponsored the survey) and any addresses or website address (and date you retrieved the data)
* Date when survey was conducted/data gathered
* Any information about other aspects of total compensation such as benefits

5. Job comparisons. In a separate paragraph, comment about how similar or different the job you found is from the one you wrote the job description. Note if there are multiple levels for the job; for example, you might find Engineer I, Engineer II, Engineer III. In this case, you have to figure out which one fits better.

6. Pay survey comments. In a separate paragraph and using a chart (see suggested chart below), comment on the similarities and differences in the pay survey data from the three sources you used.

7. Benefits options. Finally, after looking at a minimum of two company websites (companies that would have jobs such as the one you described), create a list of potential employee benefits that you might expect to find as part of a total compensation package for the job. Cite the sources used (required).