What is Selection?

In the normal sense we understand by selection the action or fact of carefully choosing someone or something as being the best or most suitable. We can also say that, Selection is a process of matching the qualifications of applicants with the job requirements; it is a process of weeding out unsuitable candidates and finally identifies the most suitable candidate. The objective of the selection decision is to choose the individual who can most successfully perform the job from the pool of qualified candidates.

Let’s have an overview on some scholar’s definition as gleaned below –

• “Selection is the process of collecting and evaluating information about an individual in order to extend an offer of employment. Such employment could be either a first position for a new employee or a different position for a current employee.”

- R. Gatewood, Hubert S. Feild, & M. Barrick  

• “Selection is the choice of job candidates from a previously generated applicant pool in a way that will meet management goals and objectives as well as current legal requirements” 

–        Victor M. Catano 

• “Selection is the process of discovering the qualifications and characteristics of the job applicant in order to establish their likely suitability for the job position.” 

–        Biswajeet Pattanayak

Therefore we can say that, Selection is a process of choosing the best suited candidates for a particular job out of the pool of applicants to extract the best job and the benefit of the organization.

You might also like to know about the "Definition of Human Resource Management".


Reference:

Ø  Human Resource Selection, by R. Gatewood, Hubert S. Feild, & M. Barrick (http://goo.gl/UD8Y2) ¹

Ø  Recruitment and Selection in Canada by Victor M. Catano (http://goo.gl/X7oCT) ²

Ø  Human Resource Management 3^rd Edition by Biswajeet Pattanayak (http://goo.gl/tQgOC) ³