A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice

5. interests– intellectual, practical, constructional, physically active, social, artistic;


6. disposition – acceptability, influence over others, steadiness, dependability,
   self-reliance;


7. circumstances– domestic circumstances, occupations of family.

The fivefold grading system

The fivefold grading system covers:

1. impact on others– physical make-up, appearance, speech and manner;


2. acquired qualifications– education, vocational training, work experience;


3. innate abilities– natural quickness of comprehension and aptitude for learning;


4. motivation– the kinds of goals set by the individual, his or her consistency and
   determination in following them up, and success in achieving them;


5. adjustment – emotional stability, ability to stand up to stress and ability to get on
   with people.

Choice of system

Of these two systems, the seven-point plan has the longer pedigree. The five-
fold grading scheme is simpler, in some ways, and places more emphasis on the
dynamic aspects of the applicant’s career. Both can provide a good framework for
interviewing, but increasingly, interviewers are using a competency-based approach.

Using a competency-based approach

Acompetency-based approach means that the competencies defined for a role are
used as the framework for the selection process. As described by Taylor (2002): ‘A
competency approach is person-based rather than job-based. The starting point is
thus not an analysis of jobs but an analysis of people and what attributes account for
their effective and superior performance.’ Roberts (1997) suggests that:

The benefit of taking a competencies approach is that people can identify and isolate the

key characteristics which would be used as the basis for selection, and that those

characteristics will be described in terms which both can understand and agree.... The

competencies therefore become a fundamental part of the selection process.

Acompetencies approach can help to identify which selection techniques, such as
psychological testing or assessment centres, are most likely to produce useful
evidence. It provides the information required to conduct a structured interview in

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