Explain Selection interview and Checking References as steps in the selection procedure.

Selection Interview:

A selection or employment interview is a purposeful, formal conversation between a candidate and the employer to judge the candidate's suitability for the job. It is a face-to-face encounter that serves as a means of checking the information obtained through the application form and tests.

Through the interview, managers can judge the personality, communication skills, facial expressions, postures, gestures, and overall suitability of the candidate. Various types of interviews used include structured, unstructured, group, panel, and stress interviews.

Checking References:

Candidates are generally required to give names and addresses of two or three persons from whom information about the candidate may be obtained. These persons are called 'references'. References may be heads of educational institutions attended by the candidate or his previous employers.

These references are requested to provide information in confidence about the candidate's competence and character. However, reference checks may not always provide reliable information because:

• No candidate will enter the name of a referee who might speak unfavourably about him.
• The referee may deliberately speak against the candidate due to prejudice.
• The referee may not always respond to inquiries.

Despite these limitations, checking references is an important step that helps verify the genuineness of the candidate's claims and gives additional information about his past performance and character.