Recruitment and Selection — What’s the Difference?

Recruitment and selection are terms used to describe the process of attracting and hiring job candidates. These terms apply to specific activities in the hiring process but can cause confusion because “recruitment” is often used as a catch-all phrase that includes all steps of bringing a potential employee into an organization. Research, however, can help provide clarity on definitions so that agencies are strategic in understanding which aspects of the hiring process they want to address and evaluate.

• Recruitment refers to efforts by organizations to make potential job candidates aware of job openings and influence whether they apply, maintain interest in the job until an offer is made, and accept an offer (Breaugh, 2008). 
• Selection is defined as the process used to evaluate job candidates and then determine which one(s) to hire, is usually preceded by the recruitment process, and sometimes followed by the placement process (SIOP, 2018).

The recruitment process is a critical first step in employee retention. The success of many of the components of recruitment and selection are based on the job candidates’ perceptions and expectations. Research shows, for example, that when candidates’ initial expectations of a job are later fulfilled, employees have higher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intent to stay, retention, and job performance.