How does a business find and choose the right people to employ?
Recruitment and selection: internal and external recruitment, the recruitment process, the job description and person specification, methods of selection, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on recruitment and selection, covering internal and external recruitment, the recruitment process, the job description and person specification, methods of selection, and their advantages and disadvantages.
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What this dot point is asking
WJEC wants you to know how a business finds and chooses employees. You need the difference between internal and external recruitment, the steps in the recruitment process, the job description and person specification, the methods of selection, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Getting the right people is one of the most important jobs of human resources, because staff cost money and shape how well the business runs.
Internal and external recruitment
The recruitment process
Job description and person specification
The job description describes the job; the person specification describes the person. Together they tell applicants what is involved and what the business is looking for.
Methods of selection
Interviews are widely used but a candidate can perform better than they really are, while tests give more objective evidence of ability, so businesses often combine methods.
Why this matters
Recruitment and selection get the right people into the right jobs, so this topic links to organisational structure (vacancies arise as a firm grows and adds roles), to training (new staff need induction and development), and to motivation (promotion through internal recruitment motivates staff). It connects to finance too, because recruitment costs money and a bad hire is expensive to replace. Exam questions often ask you to compare internal and external recruitment or recommend a selection method, where cost, risk and the need for new skills are the deciding points.
Try this
Q1. State one advantage of external recruitment. [1 mark]
- Cue. It brings new skills and ideas into the business (also: a wider choice of applicants).
Q2. Explain what a person specification contains. [2 marks]
- Cue. The details of the ideal candidate: the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities needed for the job.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC (Unit 1)3 marksExplain the difference between a job description and a person specification.Show worked answer →
A 3-mark AO1 explain question. Reward a clear contrast with development.
A job description sets out the details of the job itself: the job title, the duties and responsibilities, the hours and the pay. It tells applicants what the job involves.
A person specification sets out the details of the ideal person for the job: the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities needed. It tells applicants what kind of person the business is looking for. Markers reward the definition of each plus the key contrast of the job versus the person.
WJEC (Unit 1)6 marksAnalyse the advantages and disadvantages to a business of recruiting internally.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark AO1 and AO3 analyse question. Reward developed points on both sides.
Advantage: internal recruitment is cheaper and quicker, and the business already knows the person's strengths and weaknesses, so there is less risk of a bad hire; it also motivates staff by offering promotion.
Disadvantage: it brings in no new ideas or skills from outside, and promoting one person leaves a gap elsewhere that still has to be filled, so the vacancy is only moved, not removed.
Chain and judgement: internal recruitment is low-risk, cheap and motivating but limits fresh ideas and just shifts the gap, so it suits filling a role from proven staff, while external recruitment is better when new skills are needed. Markers reward developed points on both sides plus a balanced comment.
Related dot points
- Organisational structure: the chain of command, span of control, levels of hierarchy, tall and flat structures, delegation, and centralised and decentralised decision-making.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on organisational structure, covering the chain of command, span of control, levels of hierarchy, tall and flat structures, delegation, and centralised and decentralised decision-making.
- Motivation: the importance of a motivated workforce, financial methods of motivation such as pay, bonuses and fringe benefits, non-financial methods such as job rotation, enrichment and praise, and the link between motivation and productivity.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on motivation, covering why a motivated workforce matters, financial methods such as pay, bonuses and fringe benefits, non-financial methods such as job rotation, enrichment and praise, and the link to productivity.
- Training, development and employment rights: induction, on-the-job and off-the-job training, the benefits of training, the importance of good communication, and the main employment rights that protect workers.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on training, development and employment rights, covering induction, on-the-job and off-the-job training, the benefits of training, good communication, and the main employment rights of workers.
- Enterprise and entrepreneurship: the role of the entrepreneur, the characteristics and skills of a successful entrepreneur, the risks and rewards of starting a business, and the reasons people set up in business.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on enterprise and entrepreneurship, covering the role of the entrepreneur, the characteristics and skills they need, the risks and rewards of starting a business, and why people set up on their own.
- Revenue, costs and profit: total revenue, fixed costs, variable costs and total costs, the calculation of profit and loss, and the importance of profit to a business.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Business content on revenue, costs and profit, covering total revenue, fixed, variable and total costs, the calculation of profit and loss, and why profit matters to a business.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Business specification (Wales) — WJEC (2025)
- WJEC GCSE Business (Wales) specification (3510) — WJEC (2017)