Selection (Talent Acq.)

What the assignment wanted: Create a practical job analysis proposal for a selected role, written for a busy executive. It needed an executive summary, a draft job description, recommended job analysis methods and data sources (with pros/cons), a clear process/timeline for collecting and validating data, and the expected outcomes/deliverables leadership would get.

What I provided: I produced a complete job analysis proposal for a Customer Service Manager (Underwriting) role at my fictional company CityFarm Insurance, including a 1-page executive summary, an initial job description, a blended method approach (interviews/surveys/observation), recommended sources (incumbents/supervisors/SMEs), a structured timeline and validation plan, and the final expected outputs (updated job description + competency profile to support recruiting, selection, and performance expectations).

What the assignment wanted: Build a full recruiting plan for a selected role, written for an executive audience. It required an executive summary, a job description, and a step-by-step recruiting strategy explaining choices like internal vs. external recruiting, targeted vs. open search, who should recruit, how the job would be positioned/marketed, how candidate expectations would be managed, and what recruiting metrics would define success.

What I provided: I delivered a structured recruiting proposal for the same Customer Service Manager (Underwriting) role at CityFarm Insurance, including a 1-page executive summary, job description, sourcing strategy (industry-relevant pipelines), a recruiting team setup (HR + SME involvement), clear role messaging to reduce misaligned applicants, candidate communication touchpoints, and measurable recruiting KPIs (time-to-fill, qualified applicant flow, and quality-of-hire indicators).

What the assignment wanted: Select one intangible quality (oral communication, motivation, or problem-solving) and design a defensible plan to measure it in hiring. The assignment required three measures, with clear detail on how each would be done, how each would be scored, what data type each produces (nominal/ordinal/interval/ratio), how candidates would be compared, and the strengths/weaknesses of each measure—showing how the three measures balance each other and reduce bias (ideally using multiple evaluators). 

What I provided:  I chose problem-solving (critical for underwriting decisions) and built a 3-measure assessment strategy: 

1. Situational Judgment Test (SJT) with SME pre-scored responses (ordinal data), 

2. Case Study/Work Sample using a rubric across key criteria (interval data), and

3. Structured Behavioral Interview using anchored rating scales (ordinal data). 

For each measure, I explained how it works, how it’s scored, how results are compared across candidates, and the strengths/weaknesses—then showed how combining the three improves fairness, reliability, and job relevance (including a recommendation for multiple evaluators to reduce individual bias). 

What the assignment wanted: Choose a job, write 3 interview questions (one technical, one interpersonal, one problem-solving), identify the critical observable behaviors for strong vs. weak answers, and build a 5-point BARS scale (“Not Evident” → “Exceptional”) for each question with justifications. It also required a short reflection on what you learned about making interviews more objective and fair. 

What I provided:  I built a complete BARS interview tool for an Underwriter role at CityFarm Insurance, including 3 targeted interview questions, the critical behaviors tied to underwriting success, and 5-point anchored rating scales that define what performance looks like at each level. I also included justifications linking each scale to job requirements (risk evaluation accuracy, clear decision communication, and resolving incomplete/conflicting information) and a brief reflection on how BARS improves reliability, validity, and fairness by scoring observable behaviors instead of gut feel. elevance (including a recommendation for multiple evaluators to reduce individual bias). 

What the assignment wanted: Design a job-relevant work-sample test proposal (≤ 5 pages) for a non-trivial role. It needed: 

• (A) job rationale, 

• (B) a step-by-step work-sample design with time/materials/assessor roles + an objective scoring rubric,

• (C) resources/logistics and estimated cost + pilot timeline, 

• (D) validation and fairness/legal defensibility considerations, and 

• (E) expected ROI. 

What I provided:  I created a work-sample test proposal for Underwriters at CityFarm Insurance. The exercise used two anonymized application cases (small business property + personal auto), a 90-minute timed simulation, and a required decision memo (approve/decline/modify + rationale). I included a 1–5 scoring rubric across four dimensions (risk assessment, guideline application, decision quality/rationale, clarity/professionalism), planned two independent SME raters, and outlined logistics (on-site or remote proctored), costs, and a pilot-to-launch timeline. I also addressed job-relatedness, reliability, accommodations, and legal defensibility, and explained the ROI (better selection accuracy, reduced turnover/training waste, stronger candidate perception due to high face validity).

What the assignment wanted: Create a slide-deck style proposal (submitted as a PDF) to give the executive team a “fresh start” hiring system—covering job types analysis, recruiting improvements, selection redesign (applications/resume screening, interviews, reference/background checks), testing/screening tools, an objective final decision system to reduce bias, and an implementation plan that balances brevity with evidence-based depth. 

What I provided:  I produced a complete executive pitch titled “Overhauling the Hiring System at CityFarm Insurance” that delivered an integrated, end-to-end hiring framework: job analysis + competency modeling to clarify roles, upgraded recruiting practices and sourcing, a structured selection flow (standardized applications/resume criteria, BARS-based structured interviews, and an underwriting work-sample simulation), recommended testing/screening tools, a weighted and documented scoring model for final decisions, and a phased implementation plan (pilot → training → evaluation → scale).