You’re Hired! Applying the Human Resource Selection Process to Team Formation

Abstract

This article explains an activity that can be conducted to form teams in university business classes. It allows students to actively participate in the team selection process and learn valuable human resource management skills. Students are placed in the role of hiring managers. They have to identify the skills and characteristics needed to complete a project and then review and evaluate résumés to select appropriate team members. The exercise provides students with practical experience in a key managerial function, as well as insight into how they are presenting their own skills and accomplishments on their résumés. While this activity has been primarily conducted in an undergraduate project management course where the team project is a substantial part of the student’s grade, the exercise is also applicable in other business courses.