Dimensionality and Validity of a Structured Telephone Reference Check Procedure

A structured telephone reference check (STRC) was developed to assess three job-relevant personality/interpersonal dimensions (Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, customer focus) for a family of entry-level, customer-contact jobs within a service organization. The procedure was designed to be brief (a 10–15 minute telephone call with each referee) and easy to administer by untrained recruitment staff. Confirmatory factor analyses on referee ratings for 223 applicants indicated that referees were able to adequately discriminate between dimensions of applicants' past performance. A predictive, criterion-related validation study on those applicants who were hired demonstrated that the STRC predicted supervisory ratings of job performance (   r = .25, p < .01,  uncorrected; .36 corrected for range restriction and criterion unreliability). No evidence was found that referees with shorter working relationships with applicants provided less valid ratings.     

The impact of corrections for faking on the validity of noncognitive measures in selection settings

In selection research and practice, there have been many attempts to correct scores on noncognitive measures for applicants who may have faked their responses somehow. A related approach with more impact would be identifying and removing faking applicants from consideration for employment entirely, replacing them with high-scoring alternatives. The current study demonstrates that under typical conditions found in selection, even this latter approach has minimal impact on mean performance levels. Results indicate about .1 SD change in mean performance across a range of typical correlations between a faking measure and the criterion. Where trait scores were corrected only for suspected faking, and applicants not removed or replaced, the minimal impact the authors found on mean performance was reduced even further. By comparison, the impact of selection ratio and test validity is much larger across a range of realistic levels of selection ratios and validities. If selection researchers are interested only in maximizing predicted performance or validity, the use of faking measures to correct scores or remove applicants from further employment consideration will produce minimal effects.     

Evaluation of male and female applicants for sex-congruent and sex-incongruent jobs

The present study was designed to assess whether applicants for a sex-incongruent position would be evaluated less favorably by personnel administrators than applicants for a sex-congruent position. It was predicted that negative evaluations of sex-incongruent applicants would increase as a function of participants' reliance on sex-role stereotypes. Forty-four personnel administrators were asked to review the qualifications and evaluate one of four job applicants. Sex of the applicant and sex-orientation of the position were systematically varied. Participants were presented with credentials of a male or female applicant for a traditionally male- or female-oriented position. While results did not support Cohen and Bunker's contention that sex-incongruent job applicants would be viewed less favorably, the data did suggest that evaluations of the sex-incongruent applicants (especially the female applicant) varied as a function of sex-role stereotyping.The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance provided by Thom Hurlburt, Joan Van Tassel, and Amy Post.     

Fit perceptions in the employment interview: The role of similarity,liking, and expectations

We examined (1) how interviewers construct fit perceptions about applicants and (2) the relationship between these perceptions and actual hiring recommendations. It was hypothesized that actual demographic similarity and human capital similarity would indirectly affect fit perceptions. These fit perceptions would be predicted by the interviewer's perceived similarity to applicants, mediated by two factors: interviewers' liking of the applicant and interviewers' expectations of applicant performance. Actual interviewer‐applicant dyads (N=118) were studied. The results indicated that the relationship between perceived similarity and fit perceptions is mediated by performance expectations but not by liking. This study provides evidence that interviewers are more rational than previous research suggested. However, the fact that human resource interviewers are more likely to perceive applicants as similar to themselves than line interviewers suggests that interviewers' neutrality is questioned.     

A Closer Look at the Role of Applicant Age in Selection Decisions

Participants evaluated hypothetical applicants recruited from a younger (university students) or older (American Association of Retired Persons) population for 2 young-typed jobs, one more strongly young-typed than the other. Participants were given applicant information, including age and personal characteristics, that varied in the extent to which it was consistent with raters' job stereotypes. Results indicated that younger applicants were evaluated more favorably than older applicants. However, an Applicant Age × Job interaction effect indicated that the older applicant was evaluated less favorably for the more strongly compared with the less strongly young-typed job. In addition. applicants whose personal characteristics (other than age) were more consistent with raters' job stereotypes were evaluated more favorably than applicants whose characteristics were less consistent. Results also indicated that applicant age and personal characteristics interacted to influence applicant evaluations. The implications of these and other study results are discussed.     

Decision bias and personnel selection strategies

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of two decisional biases—framing and cost salience—on personnel selection decisions. One hundred twenty-eight graduate and undergraduate students participated in a personnel selection simulation. Framing was manipulated by inducing participants to use either a “rejecting” strategy (identify those applicants whom you would not interview) or an “accepting” strategy (list those applicants whom you would interview). Cost salience was manipulated by making selection-related costs either implicit or explicit. Results showed that “accepting” strategy subjects selected less applicants to be interviewed than “rejecting” strategy subjects, but only when selection-related costs were made salient. More time was required for subjects to make their selection decisions when selection-related costs were made salient. Framing and cost salience also influenced the success probability thresholds used by subjects to select applicants. Limitations of this research and directions for future study were discussed.     

Attractiveness Bias in the Interview: Exploring the Boundaries of an Effect

Relationships were explored between interviewer evaluations of college applicants and the academic credentials, facial attractiveness, sex, and academic majors of applicants. Photographs of 506 randomly selected applicants were rated on attractiveness. Two criterion variables were examined: interviewer evaluations and the final admissions decision. There was a small but significant bias toward attractive applicants in interview evaluations but not in the actual admissions decisions. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and high-school rank were the best predictors of admissions decisions.     

Perceptions of Justice in Employment Selection Decisions: The Role of Applicant Gender

In contrast to the vast majority of justice literature that controls for applicant gender, the present study investigated the role of applicant gender in relation to applicant procedural and distributive justice perceptions after being informed of an organization's reject/accept decision. A sample of 503 students completed a selection test, believing the results would be used to make initial selection decisions for an organization recruiting from a university. Two weeks later, participants were given selection decisions (randomly assigned), and procedural and distributive justice perceptions were assessed. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated gender moderated the relationship between selection decision favorability and organizational justice perceptions. As hypothesized, in comparison with rejected males, rejected female applicants reacted most negatively to both forms of justice. On the other hand, selected female applicants had a more positive reaction than selected male applicants to both procedural and distributive justice. Potential implications for these and other findings are discussed.     

Examination of ethnic group differential responding on a biodata instrument

Biodata is a selection device that is often cited for high criterion validity and low adverse impact, yet little research examines the latter point. Further, little is known about whether differential biodata item responding by ethnic group occurs, and if so, whether this impacts ethnic group differences, predictive bias, adverse impact, and criterion validity. Data from 5,242 applicants for a government agency position indicated that elimination of biodata item response options with differential ethnic group selection rates from scoring consideration resulted in a large decrease in ethnic group differences, no predictive bias, less potential adverse impact, and a nonsignificant decrease in criterion validity. Results are compared to a general mental ability measure. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The senior discount: biases against older career changers

This study examined age discrimination in between‐ vs. within‐career job transitions. We expected that older workers transitioning into a new field would experience greater age discrimination than those who change jobs within the same field, particularly when amount of prior job experience is not made salient, and particularly when decision‐makers were highly prejudiced. Results suggested that younger job applicants received higher suitability ratings than older job applicants, and job applicants making a within‐career transition were rated higher than those making a between‐career transition. As hypothesized, older job applicants making between‐career transitions would receive the lowest ratings of suitability for hire when no information regarding experience was presented, and when decision‐makers were highly prejudiced. Implications for the aging workforce are discussed.     

Self-Presentation in Job Interviews: When There Can Be “Too Much of a Good Thing”1

Male and female subjects interviewed female applicants for an entry-level management position. The applicants were actually confederates of the researcher who engaged or did not engage in two different tactics of self-presentation: the emission of many positive nonverbal cues and the use of one popular grooming aid (perfume). It was predicted that alone, each of these tactics would enhance ratings assigned to the applicants. However, together, they would induce negative reactions among interviewers (e.g., attributions of manipulativeness to the applicant). It was further hypothesized that such reactions would be stronger among male than among female interviewers. Finally, it was predicted that the two self-presentational tactics investigated would affect interviewers' memory for information presented by the applicants. Results offered support for all of these hypotheses.     

Looking Good and Lying to Do It: Deception as an Impression Management Strategy in Job Interviews

The present study investigated job applicants' use of deception. The study examined applicants' deception on written applications, as well as in a job interview; whether individuals would lie to conform to job requirements; and whether extraversion and self-monitoring are related to lying. Fifty-nine candidates completed an application and interview. After the interview, candidates were informed that they were actually participating in an experiment. They then watched a videotape of their interview and indicated any lies they told. As hypothesized, it was found that applicants lied both on the job applications and during the interview, primarily to appear to conform to job requirements. Furthermore, candidate extraversion was positively correlated with number of lies told, although self-monitoring was unrelated to lying.     

Prejudice against women: A new perspective

Studies 1 and 2 of this paper were designed to reexamine the assumption that women and men are prejudiced against women. Subjects were 50 college women, 40 college men, 40 high-school women and 40 high-school men who were presented with four employment applications for evaluation. The names referring to the gender of the applicants were manipulated so that half of the subjects were shown the two most qualified applicants as female and the two least qualified as male. The other half of the subjects were shown the reverse of this. The results for this factor, with women subjects, revealed that the sex of the applicants did not interfere with or distort the subject's judgments (p>.25). The men subjects did not show a preference for or a prejudice against applicants of either sex (p>.05). The qualifications of the applicants were selected according to each subject's previous ranking of 10 job-related characteristics. The results for this factor, with women subjects, indicated a significant difference between the subjects' ranking of the characteristics and their final selection of the applicants (p<.05). The men subjects showed no significant difference between the subjects' rankings of the job-related characteristics and their rating of the applicants (p>.05). No significant interaction between factors was found for either population of subjects (p>.05). This research reflects changing attitudes of women towards women and provides new insights regarding men's attitudes toward their own sex.The authors of this paper would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. John Schaeuble for his continuous support of this research endeavor.     

Counseling— A Friend to Placement

The policy declaring placement as top priority, accompanied by a responsive focus of staff and budget resources, has decreased the availability of counseling services to applicants contacting the employment service. Many people, if they are to be assisted in finding and keeping jobs, need the help given by professional employment service counselors. Management and program planners need an accountability rate of the importance of counseling services in the accomplishment of the placement priority. A study, covering two years of employment activities, was conducted in the Utah agency to gain insight into the question. The statistical material studied concerned available applicants, number placed, number counseled, and counseled applicants placed. The data indicated that counseled applicants have better than twice the chance of being placed on a job than uncounseled applicants. Thus, in Utah, counseling services have a positive influence in the job placement of an applicant.     

A Biodata Inventory Administered via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Technology: Predictive Validity, Utility, and Subgroup Differences

Although organizations are increasingly using interactive voice response (IVR) systems to help screen and select job applicants, few if any published studies have investigated the effectiveness of such systems. The current study responded to this need by evaluating a biodata inventory administered via IVR technology. A predictive validity study revealed that both a 42-item biodata measure and a more parsimonious 6-item composite correlated with supervisor ratings of performance and did not result in adverse impact or differential prediction. In addition, a utility analysis indicated that both IVR biodata measures would likely result in considerable financial gains to the hiring organization. The implications of these results for selection research and practice are discussed.     

The Validity of Verifiable and Non‐verifiable Biodata Items: An Examination Across Applicants and Incumbents

This study examines the influence of item verifiability (non‐verifiable vs. verifiable), context (applicant vs. incumbent), and keying procedure on biodata mean test scores and validity. Concurrent and predictive validation studies were conducted using a sample of 425 call center incumbents and a sample of 410 call center applicants. Although applicants did not obtain significantly higher mean biodata scores, results provide support for the hypothesis that the non‐verifiable biodata composite would be less valid in the applicant context, while the verifiable biodata composite would be equally valid across both the applicant and incumbent contexts. The same pattern of results was obtained using both item‐ and option‐keying procedures. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Assessing the likelihood of reliable workplace behavior: further contributions to the validation of the Employee Reliability Inventory.

This paper summarizes a number of studies in which the validity of the Employee Reliability Inventory, a preemployment screening instrument designed to assess the likelihood of reliable and productive workplace behavior, was examined. Criterion-related studies compared the scores of a broadly diverse group of job applicants with those obtained from an array of criterion and comparison groups, for whom there was documented evidence of reliable or unreliable behavior. Criterion-related evidence indicates that the six scales are effective in differentiating a variety of criterion groups with unreliable behavior from a number of different job applicant comparison groups. Construct-related evidence for the validity of an emotional adjustment scale is reported as well. The issue of response distortion in preemployment inventories is discussed, and data are reported which indicate that scores on all six scales appear to be functionally free from the potentially confounding effects of response distortion. These results are consistent with the original validation and cross-validation findings, which supported the validity of the six scales when assessing the likelihood of reliable behavior in a population of job applicants.     

Visible minority applicant concerns and assessment of occupational role in the era of community‐based policing

Attempts to recruit minority officers are an integral component of community‐based policing initiatives in Western democracies. To better understand how to optimize these initiatives, 80 African‐Canadian police applicants were surveyed for perceptions of occupational role, career aspirations and obstacles to minority recruitment. Although service to the Black community was a high priority, applicants reported this goal as secondary to providing service regardless of ethnicity. Further, applicants reported they would be as effective policing the White community and more effective policing the Black community than their White counterparts. Racial prejudice on the part of police officers and society were viewed as the most significant obstacles to minority recruitment. Two tests of potential perceptual distortions indicated that applicants perceived African‐Canadian acquaintances to be more frequent targets of police discrimination than they were as individuals, and perceived themselves as relatively less alienated from the police than were the police from their group. Discussion focuses on obstacles to minority recruitment, the fit between applicants' attitudes and the demands of modern policing, and the potential impact of a more ethnically diverse force for police–minority relations. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A BEHAVIORAL CONSISTENCY APPROACH TO DECISION MAKING IN EMPLOYMENT SELECTION

Evaluations of applicants made using an assessment process which incorporates many practices and procedures advocated in the literature but often disregarded in employment were examined. Two employment interviewers and 29 line managers independently evaluated 181 applicants for manufacturing production work in terms of 5 factors of effective performance. Average interrater reliabilities ranged from .60 to .69. Results indicated reliabilities were comparable for applicants grouped by race and sex, and that interviewers were calibrated with one another in terms of level of evaluations. The assessment model described in the present study is discussed in terms of its suitability as a vehicle for further research in employment interviewing and its practical usefulness.