Internet Recruitment and Selection: Kissing Frogs to find Princes

The Internet has already had a dramatic impact on the way in which recruitment and selection are carried out in North America, and the impact is increasingly being felt in terms of changes in practice in Europe and Asia-Pacific. The paper presents a picture of the current development of the Internet as a medium in general and as a recruitment and selection medium in particular. The new medium has enabled the widespread adoption of computer-based assessment and it is predicted that it will replace paper as the default medium before very long. A range of issues are raised and discussed. These include security, confidentiality, authentication, control of assessment conditions, control over practice and equality of access. It is argued that as the second generation of users takes over from the first generation, so inequality of skill and access are becoming less and less of an issue. Finally, some potential areas of abuse of the system are noted and a call is made for the development of international standards to protect the rights and interests of test providers, test users and test takers.