1. Chapter 5 (Part 3): Recruitment & Selection
MGT 3513
**These slides contain the instructions for the extra credit personality test assignment**
“Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” Mark Twain

2. ANNOUNCEMENTS

3. Selection Tools Selection tools differ in validity.
REVIEW: What is validity (concurrent & predictive)?
We’ll discuss selection tools in terms of whether or not they are useful predictors of job performance.
We want to use tools to maximize “hits”.
We want a strong correlation coefficient 3

4. REVIEW: Examples of Correlations & Scatterplots
(b)
(c)

5. Score on Selection Test
Hits and Misses 1 4
High
Job Performance 2 3
Low
Low
High
Selection test 1
Score on Selection Test
Selection test 2

6. Ford Case Title VII and Cognitive Tests: Less Discriminatory Alternative for Cognitive Test with Disparate Impact.
“EEOC v. Ford Motor Co. and United Automobile Workers of America, involved a court-approved settlement agreement on behalf of a nationwide class of African Americans who were rejected for an apprenticeship program after taking a cognitive test known as the Apprenticeship Training Selection System (ATSS). The ATSS was a written cognitive test that measured verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning in order to evaluate mechanical aptitude. Although it had been validated in 1991, the ATSS continued to have a statistically significant disparate impact by excluding African American applicants. Less discriminatory selection procedures were subsequently developed that would have served Ford’s needs, but Ford did not modify its procedures. In the settlement agreement, Ford agreed to replace the ATSS with a selection procedure, to be designed by a jointly-selected industrial psychologist, that would predict job success and reduce adverse impact. Additionally, Ford paid $8.55 million in monetary relief.”
Source:

7. Questions on Ford Case Read the case on the previous slide.
What did Ford do that was not legal?
What was Ford required to do in the settlement?

8. Quick Tips for Hiring Review EEOC guidelines:
Make sure all selection tools are valid!
Consider adverse impact (AI) as a potential problem.
Is there a similar tool that would result in less AI?
Require both an application & a resume
Verify information gathered during selection process(make sure all information is consistent)

9. Selection Tools We Will Discuss
Letters of recommendation
Biodata
General cognitive ability
Work sample test
Personality traits
Honesty tests
Interviews (structured vs. unstructured)
Drug tests
Reference checks
Handwriting analysis

10. Questions on Selection Tools
Why aren’t letters of recommendation useful?
What can be done to increase the validity of this tool?
What is a biodata form? How valid are they? 10

11. Example of good letter of recommendation format
Please discuss what you consider to be the applicant’s strengths.
Please discuss areas where the applicant needs improvement. What efforts has the applicant made to improve in these areas?
Please comment on personal qualities of the applicant, such as sense of humor, integrity, self-confidence, etc.
Please rate the applicant in each of the areas listed below by circling the number which represents your opinion.
Below Average
Average
Above Average
Excellent
No Opinion
Intelligence 1 2 3 4
n/a
Public Speaking Ability
Writing Ability

12. Biodata as a Selection Tool
The rationale behind biodata is that _________________________________.
Example item:
How many times in the past month have you presented an idea to make improvements in your workplace?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 2
d) 3
e) 4 or more

13. Questions on Selection Tools
Explain general cognitive ability. How useful is this as a predictor of job performance?
What is a work sample test? How valid is it? 13

14. Personality as a Selection Tool
What is a trait?
The “big five” personality factors
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Openness to experience
Validity of personality tests - - Which of these traits is the best predictor for most jobs? 14

15. Extra Credit: Personality as a Selection Tool
Taking the personality test above will benefit you in several ways:
You will learn something about yourself and begin to learn about the “Big Five”
You will have a basis for forming an opinion regarding whether or not personality traits should be
used in the hiring process.
Take the test at
(you don’t have to complete what they call optional questions)
Print out your results and turn them in with your typed assignment.
Answer the following questions (at least 3 sentences each):
List each of the big 5 and explain how the test results were correct/incorrect.
Share your thoughts on how you would feel if an employer made a hiring decision about you based on these results. 15

16. Questions on Selection Tools
Are honesty tests valid? What are concerns with honesty testing? 16

17. Questions on Interviews
Why have interviews been found to have low reliability and validity?
What is a structured interview? Are they valid?
What are situational questions?
What are job knowledge questions?
What are worker requirement questions?

18. Practice Example
Read each interview question on the next slide and indentify its type
Types of interview questions:
behavioral questions
situational questions
job knowledge questions
worker requirement questions

19. Examples: Identify the type of interview question
Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult customer. How did you handle the situation?
Are you willing to travel 3 weeks of every month?
What are specific ways the marketing research suggests that a company can improve customer loyalty?
What if you had to sell our commercial kitchen mixer to a customer who was already using another brand? What would you tell the customer?

20. Dr. Marler’s Unsolicited Advice on the “JOB SEARCH”
Prepare for behavioral interview
questions
Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.
Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.
Describe a time when you set your sights too high (or too low).

21. DON’TS of Interviewing (or Applications)
Children
Where do your kids go to school?
Age
When did you graduate from high school?
Disabilities
Are you disabled?
Physical characteristics
What is your height?
Marital status
What is your maiden name? 21

22. DON’TS of Interviewing (or Applications)
Citizenship
Where were you born?
Arrest records (okay ask about convictions except on applications in some states, e.g., New Jersey)
Have you ever been arrested?
Smoking
Do you smoke?
Diseases (e.g., AIDS)
Do you have any transmittable diseases?
Religion
What holidays do you observe? 22

23. How should I handle a question about one of the previous topics?
_______________

24. Questions on Selection Tools
Are drug tests valid predictors of performance?
Describe reference checks and background checks. Are these valid?
How valid is handwriting analysis?

25. Questions on Negligent Hiring
What is negligent hiring?

26. Practice Evaluating Selection Tools in Terms of Predictive Validity
__________ Letters of recommendation
(general vs. specific)
__________ Biodata
__________ General cognitive ability
__________ Work sample test
__________ Personality traits
__________ Honesty tests
__________ Interviews (structured vs. unstructured)
__________ Drug tests
__________ Reference checks
__________ Handwriting analysis