Chapter 5 Flashcards
A ______
is the process of confirming the accuracy of information provided by an
applicant.
reference check
A ______is the expression of an opinion, either orally or through
a written checklist, regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work
habits, character, or potential for future success.
reference
A ____ is a letter expressing an opinion regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for future success. The content and format of a letter of recommendation are determined by the letter writer.
letter of recommendation
lying on their résumés about what experience or education
they actually have.
résumé fraud
– if an organization hires an applicant without checking references & background, if there’s a crime,
then the company is liable
Negligent hiring
the best predictor of future performance is
past performance
most of the recommendations are positive
Leniency
if a company fails to divulge a fact to other company
Negligent reference
– the person writing the letter often does not know the applicant well
Knowledge of the applicant
– involves lack of agreement between two people who provide references for the same person. Letters of
recommendation may say more about the person writing the letter than about the person for whom it is being
written
Reliability
– the method used by the letter writer is often more important than the actual content. Thus
letters of recommendations often are not great predictors of performance.
Extraneous factors
3 ETHICAL GUIDELINES THAT REFERENCE PROVIDERS SHOULD FOLLOW:
a. Explicitly state your relationship
b. Be honest in providing details
c. Let the applicant see your reference before sending it & give him the chance to decline to use it
The use of GPA is most predictive in the first few years of graduation. It will result in high levels of adverse impact.
PREDICTING PERFORMANCE USING APPLICANT TRAINING & EDUCATION
• Used primarily in the public sector, especially for promotions
• Job Knowledge Tests – designed to measure how much a person knows about a job. They have excellent content &
criterion validity
PREDICTING PERFORMANCE USING APPLICANT KNOWLEDGE
designed to measure how much a person knows about a job. They have excellent content &
criterion validity
Job Knowledge Tests
– tap the extent to which an applicant can learn or perform a job related skill. Used primarily for occupations
in which applicants are not expected to know how to perform the job at the time of hire.
Ability Tests
– oral & written comprehension, oral & written expression, reasoning. Important for professional, clerical,
& supervisory job. Commonly used because they are excellent predictor of employee performance. It has high level of
adverse impact & lack face validity, difficulty of setting a passing score. It is thought to predict work performance in 2 ways:
o By allowing employees to quickly learn job-related knowledge
o By processing information resulting in better decision making
o Wonderlic Personnel Test – most widely used cognitive ability test in industry. 12 mins.
Cognitive ability
– most widely used cognitive ability test in industry. 12 mins.
Wonderlic Personnel Test
consists of vision (near, far, night, peripheral), color discrimination, depth perception, glare sensitivity, speech (clarity, recognition), and
hearing (sensitivity, auditory attention, sound localization)
Perceptual ability
– finger dexterity; useful for jobs as carpenter, police officer etc.
Psychomotor ability
– jobs that require physical strength & stamina
Physical ability tests
– relative standards indicates how well an individual scores compared to others. Absolute passing
score are set at the minimum level needed to perform a job
Passing score
– the applicant performs actual job-related tasks. When a simulation does not involve situational exercise
WORK SAMPLE
– applicants meet in small groups and are given a job-related problem to solve or
a job-related issue to discuss
Leaderless group discussions
– allow the applicant to demonstrate such attributes as creativity, decision making & ability to
work with others
Business games
– selection technique characterized by the use of multiple assessment methods that allow multiple
assessors to actually observe applicants perform simulated job tasks
ASSESSMENT CENTER
– designed to simulate the types of daily information that appear on a manager’s or
employee’s desk.
In-basket technique
– enable assessors to see an applicant “in action”. Includes role plays, work samples, place an
applicant in a situation that is similar as possible to one that will be encountered on the job
Simulations
– experience by itself is not enough
EXPERIENCE RATINGS
– a selection method that considers an applicant’s life, school, military, community and work
experience. Good predictor of job performance and best predictor of future employee tenure.
Biodata
– obtain information from personnel files on employee’s previous employment,
education, interests & demographics
File approach
– biographical questionnaire that is administered to all employees &
applicants
Questionnaire approach
– predict performance better than was once thought
PERSONALITY INVENTORIES
– determine whether individuals have serious psychological problems
ex ( Projective tests,Rorschach Ink Blot Test, TAT)
psychopathology
→ asks individuals to indicate whether they like or dislike 325 items such as
bargaining, repairing electrical wiring & taking responsibility. Answers shows how similar a person is to people
already employed in 89 occupations that have been classified into 23 basic interest scales
Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
– helping people find the careers for which they are best suited
Vocational Counseling
→ tell an employer the probability that an applicant would steal money or
merchandise.
Integrity tests (honesty tests)
s → tap a variety of personality traits related to counterproductive
behavior such as theft, absenteeism & violence.
Personality based integrity test
→ the researcher does not know which of the employees is responsible for
the theft
PROBLEMS: “shrinkage”
→ reduce inaccurate responses & get a more accurate picture of a
person’s tendency to engage in aggressive/counterproductive behavior
Conditional reasoning tests
→ “handwriting”
Graphology
