References and Testing Flashcards
Midterm
best predictor of future performance
past performance
How must an employer obtain information about the quality of previous performance?
relying on an applicant’s references, either by calling those references directly or asking for letters of recommendation from previous
employers.
the process of confirming the accuracy
of information provided by an applicant.
Reference Check
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 letter expressing an opinion regarding an applicant’s ability, previous performance, work
habits, character, or potential for future success.
letter of recommendation
lying on their resumes about what experiences or education they actually have
Resume Fraud
One should check for
Discipline Problems
If an organization hires an applicant
without checking his references and background and he
later commits a crime while in the employ of the organization.
Negligent hiring
Reference checkers should always obtain specific behavioral examples and try to get consensus from several references..
Discovering new information about the applicants.
References and letters of recommendation are ways to try to predict future performance by looking at a past performance.
Predicting Future Performance
references and letters of recommendation have validity of coefficient .18 with a corrected validity of .29 which is low validity due to
some problems with:
(a) leniency
(b) knowledge of the applicant
(c) low reliability, and
(d) extraneous factors
an organization’s failure to meet his legal duty to supply relevant information to a prospective employer about a former employer’s potential for legal trouble.
Negligent Reference
The person writing the letter often does not know the applicant well, has not
observed all aspects of an applicant’s behavior, or both.
Knowledge of the Applicant
Lack of agreement between two people who provide references for the same
person
Low Reliability
Letters that contained specific examples were rated higher than those general examples
Letters written by references who like applicants are longer than those written by those who do not.
The longer the recommendation letter, the more positively the letter was perceived.
Extraneous Factors
Ethical Guidelines that Reference
Provides should follow:
- Explicitly state your relationship with the person you are recommending.
- Be honest in details.
- Let the applicant see your reference before
sending it.
found that better-educated employees had higher performance, were more likely
to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors, less likely to be absent, and less likely to be engage in on-the-job substance abuse than were employees with lower levels of education.
Ng and Feldman (2009)
designed to measure how much a person knows about a job.
Job knowledge tests
includes such dimensions as oral and
written comprehension, oral and written expression, numerical facility, originality, memorization, reasoning (mathematical, deductive, inductive), and general learning.
Cognitive ability
one of the most widely
used cognitive ability tests in industry.
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
are often used for jobs that require physical strength and stamina.
Physical ability tests
Physical ability is measured in one of two
ways:
job simulations and physical agility
tests.
strength requiring repetitions.
Dynamic Strength
stooping or bending over.
Trunk Strength
jumping or throwing objects.
Explosive Strength
strength not requiring repetitions.
Static Strength
speed of bending, stretching, twisting.
Dynamic Flexibility
degree of bending, stretching, twisting.
Extent Flexibility
Equilibrium balance.
Gross Body
coordination when body is in motion.
Gross Body Coordination
ability to exert effort over long periods of time.
Stamina
Physical ability tests have tremendous
adverse impact against women, they have
been criticized on three major points:
job relatedness, passing scores, and the time at which they should be required.
Measures the extent to which an applicant
already has a job-related skill. The two
most common methods for doing this are
the
work sample and the assessment center.
Work Samples
the applicant performs actual job-related
tasks
a secretarial applicant might be asked to
type a letter
an applicant for a Graphic Artist position is
asked to layout a marketing campaign for the
company.
Work Samples
they are directly related to job tasks.
scores from work samples tend to predict actual work performance.
job applicants are able to see the connection
between the job sample and the work performed on the job.
have lower racial differences in test scores than do written cognitive ability tests
a selection technique characterized by the use of multiple assessment methods that allow multiple assessors to actually observe applicants perform simulated job tasks.
Assessment Centers
is an assessment center exercise designed to stimulate the types of information that daily come across a manager’s or employee’s desk in order to observe the applicant’s responses to such information.
In- basket technique
Exercise are the real backbone of the
assessment center because they enable assessors to see an applicant “in action.”
Simulation
In this exercise, applicants meet in small groups and are given a job-related problem to solve or a job-related issue to discuss.
Leaderless Group Discussions
are exercises that allow the applicant to
demonstrate such attributes as creativity, decision making, and ability to work with others.
Business Games
Applicant experience is typically measured in
one of four ways:
- experience ratings of application/résumé
information - biodata
- reference checks
- and interviews
In giving credit for experience, one must
consider the amount of experience, the level
of performance demonstrated during the
previous experience, and how related the
experience is to the current job.
Experience Ratings
a selection method that considers an
applicant’s life, school, military, community,
and work experience.
Biodata
A psychological assessment designed to measure various aspects of an applicant’s personality.
Personality Inventory
the most widely used objective test of psychopathology.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- (MMPI-2)
based on Carl Jung Theory
Myers Briggs Type
based on theory of Henry Murray.
Edwards Personal Preference Schedule
by Raymond Cattel with 16 personality dimensions
16PF
bright, inquisitive
Openness to experience
reliable, dependable
Conscientiousness
outgoing, friendly
Extraversion
works well with others, a team player
Agreeableness
not anxious, tense
Emotional stability
Common measures of personality used in
employee selection;
Hogan Personality Inventory
California Psychological Inventory
NEO-PI (Neuroticism, Extraversion
Openness Personality Inventory
a subjective test in which a subject is asked to
perform relatively unstructured tasks, such as
drawing pictures, and in which a psychologists
analyzes his or her responses.
Projective Test
a projective personality test
Rorschach Inkblot Test
A projective personality test in which test-takers are shown in pictures and asked to tell stories. It is designed to measure various need levels.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
A type of personality test that is structured to limit the respondent to a few answers that will be scored by standardized keys.
Objective Tests
are designed to tap vocational interests.
Interest Inventories
the answer to these questions provides a profile that shows how similar a person is to people already employed in 89 occupations that have been classified into 23 basic interest scales and 6 general occupational themes
Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
also called honesty tests
tell an employer the probability that an
applicant would steal money or
merchandise.
Integrity Tests
A type of honesty test that asks questions about applicant’s attitudes toward theft and their previous theft history.
Overt Integrity Test
A type of test that measures personality traits thought to be related antisocial behavior.
Personality- Based Integrity Test
get a more accurate picture of a person’s
tendency to engage in aggressive or
counterproductive behavior.
Conditional Reasoning Tests
Statement: “A coworker takes credit for your idea in a meeting.”
Possible Responses:
A. It’s best to let it go; confronting them may cause unnecessary conflict.
B. Speak to them privately to clarify the misunderstanding.
C. Publicly call them out so they don’t do it again.
D. Plan a way to make them look bad in future meetings.
To analyze a person’s handwriting, a graphologist looks at the size, slant, width, regularity, and pressure of a writing sample. From these writing characteristics, infor mation about temperament and mental, social, work, and moral traits is obtained.
Graphology
Tests that indicate whether an applicant has
recently used a drug.
Drug Testing
In jobs involving public safety, it is common for
employers to give psychological exams to
applicants after a conditional offer of hire has been made.
Psychological Exams
Physician is given a copy of the job description and asked to determine if there are any medical conditions that will keep the employee from safely performing the job.
Medical Exams
A letter from an organization to an applicant informing the applicant that he or she will not receive a job offer.
Rejection Letter
Rejection Letter should contain the
following:
A personally addressed and signed letter.
The company’s appreciation about his/her
application.
A compliment about the applicant’s
qualifications.
A comment about the high qualifications
possessed by other applicants.
A wish of good luck in the future endeavor.
A promise to keep the resume on file.
Guidelines on how to probably start a
good rejection letter
Send rejection letters or emails to
applicants.
Don’t send the rejection letter immediately.
Be as personable and as specific as
possible in the letter.
Do not include the name of a contact person.
