LESSON 4 - EMPLOYEE SELECTION: REFERENCES AND

TESTING

INTRODUCTION

You have found what you consider to be the perfect job. You polish up your resume (and
hopefully have some friends, and perhaps your career services counselor, read it over and
make suggestions) and spend a lot of time crafting a dynamic cover letter. You then begin the
online application process. A week later, you receive an e-mail scheduling you for an
“employment testing session and interview.” You begin to wonder (and worry) about what the
testing session and interview will be about.

In this lesson, we will focus on the methods used in assessing and screening applicants
for jobs. This is an area where I/O psychologists have been greatly involved—in the
development of employment tests, work simulations, hiring interview protocols, and other
methods used to predict who, among a large pool of applicants, might be best suited for
success in a particular job.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Identify the effective selection methods.

2. Recognize the appropriate test instruments according to situations or KSAOs.
3. Understand why references are poor predictors of performance

COURSE MATERIALS

Selection Techniques Using References and Letters of Recommendation

In psychology, a common belief is that the best predictor of future performance is past
performance. Thus, if an organization wants to hire a salesperson, the best applicant might be a
successful salesperson who held jobs which were similar to the one for which he is now
applying.

Differences among Reference Checks, References and Letters of Recommendation

A reference check is the process of confirming the accuracy of information provided by

an applicant. A reference 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. The content and format of a reference are determined by the
person or organization asking for the reference.

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A letter of recommendation 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.

Reasons for Using References and Recommendations

Confirming Details on a Résumé

it is not uncommon for applicants to engage in resume fraud—lying on their résumés

about what experience or education they actually have. Thus, one reason to check references
or ask for letters of recommendation is simply to confirm the truthfulness of information provided
by the applicant.

Checking for Discipline Problems

A second reason to check references or obtain letters of recommendation is to

determine whether the applicant has a history of such discipline problems as poor attendance,
sexual harassment, and violence. Such a history is important for an organization to discover to
avoid future problems as well as to protect itself from a potential charge of negligent hiring. 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, the organization may be found liable
for negligent hiring if the employee has a criminal background that would have been detected
had a background check been conducted.

Discovering New Information About the Applicant

Employers use a variety of methods to understand the personality and skills of job
applicants; references and letters of recommendation certainly can be two of these methods.
Former employers and professors can provide information about an applicant’s work habits,
character, personality, and skills. Care must be taken, however, when using these methods
because the opinion provided by any particular reference may be inaccurate or purposefully
untrue. For example, a reference might describe a former employee as “difficult to work with,”
implying that everyone has trouble working with the applicant. It may be, however, that only the
person providing the reference had trouble working with the applicant. This is an important point
because every one of us knows people we don’t get along with, even though, all things
considered, we are basically good people. Thus, reference checkers should always obtain
specific behavioral examples and try to get consensus from several references.

Predicting Future Performance

In psychology, a common belief is that the best predictor of future performance is past
performance. References and letters of recommendation are ways to try to predict future
performance by looking at past performance.

Selection Techniques Using Applicant Ability

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Cognitive Ability – abilities involving such dimensions as oral and written
comprehension, oral and written expression, numerical facility, originality, memorization,
reasoning and general learning.

Cognitive Ability Tests – tests designed to measure the level of intelligence or the
amount of knowledge possessed by an applicant. One of the most widely used cognitive ability
test is the Wonderlic Personnel Test which takes only 12 minutes to administer and can be
given in a group.

Perceptual Ability – measure of facility with such processes as spatial relations and
form perceptions

Psychomotor Ability–measure of facility with such processes as finger dexterity and

motor coordination

Physical Ability tests – measure an applicant’s level of physical ability required for a
job. Physical ability can be measured in one of two ways: Job simulations and Agility test

Selection Techniques Using Applicant Skill

Work Samples – the applicant performs actual job-related tasks. These are excellent
selection tools as they directly relate to job tasks and have content validity.

Assessment Centers – a method of selecting employees in which applicants participate

in several job-related activities, at least one of which must be a simulation and are rated by
several trained evaluators.

Techniques and exercises that is used in assessment center method:

Simulations – the real backbone of the assessment center as they enable assessors to
see an applicant “in action”. It should be based on job-related behaviors and should be
reasonably realistic.

In-basket Technique– an exercise designed to simulate 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. During the assessment center, examples of job-related
paperwork are placed in a basket, and the job applicant is asked to go through the basket and
respond to the paperwork as if he were actually on the job

Leaderless Group Discussions– applicants meet in small group with no leader

appointed, and are given a job-related problem to solve or a job-related issue to discuss.

Business Games – exercises that allow the applicant to demonstrate such attributes as
creativity, decision making and ability to work with others. It is designed to simulate business
and marketing activities that takes place in the organization.

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Selection Techniques Using Prior Experience

Biodata– a method of selection involving application blanks or questionnaires containing

questions that research has shown will predict job performance. Each question receives a
weight that indicates how well it differentiates poor from good performers.

Advantages:

 Research has shown that they predict work behavior in many jobs, including sales,
management, clerical, mental health counseling, fast-food work and supervising.

 They have been able to predict criteria as varied as supervisor ratings, absenteeism,
accidents, employee theft and tenure.

 Biodata instruments result in higher organizational profit and growth

 They are easy to use, quickly administered, inexpensive and not as subject to individual
bias as interviews, references and resume evaluation.

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Selection Techniques Using Personality, Interest and Character

Personality Inventory – a psychological assessment designed to measure various

aspects of an applicant personality

Although there are hundreds of personality inventories that measure hundreds of traits,
there is a general agreement that most personality traits can be placed into one of the five main
personality dimensions

Openness to Experience (bright, inquisitive)

Conscientiousness (reliable, dependable)

Extraversion (outgoing, friendly)

Agreeableness (works well with others, team player)

Neuroticism/ Emotional Stability (not anxious, tense)

Examples of common measures of normal personality used in employee

selection include the Hogan Personality Inventory, the California Psychological
Inventory, the NEO-PI R and the 16PF.

Interest Inventory – a psychological test designed to identify vocational areas in which an

individual might be interested.

 Vocational Counseling – the process of helping an individual choose and prepare for the
most suitable career.

Popular interest inventories include the Minnesota Vocational Interest Inventory,

the Occupational Preference Inventory, the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey, the
Kuder Preference Record and the California Occupational Preference System

Integrity Tests – also called an “honesty test”; a psychological test designed to predict an
applicant’s tendency to steal.

 Polygraph – an electronic test intended to determine honesty by measuring an

individual’s physiological changes after being asked questions

 Voice stress analyzer – An electronic test to determine honesty by measuring an

individual‘s voice changes after being asked questions

 Overt integrity tests – a type of honesty test that asks questions about applicant’s
attitude toward theft and their previous theft history.

 Personality-based integrity test – a type of honesty test that measures personality traits
thought to be related to antisocial behavior.

 Common examples of Reid Report, Stanton Survey, London House Personnel Selection
Inventory and Applicant Risk Profile.

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Rejecting Applicants

Once a decision has been made regarding which applicants will be hired, those who will
not be hired must be notified. Rejected applicants should be treated well because they are
potential customers and potential applicants for other positions that might become available in
the organization (Koprowski, 2004; Waung & Brice, 2003). In fact, Aamodt and Peggans (1988)
found that applicants who were rejected “properly” were more likely to continue to be a
customer at the organization and to apply for future job openings (as cited by Aamodt, 2010).

READINGS/REFERENCES:

1. Aamodt, Michael G. (2010). Industrial/Organizational Psychology, 6th Ed. Wadsworth

Cengage Learning.
2. Pre-employment testing: A selection of popular tests. Retrieved from:
https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/pre-employment-tests

WATCH:

1. Employment tests. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tieGkAfRQ_Y

2. Employee Reference Checking for New Hires. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6tva2qZe-I

ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT: (Group Work)

1. Imagine that you were in charge of hiring new employees for a particular job that you
are familiar with. Which screening methods would you choose, and why?

2. Search for a detailed job advertisement or a job description. What are the KSAOs that
the job seems to require? Suggest which sorts of tests or other screening procedures might best
measure the KSAOs associated with the job.

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