"Past behavior interviews are good predictors of
future behavior, they are flexible and they are easy to
administer. However, they are not consistent or accurate, they
penalize for lack of experience and they encourage ‘halo
error’ where a good answer in one area can make the
interviewer feel the candidate did well in other areas even
when they are perhaps average or even poor. They also take a
long time. You simply cannot evaluate ten competencies in 30
minutes. You’re only evaluating whether or not you like the
candidate. That doesn’t reveal anything about their work
habits.
"Situational interviews can be highly structured.
That allows everyone to use the same criteria, and lack of
experience isn’t a problem. However, they are not as flexible
for interviewers because you have to write everything out
first and apply to the situation. Secondly, candidates can
fake their responses. There’s no way to know for sure if
they’d do what they say they would do.
"Personality inventories are reliable because we
know that personality does influence job performance,
particularly if someone is a negative person. It doesn’t
matter who scores the test. The results will be the same. A
broad range of personality data can be obtained easily and
quickly, and there’s low adverse impact. The downside is that
the results can be faked, but even then it shows that the
candidate understands the desired behaviors and can emulate
them in the workplace. A desire for social desirability is not
a negative trait.
"Simulations actually illustrate performance, they
are hard to fake and they offer the highest validity: from .30
to .70. However, they are difficult to administer and aren’t
always reliable." Simulations that are not automated are
subject to human error in both observation and final
assessment. There is also the change error in correlating the
simulation with actual job performance.
"Behavioral interviews test for job fit. Job fit
helps predict turnover, particularly in call centers and
retail stores where turnover is very high. It’s best not to
try and sell them on the job. Instead, see if you can get a
sense of what they really want.
