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The purpose of this article is to take findings from the academic research literature and translate them into principles for the practice of conducting interviews in organizations. Seven research-based principles are presented. Specifically, by (1) acknowledging that their judgments are imperfect, (2) knowing as little about candidates as possible, (3) avoiding poor questions, (4) using interview structure, (5) avoiding making early judgments, (6) watching for applicant performance effects, and (7) utilizing multiple sources of evidence, interviewers should become more effective and improve the association that their ratings have with performance on the job.
"Two ships that pass in the night" is a meaningful way to describe the relationship between scientific research on employment interviews and the actual practice of conducting them in organizations. Journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and International Journal of Selection and Assessment, and Applied H.R.M. Research routinely publish research studies that investigate important aspects of the interview, such as those pertaining to methodology and outcomes. While some of this research eventually makes its way into practice, unfortunately, too much of it does not. In addition, there are principles and findings from other areas such as social psychology and cognitive psychology (e.g., decision-making tendencies) that could be applied to employment interviews, but for the most part have not.
The purpose of this article is to bridge the gap between science and practice. Seven research-based principles are presented that apply directly to the manner in which employment interviews are conducted in organizations. By incorporating these principles, those who conduct employment interviews and/or rely on their results to make employment decisions should find an improvement in the caliber of those hired, and in the process, find greater satisfaction with the process. However, before presenting these principles, a forewarning might be warranted. It is quite possible that readers may find some of these principles counterintuitive, or at least contrary to long-established practices.
Principle #1: Acknowledge the Inherent Difficulty of Making Judgments From an Interview.
Limited research suggests that employment interviewers tend to have a reasonably high level of confidence in their ability to pick which of the candidates they interview should be hired, particularly when they have past interviewing experience (Furnham & Burbeck, 1989; Keenan, 1978). Unfortunately, outcome-based research clearly...