Selecting Employees

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management：

 中国经济管理大学MBA课堂笔记

Selecting Employees

中国经济管理大学/中國經濟管理大學

I.      The Basics of Testing and Selecting Employees

A.   Why Careful Selection Is Important — Selecting the right employees is important for four main reasons. 1) improved employee and organizational performance; 2) your own performance depends partly on your subordinates; 3) can help reduce dysfunctional behaviors at work; and 4) it is costly to recruit and hire.

B.  Legal and Negligent Hiring — Violating discrimination laws is one legal implicaiton of selection.  Negligent hiring is hiring workers with criminal records or other such problems without proper safeguards. 

C.   Reliability — Refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with identical or equivalent tests.

D.   Validity — Refers to evidence that performance on a test is a valid predictor of subsequent performance on the job. It answers the question, “Does this test measure what it’s supposed to measure?”

1.              Criterion validity shows that scores on the test (predictors) are related to job performance (criterion).

2.              Content validity shows that the test contains a fair sample of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job in question.

3.              A test that is construct valid is one that demonstrates that a selection procedure measures a construct and that construct is important for successful job performance.

E.   How to Validate a Test (See Figure 6.2)

Step 1: Analyze the job and write job descriptions and job specifications.

Step 2: Choose the tests that measure the attributes (predictors) important for job success.

Step 3: Administer the test selected to old or new employees for concurrent and predictive validation.

Step 4: Relate test scores and criteria through a correlation analysis, which shows the degree of statistical relationship between (1) scores on the test and (2) job performance.

Step 5: Cross-validate and revalidate by performing Steps 3 and 4 on a new sample of employees.

II.         Types of Tests

A.    Tests of Cognitive Abilities — Cognitive tests include tests of general reasoning ability (intelligence) and tests of specific mental abilities like memory and inductive reasoning. Intelligence tests are tests of general intellectual abilities, ranging from memory, vocabulary, and verbal fluency to numerical ability. Specific cognitive abilities (aptitude) tests include inductive and deductive reasoning, verbal comprehension, memory, and numerical ability.

B.    Tests of Motor and Physical Abilities — Employers may use various tests to measure such motor abilities as finger dexterity, manual dexterity, and reaction time. They may also want to measure such physical abilities as static strength, dynamic strength, body coordination, and stamina.

C.    Measuring Personality — Can be used to assess personal characteristics such as attitude, motivation, and temperament. Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant’s personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation.

1.     Interest Inventories — Compare one’s interests with those of people in various occupations.

2.     Personality Test Effectiveness — Industrial psychologists emphasize five personality dimensions as they apply to personnel testing: extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

D.    Achievement Tests — Measure what a person has learned.

E.    Computerized and Online Testing is increasingly replacing pencil-and-paper and manual tests.

F.    Improving Performance through HRIS —  Data analysitics is using new number–crunching software to dig through (“mine”) existing employee data to better idenftify what types of people succeed or fail and therefore whom to hire.

G.    Work samples and simulations — Focus on measuring job performance directly.

H.    Situational Judgment Tests — Personnel tests “designed to assess an applicant’s judgment regarding a situation encountered in the workplace.”

I.      Management Assessment Centers — Provide simulations in which candidates perform realistic management tasks under the observation of experts who appraise each candidate’s potential. Simulated exercises include in-basket, leaderless group discussions, management games, individual presentations, objective tests, and interviews.

J.     Video-based situational testing — Presents examinees with scenarios representative of the job, each followed by a multiple choice question. 

K.    The miniature job training and evaluation approach — A selection procedure in which the employer trains candidates to perform a sample of the job’s tasks, and then evaluates their performance.

L.     Computerized mulitmedia candidate assessment tools — Using multimedia to design a work sample test.

III.        Interviewing Candidates

A.    Types of Selection Interviews

1.       Structure — Structured or directed interview. Acceptable answers could be predetermined and rated according to appropriateness of content.

2.       Type of Questions — Interviews can be classified according to the nature or content of their questions, such as situational interviews, job-related interviews, behavioral interviews, and stress interviews. Puzzle questions are also popular today, and are used to see how candidates think under pressure.

3.       How to Administer — One-on-one where two people meet alone and one interviews the other by seeking oral responses to oral inquiries. Sequential interviews occur when several interviewers question the candidate in a sequence before a selection is made. Panel interviews occur when a group (panel) interviews several candidates simultaneously. Video or phone interviews are often conducted entirely by phone or videoconferencing, saving time and travel costs. Phone can also be more accurate as it is able to eliminate bias of appearances.

B.    Improving Performance through HRIS

1.       Online and computer-based interviews — Using functionalities such as Skype, web-based “in-person” interviews are becoming more common.

C.    Diversity Counts — Managing the New Workforce: Bias Against Working Mothers — Some managers may view working mothers negatively.

D.    How Useful Are Interviews? — Studies confirm that the validity of interviews is greater than previously thought. Structured interviews are more valid than unstructured interviews for predicting job performance. Some traits, however, cannot be accurately assessed in an interview.

E.    How to Avoid Common Interviewing Mistakes

1.   Snap judgments — One of the most consistent findings is that interviewers tend to jump to conclusions about candidates during the first few minutes of the interview.

2.   Negative emphasis — Interviewers tend to have a consistent negative bias and are generally more influenced by unfavorable than favorable information about the candidate.

3.   Not knowing the job — Interviewers who don’t know precisely what the job entails and what sort of candidate is best suited for it usually make their decisions based on incorrect or incomplete stereotypes of what a good applicant is.

4.     Pressure to hire — Pressure to hire can undermine an interview’s usefulness.

5.   Candidate order (contrast) error — Means that the order in which you see applicants affects how you rate them.

6.   Influence of nonverbal behavior — Can have a surprisingly large impact on an applicant’s rating. Inexperienced interviewers may try to infer the interviewee’s personality from vocal and visual cues, such as energy level, voice modulation, and level of extraversion.

7.   Attractiveness — Interviewers have to guard against letting an applicant’s attractiveness and gender play a role in their rating.

8.   Research insight — Studies have found that manager’s may stigmatize applicants based on features.

9.   Ingratiation — Agreeing with the interviewer’s opinions, and self-promotion to create an impression of competence are used by clever interviewees in order to manage the impression they present.

10.  Nonverbal implications — Interviewers should endeavor to look beyond behavior to who the person is and what they are saying, as candidates are trained to “act right.”

F.    Steps in Conducting an Effective Interview

1.   Structure the interview procedure as follows: Step 1: Study the job description; Step 2: Use job knowledge, background, and situational or behavior questions for sizing up the candidate; Step 3: Train interviewers; Step 4: Use the same questions with all the candidates; Step 5: Use rating scales to rate answers; Step 6: Use multiple interviewers; and Step 7: Use a structured interview form.

2.   Review background — The interview should take place in a private room where interruptions can be minimized. Prior to the interview, the interviewer should review the candidate’s application and resume, as well as the job duties and required skills and traits.

3.   Establish rapport — The interviewer should put the interviewee at ease so he or she can find out the necessary information about the interviewee. Studies show that people who feel more self-confident about their interviewing skills perform better in interviews.

4.   Ask questions — The interviewer should follow the interview guide.

5.   Close the interview — Leave time to answer any questions the candidate may have and, if appropriate, advocate your firm to the candidate. Try to end the interview on a positive note.

6.   Review the interview — Once the candidate leaves, and while the interview is fresh on the interviewer’s mind, he or she should review his or her notes and fill in the structured interview guide.

G.    Using Competencies Models and Profiles in Employee Interviews —Using the same competencies model/profile for recruiting, training, appraising, and compensating the employee.

IV.        Using Other Selection Techniques

A.   Background Investigations and Reference Checks — Most employers check and verify an applicant’s background information and references, including driving record, a check for criminal charges or convictions, and a credit check.

1.     What to Verify — The main reasons for conducting investigations into an applicant’s background are to verify factual information and to uncover damaging information in order to help prevent losses.

2.     Collecting Background Information — Typically, the applicant’s current or former position and salary are verified. Commercial credit rating companies and other services can provide information about credit standing, criminal, employment, and educational history.

3.     Checking Social Networking Sites — Employers often check social networking site postings online, such as Facebook.

a.     Social Media Policy — Employers’ increasing use of Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media injects new legal risks into the screening process. For example, applicants usually don’t list race, age, disability, or ethnic origin on their resumes but their Facebook pages may very well reveal such information, setting the stage for possible EEO claims.

4.     Reference Check Effectiveness — Reference letters are not viewed as very useful. Fewer than half of HR managers state that they were able to obtain adequate information about candidates.

5.   Using Preemployment Information Services — Various federal and state laws govern how employers acquire and use applicants’ and employees’ background information. Compliance involves: 1) making sure the vendor complies with relevant laws; 2) applicant-signed release authorizing the background check; and 3) making sure vendor provides accurate and complete information.

B.   Honesty Testing

1.   Polygraph Tests (lie detector) — Is a device that measures physiological changes, such as increased perspiration. Current law prevents most employers engaged in interstate commerce from using these tests for preemployment screening or during the course of employment. Local, state, and federal government employers can continue to use the tests.

2.     Paper-and-Pencil Honesty Tests — Paper-and-pencil honesty tests are psychological tests designed to predict job applicants’ proneness to dishonesty and other forms of counter-productive behavior.

C.   Graphology

The use of graphology (handwriting analysis) assumes that handwriting reflects basic personality tests.

D.    Medical Exams

Once an offer is made and the person is hired, a medical exam is usually the next step in the selection process.

E.    Drug Screening

Because drug abuse is a serious problem for employers, it is common practice for most employers to conduct drug screening just before employees are formally hired.

1.     Problems — Drug testing does not always correlate closely with actual impairment levels.

F.   Realistic Job Previews — Being explicit about work schedules, preferences, and other job standards at the point of interview can help reduce turnover later.

G. Tapping Friends and Acquaintances — Don’t ignore the opinions of   people you trust who have direct personal knowledge of the candidate.

H.    Making the Selection Decision — You may use one predictor such as a test score, you may use an intuitive (clinical) approach, a mechanical (mathematical) approach, or a combined approach.

I.      How Useful are Testing and Selection Devices — Evidence suggests that a well-designed program can improve performance and a firm’s bottom line.  Effectiveness depends on the validity of its components.

J.     Complying with Immigration Law — Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, prospective employees must prove they are eligible to work in the United States.

1.       How to comply — Employers must have new employees complete the govenrment’s I-9 Employment Eligibility Verficiation form and provide documentation that proves identity and employment eligibility.

K.    Improving Performance through HRIS

1.       Comprehensive applicant tracking and screening systems — Can be sued to screen out applicants that do not meet minimum, nonnegotiable job requirements.

L.     Developing and Extending the Job Offer — The employer must determine the financial and other terms of the offer.  A job offer letter includes job information and clearly states that the employment is “at-will.”   A contract may be in order for some positions (such as executive).  A contract will typically specify a duration. 

V.         Employee Engagement Guide for Managers

A.    A manager should formulate several behavioral and/or situational questions to determine if a candidate has the traits to become an engaged employee.

B.    Building engagement: A total selection program — A total selection program is aimed at selecting candidates whose totality of attributes best fit the employer’s total requirements. 

C.    The Toyota Way — Toyota’s hiring process is aimed at finding an engaged candidate.  The process takes about 20 hours in six phases over several days. 

Negligent hiring                       Hiring workers with criminal records or other such problems without proper safeguards.

Reliability                                 The characteristic that refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with identical or equivalent tests.

Test validity                             The accuracy with which a test, interview, and so on, measures what it purports to measure or fulfills the function it was designed to fill.

Criterion validity                      A type of validity based on showing that scores on the test (predictors) are related to job performance (criterion).

Content validity                       A test that is content-valid is one in which the test contains a fair sample of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job in question.

Construct validity                    A test that is construct valid is one that demonstrates that a selection procedure measures a construct and that construct is important for successful job performance.

Validity generalization             The degree to which evidence of a measure’s validity obtained in one situation can be generalized to another situation without further study. 

Utility analysis                         The degree to which the use of a selection measure improves the quality of individuals selected over what would have happened if the measure had not been used.

Interest inventories                  Test that compares one’s interests with those of people in various occupations. 

Data analytics                          Using new number-crunching software to dig through (“mine”) existing employee data to better identify what types of people succeed or fail, and therefore whom to hire.

Management assessment         A facility in which management candidates are asked to

center                                     make decisions in hypothetical situations and are scored on their performance.

Miniature job training              A selection procedure in which the employer trains candidates to

and evaluation                         perform a sample of the job’s tasks, and then evaluates their performance.

Interview                                  A procedure designed to solicit information from a person’s oral responses to oral inquiries. A selection interview is a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of applicants’ oral responses to oral inquiries.

Structured situational              A series of job-relevant questions with predetermined answers interview                   that interviewers ask of all applicants for the job.

6-1.       Explain what is meant by reliability and validity. What is the difference between them? In what respects are they similar? Reliability is the consistency of scores obtained by the same persons when retested with identical tests or with an equivalent form of a test. It is a measure of internal consistency of the instrument. Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is purported to measure. It is a measure of external consistency. They are similar in that both are concerned with aspects of consistency of the instrument and that reliability is a necessary condition for validity.

6-2.       Discuss at least four basic types of personnel tests. Examples could include:

This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student responses will vary.

6-3.       Explain the shortcomings of background investigations, reference checks, and preemployment information services, and how to overcome them. First, whichever approach you use, use it systematically. For example, don’t use a multiple cutoff approach for one candidate, and a multiple hurdle approach for the others. Second, two experts say that if you can create, using the multiple regression statistical approach, a formula that relates your criterion score (such as on-the-job performance) with scores on several weighted predictor scores (such as tests), that would be very helpful. Finally, although it’s ideal to use a statistical approach such as multiple regression, a more informal approach is still usually better than nothing.

6-4.       For what sorts of jobs do you think computerized interviews are most appropriate? Why? This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyManagementLab. Student responses will vary.

6-5.       Briefly discuss and give examples of several common interviewing mistakes. What recommendations would you give for avoiding these interviewing mistakes?

Snap judgments: This is where the interviewer jumps to a conclusion about the candidate during the first few minutes of the interview. Using a structured interview is one way to help avoid this, as well as properly training the interviewers.

            Negative emphasis: When an interviewer has received negative information about the candidate, through references or other sources, he or she will almost always view the candidate negatively. The best way to avoid this is to keep references or other information from the interviewer. If possible, have different people do the reference checks and the interviews and not share the information until afterwards.

            Poor knowledge of job: When interviewers do not have a good understanding of the job requirements, they do not make good selections of candidates. All interviewers should clearly understand the jobs and know what is needed for success in those jobs.

            Pressure to hire: Anytime an interviewer is told that he or she must hire a certain number of people within a short time frame, poor selection decisions may be made. This type of pressure should be avoided whenever possible.

            Candidate-order (contrast) error: When an adequate candidate is preceded by either an outstanding, or a poor candidate, by contrast he or she looks either less satisfactory or much better. This can be countered through interviewer training, allowing time between interviews, and structured interviews with structured rating forms.

            Influence of nonverbal behavior: Candidates who exhibit stronger nonverbal behavior, such as eye contact and energy level, are perceived as stronger by the interviewers. This can be minimized through interviewer training and structured interviews.

6-6.       Compare and contrast a job offer letter and a contract, and discuss the basic components of each. In a job offer letter, the employer lists the offer’s basic information. This typically starts with a welcome sentence. It then includes job-specific information (such as details on salary and pay), benefits information, paid leave information, and terms of employment (including, for instance, successful completion of job testing and physical exams). Crucially, there should be a strong statement specifying that the employment relationship is “at will.” There is then a closing statement. Behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. It is important to gain as much information as possible about past behavior to understand what kinds of behavior one can expect in the future. Knowledge about attendance problems, insubordination issues, theft, or other behavioral problems can certainly help one avoid hiring someone who is likely to repeat those behaviors.

            In contrast to a letter of offer (which should always be “at will”), it is not unusual for an employment contract to specify a duration (such as three years). Given this, the contract will also describe grounds for termination or resignation and severance provisions. The contract will almost always also include terms regarding confidentiality, nondisclosure requirements, and covenants not to compete.

6-7.       Write a short (one-page, double-spaced) essay on the topic, “How Equal Employment Law Affects Employee Selection.”  Please include at least five specific examples.  Students can discuss several legal issues related to employee selection.   Students might discuss violating discrimination laws, negligent hiring, giving references, and immigration laws.

6-8.       You own a small business.  How would you go about finding a selection test for a job you want to fill, and what practical and legal issues would you want to keep in mind before choosing a test to use?  A small business owner could develop their own work sample test.  Or, there are many tests available that are easy to administer.  A small business owner should make sure the test is simple to administer and they can interpret the results.  From a legal perspective, the test should be job-related and all applicants should be given the test at the same point in the selection process. 

6-9.       Working individually or in groups, develop a list of selection techniques that you would suggest your dean use to hire the next HR professor at your school. Also, explain why you chose each selection technique. The students should use the selection information presented in the chapter to list their selection techniques of choice with their supporting rationale.

6-10.     Working individually or in groups, contact the publisher of a standardized test such as the Scholastic Assessment Test and obtain from them written information regarding the test's validity and reliability. Present a short report in class discussing what the test is supposed to measure and the degree to which you think the test does what it is supposed to do, based on the reported validity and reliability scores. Encourage students to contact different sources; it may be a good idea to have a sign-up sheet so that no two students or groups are gathering information on the same instruments. Students should be able to clearly relate validity and reliability scores to effectiveness.

6-11.     Give a short presentation entitled “How to Be Effective as an Interviewer.” First, it is important to carefully choose the type of interview to conduct. It is best to choose the type based on evidence of its effectiveness and accuracy in selection, rather than your comfort level with that type. Then, practice and seek training until you are comfortable and effective with that type of interview. Take steps to avoid the common interviewing mistakes, such as snap judgments, negative emphasis, not knowing the job, pressure to hire, candidate-order error, and influence of nonverbal behavior. Plan your interview carefully, establish rapport, ask only appropriate questions, end the interview on a positive note, and take time to review the interview.

6-12.     Write a short essay discussing some of the ethical and legal considerations in testing. State and federal laws, EEOC guidelines, and court decisions require that you be able to prove that your tests are related to success or failure on the job and that they are not having an adverse impact on members of a protected group. Test takers also have certain basic rights to privacy and information. The test taker also has the right to expect that the test is equally fair to all test takers.

6-13.     Give some examples of how interest inventories could be used to improve employee selection. In doing so, suggest several examples of occupational interests that you believe might predict success in various occupations, including college professor, accountant, and computer programmer. Interest inventories can improve employee selection by identifying individuals with similar interests to those reported by a substantial percentage of successful incumbents in an occupation. This should clearly increase the likelihood that the applicants will be successful in their new jobs. Interests that one might expect: accountant: math, reading, music; college professor: public speaking, teaching, counseling; computer programmer: math, music, computers. Remind students that however logical the application of an interest inventory may be to an occupation, establishing the validity of the inventory is required before it can be used legally.

6-14.    The PHR and SPHR Knowledge Base appendix at the end of this book (pages 483-491) lists the knowledge someone studying for the HRCI certification exam needs to have in each area of human resource management (such as in strategic management, workforce planning, and human resource development). In groups of four to five students, do four things: (1) review that appendix now; (2) identify the material in this chapter that relates to the required knowledge in the appendix lists; (3) write four multiple-choice exam questions on this material that you believe would be suitable for inclusion in the HRCI exam; and (4) if time permits, have someone from your team post your team’s questions in front of the class, so the students in other teams can take each other’s exam questions.  The material in this chapter that relates to the HRCI certification exam includes several items in the Workforce Planning and Employment area. A sample question, answer, and explanation is available from http://www.certgear.com/products/preview/sphr_certification/index.html. Multiple-choice questions should reflect material in this chapter and should have answer choices, which could appear plausible.

Students can find the following assisted-graded writing questions at mymanagementlab.com:

6-15.    Explain the factors and problems that can undermine an interview’s usefulness and techniques for eliminating them.

6-16.     Why is it important to conduct preemployment background investigations?  How would you go about doing so?

HR in Action Case Incident 1: Ethics and the Out-of-Control Interview

6-17.     How would you explain the nature of the panel interview Maria had to endure? Specifically, do you think it reflected a well-thought-out interviewing strategy on the part of the firm or carelessness (or worse) on the part of the firm’s management? If it was carelessness, what would you do to improve the interview process at Apex Environmental? Maria’s interview does not sound as if it were ethical. In fact, at least some of the questions were illegal. Most people tend to think they’re better interviewers than they really are. The management team could have done several things to improve the process. These include: planning for the interview, structuring the interview, establishing rapport, and not interrogating Maria.

6-18.     Do you consider the managers’ treatment of Maria ethical? Why? If not, what specific steps would you take to make sure the interview process is ethical from now on? Maria’s interview was not ethical. The interviewers should be trained, questions should be reviewed and corrected for legality and relevance, and the job description should be the base for the interview.

6-19.     Would you take the job offer if you were Maria? If you’re not sure, is there any additional information that would help you make your decision, and if so, what is it? Students’ answers will vary. Many students would want to know if the interview was intentional or not before deciding whether to take the job offer.

6-20.     The job of applications engineer for which Maria was applying requires (a) excellent technical skills with respect to mechanical engineering, (b) a commitment to working in the area of pollution control, (c) the ability to deal well and confidently with customers who have engineering problems, (d) a willingness to travel worldwide, and (e) a very intelligent and well-balanced personality. List 10 questions you would ask when interviewing applicants for the job. Students’ answers will vary. Many students will pull sample interview questions from Figure 6.7.

HR in Action Case Incident 2: Honesty Testing at Carter Cleaning Company

6-21.      What would be the advantages and disadvantages to Jennifer’s company of routinely administering honesty tests to all its employees? Polygraph testing raises a large number of legal and moral issues—issues Carter Cleaning would best avoid. Use of some of the available “paper-and-pencil” honesty tests may be a possibility. In general, these have been shown to be reasonably reliable and valid. They are still controversial however. The costs associated with these tests may also make them prohibitive to a small operation such as Jennifer’s.

6-22.      Specifically, what other screening techniques could the company use to screen out theft-prone employees, and how exactly could these be used? More thorough background checks are a recommended technique to eliminate potential thieves. Some firms choose to contract this out to a private security agency (cost may be an issue to Jennifer). However, the company can quickly check to see if savings from reduced theft would offset the cost of an outside agency. As part of the job preview, Carter must communicate that dishonesty and theft will not be tolerated. Further company policies regarding theft should be clearly communicated to new and existing employees.

6-23.      How should her company terminate employees caught stealing, and what kind of procedure should be set up for handling reference calls about these employees when they go to other companies looking for jobs? Terminating employees for theft should include the involvement of the proper authorities and should only be done when there is absolute proof of the theft and who committed it. Such an action will also send a message to the other employees that you will not tolerate theft of company resources. Although many employers are reluctant to prosecute employees for theft, developing evidence with police and through the courts can be beneficial in providing future employers of the individual with truthful and factual information.

Experiential Exercise: The Most Important Person You’ll Ever Hire

Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to give you practice using some of the interview techniques you learned from this chapter.

Required Understanding: You should be familiar with the information presented in this chapter

and read this:

For parents, children are precious. It’s therefore interesting that parents who hire nannies to take care of their children usually do little more than ask several interview questions and conduct what is often, at best, a perfunctory reference check. Given the often questionable validity of interviews, and the (often) relative inexperience of the father or mother doing the interviewing, it’s not surprising that many of these arrangements end in disappointment. You know from this chapter that it is difficult to conduct a valid interview unless you know exactly what you’re looking for and, preferably, also how to structure the interview. Most parents simply aren’t trained to do this.

How to Set Up the Exercise:

6-24.    Set up groups of five or six students. Two students will be the interviewees, while the other students in the group will serve as panel interviewers. The interviewees will develop a form for assessing the interviewers, and the panel interviewers will develop a structured situational interview for a nanny.

6-25.    Instructions for the interviewees: The interviewees should leave the room for about 20 minutes. While out of the room, the interviewees should develop an interviewer assessment form based on the information presented in this chapter regarding factors that can undermine the usefulness of an interview. During the panel interview, the interviewees should assess the interviewers using the interviewer assessment form. After the panel interviewers have conducted the interview, the interviewees should leave the room to discuss their notes. Did the interviewers exhibit any of the factors that can undermine the usefulness of an interview? If so, which ones? What suggestions would you (the interviewees) make to the interviewers on how to improve the usefulness of the interview?

6-26.     Instructions for the interviewers: While the interviewees are out of the room, the panel interviewers will have 20 minutes to develop a short, structured situational interview form for a nanny. The panel interview team will interview two candidates for the position. During the panel interview, each interviewer should be taking notes on a copy of the structured situational interview form. After the panel interview, the panel interviewers should discuss their notes. What were your first impressions of each interviewee? Were your impressions similar? Which candidate would you all select for the position and why?

            This exercise provides students with an opportunity to learn more about interviewing.  The interviewers should develop a job-related interview form for the nanny. The interviewees should be observant of the of the interviewers’ behaviors.  The students should take notes during the process in order to learn about effective interviews.

1.     Describe in one page or less with examples how you would use www.secondlife.com to help orient or train employees in your company. The Web site Secondlife.com is an excellent example of simulated learning. Therefore, the students should outline how they could utilize simulated learning in helping employees become oriented or trained in an organization.

2.     Use sites such as www.HRDQ.com to list three programs you could use to develop a project management training program for a company. Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. The Web site HRDQ.com identifies excellent examples of programs in communication, leadership, diversity, or conflict resolution.

3.     Based on http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/index.html, how would you use Cisco products to build a worldwide training program for employees in a company? Cisco products are an excellent source to deliver effective Internet-based learning and development. Students should cite some of the specific products that Cisco has available on their Web site that could be used for training.

1.   Use the Internet to find employers who now do preliminary selection interviews via the Web. Print out and bring examples to class. Do you think these interviews are useful? Why or why not? How would you improve them? The students should use the Internet to search the Web sites of various companies to find examples of companies that use the Web for preliminary selection interviews. They should provide the pros and cons of using the Web for preliminary selection interviews. Challenge students to identify ways to improve the examples they have presented based on what has been discussed in this chapter.

2.   In groups, discuss and compile examples of “the worst interview I ever had.” What was it about these interviews that made them so bad? If time permits, discuss as a class. Based on their experiences, the students should come up with various examples. They should also discuss what they would suggest to have improved the interview.

3.   In groups, prepare an interview (including a sequence of at least 20 questions) you’ll use to interview candidates for a job teaching a course in Human Resources Management. Each group should present theirs in class. The students should use this opportunity to design their own interview questions using the suggestions given in the chapter.

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