When job ads turn you down : how requirements in job ads may stop instead of attract highly qualified women

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Alternative predictors for dealing with the diversity-validity dilemma in personnel selection: The constructed response multimedia test

In the context of the diversity-validity dilemma in personnel selection, the present field study compared ethnic subgroup differences on an innovative constructed response multimedia test to other commonly used selection instruments. Applicants (N=245, 27% ethnic minorities) for entry-level police jobs completed a constructed response multimedia test, cognitive ability test, language proficiency test, personality inventory, structured interview, and role play. Results demonstrated minor ethnic subgroup differences on constructed response multimedia test scores as compared to other instruments. Constructed response multimedia test scores were related to the selection decision, and no evidence for predictive bias was found. Subgroup differences were also examined on the dimensional level, with cognitively loaded dimension scores displaying larger differences

Alternative Solutions to the Child Protective Services Staffing Crisis: Innovations from Industrial/ Organizational Psychology

Several years ago we conducted an informal telephone survey of 53 child protective services (CPS) agencies, both state and county administered, to obtain a broad snapshot of what methods agencies across the country were using to select new CPS staff. Our goal was to learn what measures or indicators were included in these hiring decisions, with the hope of collaborating across agency lines to develop new approaches. Our results surprised us: Many jurisdictions invested minimally in the recruitment and selection of new CPS staff, yet they clearly expected new CPS workers to achieve high performance after some (varying) amounts of initial training. With rare exception (Bernotavicz & Locke, 2000), we have seen little evidence of significant change in the situation to present. Given the complexity of the work and the high-stake decisions required of child protection workers on a daily basis, this lack of attention to recruitment, selection, and placement of new staff is puzzling. It seems at odds with what has become the norm for other jobs involving public welfare (e.g., police, firefighters). For example, a typical municipal police officer selection process might include a situational interview, physical agility test, assessment of knowledge through a written test, and, for finalists, psychological screening. After provisional hire, the new recruit often must attend a rigorous training program, including frequent written and performance testing, to demonstrate required levels of knowledge and skill. All of this occurs before the officer assumes actual work assignments. We believe that the stakes involved in child protection warrant a similar level of rigor in the selection and training of new staff

Human resource development training for the Nigerian Foreign Public Service.

The findings indicated a need for a change from traditional administration to a scientific management approach and from a passive-reactive foreign service to result-oriented coordinations; and for an increased use of human resource development centers to train embassy personnel.The investigator of the study explored four main skill areas, viz: (1) employee orientation, (2) cultural change needs, (3) administrative organization, and (4) administrative skills. Analyses of the data indicated that administrators and employees perceived similar needs in the major four skill areas. The needs-discrepancy index, computed using mean scores for "ideal" and "actual", perceived needs indicated the following rank order of the major skill areas: (1) embassy administrative skills, (2) employee job orientation, (3) cultural change needs, and (4) administrative organization. It was also found that specific skill development was needed in public relations, internal office communication, job performance evaluation, employee job orientation, and quality of work.A questionnaire was developed by the investigator to obtain the data for the study. The questionnaire items were designed to achieve demographic information and information related to the perceptions of the respondents concerning the management procedures and practices of the two United States embassies. The data were analyzed using averages and rank-order analyses. Tables were developed as appropriate to aid in the interpretation of the analyses.The study was conducted to assess human resource development programs needs and skills for the Nigerian Foreign Service in the United States. A sample of two hundred employees was drawn from a population of four hundred embassy workers. Thirty-eight administrators and 110 employees participated in the study

Predicting long term job performance using a cognitive ability test.

This study focuses on the relationship of one cognitive ability test on long-term job performance as measured by personnel data. Archival data from over 3,000 employees at an international technology company were used to assess how aptitude test scores relate to both objective and subjective job performance measures. Supervisory performance ratings, level of promotion, and salary increase significantly contributed to variance in test scores; however, these results were inconsistent. Number of training courses did not have a significant relationship with test scores. Additionally, type of turnover did not moderate the relationship between aptitude test scores and job performance. These results indicate that although aptitude test score is related to long term job performance factors, other factors account for the majority of the variance. The implication is that aptitude should not be the sole consideration when predicting long term job success