Content of Qualitative Feedback Provided During Structured, Confidential Reference Checks

The present study used text analytics software to examine the unstructured (or qualitative) data provided by job references during confidential, multi-rater reference checks. With respect to both work-related strengths and areas of improvement, job references more frequently provided words or short phrases relating to “soft skills” such as working with others and communication as opposed to “hard skills” such as computer programming or mathematics. While some commonalities across jobs were found to exist, the frequency of identified categories for both work-related strengths and areas of improvement did differ across jobs

Selection Tool Use: A Focus on Personality Testing in Canada, the United States, and Germany

The purpose of this paper is to provide new data regarding the current staffing practices being used by organizations in Canada and the United States (US) as well as a comparison with existing data from Germany (Diekmann & König, 2015). Data regarding the beliefs of human resource (HR) practitioners in terms of using personality tests in personnel selection is also provided. A geographically representative sample of 453 HR practitioners across Canada and the US were surveyed. Although general mental ability testing has previously been found to be highly valid and cost effective, this selection tool was among the least commonly used in all three countries. Personality tests were also rarely used (especially in Canada and the US) and research–practice gaps still appear to be an issue (e.g., HR practitioners’ preference for personality types as opposed to traits)

Criterion-related Validity of Forced-Choice Personality Measures: A Cautionary Note Regarding Thurstonian IRT versus Classical Test Theory Scoring

This study examined criterion-related validity for job-related composites of forced-choice personality scores against job performance using both Thurstonian Item Response Theory (TIRT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT) scoring methods. Correlations were computed across 11 different samples that differed in job or role within a job. A meta-analysis of the correlations (k = 11 and N = 613) found a higher average corrected correlation for CTT (mean ρ = .38) than for TIRT (mean ρ = .00). Implications and directions for future research are discussed

Resumes vs. application forms: Why the stubborn reliance on resumes?

The focus of this Perspective article is on the comparison of two of the most popular initial applicant screening methods: Resumes and application forms. The viewpoint offered is that application forms are superior to resumes during the initial applicant screening stage of selection. This viewpoint is supported in part based on criterion-related validity evidence that favors application forms over resumes. For example, the biographical data (biodata) inventory, which can contain similar questions to those used in application forms, is one of the most valid predictors of job performance (if empirically keyed), whereas job experience and years of education, which are often inferred from resumes and cover letters, are two of the least valid predictors of job performance (among commonly used screening criteria). In addition to validity evidence, making decisions based on application forms as opposed to resumes is likely to help organizations defend against claims of discriminatory hiring while enhancing their ability to hire in a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive manner. For example, applicant names on resumes can lead to screening bias against members of identifiable subgroups, whereas an applicant’s name can be easily and automatically hidden from decision-makers when reviewing application forms (particularly digital application forms). Despite these convincing arguments focused on applicant quality and diversity, a substantial research–practice gap regarding the use of resumes and cover letters remains

An International Perspective on Changes in Work Due to COVID-19

The very nature and format of work, along with its social and psychological dynamics, the labor market, and economic conditions within which it is embedded have undergone a large change in the months since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic (Kniffin et al., 2020; Rudolph et al., 2021). No country has been spared the spread of disease and nowhere are workers free from the impact and aftermath of COVID-19. Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O) faculty and practitioners have been keenly observing, tracking, and studying the changing nature of work, but few have been doing so from a cross-cultural and international lens. Given the global nature of the pandemic, here we take a deliberate global, international perspective to understanding the disruption and opportunities for the world of work. An international perspective is imperative to developing a complete and holistic understanding of (a) work psychology in the face of pandemics, (b) the consequent challenges faced by workers and organizations, (c) the future of work post-COVID-19, and (d) how I-O can meaningfully contribute to ease work-oriented disruptions and better prepare for similar future challenges. We apply a cross-cultural and international lens to focus on four areas where scholarship and practice in I-O could help in matters related to employment and the workplace: (a) informal workers, workers in poverty, and precarious work around the world; (b) technology, human resources; (HR) practices, and the digital divide; (c) the intersection of culture, work, health, and well-being; and (d) learning from crises and crisis management during a global pandemic

Economic predictors of differences in interview faking between countries : economic inequality matters, not the state of economy

Many companies recruit employees from different parts of the globe, and faking behavior by potential employees is a ubiquitous phenomenon. It seems that applicants from some countries are more prone to faking compared to others, but the reasons for these differences are largely unexplored. This study relates country-level economic variables to faking behavior in hiring processes. In a cross-national study across 20 countries, participants (N = 3839) reported their faking behavior in their last job interview. This study used the random response technique (RRT) to ensure participants anonymity and to foster honest answers regarding faking behavior. Results indicate that general economic indicators (gross domestic product per capita [GDP] and unemployment rate) show negligible correlations with faking across the countries, whereas economic inequality is positively related to the extent of applicant faking to a substantial extent. These findings imply that people are sensitive to inequality within countries and that inequality relates to faking, because inequality might actuate other psychological processes (e.g., envy) which in turn increase the probability for unethical behavior in many forms

Effects of Response Option Ordering on Criterion-Related Validity, Psychometric Properties, Reactions, and Careless Responding of a Personality Measure

Use of student sample to test effects of response option ordering on the HEXACO personality assessmen