Looking back on my experience working as a front desk clerk at a hotel in Miami, I’ve realized how important effective interviews are in predicting job performance. Although I was initially hired for a front desk position, I eventually took on many supervisory responsibilities due to my experience and the need for continuity when leadership was changing. This made it clear to me that the interview process did not fully capture who was actually capable of performing at a higher level.
From what I remember, the interview itself was fairly unstructured and focused more on general questions rather than assessing specific skills related to leadership, problem-solving, or decision-making. This creates issues with validity, since the questions were not directly tied to the actual responsibilities of the role. According to the lecture, selection methods should be based on job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities in order to accurately predict performance (W5 Lecture 2 – Introduction to Selection).
There were also concerns with reliability. Different candidates were likely evaluated based on different conversations rather than a standardized set of questions, which can lead to inconsistent and biased hiring decisions. Structured interviews, where all candidates are asked the same questions and evaluated using consistent criteria, tend to be more reliable and fair (W5 Lecture 3 – Selection Methods).
If I could advise the employer, I would recommend implementing a more structured interview process that includes job-related and behavioral questions focused on leadership and teamwork. Preparing standardized questions and using clear evaluation criteria would improve both reliability and validity while leading to better hiring decisions (W5 Lecture 4 – Improving Interview Effectiveness).
References
W5 Lecture 2 – Introduction to Selection. Oregon State University.
W5 Lecture 3 – Selection Methods. Oregon State University.
W5 Lecture 4 – Improving Interview Effectiveness. Oregon State University.