When I chose this class as one of my electives, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. I wanted a class that would add some variety to my degree and I have realized from my workplace experiences that making the right hiring decision goes a long way. So, I thought this class might be a good fit. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth and variety of material covered in this course. It ranged from the legal aspects of hiring to learning about different personality tests. If I had to pick the most important topic/subject learned in this class, I think I would choose the importance of selecting an effective and fair test battery for screening applicants. The reason I choose this one is the following:

• People are not great judges of character and talent. We all have our own biases and these biases tend to drive decision making that is less the optimal. Even if these biases aren’t intentional or vindictive in anyway, they still tend to cloud our judgement.
• Selecting a good test battery helps establish some legally defensible grounds for hiring.
• A well formed test battery can help select the right person for the right job. The cost of picking the wrong person is high (~15x the salary).
• Interviews alone are not great at selecting the best person. With unstructured interviews having a criterion validity of .10 and a highly structured interview having a criterion validity of .20.

The above reasons are why I think learning about different tests and forming an effective test battery was the most important. There are several different test methods out there and a combination of 2-3 is probably the most effective. If I were to form my own test battery, I think I would choose the following:

• Job Knowledge Test: Good criterion validity (r~.30) and applicants tend to be receptive to these tests.
• Interview – Moderate to Highly Structured: Interviews are an expected part of the hiring process though not the most effective tool. Adding some structure helps boost their predictive value.
• Personality Test (Big 5 Model): Depending on the position, a personality test can be an effective tool.