- The science of selection is an actuarial process. All selection methods make mistakes.
- Research has shown that as many as 90% of candidates distort the truth to some extent in employment interviews.
- Interviewers have unconscious biases about people that are not job-relevant.
- The single most important attribute of any selection method is criterion validity.
- Interviews have the greatest validity when they are highly structured and based on sound job analysis. Otherwise, their validity is relatively poor.
- CVs have a poor record of predicting performance. They are unstandardised and they tell readers what the candidate wants them to know.
- Experience is a relatively weak predictor of performance.
- Educational qualifications and academic performance are not of themselves a substitute for ability.
- One hundred years of published research has established a league table of assessment methods for selection and training.
- No single assessment method provides perfect prediction of job performance.
- Certain combinations of assessment methods provide the best prediction, but they also fall short of perfect prediction.
- Confirmation bias often conceals selection errors and perpetuates poor practice.
- Tests used in development should also be able to demonstrate a correlation with job outcomes if they are to be considered credible.
- Tests and other assessment methods are not in competition to see which one is right. Rather, they are complementary.
- ‘How much’ validity matters. The greater the validity, the better the prediction.
