Organizational Behavior, 17e

Substantive and Contingent Selection

1. 3 Identify the most useful substantive selection methods.

If an applicant passes the initial screens, next are substantive selection ­methods. These are the heart of the selection process and include written tests, performance-simulation tests, and interviews. We will discuss these and contingent selection tests, which are usually issued to candidates who pass the substantive tests.

Written Tests

Long popular as selection devices, written employment tests—called “paper-and-pencil” tests, though most are now available online—declined in use ­between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, especially in the United States. They were ­frequently characterized as discriminatory, and many organizations had not validated them ...