Anyone who has done their fair share of interviewing has probably been faced with a question like this at one point or another. So, what is the right answer? Should you say a redwood because given the right environment you will be able to thrive and grow to your greatest potential? Or should you say willow because you feel you can sway and adapt as the “winds of change” move the organization? My advice would be to find a new organization because if this is the sophisticated tool they are using to hire their employees the organization, you are likely to have a typewriter issued to you on your first day of work instead of a computer. 

I’ll start this post off with a riddle: What do Dr. Evil, Maxwell Smart, Lieutenant Frank Drebin, and Ron Burgundy all have in common?  Yes they’re fictional.  What else?  Yes they have a job.  Getting warmer.  They’re all perceived as wholly incompetent by their peers.  A+ for you.  These individuals, seriously lacking any method of realistic self-appraisal, operate in a world largely unaware of their surroundings, even when feedback is available.  It’s so dreadful and ridiculous at times; it makes you yearn for someone to bring them back to earth, like Simon Cowell.

In 1994, the American epic comedy-drama romance film, Forrest Gump, won 6 academy awards.  This beloved story follows the life of a simple Southern boy, played by Tom Hanks, that floats through life’s trials and tribulations like a feather in the breeze.  Seemingly random events such as friendships, war, peace, natural disasters and more mold and shape the outcomes of his life.  Interestingly, a very popular line of the movie is when his dying Mother tells him that “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”.  So popular that if you google “life is like” this line is the first suggestion on the list!  Great dramatic line!  Just like the Grandma in Parenthood that compared life to either a rollercoaster or merry-go-round.  She preferred the rollercoaster by the way.

On May 9^th in Cincinnati, Ohio, Select International is hosting a half day seminar on utilizing assessments in the hiring process to make sure your company is competitive. Speakers include Michael Hoseus (author of the best seller, Toyota Culture, Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way), JC Rice (VP Shared Services, Perio-Barbasol), Timothy Massa (VP Corporate HR, Kroger) and Dawn Gilmore (Manager of Talent and Performance, Kroger).

Well, the 2012 Society for Industrial/Organization Psychology (SIOP) annual conference has come and gone.  We are proud of our team for exceeding the number of presentations given last year and, although our schedule was full, we were able to attend many sessions.  As usual, there were many interesting topics presented and discussed by I/O psychologists.  However two themes seemed to really stand out and both of them have received a lot of attention the past several SIOP conferences.

So, you’ve noticed that assessments for selection purposes have become more prevalent over recent years, but you’re concerned about potential legal concerns with their use.  Rest assured that a well designed assessment can IMPROVE the legal defensibility of your hiring system, for the following reasons:

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Loose Labor Market Presents Unique Challenges

I recently came across an article suggesting that hiring managers should just start saying, “Yes.”  Yes?  Yes to what?  Every job candidate?  Yes, well, almost every applicant.

We’ve all typically had at least one bad interview experience during our job searches- you know, the kind of experience that you’ll never forget and you end up sharing--and at times-laughing about with all of your friends and colleagues.