Cognitive & Aptitude Tests for Job Performance

• Tests are used when predicting job performance

Cognitive Ability Tests

• These tests are easy to administer and inexpensive
• Cognitive ability is useful for predicting job performance in two ways:
  • By helping employees learn job-related knowledge
  • By helping employees process information to support better decision-making

Types of Tests

• Progressive Matrices/Intelligence Tests involve filling in/identifying the next sequence in abstract figures
• Short Term Memory Tests
• Information Processing Tests use speed tests with general questions to be answered quickly

Aptitude Survey/Test

• Measures verbal comprehension
• Measures numerical ability
• Measures visual pursuit
• Measures space visualization
• Measures word fluency
• Measures verbal reasoning
• Measures visual speed and accuracy
• Measures manual speed and accuracy

Perceptual Ability

• Consists of vision (near, far, night, peripheral), color discrimination, depth perception, and glare sensitivity
• Speech (clarity, recognition)
• Hearing (sensitivity, auditory attention, sound localization)

Psychomotor Ability

• Includes finger dexterity and manual dexterity
• Also includes control precision, multilimb coordination, response control reaction time, hand steadiness, wrist-finger speed, and speed of limb movement
• These abilities are useful for jobs such as carpenter, police officer, sewing machine operator, post office clerk, and truck driver

Physical Ability

• Tests are used for jobs needing physical strength and stamina
• Physical ability is measured through job simulations and physical agility tests

Work Samples

• Require the applicant to perform actual job-related tasks
• An automotive mechanic applicant might fix a torn fan belt
• A secretarial applicant might type a letter
• A truck-driver applicant might back a truck up to a loading dock

In Basket Technique

• This technique assesses job applicants
• It uses wire baskets typically seen on office desks with two levels:
  • An "in" level to hold paperwork to be handled
  • An "out" level to hold completed paperwork
• During the assessment center, job-related paperwork examples are put in a basket
• The applicant has to go through it and respond as if they were on the job
• Assessors observe and score the applicant on multiple dimensions, including the quality of the decision and the way they handled and prioritized paperwork

Simulation Exercises

• These are the real backbone of the assessment center
• Assessors are able to see an applicant ‘in action.’
• Simulations can include activities like role plays and work samples
• They put an applicant in a situation that is as similar as possible to the encountered job

Leaderless Group Discussion

• In this exercise applicants meet in small groups and are given a job-related problem or issue to discuss
• No leader is appointed
• Applicants are individually rated on dimensions such as operativeness, leadership, and analytical skills
• All will receive the same tasks and assessors will see who will emerge as a leader and provide insights

Predicting Performance

• Measure the extent to which an applicant already has a job-related skill
• Two common methods for this:
  • Work sample
  • Assessment centers

Types of Employment Interviews

• Structure
• Style
• Medium

Structured Interview

• The structure is determined by the questions being asked
• Job analysis is the source of the questions
• All applicants are asked the same questions
• There is a standardized scoring key to evaluate each answer

Unstructured Interview

• Interviewers are free to ask anything they want
• Examples include : "Where do you want to be in five years?" and "What was the last book you read?"
• Interviewers aren't required to have consistency in what they ask of each applicant
• They may assign numbers of points at their own discretion
• Examples of questions include: "Tell me about yourself" and "What is your greatest strength?"

Problems with Unstructured Interviews

1. Poor Intuitive Ability: Interviewers base hiring decisions on "gut reactions" or intuition
   • Example: “feel ko siya bagay sa HR”
2. Lack of Job Relatedness: The most common questions asked by interviewers are not related to any job
   • Example: “may boyfriend ka na ba?”
3. Primacy Effects: (first impression lasts) Information presented early in the interview carries more weight

• Most interviewers take at least five minutes to make their decisions

Style

• Determined by the number of interviewees and the number of interviewers
• One-on-one interviews involve one interviewer interviewing one applicant
• Serial interviews involve a series of single interviews
• Return interviews are similar to serial interviews, but with time passing between the first and subsequent interview
• Panel interviews have multiple interviewers asking questions and evaluating the answers of the same applicant at the same time
• Group interviews have multiple applicants answering questions during the same interview

Medium

• Interviews also differ in the extent to which they are done in person
• Face-to-face interviews has both the interviewer and the applicant in the same room which enables the use of visual and vocal cues
• Telephone interviews screen applicants but do not allow for the use of visual cues
• Video conference interviews are conducted at remote sites
• Written interviews involve the applicant answering a series of written questions, then sending the answers back through regular mail

Interview Structure

• Interview structure depends on the questions being asked

Interview Style

• Interview style depends on the number of interviewees and interviewers

Interview Medium

• Interview medium differs in the extent to which it is done in person

Before the Interview

• Learn about the company
• Employers want you to know their products, services, future needs, major problems, and philosophy/mission

Scheduling the Interview

• Arriving late reduces the interview score

Day of the Interview

• Dress neatly/professionally to fit the situation
• Avoid wearing flashy accessories
• Hair should be worn conservatively

During the Interview

• Nonverbal communication should include a firm handshake, smiling, eye contact, and head nodding
• Desired verbal behaviors include asking questions and subtly finding similarities with the interviewer
• Avoid asking about salary, speaking slowly, and betting below answering pubfilm
• If you seek to appear similar to the interviewer, look around the office as the contents in interviews are related to personality and interests

After the Interview

• Immediately thank the interviewer

Interview Training

• Interview training and practice increases applicant scores on structured interviews

Commandments of Interviewing

• Treat each candidate as an individual
• Don't pretend to listen and be genuine
• Make each aspirant feel at ease
• Allow silence
• Never monopolize the interview
• Radiate warmth by greeting and smiling
• Avoid showing irritability or dislike
• Let the candidate talk about themselves
• Communicate the sense of importance
• Don't let feelings interfere with judgment

Creating Interview Questions

• Six types of interview questions:
  • Clarifiers
  • Disqualifiers
  • Skill-level determiners
  • Past-focused
  • Future-focused
  • Organizational fit

Clarifiers

• Allow the interviewer to clarify information in the résumé, cover letter, and application and fill in any gaps

Disqualifiers

• These are questions with particular answers that will disqualify the applicant.
• An example could be: Are you available to work on weekends?

Skill-Level Determiners

• Tap into an applicant’s level of expertise (e.g. Microsoft Word)

Past-Focused Questions

• Consist of patterned behavior description interviews with specific examples of demonstrated job-related skills in previous jobs

Future Focused Questions

• Gives a situation and asks how they would handle it (also called “situational questions")

Organizational Fit

• Tap the extent to which an applicant will fit the leadership style of a particular supervisor