Decision making in selection

While selection measures themselves may show good predictive validity and thus provide for excellent predictions of future job performance of candidates, problems can occur during the decision-making phase of the selection process. Difficulties first of all arise when individuals make final hiring decisions in a less than optimal way; for instance, under conditions of time pressure and an overload of information. Additional problems may emerge when conditions under which the hiring decisions take place are difficult; for instance, when relatively few or poorly qualified candidates apply for a large number of vacancies. It is just this part of the selection process that forms the heart of the present chapter. The chapter's focus is on difficulties and challenges encountered in the selection decision-making process. In the classical distinction between the prediction phase and decision-making phase, it is the latter, particularly decision making by the organization, that is of interest here. The next chapter (Imus & Ryan, this volume) will deal with decision making by the applicant, stressing further the importance of decision-making issues in the selection process.