Structured and unstructured selection interviews: beyond the job-fit model
Abstract
ABSTRAO Unstructured, intuitive processes still appear to dominate HRM practices, despite the evidence in favor of more structured, rational approaches. The present paper is concerned with one example of this: the continued dominance of unstructured interviews in employee selection. Through structuring interview procedures, biases in information gathering, judgment, and decision making can be reduced and the reliability and validity of interviewer judgments improved. Despite the empirical support for the use of a structured interview process, organizations continue to rely primarily on unstructured interviews. The present paper proposes that the dominance of unstructured interviews can be attributed to the interviewer's attempts to achieve personal satisfaction, attain a good fit of employees to the job context, acquire and maintain power, make just decisions, and communicate the values of the organization. It is also suggested that a broader perspective is needed in the research and theory on employee selection that encompasses other functions of the selection process in addition to hiring the best person for the job.
... Similarly, applicants also seem to prefer less structured interviews (Chapman & Rowe, 2002;Chapman & Zweig, 2005). One explanation for these negative reactions is that interviewers (and applicants) might believe that different interviewing methods are more efficacious for assessing different applicant characteristics (Dipboye, 1994). Indeed, some person-perception researchers argue that highly structured interviews are well suited to assessing applicants' knowledge, skills, and abilities, but that less structured forms of interviewing should produce more valid assessments of personalityrelated characteristics (Blackman, 2006(Blackman, , 2017Funder, 2012). ...
... Finally, although our focus is on interview goals, multiple researchers have identified that staffing behaviors are not simply a function of interviewers' goals. Rather, staffing occurs within a broader context of institutional pressures (Klehe, 2004), individual interviewers' beliefs (Dipboye, 1994;Lievens & De Paepe, 2004), and social norms (van der Zee et al., 2002). As such, additional factors might affect the process and content of the interview. ...
... Despite a rich history of research on the employment interview, fundamental questions about the nature of interviewing remain unanswered. Among these questions are what goals do employers use employment interviews to accomplish? (Dipboye, 1994(Dipboye, , 1997Neumann et al., 2021) and why do employers resist research-based recommendations for interviewing? (Rynes, 2012;Rynes et al., 2018;Tenhiälä et al., 2014). ...
The employment interview is among the most versatile of staffing tools. Yet, the interview is rarely studied as a multipurpose tool. If the interview is used to serve multiple goals, then the interview can be effective (i.e., valid), and effectively designed, in multiple ways. The current study uses qualitative methodology to develop an inductive theory of interview goals and design based on conversational interviews with 29 experienced professional interviewers. Transcript data were analyzed with template analysis grounded in a postpositive epistemology and objectivist ontology. Results suggested that the interview is primarily used to serve three broad goals: performing a targeted assessment, making a positive impression, and informing the applicant. Interviewers reported a variety of strategies for adapting the interview to achieve and balance these goals. In short, findings suggest that the interview is used in multiple ways that have received very little research attention. These findings imply that the concept of interview validity should be expanded to include multiple interviewing goals, and that interview design should be understood as a complex function of these goals. Further implications for the research, theory, and practice of employment interviews are discussed.
... Further, even highly structured job interviews often begin with informal conversations about non-job-related topics, and these first few minutes have a lasting impact, setting the stage for the interview (Swider, Barrick, & Harris, 2016). Yet, managers overwhelmingly prefer to rely on unstructured job interviews (Nolan, Dalal, & Carter, 2020), which are more susceptible to biases (Dipboye, 1994), including nondiagnostic social impressions or discriminatory beliefs. Thus, although job interviews are meant to identify individuals who will perform well in a role, they may also screen out those with poor social skills or who do not match managers' preconceived notions of what a good performer looks like, regardless of whether those characteristics are job-related. ...
... Inherently, varied accommodations, question types, locations, or interviewer behaviors increase variability and might reduce reliability and validity. Research has also suggested unstructured interviews are more susceptible to biases against certain characteristics, such as disability (Dipboye, 1994;Levashina et al., 2014). Still, superior validity for structured interviews is not universal. ...
Although more organizations are seeking autistic applicants, autistic people remain in an unemployment crisis. This may be due in part to job interviews, which often implicitly evaluate relational and social skills—an area with which many autistic people struggle. To determine how to better support autistic applicants, we conduct a mixed methods study to identify, from their own perspective, the accommodations that would have the greatest impact on autistic individuals’ interview anxiety and performance. Additionally, we examine differences in interview anxiety and preferred adjustments to the interview process between both autistic and allistic participants and intersectionally across gender. Findings revealed additive effects of neurotype and gender on interview anxiety, with autistic participants reporting higher anxiety than allistic participants, and women reporting higher anxiety than men. Interestingly, despite a small number of notable differences, there were far more similarities between groups regarding preferred interview adjustments. These findings suggest that many adjustments to the interview process may be helpful across neurotypes, although they are perhaps particularly beneficial for alleviating the comparatively higher anxiety levels experienced by autistic applicants. Overall, there is a need to consider how and whether current interview best practices (e.g., standardization and structure) can be adapted to facilitate the inclusion of diverse neurotypes across a range of individual differences. As a starting point, we offer practical guidelines for managers wishing to improve the interview process for autistic and allistic applicants alike and set a foundation for future research.
... No caso das etapas presenciais, Dipboye (1994) afirma que elas oferecem momentos que permitem uma avaliação completa e aprofundada dos candidatos, oferecendo muitas informações para os recrutadores utilizarem em sua tomada de decisão. Mack et al. (2005) sugerem diferentes técnicas de avaliação para distintas situações e para entender atitudes específicas de um ISSN: 2675-6552| DOI: 10.47682/2675-6552.a2024v1n1p21-43 ...
... Newport (2014) sugere que a entrevista permite maior transparência e tem como intuito revelar, assim como se espera em um ambiente de trabalho, a capacidade do candidato de lidar com a incerteza de uma conversa cara a cara, e seu tempo de reação em situações que demandam rápida tomada de decisão. Dipboye (1994) explica que as entrevistas de um processo seletivo podem ser realizadas de maneira estruturada, quando as perguntas "macro" são as mesmas para todos os candidatos, ou desestruturada, quando o rumo da entrevista fica mais livre, a critério dos recrutadores. O autor afirma que as entrevistas estruturadas colaboram para evitar efeitos negativos do viés inconsciente, garantindo maior igualdade na situação dos candidatos. ...
This article aims to investigate the tools used to eliminate partiality and bias in selection processes for young professionals in organizations, with an emphasis on the assessment of soft skills. The research has a qualitative character, with the technique of in-depth interviews. The authors interviewed five Human Resources professionals who participate in recruitment and selection processes, with a broad view of selection processes in different companies and segments. The results confirm that the selection processes are being adapted to increase the focus on the assessment of soft skills and the quest for increasing diversity within organizations.
... In the focus group interviews conducted in this context, unstructured and semi-structured questions were asked to the participants by the researchers, and data were collected within this framework. In semi-structured questions, questions are determined within a predetermined thematic framework (George, 2022), while in unstructured questions, questions that arise in the flow of the interview and are not standardized in advance (Dipboye, 1994) are directed to the participants. The interview form was developed by the authors of the study and the questions in the interview form were presented to the opinion of researchers conducting various studies in the field, and the questions that were agreed upon were included in the interview form. ...
... Bu bağlamda gerçekleştirilen odak grup görüşmelerinde araştırmacılar tarafından katılımcılara yapılandırılmamış ve yarı yapılandırılmış sorular yöneltilmiş ve bu çerçevede veriler toplanmıştır. Yarı yapılandırılmış sorularda önceden belirlenen tematik çerçevede sorular belirlenirken (George, 2022), yapılandırılmamış sorularda ise görüşme akışında ortaya çıkan ve önceden standardize edilmemiş olan sorular (Dipboye, 1994) katılımcılara yöneltilmektedir. Görüşme formu araştırmayı yürüten yazarlar tarafından geliştirilmiş ve görüşme formunda yer alan sorular alanda çeşitli çalışmalar yürüten araştırmacıların görüşüne sunulmuş olup ortaklaşılan sorular görüşme formuna dâhil edilmiştir. ...
Araştırmada, doktoralı okul yöneticilerinin durumunu betimlemek ve doktoralı okul yöneticilerinin profesyonel, kurumsal ve akademik benlik algılarını ortaya çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Nitel bir çerçevede ve fenomenolojik bir tasarımla yürütülen araştırmada doktora derecesine sahip sekiz okul yönetici ile odak grup görüşmeleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen odak gurup görüşmelerinden elde edilen veriler içerik analizine tabi tutularak amaç çerçevesinde ortak örüntüler ve anlamlar ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen bulgular, doktora eğitim süreci ve doktoralı okul yöneticisi kimliği başlıkları altında temalandırılmıştır. Bu temalar çerçevesinde elde edilen sonuçlara bakıldığında; doktoralı okul yöneticilerinin doktora eğitim sürecinden memnun oldukları, yetkinlik kazandıkları fakat özlük hakları ve kurumsal, akademik boyutlarda sorunlar ve zorluklar yaşadıkları tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, araştırma süreçlerinde teknik ve ortamdan kaynaklı eksiklikler yaşadıkları, iş tatminlerinin zayıfladığı fakat içsel motivasyonlarının yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Bu çerçevede doktoralı okul yöneticilerinin, akademik, kurumsal rol ve statü, özlük hakları ve araştırma süreçlerinin kolaylaştırılmasına yönelik beklentilere sahip oldukları bulgulanmıştır. Sonuç olarak yaşadıkları sorunlar çerçevesinde doktoralı okul yöneticilerinin bakanlık bünyesinde kimlik arayışı içerisinde oldukları görülmekte olup akademiye geçiş isteği ağırlık kazanmaktadır.
... Semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection tool, capturing detailed insights into participants' experiences, behaviours, and leadership styles (section 3.1). This approach balances structured questions for consistency with flexibility for follow-ups, enabling deeper exploration (Ugwu, Chinyere, and Eze Val, 2023;Dipboye, 1994). Questions included both closedended items for clarity and comparability and open-ended prompts (e.g., who, what, why, how) to encourage elaboration (Hansen and Swiderska, 2023). ...
This research explores the leadership styles of women in sustainable construction leadership roles within the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). The study seeks to identify predominant leadership styles, compare them with findings from other regions and men-dominated industries, and examine contextual factors such as entry pathways, tenure, and the barriers faced by women leaders. A qualitative and exploratory methodology was utilised, incorporating thematic and content analysis, questionnaire responses, demographic analysis, and cross-comparisons with existing literature.
The findings indicate that transformational leadership is the dominant style among participants, defined by traits such as intellectual stimulation, individualised consideration, vision, and inclusivity. While these attributes align with global trends, they also reveal distinct regional nuances, including a heightened focus on creativity and sustainability. Servant leadership traits, particularly emotional intelligence and team empowerment, were more pronounced among younger participants, demonstrating the influence of generational and career-stage differences. Participants also demonstrated adaptive strategies to overcome systemic barriers, such as leveraging professional titles, fostering mixed-gender teams, and actively promoting inclusivity within their organisations.
Emerging themes, such as the paradox between sustainability and gender, the integration of servant leadership traits, and coping mechanisms for bias, underscore the complexity of women’s leadership experiences and highlight areas for further research. Additionally, the study draws attention to persistent systemic challenges, including entrenched gender biases and the lack of women role models, which continue to constrain the leadership potential of women in the construction sector.
Although this explorative research has certain limitations, such as a small sample size and the inherently subjective nature of qualitative analysis, it offers valuable insights into the intersection of leadership, gender, and sustainability. This study provides a foundation for further research and practical measures aimed at fostering inclusivity, supporting women leaders, and driving sustainable practices in the construction industry
... The study exclusively utilized primary data sources. Through the engagement of a diverse cohort of participants, the researcher can encompass a broad spectrum of perspectives and experiences pertinent to the subject matter (Dipboye, 1994). Consequently, a more extensive dataset concerning the perceptions of kingmakers regarding the human resources life cycle of traditional leaders has been acquired. ...
Aim: This study examines the critical role of kingmakers in the selection, mentorship, and succession planning of traditional leaders within the Bono East Region of Ghana, positioning them as key figures in the human resource (HR) lifecycle of indigenous governance. Methods: This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 20 chiefs, kingmakers, and community elders. Data were analyzed thematically to identify recurring patterns in leadership selection, mentorship, and governance support. Results: The findings indicate that kingmakers select candidates based on honesty, cultural awareness, and ethics, matching leaders with community values. Kingmaker’s mentoring develops leaders' governance, cultural preservation, and conflict resolution abilities, promoting smooth leadership transitions and cultural heritage. Furthermore, kingmakers advise leaders on decision-making, ethics, and governance, ensuring leadership stability. Succession planning by kingmakers is crucial, as the development of potential successors guarantees seamless transitions and community harmony. However, favouritism and factionalism often interrupt the leadership selection process, highlighting the need for greater transparency. Conclusion: This study contributes to the literature on traditional governance by elucidating the multifaceted roles of kingmakers within the HR life cycle. It highlights both their positive impact on leadership sustainability and the challenges posed by their influence. As agents of socio-political coherence and cultural preservation, kingmakers go beyond HR functions to preserve traditional leadership. Recommendations: Recognizing the strategic role of kingmakers could improve community cohesiveness by integrating traditional governance structures into modern political frameworks. Future research should explore strategies for enhancing transparency in leadership selection, such as standardized selection criteria, legal recognition of kingmakers' roles, and formalized leadership training programs. Additionally, cross-cultural studies can provide comparative insights into traditional governance models in different regions.
... However, we believe that our model also would hold under these circumstances, where groups may be charged with evaluating and presenting candidates to a leader who has final authority over the selection decision, because the recommendation made by the group would reflect the outcome of the collective moral credentialing process our theory specifies. Additionally, although the leaders could deviate from the group's recommendation, research has shown a strong, positive correlation between hiring recommendations and organizational selection decisions, and leaders often consider recommendations as the most important factor when making selection decisions (Dipboye, 1994). ...
Despite significant knowledge on the demographic composition of workgroups, the literature lacks group-level theory that addresses the tendency of work groups with token levels of diversity to maintain their demographic imbalance over time. We explain this phenomenon by extending moral licensing theory to the group level, arguing that a token level of racial or gender diversity leads to the development of a collective moral credential. This credential provides psychological permission for groups to relax their moral strivings, such that they are less likely to question the influence of bias in group member selection decisions, and thus more likely to make subsequent homogenous group member additions. Additionally, we argue that the diversity climates within which groups are embedded can either magnify (i.e., in fairness-focused diversity climates) or mitigate (i.e., in synergy-focused diversity climates) the development of a collective moral credential. Further, we suggest that the effect of token levels of diversity on the development of a collective moral credential can be affected by the prevailing social norms for diversity. Finally, we theorize that the effects of this process can be accentuated by group use of a majority decision rule and attenuated by group use of a unanimous decision rule.
... Standardized selection procedures rely on structure, formality, and data and are designed to measure the KSAs of applicants (Dipboye, 1994). The information communicated via these explanations aligns closely with notions of person-job (PJ) fit Sekiguchi, 2004). ...
While great attention is paid to applicant reactions (e.g., Hausknecht et al., 2004; Ployhart & Harold, 2004; Smither et al., 1993; Gilliland, 1993), less emphasis is placed on applicant reactions to rejection (Schinkel et al., 2011; Cortini et al., 2019), and even less so on reactions to rejection from prestigious organizations. This viewpoint is critical because many job seekers will face rejection, and even more will face rejection from prestigious organizations, which are often highly selective. Therefore, studying applicant reactions through this lens helps us understand which organizational characteristics contribute to applicant attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Tenets of Gilliland’s (1993) model of applicant reactions suggest favorable reactions stem from perceptions of fairness in decision-making. However, not all selection decisions are perceived as fair. For example, the reasons organizations reject applicants commonly vary, with some focusing on the applicant’s ability to perform job demands (person-job (PJ) fit) and others focusing on the applicant’s fit with the organization’s culture (person-organization (PO) fit) (Nolan et al., 2016). In this vein, Gilliland et al. (2001) suggest job–related feedback (PJ) is generally perceived as more fair and favorable than non-job-related feedback (PO). However, this dissertation finds that PO fit-based rejections are perceived as more fair and favorable coming from high prestige organizations than from low prestige organizations – suggesting that tenets of Gilliland’s (1993) model do not hold when organizations are prestigious. Further, considering the theory of symbolic attraction (Highhouse et al., 2007) and image congruity theory (Nolan & Harold, 2010), this study finds that the effect of organizational prestige on applicant reactions is qualified by social-adjustment concern. – such that PO fit-based rejections are perceived more favorably by those with high social adjustment concern. Results further our understanding of recruitment and job seeker decision-making by providing important insights concerning the effects of rejection explanations, organizational prestige, and social adjustment concern on applicant reactions and their intentions to further pursue employment at rejecting organizations. In addition, findings also suggest that fairness relationships predicted by Gilliand (1993) are moderated by organizational prestige. Practically, this study sheds light on how these factors combine to influence self-benefitting (e.g., reapplication intentions) and other-benefitting (e.g., recommendation intentions) intentions. Results suggest that individuals, in general, exhibited higher reapplication intentions to the prestigious organization when the fit-based rejection was PO and when process fairness was low. Individuals were also more likely to recommend the prestigious organization when the fit-based rejection was PO, but only when process fairness was not low. Hypotheses suggesting that social-adjustment concern qualified these relationships were not supported. These findings suggest that some job seekers may be more likely to exhibit self-benefitting intentions and less likely exhibit other-benefitting intentions selection processes are less fair. Further, these findings suggest that, in some instances, job seekers will persist in the face of unfair feedback. Organizations and career service workers may benefit from providing additional support, transparency, and resources to those rejected, especially those heavily invested in the process. Such efforts may reduce the competitive and cutthroat nature of recruitment and help job seekers process and navigate unpleasant selection decisions.
Despite having predictive validity above other selection methods, structured interviews are not always used. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework, this study examines the role of interview training in increasing structured interview acceptance (SIA). Based on a survey of 190 practitioners in the fields of Human Resources, I‐O Psychology, and other professionals who conduct employment interviews, our results show that not all interviewer training programs are equally effective in increasing SIA. While participation in formal interviewer training is related to SIA, SIA could be influenced more by incorporating certain training components, including training on how to avoid rating errors ( r = .21), learning how to evaluate interview answers ( r = .19), interview practice/roleplaying ( r = .17), training on job analysis ( r = .15), legal issues ( r = .15), background and purpose of the interview ( r = .13), job requirements for the position(s) being filled ( r = .13), and a discussion about interview verbal and nonverbal behaviors to avoid ( r = .13). Additionally, we found that training components display different relationship with SIA across our two sub‐samples. For example, in the MTurk sample (i.e., composed primarily from a managerial population) including job analysis , how to evaluate answers , and how to avoid rating errors correlated significantly with SIA. However, in the non‐MTurk sample (i.e., composed primarily from a HR professional population), interview practice/role playing , rapport building , use of a videotaped interview to guide instructions , and how to make decisions from interview data correlated significantly with SIA. This highlights the importance of training needs analysis to better understand the audience before training. We suggest that organizations incorporate the identified components into interviewer training to enhance the structured interviews acceptance and ensure that interviewers are more likely to implement structured interview techniques in practice.
There have been tremendous advancements in technology-based assessments in new modes of data collection and the use of artificial intelligence. Traditional assessment techniques in the fields of psychology, business, education, and health need to be reconsidered. Yet, while technology is pervasive, its spread is not consistent due to national differences in economics and culture. Given these trends, this book offers an integrative consolidation of how technology is changing the face of assessments across different regions of the world. There are three major book sections: in foundations, core issues of computational models, passively sensed data, and privacy concerns are discussed; in global perspectives, the book identifies ways technology has changed how we assess human attributes across the world, and finally, in regional focus, the book surveys how different regions around the world have adopted technology-based assessments for their unique cultural and societal context.
