Using the concepts of reliability and validity critically examine how confident Human Resource professionals should be in using interviews as an effective selection technique

Essay from the year 2002 in the subject Leadership and Human Resources - Miscellaneous grade: 15 of 20 University of St Andrews (Management Department) course: Human Resource management language: English abstract: Using the concepts of reliability and validity critically examine how confident Human Resource professionals should be in using interviews as an effective selection technique.Interviews are the most common selection technique for recruiting. Notwithstanding this method has been frequently criticised. It is the task of this essay to evaluate how valid and reliable they are. Therefore firstly validity and reliability have to be defined to form a basis to start with. Secondly different types of interviews beginning with the traditional type will be presented and analysed. Thirdly attempts to standardise and improve the interview in terms of reliability and validity will be critically examined. Finally a short outlook will be given to show that not everything can be related to be reliable and valid. This text will analyse only selection interviews as the topic refers mainly to these. Furthermore it will only deal with personal interviews of employees which excludes for example telephone screening1. Every selection method has weaknesses and therefore it will become clear that interviews are not absolutely valid and reliable but nevertheless to fill certain vacant positions they will be still irreplaceable.Reliability and Validity are the two key characteristics that interviews have to have to be a suitable method for selection. They measure if the chosen methods provide consistent results and if they adequately measure the characteristic they are looking at2.Reliability means that the selection methods tests and ensuing results are consistent and do not vary with time place or different subjects3. Or as Cowling puts it: Reliability is a measure of the consistency with which a predictor continues to predict performance with the same d