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Oxford Handbook of Personnel Assessment and Selection (Schmitt, Neal
Eds.
In a sentence
A comprehensive scholarly handbook synthesizing a century of science and practice in how organizations identify, measure, and choose the people most likely to perform effectively in their jobs.
This handbook is the definitive reference for anyone who wants to understand the full landscape of personnel assessment and selection. Edited by Neal Schmitt and written by leading industrial-organizational psychologists, it traces the field from its origins around 1900 through modern web-based, global, and team-based selection challenges. It systematically covers the individual-difference constructs that predict performance (cognitive ability, personality, interests, physical ability, self-evaluations), the methods used to measure them (interviews, biodata, simulations, self-reports, individual assessment), the multidimensional criteria that define job performance (task, contextual, counterproductive, turnover, adaptability, safety), and the societal and organizational constraints (legal, cultural, strategic, diversity, applicant reactions) that shape what selection systems can and should do. Combining rigorous validation theory (validity generalization, meta-analysis, job analysis) with practical guidance on implementing and sustaining selection programs, it equips researchers and practitioners to build defensible, valid, and context-sensitive selection systems.
The four lenses
- Science
- Statistics
- Systems
- Strategy
Tags
The model
A causal path model in which contextual conditions and selection-design levers (job analysis, measurement methods) shape the measurement and expression of individual-difference KSAOs, which predict multidimensional job performance and organizational outcomes, with validity as the central inferential link.
Job Analysisdesign lever
A systematic theory and methodology for identifying, among the many tasks and requirements of a job, the most critical performance dimensions and the KSAOs required to perform them.
Predictor Measurement Methoddesign lever
The technique used to collect data about applicants' KSAOs, such as interviews, biodata, simulations, individual assessment, self-reports, or web-based tests, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses.
Cognitive Abilitypsychological state
Hierarchically organized information-processing capacity, with a strong general factor (g), that is consistently related to performance, learning, and success across a wide range of tasks and jobs.
Personality Traitspsychological state
Consistent patterns of behavior across situations, best described by the Big-Five (Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness), relevant to interpersonal and contextual performance.
Interests and Work Valuespsychological state
Learned affective responses of liking toward activities and environments (e.g., Holland RIASEC types) and work-related values that shape vocational choice, motivation, and satisfaction.
Person-Environment Fitpsychological state
The congruence between an individual's characteristics, needs, and values and the demands and rewards of the job, group, or organization.
Contextual Conditionscontextual condition
Higher-level social and organizational factors including national culture, legal environment, strategy, HR systems, leadership, climate, and work-group dynamics that exert direct top-down influence on KSAOs and performance.
Criterion-Related Validityoutcome metric
The empirical relationship (correlation) between predictor scores and performance criteria, supporting the inference that scores reflect true differences in performance.
Multidimensional Job Performanceoutcome metric
The multidimensional set of behaviors employees engage in to accomplish job demands, including task performance, contextual/citizenship performance, counterproductive behavior, adaptability, and safety.
Organizational Outcomesoutcome metric
Aggregate and strategic results such as retention, workforce diversity, team and unit performance, competitive advantage, and utility that selection systems ultimately aim to influence.
Applicant Reactionspsychological state
Applicants' perceptions and affective responses to selection procedures, including fairness and acceptability, which can influence the value and effectiveness of selection practices.
How they connect
- job analysis → influences measurement method
- cognitive ability → predicts job performance
- personality → predicts job performance
- interests values → predicts person environment fit
- person environment fit → predicts organizational outcomes
- measurement method → influences criterion related validity
- cognitive ability → predicts criterion related validity
- criterion related validity → mediates job performance
- contextual conditions → influences job performance
- contextual conditions → moderates criterion related validity
- job performance → predicts organizational outcomes
- applicant reactions → influences organizational outcomes
The story
The reader An I-O psychologist, HR professional, or selection researcher who wants to build scientifically sound, valid, and defensible systems for choosing the right people for jobs.
External problem
Organizations must accurately predict which applicants will perform well while navigating legal, cultural, and strategic constraints.
Internal problem
The reader feels overwhelmed by fragmented literatures, contradictory findings, and the fear of building a system that is invalid, biased, or legally indefensible.
Philosophical problem
It is wrong to make high-stakes decisions about people's careers using untested, context-blind, or pseudoscientific methods when rigorous alternatives exist.
The plan
- Understand the historical and social context of selection and the nature of individual differences.
- Master research strategies: validity, job analysis, staffing strategy, and meta-analysis.
- Learn the individual-difference constructs that underlie performance.
- Choose appropriate methods to measure predictor constructs.
- Conceptualize and measure multidimensional performance and outcomes.
- Account for societal, legal, cultural, and organizational constraints.
- Implement and sustain the selection system over its life cycle.
Success
- Selection systems that reliably predict job performance and other valued outcomes.
- Legally defensible, fair, and context-appropriate hiring decisions.
- Balanced achievement of organizational performance and workforce diversity goals.
- A research and practice agenda grounded in cumulative scientific evidence.
At stake
- Reliance on invalid, biased, or pseudoscientific selection methods.
- Poor person-job fit, turnover, and low performance.
- Legal challenges from adverse impact without job-related justification.
- Selection systems misaligned with organizational strategy and context.
Questions this book answers
- Which knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) predict job performance, and how strongly?
- How do we establish and validate the inference that scores on selection measures reflect true differences in performance?
- What methods best measure different predictor constructs, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
- How should job performance and other outcomes be conceptualized and measured as criteria?
- How do social, organizational, legal, cultural, and strategic contexts constrain and shape selection?
Glossary
- Job Analysis
- A systematic procedure for identifying the critical tasks of a job and the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required to perform them effectively.
- Predictor Measurement Method
- The technique or mode used to collect applicant data about KSAOs, distinct from the construct being measured.
- Cognitive Ability
- Hierarchically organized capacity for information processing, problem solving, and learning, dominated by a general factor g.
- Personality Traits
- Relatively stable, consistent patterns of behavior across situations, organized by the Big-Five factor model.
- Interests and Work Values
- Learned affective responses of liking toward activities and environments, and enduring work-related value preferences.
- Person-Environment Fit
- The degree of congruence between an individual's needs, values, and skills and the demands and rewards of the job or organization.
- Contextual Conditions
- Higher-level social and organizational factors (culture, law, strategy, HR systems, leadership, climate, groups) that shape KSAOs and performance.
- Criterion-Related Validity
- The empirical correlation between predictor scores and job performance criteria used to support the inference of predictive utility.
Related in the library
- Personnel Selection and Assessment
- Personnel Selection in Organizations
- (override)
- Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research
- Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology)
- How to Measure Employee Performance (The performance management series)