Rethinking Interview Design: Does Asking About Maximum and Typical Performance in the Job Interview Affect Impression Management and Predictions of Job Performance?
摘要
Organizations invest heavily in employee selection, often using structured job interviews because they show high criterion-related validity compared to other selection methods. However, job interviews also show high variability in their criterion validity. Two factors may contribute to this: Recent research suggests that interviewees randomly report different types of performance (i.e., maximum or typical performance) and vary in their use of impression management (IM) when responding to interview questions. This study adds to our understanding of the criterion-related validity of job interviews by investigating the effects of explicitly distinguishing between maximum and typical performance in interview questions. Using a within-subjects design, we applied a maximum versus typical performance framing to prototypical interview questions, with impression management measured for each framing condition. Supervisor ratings of job performance were collected as the criterion. Results support the notion that the criterion-related validity of interview ratings can vary substantially: interview ratings for responses to interview questions with a maximum performance framing correlated positively with supervisor ratings of job performance, whereas interview ratings for responses to interview questions with a typical performance framing correlated negatively with supervisor ratings of job performance. Further analyses showed that honest IM behaviors moderate the relationship between typical performance interview ratings and job performance, so that the negative relationship was less pronounced for interviewees who engaged in more honest IM. Theoretical and practical implications for interview design are discussed.