Tell me about a time when you were successful because of great teamwork
Race and gender may influence interviewers’ evaluations.
The greatest weakness in the selection interview may be the tendency for the interviewer to try to assess an applicant’s personality characteristics. Although it is difficult to eliminate such subjectivity, evaluations of applicants are often more subjective than they need to be. Informa- tion collected during an interview should answer three fundamental questions:
1. Can the applicant perform the job?
2. Will the applicant perform the job?
3. Will the candidate fit into the culture of the unit and the organization?
210 PART 3 • MANAGING RESOURCES
The best predictor of the applicant’s future behavior in these respects is past performance. Previous work and other experience, past education and training, and current job performance should be considered rather than personality characteristics, which even psychologists cannot measure very accurately.