TITLE : FAIR EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWING.

Recent court decisions and civil-rights legislation demand that the selection process, including interviewing, be focused on job relatedness. Our approach differs from most in that it emphasizes collecting and verifying that information considered to be job related. The job description is the base from which the skills, knowledges, and abilities required for effective performance are obtained. Our objective is to show you how then to develop a line of questioning which will produce the information necessary to determine if the candidate can and will do the job, and if the individual is the most suitable for the organization's current and/or long-term needs.

Examples of the techniques utilized by skilled interviewers in analyzing the application, conducting reference checks, constructing questions, and conducting, controlling, and assessing the interview are provided.

One section of the text deals with possible problems that may occur during minority recruitment and interviewing. We discuss not only the concerns, expectations, and possible fears of the applicant, but also those of the interviewer.

The selection process, from reception room to final selection, is discussed step by step. Again, the techniques utilized in "breaking the ice," probing for information, handling negative information, and closing the interview are examined.

The chapter on personnel correspondence is intended to serve as a guide in creating your applicant information system. And the detailed recruitment and legal sections are included to supply the interviewer with helpful and convenient sources of reference material.

In our view, interviewers perform a difficult and rigorous function. They should be provided with all technical assistance available to enable them to accurately analyze complex data and make the correct decision for the company. Our goal has been to establish a framework that provides some structure in organizing the selection process; we recognize the interviewer's need for practical information on basic techniques and processes. Although the text is not intended to be a total solution to the problems of personnel selection, we do hope it will prove beneficial to our readers.

We wish to thank Dr. Lloyd Bell, Dr. John Cowles, Frank McDermott, Dr. Deane Page Beissinger, and Ms. Mary Lou Smith for their assistance. Their comments, critiques, suggestions, and support are greatly appreciated.

We are also grateful to Ms. Deborah Rogers Coxon and Ms. Brenda Smith for their contribution. Their typing and proofreading skills made the production of the manuscript possible.

J.L.R. W.L.F. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 1976