| In the personnel selection literature, the employment interview is generally regarded as the most used selection technique and, yet, the applicant resume is commonly submitted to potential employers before the interview process is ever initiated. Therefore, it is very likely that for even applicant interviewed, there were several applicants who submitted resumes but were excluded from the applicant pool for any number of reasons (e.g., applicant did not meet minimum qualifications). It is the premise of this research that applicants' resumes are likely the most frequently used selection tool. In screening applicants' resumes, recruiters form initial impressions of applicants that are later tested during the employment interview. In spite of its recurrent use by employers, no previous research appears to have investigated the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and validity) of recruiters' impressions formed during resume evaluation. Consequently, the goal of the present research was to address this gap within the literature. One hundred and twenty-two (N = 122) students applying for entry-level positions acted as participants in the study. As a participant, the job applicants were required to submit copies of their current resume and complete mental ability and personality inventories. In addition, experienced human resource recruiters (N = 244) also participated. Each recruiter was asked to screen one applicant resume that was randomly assigned and complete a questionnaire. As a result, two recruiters independently evaluated the same applicant resume. A policy capturing methodology was used, where recruiters first rated the importance of specific resume items, followed by survey questions assessing their inferences formed regarding the applicant, and, finally, items assessing their opinions of the applicant's hirability for an open job position that matched their major field of study. Results of the study were as follows: (1) Although there was a statistical relationship between recruiter pairs' ratings of applicants' general mental ability and personality, the interacter reliability estimates were lower than expected. (2) Recruiters' ratings of applicants' extraversion were accurate (i.e., valid). However, all other self-recruiter validity coefficients were near zero. These findings suggest recruiters are idiosyncratic in their attribution process. (3) Recruiters' assessments of applicants' general mental ability, openness to experience, and agreeableness predicted recruiters' ratings of applicants' hirability. (4) The extent to which resume biodata items were present on applicants' resumes interacted to predict recruiters' ratings of applicants' hirability. |
