Most hiring managers use a variety of techniques for evaluating a candidate for employment and comparing them to other candidates. These may include background checks, reference checks, discussion with previous employers, review of education and training, college grade point average, biographical data, psychological testing, and, almost always, one or more face-to-face interviews.

Surveys commonly find that most hiring managers attach the greatest weight to the interview, despite its well-documented shortcomings. What is surprising to most people is that psychological testing is a better predictor of job performance than any other single measure.

The table below is taken from a landmark study in one of the most respected psychological journals. Though similar results have been obtained in a number of other similar studies, the Hunter and Hunter study is certainly the most widely known and most frequently cited.

As can be seen, psychological testing outranks all other factors in predicting ultimate job performance. Most striking is the very low validity coefficient for interviewing. On a practical level, though, we would certainly not recommend excluding the interview from the hiring process. Instead, we believe that using psychological testing, and particularly the detailed, interview-oriented report provided by The Computer Psychologist, will significantly enhance the effectiveness of the interview process. The interviewer can better focus on relevant strengths and weaknesses of the candidate, helping to avoid the all-too-common pitfalls of the interview.