Reference no: EM131146384

Answers the question related to the topic "Initial Assessment Methods"

True False/ Questions

19. A major problem with resumes and cover letters is lying.

20. Although employers can outsource résumé collection to résumé-tracking services, in practice this type of outsourcing is too inefficient to be worth the cost.

21. Résumé scanning software tends to look for nouns more than action verbs.

22. Video résumés have become a major component of selection in most large organizations.

23. To protect an employer from charges of unfair discrimination, it is best to only include information related to KSAOs demonstrated as important to the job on an application blank.

24. Research has found that level of education is moderately related to job performance.

25. College grades are more valid predictors of job performance than high school grades.

26. Research suggests that the quality of the school a person graduates from makes a difference in the labor market.

27. Occupational certifications are nearly all regulated by the Department of Labor to ensure that they accurately reflect job knowledge.

28. Occupational certification helps guard against the misuse of job titles in human resource selection.

29. Scored evaluations of unweighted application blanks are good predictors of job performance.

30. The validity evidence for weighted application blanks is better than that for unweighted application blanks.

31. Most organizations use only weighted application blanks for initial screening decisions.

32. The principal assumption behind the use of biodata in selection processes is the axiom, "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

33. Biodata refers to medical or physiological tests of applicants prior to hiring.

34. Biodata is like a background check in many ways, but background checks tend to focus on external references rather than applicant surveys.

35. Biodata items are generally the same, regardless of the job being staffed.

36. Research suggests that biodata does not provide incremental validity over personality and cognitive ability.

37. Research on the reliability and validity of biodata has been quite positive.

38. Biographical information tends to have low reliability.

39. Research shows that applicants have a favorable attitude toward biodata inventories.

40. Letters of recommendation are an excellent way to help organizations separate highly qualified from moderately qualified applicants.

41. One study that showed there was a stronger correlation between two letters written by one person for two different applicants than between two different people writing letters for the same person.

42. The most common person to be contacted in a reference check is the applicant's former colleagues who worked in the same position.

43. Many organizations are reluctant to give out detailed reference information regarding their former employees because they are afraid of being sued.

44. Surveys suggest that only 3 out of 10 organizations conduct reference checks.

45. The proportion of organizations that conduct pre-hire background checks to determine if employees have criminal records or inaccurate reporting on résumés, has risen dramatically in recent years.

46. Genetic screening is becoming a valuable component of many organizations' selection systems.

47. The purpose of the initial interview is to screen out the most obvious cases of person/job mismatches.

48. The initial interview is the least expensive method of initial assessment.

49. Initial interviews can be made more useful by asking the same questions of all job applicants.

50. Most initial assessment methods have moderate to low validity.

51. The most frequently used methods of initial assessment are education level, training and experience, reference checks, and initial interview.

52. Level of education requirements have little adverse impact against minority applicants.

Multiple Choice Questions

53. Which of the following is(are) initial assessment methods?
A. Résumés and cover letters
B. Application blanks
C. Biographical information
D. All of the above


54. Which of the following are common sources of résumé fraud?
A. inflated titles
B. inflated education or "purchased" degrees
C. inaccurate dates to cover up job hopping or unemployment
D. all of the above

55. Which of the following statements regarding résumés is ?
A. Even background checks cannot reduce the problem of résumé fraud
B. Most surveys suggest that around half of all résumés have substantial inaccuracies or distortions
C. Video résumés are highly respected by most employers
D. Extensive evidence suggests that résumés are highly accurate predictors of employee job performance

56. In using educational level as an initial selection criterion, which of the following statements is ?
A. The degree received from an institution is not sufficient as a sole indicator of an applicant's level of education.
B. A GED is a high school equivalency degree and is about as good as a conventional high school diploma in predicting job performance.
C. Educational level is a predictor of job performance.
D. High-level degrees from non-accredited schools may be indicators of lesser accomplishment than lower-level degrees from accredited schools.

57. Which of the following statements regarding the use of grade point averages as a predictor is ?
A. GPA may be influenced by many factors in addition to the applicant's KSAOs and motivation.
B. GPAs in one's major tend to be highly similar to one's GPAs in other classes.
C. Grades do not vary widely by field.
D. GPAs from different schools mean the same thing.

58. When considering the use of extracurricular activities as a job performance predictor, one should _________.
A. use extracurricular activities whenever possible
B. de-emphasize the use of extracurricular activities
C. use extracurricular activities mainly for selection of managerial personnel
D. use extracurricular activities when they correlate with KSAOs required by the job

59. Asking applicants to complete a supplemental application in which they describe their most significant accomplishments relative to a list of job behaviors is known as the _______.
A. behavioral consistency method
B. experiential summary method
C. biodata approach
D. none of the above

60. The highest estimate of validity coefficients of unweighted applicant banks as predictors of job performance are _________.
A. 1.00
B. .80
C. .20
D. .60
E. .40

61. Research on application blanks has suggested that the most common questions that are misinterpreted include _________.
A. previous employers
B. reasons for leaving previous jobs
C. previous positions held
D. all of the above are

62. The principal assumption behind the use of biodata is the axiom, ________.
A. The best predictor of future behavior is motivation level
B. The best predictor of future behavior is KSAOs
C. The best predictor of future behavior is education level
D. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior


63. Which of the following is regarding biodata and background tests?
A. Background information is obtained through interviews and conversations with references.
B. They are two different names for the same thing.
C. Only background tests look into an applicant's past.
D. Biodata is used primarily when screening applicants for positions in which integrity and emotional adjustment are necessary.

64. Biographical information is like application blanks, except _______.
A. biographical information is based on history, but application blanks are based on current events
B. application blanks are more likely to be used for substantive selection decisions
C. biographical data is more likely to be accepted by applicants
D. biographical data can be more fruitfully used for substantive selection decisions

65. Which of the following is a criterion on which biodata items can be classified?
A. historical vs. nonverifiable
B. invasive vs. firsthand
C. objective vs. subjective
D. equal access vs. easy access

66. The problem with using _____ for hiring purposes is that only very poor applicants cannot obtain these, and the format is unstandardized.
A. certifications
B. biodata forms
C. letters of recommendation
D. MBAs

67. The information collected for an accomplishments record includes ______.
A. a written statement of the accomplishment
B. when the accomplishment took place
C. any recognition for the accomplishment
D. all of the above


68. Which of the following methods is the most valid predictor of performance?
A. Initial interviews
B. Handwriting analysis
C. Biodata
D. Unweighted application blanks

69. Research has indicated that job applicants generally have a __________ view of biodata inventories.
A. very positive
B. negative
C. positive
D. neutral

70. One major problem with letters of recommendation is that they _________.
A. are too lengthy to be useful
B. are not structured or standardized
C. are too ambiguous to interpret
D. all of the above are correct

71. The most common person to be contacted in a reference check is the applicant's __________.
A. former coworkers
B. HR department at his/her former employer
C. former supervisor
D. friends

72. Background testing is concerned with the __________ of an applicant.
A. integrity
B. reliability
C. personal adjustments
D. all of the above


73. One of the major disadvantages of using handwriting analysis as an assessment method is that it is ______.
A. expensive
B. not related to job performance
C. easy to fake
D. inefficient

74. Which of the following is regarding genetic screening?
A. It helps to screen out people who will perform poorly on the job.
B. It is used widely by companies in the U.S.
C. It helps to screen out people who are susceptible to certain diseases.
D. A recent court decision has ruled that it is allowable under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

75. One guideline for improving the effectiveness of initial interviews is to ____.
A. ask questions which assess the most basic KSAOs
B. make them long and rigorous
C. ask each applicant different questions
D. A and B are correct

76. The issue of consistency of measurement with assessment methods is called ______.
A. validity
B. reliability
C. variability
D. central tendency

77. An example of an assessment method which has relatively low reliability is ________.
A. biographical information
B. initial interviews
C. application blanks
D. resumes


78. _________ refers to the possibility that a disproportionate number of protected-class members may be rejected using this predictor.
A. Low reliability
B. Adverse impact
C. Utility
D. Habeas corpus