Employee Selection Techniques That Are Too Good to Be True Selecting future employees is one of the most important and difficult processes for (21) human resource managers are responsible. The time-honored approach of interviewing, investigating an applicant’s experience and education, and talking with references, although time-consuming, may still be the best method. (22) interviewing today is a minefield of legal do’s and don’ts. You may ask an applicant about (23) convictions but not about arrests. You may ask about medical background but not about race and (24) And, (25) if you hire a person who then hurts a customer, you can be sued for not having known about his or her prior arrest record. Faced with such difficulties, many companies buy quick-and-easy solutions to the selection (26) Many of these solutions are, in fact, too good to be true. Take the 1980s, for example, Polygraph—lie detector-tests seemed at that time to be the wave of the future. Companies began relying on machines and polygraph experts to screen applicants. Disturbed by this trend and by the (27) of many of the best results, Congress severely restricted polygraph use. In the 1990s, equally questionable selection techniques are being offered as the human re source manager’s best friend. Some companies borrow a technique from country fairs and try to (28) applicants on the basis of their (29) Others turn to "honesty tests" which claim to be able to uncover applicants who would be problem employees. Some pencil-and-paper tests do provide (30) managers with useful information, but many tests now being marked simply do not live up to their claims.

A. select B. evaluate C. judge D. interview