A brief history of the selection interview: may the next 100 years be more fruitful

Abstract

Over the past 100 years, the interview has received much attention. It is generally agreed that the interview is modest in terms of reliability or validity. In spite of this, it will continue to be used as a selection tool. Research has shown that structured interviews are more reliable than unstructured interviews. It has also been suggested that group interviews and extensive interviewer training modestly improve interview validity. Little theoretical development has occurred since these ideas were presented in the 1940s. At the risk of denigrating research contributions on the interview process, the past 20 years of interview research have lacked substantial theoretical contributions and the creativity necessary to make the interview perform the function it is designed to perform – identify the best person for the job.