Why the medium matters in hiring evaluations

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Human Resource Executive – Why the medium matters in hiring evaluations

Evaluating candidates in person or on paper — a recent study conducted at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business highlighted the dilemma that recruiters and hiring managers often face. In two experiments, a group of evaluators who heard spoken pitches rated the candidates as more intelligent, competent and desirable for the job than candidates whose pitch transcripts were merely read. So which medium to use and trust? According to Greig Schneider, Egon Zehnder’s managing partner in the United States, in-person assessments bring added complexity that HR leaders must recognize. “You need to make sure you’re diving into what is really needed for success in the job, and not cutting out someone who has a great background and competencies, but maybe isn’t a great talker,” Schneider told Human Resources Executive. Forming an impression about a candidate’s intelligence from the cadence or tone of his or her voice is “unavoidable,” Schneider says, but the “challenge is determining whether this is an accurate portrayal.”

Full story: Mark McGraw: Job Seekers: Speak Up and Sound Smart in Human Resource Executive (3 March 2015).