Applicants’ perceptions of selection procedures and decisions: A critical review and agenda for the future

applicant perceptions of selection procedures. We organize our review around several key questions: What perceptions have been studied? What are determinants of perceptions? What are the consequences or outcomes associated with perceptions applicants hold? What theoreti-cal frameworks are most useful in e.xamining these perceptions? For each of these questions, we provide suggestions for key research direc-tions. We conclude with a discussion of the practical implications of this line of research for those who design and administer selection pro-cesses. © 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Over the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in studying how job applicants view the employee selection process. This research interest has been sparked by a number of forces. First, the greater competition for employees due to low unemployment rates (Nassar, 1999) has led organizational decision makers to think about how various components of selection processes might influence the attractiveness of the organization. Second, leading recruiting researchers, such as Rynes (1991, 1993). have called for better research on applicant perspectives. Third, researchers in the area of organizational justice have suggested and begun to explore the applicahility of social justice theory concepts to applicant percep-tions of selection methods (e.g., Gilliland. 1993). Fourth, the increasing diversity of the workforce (Cox. 1993; Jackson & Associates. 1992) has led employers to be concerned that certain procedures might make an organization less attractive to qualified minority group members. In addition to examining racial differences in perceptions of selection processes, researchers interested in lessening the adverse impact of selection procedures have been interested in whether attitudes abou