Interviewer's ratings of personality: can these ratings predict job performance?

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references: p. 67-80.Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.The link between personality and job performance has usually been studied using self-report personality data. The present study looked at whether an interviewer's ratings of an applicant's personality can predict future job performance. A sample of 124 undergraduates acted as applicants for a middle management job by interviewing for the position. At the conclusion of the interview, the interviewer rated the personality of the applicant using the NEO Five Factor Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1989). The NEO-FFI measures personality using the Big Five taxonomy of traits, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. After being "hired" for the middle management position, the subjects performed an in-basket task, which served as the job performance measure. Results showed that interviewers' ratings of Conscientiousness can significantly predict total job performance (r,y = .21, p < .05), and can predict as well as self-ratings. Interviewers' ratings of Conscientiousness also accounted for significant variance in total ob performance beyond self-ratings alone (p =.05). When the sample was divided by interview structure into two groups, structured versus unstructured, an interviewer's ratings of Neuroticism was found to be a better predictor of job performance in the structured interview than in the unstructured interview, while the reverse was true for ratings of Extraversion. Overall, these results suggest that observer, specifically interviewer, ratings of personality may provide unique information for the prediction of job performance in a selection setting