The relative effects of interview structure and person-organization fit on recruiting outcomes: An individual differences perspective

Two laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effect of interview structure on recruiting outcomes. The first study was a 2 x 2 x 2 between subjects design in which subjects were presented with transcripts of either a structured or unstructured interview and information describing the organization as either affiliative or achievement oriented and the job as either data or socially oriented. Subjects rated numerous recruiting outcomes concerning their perceptions of the interviewer, organization, and job. The results of study 1 supported the hypothesis that structured interviews negatively influenced recruiting outcomes. Subjects given structured interviews rated the interviewer, organization, and job less favorably than subjects given unstructured interviews. The hypothesis that subjects would rate organizations congruent with their personal interests more favorably was not confirmed with examination of the individual difference measures of need for achievement and need for affiliation. However, some support was found for person-organization congruence with individual item measures of self-perceived organization and job fit. Study 2 was a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 within subjects design in which specific attributes of the interview structure were examined: Job-relevance of questions, question standardization, applicant voice, and interviewer warmth. The findings revealed more favorable reactions to the interview when interviews were high in applicant voice and interviewer warmth, and low in question standardization. When the interview was high in applicant voice and interviewer warmth, and low in question standardization and job relevance, organizational attractiveness was rated more favorably. Of the four factors, applicant voice and interviewer warmth had the largest effects, followed by question standardization and job-relevance