A different look at why selection procedures work: the role of candidates' ability to identify criteria

Personnel selection procedures such as assessment centers, structured interviews, and personality inventories are useful predictors of candidates’ job performance. In addition to existing explanations for their criterion-related validity, we suggest that candidates’ ability to identify the criteria used to evaluate their performance during a selection procedure contributes to the criterionrelated validity of these procedures. Conceptually, the ability to identify criteria can be framed in the broader literature on peoples’ ability to read situational cues. We draw on both theory and empirical research to outline the potential this ability has to account for selection results and job performance outcomes. Finally, implications for future research are presented