An Exploratory Test of the Contingency Approach to Recruitment Interview Decisions

A review of the research literature on college recruitment shows the impact of acandidate's interviewing skill on hiring decisions is equivocal. Whereas some investigations suggest an interviewee's verbal and nonverbal communication behavior plays themost important role, other research indicates it is the written information which influences selection decisions most. This investigation tested a contingency explanationfor these discordant results, that is, the influence of an applicant's interviewing skillson recruiters' recommendations depends upon the relevancy of effective oral communication to the position in question. Two hundred and forty recruiters were placedinto one of 12 experimental groups in which the significance of effective oral communication skills to the position, candidate verbal and nonverbal communicationskills, and application qualifications were varied. Results from a 3 x 2 x 2 analysis ofvariance were mixed. Although effective oral communicators were more likely to berecommended for further consideration, the relative importance of oral communicationand written credentials was dependent on the extent to which each was critical to thepositions in question.