Personnel interviewers' perceptions of the importance and adequacy of applicants' communication skills

Personnel interviewer perceptions of job applicants' oral and nonverbal communication skills and the effect they have on hiring decisions were investigated. A questionnaire sent to personnel interviewers at 500 businesses in a Midwestern city asked the extent to which: (a) oral communication skills significantly impact hiring decisions, (b) higher level positions require more communication skills, (c) job applicants currently display adequate communication skills, (d) increased communication skills are needed for jobs in the 1990s and 21st century. Although over 90% of the 253 respondents indicated that communication skills are essential for success, only 60% reported that applicants were prepared with effective communication skills in job interviews. Interviewers were also asked to identify the 5 most prevalent communication inadequacies; these included the oral skills of topic relevance, response organization, response clarity, grammar, and response feedback.