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and standardized way because I can train them in doing so.
One can say that especially for people who start in this field,
it is important to use a structured and standardized process.
Later on, when they have more confidence and experience
in judging people, maybe they are able to drop some of the
structure and rely more on their gut feeling. However, the best
approach is often a combination of both worlds, which means
that one combines a more structured and standardized pro-
cess with one’s growing experience in judging people. This
is also supported by the so-called “multi modal interview” in
which interviewers rely on both unstructured (e.g., for rap-
port building) and structured interview questions.
PERSONALquarterly:
When you think about the applied recruit-
ment and selection practices in organizations, what are
common pitfalls and how could organizations avoid them in
everyday business? Which advices would you give practitio-
ners to profit from recruitment research?
Filip Lievens:
I would identify two pitfalls: The first pitfall is that
one often thinks a shorter and faster process is always better.
Yet, there are no shortcuts in science. Imposing both more
rigor and more evidence-based practices is often beneficial.
There has been an enormous amount of research evidence to
improve recruitment and selection in the last decades. For
instance, there were two papers in the last issue of “Journal
of Applied Psychology” which summarized 100 years of re-
search on recruitment and selection and estimating indivi-
dual differences among candidates. So, as a general advice
to practitioners I would say: visit websites that summarize
the latest research evidence on recruitment and selection,
go to international conferences, read blogs of authorities in
the field, and derive your principles based on science and
evidence.
The second pitfall is that we still have a hard time of selling
our recruitment and selection solutions to the executive board
and higher management and showing to them that our solu-
tions in terms of recruitment and selection have an impact on
the business strategy. We should really work to further solidify
our credibility towards higher and top management. Again,
this can be done by showing that what we do is evidence-based
PROF. DR. FILIP LIEVENS
Ghent University, Belgium
Filip Lievens ist Professor am Department für Personalmanagement
und Arbeit und Organisationspsychologie an der Universität von
Gent in Belgien. Er ist außerdem Honorarprofessor an der Universität
von Kapstadt und war bereits Gastdozent an zahlreichen Universi-
täten auf der ganzen Welt.
Lievens gehört zu den weltweit führenden Wissenschaftlern im
Bereich der Personalrekrutierung, Personalevaluation und Perso-
nalauswahl. Er hat mehr als 160 Artikel in hochrangigen, internati-
onal referierten Zeitschriften veröffentlicht, unter anderem in den
Bereichen Assessment Center, Interviews, Persönlichkeitstestung,
Intelligenz, Employer Branding und Attraktivität von Organisationen.
Er ist zudem Mitglied im Editorial Board des Journal of Applied Psy-
chology und des Personnel Psychology und der erste europäische
Gewinner des angesehenen Distinguished Early Career Award of
the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Er wur-
de außerdem mit dem Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel-Forschungspreis
der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung ausgezeichnet. Bislang hat
er mehr als 200 Präsentationen, Workshops und Keynotes in der
ganzen Welt gehalten (Europa, USA, Asien und Australien). Er berät
private, öffentliche und militärische Organisationen und unterstützt
Beratungsunternehmen als „Metaconsultant“.
