ARE HIGHLY STRUCTURED JOB INTERVIEWS RESISTANT TO DEMOGRAPHIC SIMILARITY EFFECTS?
and requests for reprints should be addressed to Julie McCarthy, The University of Toronto, Management, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, M1C1A4 Canada; [email protected].
We thank Phil Roth for his helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this article. The authors gratefully acknowledge Mathilda du Toit and Yuk Fai Cheong for their assistance in DOS programming and model estimation. In addition, special thanks to Mathew H. Reider for his help with the data and John P. Trougakos for his help with HLM.
Abstract
This study examines the extent to which highly structured job interviews are resistant to demographic similarity effects. The sample comprised nearly 20,000 applicants for a managerial-level position in a large organization. Findings were unequivocal: Main effects of applicant gender and race were not associated with interviewers’ ratings of applicant performance nor was applicant–interviewer similarity with regard to gender and race. These findings address past inconsistencies in research on demographic similarity effects in employment interviews and demonstrate the value of using highly structured interviews to minimize the potential influence of applicant demographic characteristics on selection decisions.
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