Current Directions in Personnel Selection Research

Abstract

For many decades, the focus of personnel selection research was on developing selection tests that maximized prediction of job performance; the approach was typically lacking in theoretical bases. The past two decades saw significant shifts in research to a focus on the nature of constructs and their interrelationships, characterized by an approach that emphasizes theoretical understanding of the phenomena under investigation. This article provides an overview of how a construct-oriented approach underlies major current directions in scientific research on personnel selection. Emerging trends that are likely to constitute issues of enduring importance are discussed.