Recruitment and Selection in the Public and Nonprofi t Sectors 191
and lifestyle. A consumer report is virtually any information on an appli-
cant that is compiled from a database by a consumer reporting agency
and provided to the organization. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970),
as amended, regulates the organization ’ s acquisition and use of consumer
reports on job applicants.
The Internet has created informal means, not necessarily sanctioned
by the agency, to screen applicants. Conducting a Web search on Google
may provide news reports, press releases, or even blogs that may disclose
personal characteristics of the applicant. Visits to social networking sites
such as MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga have also been used to ascer-
tain if there are pictures or comments made by the applicant that might
embarrass the agency.
Employment screening techniques and tests must comply with the gen-
eral principles and technical requirements of the Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection Procedures (1978), which apply to public, for - profi t,
and nonprofi t organizations. Preemployment testing is used to measure
the KSAOCs of applicants and predict their ability to perform a job. It is
an attempt to standardize the screening process and determine whether
applicants possess the characteristics necessary to be successful on the job.
Along with the Uniform Guidelines, the Principles for the Validation and
Use of Personnel Selection Procedures, developed by the American Psy-
chological Association, Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychol-
ogy (1987), broadly defi ne tests as a variety of instruments or procedures
used in the selection or promotion process.
Following are some of the selection techniques commonly used in
employment settings, as well as alternative approaches. Cognitive ability and
aptitude tests are designed to refl ect the general and the specifi c capabilities
and potentials of the individual applicant by measuring verbal, quantita-
tive, nonverbal, and oral skills, or motor functions such as mechanical
ability, numerical aptitude, fi nger dexterity, or perceptual accuracy. They
are used to determine whether applicants possess the aptitude to learn the
KSAOCs required in the position.
Achievement tests are designed to measure the degree of mastery of spe-
cifi c material to assess whether an individual has profi ted from prior expe-
rience and learned specifi c materials. Most of the items on achievement
tests assess whether the individual possesses specifi c knowledge of concepts
considered critical for a job. Trade tests are examples of this type.
Personality inventories are designed to assess a person ’ s typical behavioral
traits and characteristics by measuring such traits as dominance, socia-
bility, self - control, or introversion and extroversion. Some of the more