H

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

appointed  as  monarch  of  the  'hiring-on  window’  a  man
who  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  a  leg  in  the  company’s
employ.  As  a  consequence  of  this  loss,  he  was  given  his
present  life  job  which  he  performs  to  the  queen’s  taste.
He  was  induced  to  describe  his  methods  and  they  were
something  as  follows:  ‘On  Mondays  I  turns  down  all
the  men  with  white  collars,  on  Tuesdays  all  with  blue
eyes,  Wednesday  all  with  dark  eyes.  Red-headed  men
I  never  hires,  and  there  do  be  days  when  I  has  a  grouch
and  hires  every  tenth  man.’”  This  exaggeration  serves
at  least  to  bring  out  into  sharp  relief  the  weakness  of  the
old  and  present  method  of  employing.  This  weakness,
in  brief,  is  due  to  the  absolute  reliance  upon  the  particular
ability  and  experience  of  the  individual  or  individuals
who  happen  to  be  doing  the  hiring.  This  method,  like
the  method  of  home  remedies  in  other  fields,  is  not  without ­
  its  virtues.  There  are  undoubtedly  people  who  have
an  almost  uncanny  ability  to  select  the  right  applicant
for  the  right  place.  However,  the  most  experienced  employment ­
  manager  will  admit  that  its  shortcomings  more
than  outweigh  its  virtues.  These  shortcomings  are  the
shortcomings  of  every  unscientific  or  home  remedy  method,
namely,  the  lack  of  accurate  standards  or  measurements
and  the  failure  to  provide  a  safeguard  against  the  thousand ­
  and  one  prejudices  to  which  the  human  flesh  is
liable  and  by  which  personal  judgments  are  so  frequently
vitiated.
A  few  general  instances  will  serve  to  bring  out  these
weaknesses  more  distinctly.  In  a  large  employment  office ­
  there  are  usually  three  or  four  or  more  men  and  women
taking  applications  and  interviewing  applicants.  Each
of  these  interviewers  has  probably  had  a  different  kind
of  experience  and  training,  and  each  may  have  different