EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY  DEFINED
ideas  on  the  best  way  in  which  to  hire  applicants.  Therefore, ­
  even  though  there  is  some  understanding  between
them  regarding  the  general  character  of  the  applicants
they  wish  to  hire,  their  methods  of  selection  are  not  standard, ­
  and  their  results  are  bound  to  be  different.  For  instance, ­
  it  is  quite  within  the  realm  of  probability  that
each  of  two  interviewers  should  interview  in  turn  and  unknown ­
  to  each  other  the  same  applicants,  and  that  one
interviewer  should  hire  one-half  of  those  interviewed
while  the  other  hired  the  other  half.  Even  if  a  corps  of
interviewers  should  happen  to  work  together  harmoniously, ­
  the  fact  that  the  personnel  of  the  corps  is  subject
to  constant  change  will  result  in  a  corresponding  change
in  its  standards  of  employment.  In  one  year,  an  entirely
new  staff  of  interviewers  may  come  into  office,  with  the
consequence  that  the  entire  method  of  hiring  is  radically
changed.
But  even  in  smaller  places,  where  one  person  does  all
the  hiring,  there  is  no  guarantee  of  uniformity.  To  begin
with,  there  is  the  same  likelihood  that  the  person  who  does
the  hiring  will  be  succeeded  by  another.  But  in  addition
to  this  source  of  variability,  each  man  in  himself  possesses ­
  a  variety  of  moods  and  methods  which  make  it  impossible ­
  for  him  to  produce  standard  results.  On  some
days  the  interviewer  will  be  in  a  jovial  and  sympathetic
mood,  so  that  he  will  find  it  almost  impossible  to  turn
away  even  the  most  unsuitable  applicant.  On  other  days
he  may  be  cross  enough  to  turn  away  most  desirable  applicants. ­
  Moreover,  every  individual  is  subject  to  certain
prejudices  of  religion,  race,  caste,  etc.,  which  affect  his
Judgment.  Unconsciously,  these  prejudices  operate  in  the
mental  processes  by  which  the  interviewer  selects  from
among  the  available  candidates.  If  two  applicants  are