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EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

cant  without  any  special  training  applies  for  some  indefinite ­
  kind  of  office  work.  The  first  step  is  to  give  her
some  general  clerical  tests,  then  some  more  specific  tests
such  as  the  filing  tests  and  arithmetical  tests.  On  the
basis  of  these  tests  it  is  possible  to  assign  her  at  once  to  the
work  for  which  she  seems  best  fitted,  and  also  to  establish
a  tentative  rate  of  compensation.  Once  assigned  to  a
certain  kind  of  work  in  the  vestibule  school,  the  new  employee ­
  is  instructed  in  this  work  with  the  view  of  preparing
her  to  assume  that  work  as  soon  as  possible  in  the  main
office.  So  far  as  practicable,  the  work  of  the  vestibule
school  should  consist  of  actual  routine  work  taken  from  the
main  office,  in  order  that  all  practice  and  instructions  may
have  an  immediate  practical  bearing  upon  the  future  work
of  the  pupil.
The  same  general  procedure  applies  to  a  new  employee
who  claims  previous  education  and  training.  Take,  for
example,  a  stenographer  who  claims  to  be  a  graduate  of
some  business  school  and  to  have  a  considerable  amount
of  experience.  Such  an  applicant  is  tested,  first  of  all,  for
her  ability  to  take  dictation  and  transcribe,  in  order  to
discover  the  degree  of  proficiency  which  her  training  and
experience  have  enabled  her  to  acquire  in  these  essentials.
Besides  this,  she  is  given  certain  clerical  and  special  intelligence ­
  tests,  in  order  to  determine  what  her  natural
capabilities  are.  On  the  basis  of  her  performance  in  these
tests,  she  is  assigned  to  a  certain  type  of  work  and  given  a
tentative  rating,  after  which  she  is  given  instructions  in
the  work  for  which  she  seems  best  fitted.  In  all  cases,
the  duration  of  the  period  of  training  depends  entirely
upon  the  initial  ability  of  the  pupil  and  the  rapidity  with
which  the  pupil  learns  the  work  assigned.
During  this  period  each  pupil  is  under  continual  ob ­