A PRACTICAL COMBINATION OF EMPLOYMENT METHODS 345
previous record nothing whatsoever is known would be
examined.
Coming now to the consideration of new applicants,
the first step once more is to ascertain what kind of work
the applicant desires. This single factor is the one most
important item about any application, whether of a new
or former employee. It may be accepted as almost a
psychological axiom that the likes and dislikes of every
applicant should be given the most serious attention.
Obviously, however, the employment office can not be
governed entirely by the applicant’s preferences and it
will therefore always be necessary to examine the nature
of this preference with a view of determining its validity
and significance. All preferences may, for this purpose,
be divided into three or four kinds: First, there is the
preference which may be described as fixed by training.
This is the preference of the skilled workman for the
trade in which he has been trained. The carpenter, for
instance, prefers to work at the carpenter’s trade and at
no other. This is a natural and well-founded preference,
and one which it would be unwise from every viewpoint
to disregard. Secondly, there is the preference fixed by
chance; that is, the preference of an untrained worker for
some particular kind of work for which he has in some
way or other conceived a strong liking. There may be no
logical ground whatsoever for this preference, and the
applicant may be neither trained nor naturally fitted for
the work he prefers. Nevertheless, if the preference is
strong enough to withstand all arguments, it is inadvisable
to force the applicant into work of another kind. Thirdly,
there is what may be called the derived preference. When
an applicant prefers a certain kind of work because he
has heard pleasant things about it, or because it pays
