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