352  EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY
cants  of  this  sort  ask  for  a  certain  kind  of  work  only  because ­
  they  have  heard  good  things  about  it,  because  they
expect  to  make  high  wages  at  it,  or  because  it  is  clean  and
light.  Under  present  conditions  in  the  industrial  world,
an  extremely  large  proportion  of  applicants  are  of  this
very  kind.  However,  when  such  applicants  are  refused
the  work  for  which  they  apply  and  it  is  explained  to  them
that  their  qualifications  are  such  as  to  make  them  less
fitted  for  this  kind  of  work  than  for  some  other  kind,
they  can  frequently  be  induced  to  accept  the  alternative
which  is  offered  them.  Such  a  modification  of  their  original ­
  preference  is  justified  and  indeed  highly  desirable
because  it  will  further  not  only  the  interests  of  the  organization ­
  but  the  interests  of  the  individual  as  well.  And
certainly  a  developed  technique  of  selection  which  can
not  advise  and  direct  applicants  in  their  choice  of  work
with  more  than  average  luck  or  certainty  falls  far  short
of  its  opportunities  and  obligations  in  this  respect.
Finally,  there  is  the  large  number  of  applicants  who
have  no  preference  whatsoever,  or  at  best,  only  the  most
vague  and  general  desires.  Their  sole  object  is  to  get  a
job  at  anything  which  promises  them  a  decent  living.
Such  applicants  are  largely  at  the  mercy  of  the  employment ­
  office.  There  has  been,  in  fact,  too  strong  an  inclination ­
  on  the  part  of  interviewers  to  take  advantage
of  such  applicants  by  using  them  as  stop-gaps  by  pushing
them  into  whatever  kind  of  work  is  most  in  need  of  men
at  the  particular  moment.  The  interviewer  or  employment ­
  clerk,  with  a  large  number  of  .orders  for  workers  to
fill,  places  willing  applicants  only  too  readily  in  those
positions  which  are  most  in  need,  regardless  of  whether
the  applicants  are  particularly  fitted  for  those  positions
or  not.  This  is  a  situation  which  every  employment