A  PRACTICAL  COMBINATION  OF  EMPLOYMENT  METHODS  359
or  bad,  but  it  can  hardly  tell  us  what  he  looks  good  or  bad
for.  On  the  other  hand,  strong  emphasis  has  been  placed
upon  the  value  of  questions  in  the  employment  procedure—not ­
  the  ordinary  stereotyped  questions  such  as:
Are  you  a  steady  worker?  Why  did  you  quit  your  last
job?  Did  you  like  your  last  employer?  etc.,  but  relevant
questions  which  will  actually  engage  a  man’s  knowledge
and  his  ability,  and,  above  all,  questions  which  have  been
carefully  worked  out  and  formulated  in  accordance  with
the  psychological  procedure.  Still  greater  emphasis  has
been  placed  upon  the  value  of  psychological  tests  where
such  tests  have  themselves  been  first  tested  by  the  thoroughgoing ­
  procedure  which  has  been  again  and  again
described  in  the  course  of  the  foregoing  chapters.  The
method  by  which  such  tests  are  developed  and  applied
makes  them  the  most  accurate  and  unambiguous  criterion
for  selecting  applicants  which  has  yet  been  devised.  Finally, ­
  the  verdict  of  the  physical  examination  and  the  use
of  the  individual-activity  record  as  a  basis  of  following  up
the  results  of  selection  have  been  enumerated  in  their  due
place  and  with  due  emphasis.
All  of  these  phases  have  been  presented  in  such  a  manner ­
  as  to  suggest  the  division  of  functions  which  they
necessitate.  The  medical  examination,  it  is  self-evident,
requires  the  physician.  The  preliminary  work  of  taking
the  applicant’s  application,  inquiring  as  to  the  applicant’s
preference,  and  roughly  comparing  the  applicant’s  superficial ­
  and  observable  characteristics  with  the  requirements ­
  of  a  certain  job  either  as  he  knows  those  requirements ­
  or  finds  them  by  reference  to  the  job-analysis  card,
can  be  done  by  the  ordinary  employment  clerk.  The
psychological  examination  requires  the  psychologist  and,
when  the  scope  of  the  work  makes  it  necessary,  a  staff  of