THE  APPLICANT’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  371
He  can  be  sure  that  no  matter  what  difficulties  arise,
there  is  one  source  which  is  comparatively  stable  and  free
from  the  prejudices  and  excited  judgments  of  a  particular
moment.
The  attempt  to  consider  the  work  of  individuals  from
the  vocational  standpoint  may  be  regarded  as  a  tremendous ­
  stride  in  the  direction  of  realizing  the  applicant’s
point  of  view.  A  technique  which  promises  to  help  the
struggling  candidate  understand  his  own  needs,  limitations, ­
  and  capacities  will  go  far  toward  achieving  the
viewpoint  of  the  applicant  in  a  full  measure.  And  in  so
far  as  the  technique  of  psychology  enables  the  worker
who  does  not  care  to  acquire  a  vocation  to  obtain  work
which  will  bring  him  the  largest  returns  of  which  he  is
capable,  the  important  factor,  self-interest,  will  be  largely
met.
Finally,  and  probably  most  important,  is  the  fact  that
the  entire  process  of  employment  outlined  here  is  built
up  on  an  appreciation  of  the  fundamental  likes  and  dislikes ­
  of  the  applicant.  The  individual’s  freedom  of  choice
is  the  central  fact  in  the  structure.  Any  attempt  to  limit
or  to  thwart  this  choice  is  a  failure  to  credit  the  applicant’s ­
  viewpoint.  There  are,  to  be  sure,  limitations  to  any
applicant’s  choice,  but  they  are  the  limitations  imposed
by  the  scope  of  a  particular  industry  and  not  by  the  psychological ­
  method.  An  industry  can  not  be  expected  to
honor  the  choice  of  an  applicant  for  a  kind  of  work  which  it
does  not  have.  Moreover,  there  are  times  when  the  applicant’s ­
  choice  is  only  an  impulse,  not  a  deep-rooted  desire,
and  in  such  cases  the  psychological  examiner  is  at  liberty
to  modify  that  choice  as  long  as  he  does  not  do  so  contrary
to  the  interests  and  abilities  of  the  applicant.  In  developing ­
  the  mechanism  to  select  applicants,  the  individual’s