This article describes a recent effort by the Mississippi Department of Corrections to choose higher quality employees through a situational interview format. A comparison of correctional officers chosen through the situational interview to those chosen through traditional selection procedures reveals little difference between the two groups. The situational interview is not associated with systematic improvements in job performance scores, absenteeism rates, or attitudes toward management as might be expected. Hence the value of this technique in terms of its predictive validity is brought into question.
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