Discuss the three main methods that employers use to measure the personal characteristics of job ...

ANSWER:
Employers use psychological tests, job applicant interviews, and assessment centers to measure the personal characteristics of job candidates. Employers sometimes administer intelligence tests to measure the general ability and skill level of job candidates. In addition, employers sometimes administer tests of job-relevant knowledge to confirm that a candidate has the specific knowledge required to succeed at a job. Finally, employers may administer personality tests to job candidates to measure their levels of conscientiousness, integrity, or other personality characteristics. Job applicant interviews can be either structured or unstructured. A structured interview consists of a specific set of questions, often asked in a predetermined order. An unstructured interview is more flexible; the questions tend to be open-ended and there may be informal conversation mixed in with the questioning. An assessment center is an extensive set of exercises designed to measure a job candidate's suitability for a particular job. The assessment center may require a job candidate to perform simulated tasks related to the job (e.g., the in-basket task). Alternatively, the assessment center may measure a job candidate's interpersonal skills by requiring the candidate to play the role of a manager who must work with others to solve a problem or discipline a problem employee.