Selection technically starts when applications have been received. Which of the applicants will be chosen, by what process, and by whom? Another irony is that although public sector selection is primarily an open application of merit principles, selection for many positions is determined largely by internally based hiring. Such hiring is said to boost internal morale, increase loyalty, reduce training time, and provide recruiting incentives for strong candidates.

Although participation in the selection process has always been a significant role for managers and supervisors, that role has expanded with the dramatic downsizing of human resource departments throughout government. For instance, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management was downsized by more than 50% as it was being reinvented in the 1990s. Therefore, today it is important to recognize that human resource management skills are critical generalist competencies for all managers. Indeed, historical eras of human resource management are largely defined by the underlying philosophy of selection.

Even though a person has the right education and technical qualifications, he or she may not be a good “fit,” a loose concept that refers to a match of the expectations of the person with those of the job and organization. Character fit involves fit in regard to generic work habits, such as conscientiousness, motivation, initiative, resilience, service motivation, and self-discipline. Character fit also encompasses the absence of dysfunctional behaviors such as substance abuse, theft, and violent tendencies. Job fit concerns specific traits that lend themselves to particular jobs, such as the ability to handle stress, assertiveness, friendliness, self-confidence, decisiveness, flexibility, willingness to assume responsibility, and similar characteristics, depending on what the job profile is.

In a good organizational fit, the candidate’s personality is well aligned with cultural aspects of the organization, such as the reward and incentive system, notions of organizational citizenship, and departmental values; the individual is likely to exhibit a willingness to strive harder and to have some degree of professional passion for the job. Administrative selection philosophies have varied over time, as the discussion of six specific eras here demonstrates.

How does the procedure specifically relate to the essential job functions? On one hand, it is important to get good indicators of skills and likely performance. On the other, it is neither appropriate nor legal to pile on job requirements as a screening mechanism. Tests that provide consistent results are reliable. An unstructured interview has low reliability because the questions vary from one applicant to the next. When tests make good distinctions among the candidates, they are valid.

Selection processes can be divided into four phases of screening, although sometimes phases are combined for convenience or out of necessity. The four-phase approach allows for thorough review of applicants and minimal waste of time on unselected candidates. In some limited cases, however, this approach may be too slow in responding to a dynamic applicant pool or too costly for the agency. A reduced or consolidated selection process may sometimes be appropriate, such as the hiring of term employees or entry-level staff workers, or in the event of a situation where hiring must be done as an emergency action.