The study examined the predictive validity of
job requirements biodata ± a form of biodata that
asks directly about experience in tasks and
behaviours that directly reflect the requirements
of the target jobs. The results highlight the
moderate predictive validity of customer service
job requirements biodata (Mult R=.36 after
corrections for unreliability in the criterion) and
their significant incremental validity over other
selection procedures for this sample. These direct
effects of job requirements are consistent with
Pannone's (1984) findings. Furthermore, after
controlling for tenure and work level, the effect
of job requirements biodata remained stable.
Although these particular results should be
interpreted cautiously in view of the substantial
shrinkage from the empirical cross-validation,
the job requirements biodata approach to
selection provides a potentially productive
direction for further research.