The potential of the situational interview: Existing research and unresolved issues

After nearly 17 years of research inquiry the situational interview (Latham, Saari, Pursell & Campion 1980) has shown considerable promise as a valid, reliable, and legal approach to employee hiring. Yet academics and practitioners alike report that it has received limited acceptance as a corporate hiring practice. To address this paradox, this article reviews existing research in terms of four key questions important to the decision to adopt the situational interview. A future research agenda is then presented by posing a series of questions based on unresolved practitioner concerns likely to determine the ultimate acceptability of the situational interview method.