What to read: Decision-making: Recruitment in the science sector

When it comes to making decisions, managers tend to rely on instinct or experience. However, this approach increases the likelihood of poor staffing decisions because typical errors of judgement are unavoidable. A systematic recruitment process therefore makes sense – and DIN 33430 provides useful guidance. Before starting the application process, for example, it is critical to define the requirements that future holders of a position will need to meet. In the case of junior employees in particular, development potential is every bit as important as existing skills. This paper by graduate psychologist Maren Hiltmann and Professor Dr Heinrich Wottawa sets out the hazards that can impede a genuinely rational selection of future staff members while exposing typical errors of judgement and offering helpful strategies for circumventing these on the basis of DIN 33430.

Just published: Wottawa, Heinrich & Hiltmann, Maren. Entscheidungsfindung. In: C. Peus, S. Braun, T. Hentschel & D. Frey (Hrsg.), Personalauswahl in der Wissenschaft – Evidenzbasierte Methoden und Impulse für die Praxis (S. 147 – 159). Heidelberg: Springer.