The evidence
Every claim carries a source and a confidence word. We also list what we could not document.
| Claim | Source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Structured interviews were the single best predictor of job performance in a 2022 re-analysis: about .42, against .19 for unstructured interviews. | Sackett, Zhang, Berry & Lievens (2022), Journal of Applied Psychology | Moderateon the figures |
| Conscientiousness is the one personality trait with a consistent relationship with performance across occupations. | Barrick & Mount (1991), Personnel Psychology | High |
| In sales roles, achievement orientation (r = .23 with objective sales) and potency/assertiveness (r = .15) have shown modest relationships with sales results. | Vinchur, Schippmann, Switzer & Roth (1998), Journal of Applied Psychology | Moderate |
| Work samples predict job performance at about .33. | Sackett et al. (2022) | Moderate |
| Fit between a manager and an employee relates to the relationship with the manager (ρ = .43) but only weakly to performance (ρ = .18). It is the least studied kind of fit. | Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman & Johnson (2005), Personnel Psychology | ModerateTODO(decision:evidence-check): verify the two coefficients against the paper before launch |
| Forced-choice questionnaires scored with IRT show near-zero score inflation among applicants, compared with up to d ≈ .45 for conscientiousness on ordinary rating scales. | Cao & Drasgow (2019); Birkeland et al. (2006) | Moderate |
| Personality items written for the job predict about twice as well as general items (.24 vs .11). | Shaffer & Postlethwaite (2012), Personnel Psychology | Moderate |
| Not documented, therefore not in the product: a score for how well a candidate fits; that manager–employee similarity predicts how they work together; that a sales-phase profile predicts who will sell more; that this questionnaire predicts anything — it has not been tested as a selection instrument. | — | — |
What Second Opinion is and is not
| It is | It is not |
|---|---|
| A structured interview guide | A certified or normed test |
| A questionnaire as conversation material | A screening tool |
| A comparison as a second opinion | A predictor of sales results |
| Documentation | An automated decision |
Plain statements
The questionnaire is not normed or certified and never screens anyone out.
The Big Five crosswalk is a product assumption pending calibration against IPIP-NEO-120.