How to make the right choice: a new model for the selection interview

The problems encountered when selecting new members of staff in the higher education setting are those universal in any type of organization. Nursing faculties, however, have an even greater difficulty in selecting appropriate staff owing to the diversity of both clinical and academic backgrounds of applicants. The organization is therefore stimulated and challenged in its ability to select the right employee for the job. The literature tends to support the use of group decision making in selection and the function of the group in the interview setting is to evaluate the applicant's prior learning against desirable characteristics. From an analysis of the literature, criteria relating to desirable employee characteristics for nurse academics have been developed. The author has identified a new model to use in assisting the selection panel in predicting the right person for the job.