es come to them with little or no direct preparation. They are expected to learn their jobs after they are hired, sometimes with the help of formal training, sometimes without. Sixty or 70 percent of jobs probably fall into this category. For these jobs, the ability and drive to learn the new assignment is paramount, making general intelligence and conscientiousness important keys to success. * When the New Employee Must Learn the Job Rapidly and Adapt Equally Rapidly to Job Changes. High general intelligence is consistently associated with the ability to grasp new information. Conscientious candidates are likely to strive to do so. Thus, both g and conscientiousness probably characterize individuals who will learn new jobs quickly and deal effectively with change. * When Two or More Top Job Candidates are Just About Equal in Terms of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Even in jobs that demand precise matching, the selection process sometimes yields two or more top candidates who are evenly matched in terms of specific requirements. In such cases, the candidate who scores highest in terms of g and conscientiousness is the better choice.As the first step in a recruiting strategy designed to evaluate the writing of potential hirees, employers should identify the specific writing skills associated with successfully producing documents in their work places. The identified job-related skills will then serve as valid criteria for which potential hirees' writing capabilities can be evaluated. Organizations may carry out this writing skill identification process by consulting their practitioners, consulting writing specialists, or referencing published works. As one example of a published work, authors Claire and Gordon May identify and illustrate several specific writing skills in their excellent book Effective Writing: Handbook for Accountants (1996). These skills include accountants' capabilities to write in a coherent, clear, and concise m...
