ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE IN EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS: ADDRESSING THE JUSTICE PARADOX

Abstract

This paper is intended for human resource managers involved in the selection of new employees. The article deals with organizational justice (OJ) in the recruitment process. It develops the principles of OJ and their application in recruitment. Then, the paper considers more precisely the selection interview because it is the most widely used recruitment tool by companies. It analyzes unstructured and structured interviews in terms of procedural and interactional justice. Applied to these two types of interview according to Gilliland’s Model (1993), the study demonstrates how and why the unstructured interview, which does not meet the requirements of procedural justice (unlike structured interviews), is perceived by candidates as fair. Therefore, Organizational Justice and Perceived Organizational Justice contradict each other. Indeed, while certain conditions of organizational justice are respected during structured interviews, candidates may not perceive the process as being fair. Thus, the paper highlights a situation of «justice paradox» or «justice dilemma» and proposes to improve the perception of justice in structured interviews. Finally, the article recommends a model to overcome this paradox in the structured selection interview. The main recommendations are based on the opportunity to express the voice of the candidate especially at the beginning and at the end of the interview, incorporating rapport building and open question. In relation to these proposals, future research could develop case studies to integrate the social, economic and cross-cultural perspectives of our proposals.