Case Study: Preselecting Trainees

One of the most popular employers in Germany, the German office of a leading international IT company, receives between 3,000 and 10,000 applications for around approximately 300 trainee positions offered per year. Manually sifting through the applications used to be a time-consuming and costly endeavor in the past.

The company therefore looked for ways to streamline the applicant screening process while increasing the quality of new hires. With the Biographical Questionnaire Online (BQO), an internet-based, scientifically based pre-selection instrument was implemented, allowing the company to simplify the pre-selection process as applications are processed online in a completely paperless manner. The Biographical Questionnaire Online (BQO) was implemented in 2002 and has been used successfully ever since.

A scientific study evaluating the hiring process revealed substantial savings in time and cost through implementation of the BQO. At the same time, the quality of new hires increased substantially. Supervisor ratings of trainees increased by 2/3 of a standard deviation since the BQO was implemented.

The Biographical Questionnaire Online has become an integral part in the leading IT company’s groundbreaking hiring strategy. As a technology leader, the company has teamed up with us to successfully pioneer an e-recruiting strategy fit for the future.