The scope of interest questionnaires

At selection we are keen to determine whether an applicant is interested in the job for which he is applying. If he is, we predict that he will do the job better and for longer than an otherwise similar person who lacks the interest. Interest questionnaires purport to measure a person's degree of interest in different types of activity. Some people mistakenly use interest questionnaires as selection instruments. However they are essentially instruments for use in vocational counselling and things can go wrong if they are used in the selection situation for which they are not technically designed.