Discuss the different criteria used in a selection decision.

Answers will vary. Several possible criteria can be used in a selection decision, and these often differ in terms of how objectively they can be assessed.
Education and experience: These are criteria that are relatively straightforward to assess. In a selection context, education refers to the formal classroom training an individual has received in public or private school and in a college, university, or technical school. Some jobs require high school diplomas; others require advanced degrees. Experience refers to the amount of time the individual may have spent working in either a general capacity or a particular field. Experience is presumably an indicator of an individual's familiarity with work and his or her ability to work, and it is a surrogate measure of a person's competencies as an employee.
Skills and abilities: The assessment of skills and abilities is rather mixed in terms of objectivity. It is relatively straightforward to assess someone's typing ability objectively. But as organizations move toward teamwork and team-based operating systems, many of them are also putting more emphasis on hiring individuals with the skills necessary to function effectively in a group situation. These skills are much more subjective and therefore more difficult to assess accurately.
Personal characteristics: Some personal characteristics, which are believed to reflect an applicant's personality, are also difficult to assess objectively. More recently, however, a great deal of attention has been paid to assessing applicants in terms of the big five personality traits. These traits-neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness-tend to be more behavioral than cognitive or emotional and so can be assessed in a fairly objective manner.
Hiring for fit: A rather unique and interesting criterion for selection is referred to as "fit." When a firm decides to hire someone on the basis of fit, it hires that person not because he or she is the most qualified for a specific job, but because she or he is a good fit for the larger organization. Organizational fit is likely to be based on values and personality.