+1 C

A - We cannot conclude that. There are other factors.
B - Out of scope.
C - It explains why interviews are important. - Correct.
D - Too extreme.
E - This information cannot be supported by the argument.
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The interview is an essential part of a successful hiring program because, with it, job applicants who have personalities that are unsuited to the requirements of the job will be eliminated from consideration.

The argument above logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

The main point of this argument is that the interview is essential. The rest of the question tells us why.

(A) A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews.
the main point is about the interview being essential and not about the success of a hiring program. Therefore, adding this to the argument is not going to strengthen it.

(B) The interview is a more important part of a successful hiring program than is the development of a job description.
if inserted as a premise, this statement does not strengthen the argument.

(C) Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job.
this statement effectively strengthens the argument and is an example of a 'new idea'. Basically, this is a defender type assumption that if not included in the main stem lets people attack the argument on the grounds that interviewers may not be able to accurately identify suitable personalities for the job. If this were the case, then it can be shown that the interview is not really essential to the hiring process.

(D) The only purpose of an interview is to evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job.
this is an extreme statement and one should always be wary of these on the GMAT. Also, this statement does not strengthen the argument.

(E) The fit of job applicants’ personalities to the requirements of the job was once the most important factor in making hiring decisions.
this statement to an extent weakens the argument a little. It implies that the applicant personality is not the most important factor anymore. Thus, one could question the importance of the interview in the hiring process.

Hi Shelrod,

Option D seems to strengthen the argument. IT also provides new information that is not there in the argument.

But an assumption must satisfy three characteristics. Option D satisfies the two as I mentioned above. What is the third characteristic?

The third characteristic is that an assumption must be true for the conclusion to hold true. So, if we negate the assumption, the our belief in the conclusion must gets shattered. Ok.

Now, let's negate option D.

To evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job is not the only purpose of an interview.

So, there are possibly other purposes of an interview. But does that decrease or shatter your belief in the conclusion that an interview must be an essential part of successful hiring program?

The answer is NO. Just because an interview serves more than purpose does not make it any less likely to be an essential part of a successful hiring program. On the other hand, if an interview serves more than one purpose, then it seems more likely that it should be a part of the successful hiring program.

So, the negated option D does not shatter or decrease the belief in the conclusion.

Therefore, option D is not an assumption.

Does this help?

Thanks,
Chiranjeev
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Once you have answered the question, here is my doubt.


So this question states that interviewing is an essential part of the hiring process. Doesn't that mean, that hiring will be successful if it includes interviews? Why is this statement not the correct answer choice?

On the other hand, for option C, isn't it a little out of scope? Because there is no mention of any interviewers and their ability to identify candidates. so it isn't really in the scope of what is being discussed but on the other hand, option A clearly is within scope.

Am I missing anything? Experts please reply.

Please explain why I am wrong here.

By through reading we can easily deduce that the conclusion rests on the assumption - ' Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job '.Because if we negate this option the conclusion falls apart
Correct Answer - C

The interview is an essential part of a successful hiring program because, with it, job applicants who have personalities that are unsuited to the requirements of the job will be eliminated from consideration.

The Assumption lies in the question: Why do interviewers need interview?

The argument above logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews.
We are not concerned about the successful hiring program. Interviews might be really great but that does not translate into a successful hiring program.

(B) The interview is a more important part of a successful hiring program than is the development of a job description.
We are not concerned about the job description.

(C) Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job.
This is the reason why interviews are conducted. This is what they assume when they are conducting the interview.

(D) The only purpose of an interview is to evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job.
Very tempting answer but "The only purpose" is way to extreme which is not being shown in premise.

(E) The fit of job applicants’ personalities to the requirements of the job was once the most important factor in making hiring decisions
Doesn't answer the question!

The interview is an essential part of a successful hiring program because, with it, job applicants who have personalities that are unsuited to the requirements of the job will be eliminated from consideration. The argument above logically depends on which of the following assumptions?

Known Information:
The personalities that are unsuited for organization will be eliminated in Interviews.

Analysis:
Interview is the only way the unsuited personalities would be identified. The entire process depends on interview. So the author bases his assumption that interviewer is capable of doing that.

We need to look for option that says this.

a) A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews - But this says nothing about how it will be successful - Irrelevant
b) The interview is a more important part of a successful hiring program than is the development of a job description - This restates the author's views - Irrelevant
c) Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job - Bingo, this is what we wanted to hear.
d) The only purpose of an interview is to evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job - I am clear about purpose but will it be successful - Out of scope
e) The fit of job applicants’ personalities to the requirements of the job was once the most important factor in making hiring decisions - Out of scope

Ans: C
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The words "depends on which of the following assumptions" indicate that this is an Assumption question. The correct choice will be something the author left out but must believe to be true.

The author says the graduate school interview is essential because the schools use the interview to eliminate students whose personalities are not suited to the program.

Notice the gap here. What does an interview have to do with "personalities not suited to the program"? The author must believe that through the interview, the schools can determine whether the interviewee has a personality not suited to the program.

(C) matches the prediction and is correct. If admissions officers could not accurately identify unsuitable applicants, then interviews couldn't play such an essential role in the admissions program. So the argument depends on (C) being true.

(A) is not something on which the argument depends. The author just said the interview is essential for eliminating applicants who aren't suited to the program. She doesn't have to assume that the interviews will lead to the best applicants actually being admitted.

(B) makes an irrelevant comparison. The author just says the interview is "an essential" part of the admissions process. Her logic doesn't depend on the interview being more significant than course of study.

(D) is extreme. The author doesn't have to believe that the only purpose of the interview is the one stated in the stimulus. The author just has to believe that the purpose she chose to discuss can be realized through the interview.

(E) is incorrect because whether fitting applicants' personalities to the course requirements "was once the most important factor" has nothing to do with the argument. The author's logic doesn't depend on anything about the past. It simply requires that the author believe the interviewer can actually determine the interviewee's personality through the interview.

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This is the Supporter type assumption where new information is presented in Conclusion and Premise. And this new information should be linked through Assumption.
Premise: Interview helps to eliminate candidates who are unsuited to the job requirements
Conclusion: Hence, the interview is an integral part of a successful hiring process.
LINK: Through Interview, one(interviewer) is able to judge the candidate as per the requirements of the job

(A) A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews- We are not concerned with the success rate of the interview process

(B) The interview is a more important part of a successful hiring program than is the development of a job description- we are not supposed to compare the two entities

(C) Interviewers can accurately identify applicants whose personalities are unsuited to the requirements of the job- In a line with our assumption- Hold on

(D) The only purpose of an interview is to evaluate whether job applicants’ personalities are suited to the requirements of the job- We are not concerned with the purpose of an interview. We are more concerned with the result of an interview

(E) The fit of job applicants’ personalities to the requirements of the job was once the most important factor in making hiring decisions- Out of scope

Answer: C
Level: 500

Nitesh, an assumption is not what we assume, it is what the author assumes to give his argument. We need to only identify the author's assumption in arriving at the conclusion. We can't "assume" a sufficient condition for a necessary condition. We need to say what the author assumes.

Note that an assumption is a missing necessary premise, and that is what you must look for. Focussing only on negation is not a good strategy.

As for negation, check: https://gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep ... l#p2203029

(A) A hiring program will be successful if it includes interviews.

To negate, "a hiring program may not be successful if it includes interviews"

It does not make the conclusion fall apart. An interview is essential, it may not be enough.
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