The CEA is an innovative software program that utilizes the interviewing
skills developed by John E. Reid and Associates. This program is
guaranteed to save you money in the selection of new police officers or
individuals applying for a position of trust.
WHAT IS THE CEA?
The Computer Employment Application (CEA) interview is a software
program that functions as an interactive application that segues to
appropriate lines of questioning and fact gathering dependent on the
applicant's response to the initial question.
The CEA is not a static list of generic questions, but is an expert system
that interviews applicants just as an experienced interviewer would,
specifically responding to the applicant's answers and utilizing the
appropriate follow up questions to develop additional information. This
built-in expertise encourages and makes it easier for the applicant to
provide complete and accurate data and, because of its structure, helps
to minimize embellishments or omissions that frequently occur on
written application forms.
The CEA interview system uses a personal computer as a first-stage
interviewer in the hiring process and interacts with the applicant just
as a personal interviewer would. The CEA is web based - with the proper
password (provided by the employer) the applicant can access the CEA
from anywhere at anytime.
When using the CEA, applicants make selections from menus or type in
responses to questions such as their employment and military history,
education and professional training, driving record, illegal drug use
and involvement in criminal activity. As the applicant progresses
through the interview, the program automatically stores responses to
each question, follows up on these responses with additional questions
when more information is needed in a particular area, and provides an
opportunity for the applicant to add data or make alterations and
corrections when necessary.
After the applicant has completed the CEA, you will know more about
them than you ever would have known from the completion of a
traditional application or resume. Consequently, you can identify
potentially high-risk applicants before your organization spends a lot
of time and money on unnecessary screening procedures, such as criminal
records checks, drug testing, background investigations, etc.
The CEA can be specifically customized to include the relevant areas that are important to your department.
THE VALUE OF THE CEA
The CEA provides a structured, objective and consistent interview
process. The CEA is designed to explore the applicant's answers so as
to ascertain the complete truth. By identifying high risk applicants
early in the process, the organization will save a significant amount
of time and money. The CEA provides better information than a more
thorough interview or traditional background investigation (see
Research below).
BENEFITS OF THE CEA
Minimizes application fraud
Screens large groups of applicants quickly
Saves time and money
Contains clear and concise language
Interviews objectively, uniformly
Keeps interview on track, remembers all areas to be covered
Relieves interviewer burnout
Web based so that the applicant can access the CEA 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer
PRIMARY AREAS OF INQUIRY
The CEA questions the applicant thoroughly in the following areas of inquiry:
Applicant Personal Information
Education
Employment Activities (Work History)
Military History
Dishonest Conduct
Integrity
Criminal Record
Undetected Crimes
Driving Convictions Last 5 years
Pending Law Enforcement Charges
Use of Drugs Illegally (in compliance with ADA)
Purchase/Sale of Drugs Illegally
Alcohol Use (job related - - in compliance with ADA )
Certification/Applicant Signature Block
A written report is issued for every applicant detailing the information
provided by that individual in all of the areas of inquiry.
WHO IS THE CEA FOR?
The CEA should be utilized as the initial screening step for
individuals applying for positions of trust. We have designed specific
CEA programs for law enforcement and government applicants, as well as
a program for the private sector.
DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH
The development of the CEA interview began in 1985. The basic core of
the program was designed around the real life experience of Richard J.
Phannenstill, President of Computer Employment Applications, Inc., who
had been trained by John E. Reid and Associates, Inc. and had been
involved in the interviewing of job applicants for business and law
enforcement organizations since 1972. After 18 months of development
the first CEA interview was administered to a real life applicant in
August, 1987. In the following 19 years thousands of real-life job
applicants have completed the CEA interview. Over this time period the
program was constantly revised, modified, refined and expanded in
response to feedback from the applicants as well as the client users.
In 1988, 130 real life job applicants were alternatively assigned to be
interviewed by the CEA or a similarly structured face-to-face
interview. The findings revealed that with respect to employment
history the CEA developed similar and, in some cases, superior
information in nature and scope to that developed by the personal
security interview. Applicants' admissions of the use of illegal drugs
were, generally, more frequent and serious in the CEA group than in the
personal interview group. In the personal interview group, there were
less frequent admissions of serious criminal conduct than in the CEA
group. The results suggest that the use of the CEA would serve as an
effective first-stage interviewer in the employee selection process and
may be used to guide and enhance the effectiveness of follow-up
personal interviews to ensure that applicants meet the specific needs
for sensitive positions.
In 1991 the Federal Bureau of Prisons conducted a study on the
effectiveness of the CEA interview as a possible selection tool for 39
staff positions, ranging from maintenance to administration. In this
study 171 applicants participated, one third of which were administered
the CEA prior to a personal, face-to-face, interview. The results
indicated that the CEA interview identified high-risk applicants equal
to the personal interview, and that the quality of information
generated by the CEA interview in areas of inquiry common to both
procedures was superior, particularly with respect to illegal drug
activity and employment history. The findings suggested that the CEA
interview could improve the consistency of the selection process,
reduce screening costs and time, assist the staff on any subsequent
interviews or investigations, and reduce interviewer fatigue.
In 2002 a new study involving 566 individuals was conducted by a U. S.
federal agency, whose responsibilities include protecting materials and
facilities critical to the nation's nuclear defense program. This
agency was frustrated with the high cost and lengthy wait for the
completion of Background Investigations before federal contractors
could be cleared for access to their nuclear facilities. This federal
agency was testing the CEA to determine if it was an effective process
to identify those individuals who had engaged in high risk behavior
that would preclude them from getting interim access pending the
completed Background Investigation. 566 individuals completed the CEA
and went through a complete Background Investigation.
The results were very impressive. As the report states, "Of all the
cases reviewed, there were not any applicants that would have received
interim access (i.e., successful completion of the CEA) who did not
eventually receive Q access." Q access is equivalent to Top Secret
Clearance, the government's highest level of clearance. Per this U. S.
federal agency, "this data represents a 99% statistical validation
against the NNSA clearance population of 40,000 clearances."
In 2006, one hundred consecutive police applicants were interviewed by
the CEA as part of the selection process for a public law enforcement
agency.
The vast majority of the 100 applicants completed the CEA after they
had already completed most of the screening steps in the selection
process, including for many the psychological assessment. In most cases
this meant that they had already completed the:
Initial written job application
Written aptitude test
Written examination
Physical agility test
Oral Interview(s) by the panel (board)
Personal Background Interviews by Detective (Background Unit)
Personal History Questionnaire (39 + pages)
N.C.I.C and C.J.I.S. record checks
Credit Report
State, County, federal and local record checks
Driving Record Checks
Field Background Check
Drug test
None of the applicants in this study had completed the polygraph examination prior to the CEA.
Special Note: 25% of this group of applicants had current or prior law enforcement
experience when they completed the CEA
Analysis of information from these 100 police applicant CEA interview
reports compared to a set of federal agency hiring guidelines indicate
the following:
OVERALL RESULTS from the information developed during the CEA interview
Met Hiring Guidelines 34 (34%)
Did Not Meet Guidelines 58 (58%)
Marginally Met Guidelines 8 ( 8%)
Research is ongoing in that we constantly monitor job applicants who
complete the CEA interview for their feedback and attitudes toward the
CEA interview process.
How to Order
To order CEA interviews or if you have any questions please call Richard Phannenstill at
John E. Reid & Assoc. in Wisconsin at 414-347-1900 or send him an e-mail at: cea@reid.com.
Customer Satisfaction Guarantee
John E. Reid & Associates and CEA, Inc. stands behind its quality interviewing products.
If, for any reason, you are not fully satisfied with your initial order,
you may cancel your unused interviews and receive a refund on the unused interviews within 60 days of the initial order.
The initial order is the first order placed with John E. Reid & Associates/ CEA, Inc.
No refunds on any unused interviews after 60 days.
No refunds apply to any custom or multiple orders.
All subsequent interviews ordered are non-refundable.
Some restrictions apply.
Tax, if applicable, is added to all orders.
Fees and other information are subject to change without notice.
The CEA Computer Interview Software Programs referred to herein and in the Software License Agreement
is the CEA Pre-employment Security Background Interview System [security version (2.0)]
minus any questions or sections deleted at the request of Licensee and any additional or
optional interview areas or systems added by CEA, Inc. and /or added at Licensee's request.
License fees are not reduced if a client opts not to use interview area or questions(s).
Thank you for your interest.
If any questions, please call Richard Phannenstill at CEA, Inc./John E. Reid & Assoc.
in Wisconsin at 414-347-1900 or send him an e-mail at: cea@reid.com.