ABSTRACT
Suppose that it is your job to hire someone who will serve in an important decision-making capacity at your office. You find that you are having difficulty writing a good job description or even suggesting appropriate qualifications because your office is about to undergo a major reorganization and the nature and title of this position will surely change. You ponder several choices. Unfortunately neither Superman nor Superwoman is available, Mighty Mouse is busy saving rodents in distress, and besides even if they were job hunting, they probably wouldn’t apply for this position. Whoever is hired will have to manage a tidal wave of change, be able to make sound decisions with incomplete information, know how to work cooperatively with a diverse group of people, think creatively because new solutions will be needed for both old and new problems, identify a problem before it explodes, and learn very quickly. This is a description for many of the jobs of the future, jobs that may not even exist today; yet we are educating our students and making long-term personnel decisions now to fill them. Some of our students will be in the workforce in the year 2050 and beyond. In a jargon that you are undoubtedly familiar with, the KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) are unknown. You need to identify intelligent people. How can you make the best choices?
