Direct-supervision jails require that officers lead, supervise, and interact with inmates within the confines of a pod. Such officers must have substantial "people" skills. For this pilot experiment in Spokane, Wash., one group of candidates was asked to explain how they would react to several critical incidents likely to occur in the job for which they were being considered. Answers were then compared to the most effective and least effective behaviors for dealing with those incidents, as identified by a representative sample of job occupants and supervisors. The same questions were asked of all applicants to ensure fair treatment. Another group was hired without the situational interview. The two groups of hirees then participated in a graded 15-day, on-the-job training course and a graded academy training course, followed by two performance appraisals after a number of months on the job. The situational interview technique was better at predicting long-term job performance than an interview process lacking this component.