Research in Industrial-Organization Psychology || Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment source: Addressing methodological and conceptual issues through the creation of an integrative model

Abstract: Recruitment source is the means through which job-seekers learn about organizations and job openings. However, existing research has suffered from numerous methodological and theoretical problems. After reviewing these issues, I propose a model that addresses them and show how the model can be used as a springboard for increasing our theoretical understanding of the phenomenon and advancing future empirical research on the topic.

Abstract: Given the negative financial, psychological, and physical consequences of prolonged unemployment, it is crucial for job-seekers and those who counsel them to understand how to increase and sustain job-seeking motivation. While research has explored the motivational antecedents of overall job-seeking behavior, it is also important to understand what motivates individuals to engage in specific job-seeking strategies (e.g., networking, using the Internet). In our research, we explore the characteristics that job-seekers use to differentiate between strategies. In Study 1, we conducted interviews with 77 job-seekers and identified 21 characteristics. In Study 2, we developed a measure of these characteristics and found psychometric evidence for 18 of them using a sample of 400 job-seekers. Furthermore, we examined how ten of the common job-seeking strategies are perceived to differ on these characteristics and explored how each of these characteristics are related to self-reported use of job-seeking strategies.

Abstract: Given the link between employment status and recidivism it is imperative to explore how ex-offenders search for jobs. Using a sample of 396 ex-offender and non-offender job-seekers, we found that ex-offenders reported greater use of strategies that allowed them to actively promote their qualifications to a potential employer.

Abstract: In this paper, we describe how the acquisition of knowledge about recruitment source use patterns can be used to improve organizational recruitment efforts. Furthermore, we present a preliminary typology of usage patterns and examine its applicability in an organization. Data from a sample of 565 job applicants showed that applicants do use certain sources in conjunction with others, but in a way that did not completely match our typology. Additionally, the use of particular sources was related to more positive applicant attitudes. Furthermore, we found evidence that the relationship between source use and attitudes could be explained through three different mechanisms, although the strength of each mechanism depended on the type of sources used.

The Opportunity to Upload Cover Letters and Procedural Fairness Perceptions: A Time Series Analysis

Abstract: Organizations (through the design of their employment application websites) have the option of prohibiting or allowing certain types of traditional applicant communications such as cover letters. However, while prohibiting such communications may streamline recruiting processes, it may come at a price. This study hypothesizes that the opportunity to submit cover letters during a selection process should improve procedural, but not interpersonal or informational, justice perceptions. Over a three-year period, 1,949 applicants rated their perceptions of the initial stage of an organization’s selection process. During this period, the organization changed the applicants’ opportunity to upload cover letters, but made no other changes to its selection process. Time series analysis showed that average procedural justice perceptions increased at the same time as the cover letter intervention. Interpersonal and informational justice perceptions did not show a corresponding increase.

The Effect of Formal Mentoring Program Characteristics on Organizational Attraction

Abstract: While the extant mentoring literature describes the post-hire benefits of mentoring programs, less is known about how mentoring programs affect pre-hire perceptions of organizations – perceptions that may have subsequent implications for the success of mentoring programs and other forms of training. To explore this issue, we used policy-capturing to examine the influence of formal mentoring program characteristics on organizational attraction. Results from a sample of 254 undergraduate participants indicated preferences for organizations that offer mentorship programs that are voluntary, that give protégé input into the choice of mentor, that link protégés with individuals who hold higher rank (i.e., supervisors), and that offer both career and psychosocial support. Furthermore, one of these relationships was moderated by participants’ Need for Dominance. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

The Role of Recruiting Source Informativeness and Organizational Perceptions in Decisions to Apply

Abstract: Although recruitment researchers often discuss influences on decisions to apply for jobs, few studies assess actual application behavior. This study of individuals who expressed an interest in a firefighter job revealed that applying was related to recruiting source informativeness and organizational familiarity. Source informativeness was not related to self-selection out of the process after application or performance on the selection process, but was related to perceptions of familiarity and to applicant demographics. Implications for recruitment are discussed.

Abstract: his article describes the current status of women in the workplace in Taiwan. Statistical evidence shows sex segregation in the labour market. Discriminatory practices in the hiring process are documented via a content analysis of 7,037 classified ads. Overtly discriminatory actions, such as blatantly stated gender requirements in the classified ads, are shown to be still common in hiring practices. Census data on a gender gap in compensation shows that women in Taiwan evidently get less pay than men do for the same work. The ratio of female to male employees is significantly and negatively correlated with the ratio of female to male in pay. The higher the percentages of women in an industry, the lower the pay women get compared to men. Also, the ratio of female to male in pay is negatively related to the turnover rate. Companies that pay women fairly tend to enjoy lower turnover rates. The implications of these women's issues in human resource management in Taiwan are presented.

Antecedents and potential moderators of the relationship between attitudes and hiring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

Abstract: A sample of 236 undergraduates (most of whom were White women) rated resumes in which gender, masculinity/femininity, and sexual orientation were manipulated while qualifications were kept constant. Overall, participants rated lesbian and gay male applicants less positively than heterosexual male applicants, but more positively than heterosexual women. Religiosity, beliefs in traditional gender roles, beliefs in the controllability of homosexuality, and previous contact with lesbians and gay men were related to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, which was in turn related to beliefs about employing them. Several factors were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between beliefs about employing lesbians and gay men and discrimination, although the expected relationships were not found. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.