Applicant Reactions in Saudi Arabia: Organizational attractiveness and core‐self evaluation

This paper reports findings from a survey into applicant reactions of working adults in Saudi Arabia. A sample of 193 participants from four job functions was obtained, with measures of organizational attractiveness, core‐self evaluation, and applicant reactions to four popular selection methods in the country – interviews, résumés, work sample tests, and references – being included. Findings indicate a notably similar pattern of preference reactions to previous studies in other (Western) countries, affirming arguments for so‐called reaction generalizability. Work sample tests were rated the most favorably followed by interviews, résumés, and references. For specific procedural dimensions, résumés were perceived as the most favorable, followed by work sample tests, interviews, and references. Several significant differences were found across job functions, mostly for interviews and résumés. Significant effects were found between reactions and organizational attractiveness, and between reactions and core‐self evaluation, including some interaction effects. Implications for future research and for practice in employee selection are considered in the conclusion.     

Subtle Bias Against Muslim Job Applicants in Personnel Decisions1

Contemporary theories of prejudice suggest that racism still exists in society, but is expressed in subtle and justifiable manners. Employing such theoretical frameworks, the present study examined subtle ways in which social category information is used differentially in personnel decisions. Participants (managers or undergraduates) were presented with background information and a résumé (with a typical Muslim or European American name) for a hypothetical job applicant. After reviewing the résumés, participants judged the applicant on hirability, salary assignment, and other job‐related characteristics. Results showed that the Muslim applicant, relative to the American, was unfavorably judged in salary assignment and job‐related characteristics in the presence of negative information. Both managers and undergraduates exhibited the same bias. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Impact of Competency Statements on Résumés for Short-listing Decisions

Sixty-two managers and human resource consultants rated a series of genuine résumés with covering letters. The résumés were manipulated to contain varying amounts of information about the candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities (competency statements). This information appeared at different locations in the résumé and covering letter. In addition, half the managers were provided with extra job requirement details beyond the job advertisement. Managers rated the candidate résumés for candidate suitability, decision to interview and overall ranking. The inclusion of competency statements resulted in higher manager ratings. However, the location of the competency statements did not influence ratings given to résumés. Further, the extra information provided to managers did not influence their ratings. The results replicate and extend an earlier study by Earl, Bright and Adams (1998) and challenge the idea that selection decisions are largely based on the notion of applicant fit. The results suggest that the inclusion on the résumé of statements that address job competencies even in a general fashion will boost an applicant’s chances of being short-listed.     

Hiring Discrimination Against Arab Minorities: Interactions Between Prejudice and Job Characteristics

Individuals of Arab descent have increasingly experienced prejudice and employment discrimination. This study used the social identity paradigm to investigate whether greater Arab identification of applicants led to hiring discrimination and whether job characteristics and raters' prejudice moderated this effect. One hundred forty-one American and 153 Dutch participants rated résumés on job suitability. Résumés with Arab name and affiliations negatively influenced job suitability ratings, but only when job cognitive demands and external client contact were limited. Within the Dutch sample job suitability rating of Arab applicants was lowest when Dutch raters' implicit prejudice was high. As expected, no effects of explicit prejudice were found: discrimination may operate in subtle ways, depending on the combined effect of applicant, job, and rater characteristics. Further research and implications for employment-related decision making, such as anonymous résumé-sifting, are discussed.     

The Effects of Applicant Résumé Contents on Recruiters' Hiring Recommendations: The Mediating Roles of Recruiter Fit Perceptions

The résumé is the most commonly used selection tool for organisations. Past studies have demonstrated that recruiter hiring recommendations can be predicted based on the content of applicant résumés. However, the mechanisms underlying the links between résumé contents and hiring recommendations remain unclear. The present study extends previous research by examining the mediating roles of recruiters' multi‐faceted fit perceptions in a field setting. Data were collected from 216 organisational recruiters who participated in campus recruitment at seven universities in Taiwan. The results showed that applicant work experience and educational background increased recruiter hiring recommendations through recruiter perceived person–job (P–J) fit. In addition, applicant work experience predicted recruiter perceived person–organisation (P–O) fit, which in turn enhanced recruiter hiring recommendations.     

Effect of a résumé‐writing workshop on résumé‐writing skills

What is the best way to teach someone how to write an effective résumé? A workshop format was used to teach college students the skills needed to write a successful résumé. Archival data consisting of student résumés and rubric score sheets were used to determine the effectiveness of a résumé‐writing workshop by using a pre–post design evaluating student résumés. The authors used a rubric to produce quantitative data for comparison purposes. Participants’ postworkshop résumé rubric scores were significantly higher than their scores were before attending the workshop. The authors offer possible explanations for the results and make suggestions for future research.     

The Impact of Gender on the Review of the Curricula Vitae of Job Applicants and Tenure Candidates: A National Empirical Study

The purpose of this study was to determine someof the factors that influence outside reviewers andsearch committee members when they are reviewingcurricula vitae, particularly with respect to the gender of the name on the vitae. The participants inthis study were 238 male and female academicpsychologists who listed a university address in the1997 Directory of the American PsychologicalAssociation. They were each sent one of four versions of acurriculum vitae (i.e., female job applicant, male jobapplicant, female tenure candidate, and male tenurecandidate), along with a questionnaire and aself-addressed stamped envelope. All the curricula vitaeactually came from a real-life scientist at twodifferent stages in her career, but the names werechanged to traditional male and female names. Althoughan exclusively between-groups design was used to avoidsparking genderconscious responding, the resultsindicate that the participants were clearly able todistinguish between the qualifications of the jobapplicants versus the tenure candidates, as evidenced bysuggesting higher starting salaries, increasedlikelihood of offering the tenure candidates a job,granting them tenure, and greater respect for theirteaching, research, and service records. Both men andwomen were more likely to vote to hire a male jobapplicant than a female job applicant with an identicalrecord. Similarly, both sexes reported that the male job applicant had done adequate teaching,research, and service experience compared to the femalejob applicant with an identical record. In contrast,when men and women examined the highly competitive curriculum vitae of the real-life scientist whohad gotten early tenure, they were equally likely totenure the male and female tenure candidates and therewas no difference in their ratings of their teaching, research, and service experience. There was nosignificant main effect for the quality of theinstitution or professional rank on selectivity inhiring and tenuring decisions. The results of this study indicate a gender bias for both men and womenin preference for male job applicants.     

Gender-Based Biases in Occupational Hiring Decisions1

Two studies which investigated gender-based decision making in an occupational setting are reported. Participants judged the suitability of a male or a female applicant with identical résumés for a male-dominated or a female-dominated position. In Study 1. where participants gave their own judgments of the suitability of the applicants for the positions, there was no evidence of gender-based biases. In Study 2. participants were required to take the perspective of the applicant in providing their judgments of suitability. In this experiment, gender-based biases were apparent, with a positive bias toward the male applicant. Results are discussed in terms of occupational stereotyping and subtle sexism.     

The Differential Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Attributions in Résumé Evaluation

This study examines the effects that extracurricular activities have on the attributions a résumé reader makes about an applicant. Three characteristics of extracurricular activities (number of activities, holding positions of leadership, and relevance of the activities) were manipulated across 24 résumés of fictitious college graduates. Some 219 raters read the résumés and made judgments about the level of the applicant’s quality. The results showed a main effect for the number of activities, a main effect for holding leadership positions, and a main effect for relevance of the activity. Furthermore, a three–way interaction revealed the differential effects that the relevance of the activities had on the attributions at different levels of leadership and number of activities. A mix of career–related and social activities garnered higher ratings for those who held leadership positions in five activities. However, for those who were leaders in only two activities or were not leaders in five, having only career–related activities earned them higher ratings. For applicants who were not leaders in two activities, relevance of the activities played no role.     

Applicant Desirability Influences Reactions to Discovered Résumé Embellishments

This study investigates responses to a discovered résumé embellishment as a function of initial impressions of the applicant. In Study 1, managers and recruiters rated the extent to which a discrepancy uncovered by a background check would lower their opinion of an applicant, using a between‐subjects design crossing the applicant's apparent desirability and type of embellishment. In Study 2, business students completed a simulated hiring task in which they first evaluated applicants based on their résumés, then read background reports, and subsequently made a final evaluation. Results indicate interactive effects of an applicant's apparent desirability, type of deception revealed, and response dimension. The discovery of a minor embellishment has little effect on evaluations of favored applicants, but negatively impacts less desirable applicants.     

Exploring Social Justice Via Résumés

Much expert advice about résumé writing is available. Whereas some job seekers will use self‐help guides to construct their résumés, others will seek the assistance of career counselors. Career counselors have a significant opportunity to engage clients in holistic career considerations when helping them to construct résumés. Especially significant is the opportunity to identify possible client disadvantages stemming from social injustices. Résumé‐writing assistance is enhanced through the application of career microcounseling. This article examines social justice issues that may be embedded during résumé writing. A review of microcounseling skills is presented, and examples of applying them during résumé writing are provided.     

Effects of discriminatory interview questions and gender on applicant reactions

Justice and signalling theory were used to explain the effects of discriminatory interview questions on applicant reactions. Participants were randomly assigned to a hypothetical interview condition with four, two or no discriminatory questions. Discriminatory questions had a significant negative effect on participant’s reactions to the interview and interviewer; perceptions of employee treatment; and intentions to pursue employment, accept a job offer, and recommend the organization to others. Participants also responded less favorably to a female interviewer, and female interviewees reported more negative perceptions. In addition, a sequential model was supported in which discriminatory questions had a negative effect on reactions toward the interview and interviewer; reactions were positively related to organizational attractiveness; and organizational attractiveness was positively related to intentions to pursue employment, accept a job offer, and recommend the organization.     

Pretty pleases: The effects of physical attractiveness,race, and sex on receiving help

The major purpose of this study was to investigate whether favoritism for the physically attractive, a phenomenom demonstrated amost exclusively on the basis of rating scales, generalizes to nonreactive, behavioral helping responses. Four hundred and forty-two males and 162 female white adult callers in public phone booths in a large metropolitan airport found a completed graduate school application form, a photograph of the applicant, and an addressed, stamped envelope. The picture was used to convey information as to the physical attractiveness (attractive vs. unattractive), race (black vs. white), and sex of the applicant. As predicted, delivery of the application was facilitated more for attractive than unattractive persons. There was also a significant race effect, with whites receiving more help than blacks. Implications of these findings for the physical attractiveness literature are discussed.     

Perceptions of candidate strength in job recruitment: Does candidate race moderate the attractiveness bias in White women?

The attractiveness bias suggests that people who are more attractive will be positively favored across life outcomes. This study sought to test whether candidate attractiveness, sex, and race, affect perceptions of candidate strength in a job recruitment task. In total, 338 White women (M_age = 20.94 ± 5.65) were asked to make judgements of a potential candidate for an administrative job (resume with candidate photograph). The vignettes differed in terms of candidate ability (strong/weak), sex (male/female), race (Black/White), and attractiveness (attractive/less attractive). Participants rated perceived candidate strength and likelihood to invite for interview. Results showed no significant main effects for attractiveness. However, there was a significant interaction for target attractiveness and race, such that attractive/White candidates were more likely to be invited for interview than less attractive/White candidates. There was also a significant main effect for race such that Black candidates were rated as stronger and more likely to be interviewed. Sensitivity analyses (with nonheterosexual women removed from the sample) also showed a main effect for target sex such that female candidates were favored over male candidates. Overall, these findings provide evidence that attractiveness, sex, and race have important, albeit complex, effects on hiring decisions in the workplace.     

A theory‐driven investigation of prospective applicants' intentions to submit video résumés

As a quickly growing trend among job seekers, video résumés represent an area where practice has outpaced research. This study investigated whether the theory of planned behavior (TpB) can be used to understand future job seekers (n = 154) video résumé submission intentions and behaviors. Results supported the TpB model. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predicted intentions, which in turn predicted video résumé creation behaviors. Compared with perceived behavioral control, attitudes and subjective norms were more important predictors. As one of the first empirical studies on video résumés, this research breaks important new ground. It also extends what is known about the TpB because it is the first study to use a relative importance analysis to statistically compare the influence of the theory's antecedent constructs.     

Résumé Preparation Workshop for University Students

A workshop to help university students prepare résumés is described and evaluated. Part of the workshop discusses the purpose of a résumé and describes its “advertisement” aspect. Another portion encourages participants to inventory their assets and experiences, and to gather information about their chosen occupational areas. The third segment of the workshop explains traditional formats, and the final segment offers suggestions for attractive layout and reproduction. Preliminary evaluations of workshop participants' and nonparticipants' résumés resulted in ratings that were higher for the workshop group. In general, it was found that persons who talk with counselors or friends about résumés produce more effective résumés than those who get their information only through reading materials. A pilot evaluation instrument is included. Implications of this study for counselors are discussed and suggestions for developing similar workshops are made.     

Test of a Model Linking Applicant Résumé Information and Hiring Recommendations

Previous research has shown that résumé information (i.e., including both content and aesthetics) influences recruiters' hiring recommendations. This study extends previous research by proposing and testing a model that examines mediating processes underlying the relationship between résumé information and hiring recommendations in real employment interviews for actual job openings. Results from 62 interviewers of 30 firms partially supported our hypotheses and showed that the three types of recruiters' inferences (i.e., including professional knowledge, interpersonal skills, and general mental ability) from applicants' résumé information mediated the effects of résumé information on hiring recommendations.     

Physical Attractiveness Bias in Employee Termination

We examined the impact of attractiveness on employment termination decisions. After viewing a file that contained a poor performance review and a badge with a photograph of an extremely attractive, moderately attractive, or unattractive employee, 178 participants were asked if they would terminate the employee, rated how much they liked the employee, and made a judgment of attribution of her poor performance. Participants were willing to terminate the unattractive woman more frequently than the moderate or extremely attractive women. The participants also liked the unattractive woman less than the others. When asked to rate causes of poor performance, no differences were found based directly on attractiveness, but attributions mediated the relationship between liking ratings and termination decisions.     

Anonymous résumés: An effective preselection method?

During the preselection process, recruiters use cues from résumés to form attributions about applicants’ suitability. They rely on visible characteristics (e.g., origin) that activate stereotypes that can lead to discriminatory decisions. The anonymization of application forms is a possible intervention to avert discrimination. The few studies on this topic led to inconsistent conclusions. The present study aims to extend previous findings by comparing decisions on anonymous and standard résumés that differ in quality. Recruiters (N = 1,031) assessed a series of application forms whose profile (Caucasian, Moroccan, overweight, normal stature) and résumé content (experience, spelling errors) differed. Results show that anonymous application forms are rated more severely than standard forms, and are effective in neutralizing discriminatory behaviors toward overweight applicants.