THE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION: SPECIFICITY AND FAVORABILITY OF INFORMATION

Ninety-eight personnel directors each read one variation of a letter of recommendation contained in a 2 (specific examples versus no examples) X 2 (numerical data versus nonspecific adjective modifiers) X 2 (favorable letter versus one unfavorable statement) factorial design. A survey of their perceptions revealed that the example specificity and favorability main effects increased several positive perceptions of the recommendee. Example specificity also enhanced the perceived credibility of the letter writer. The letter variations containing specific examples with either no numbers or one unfavorable statement produced the most positive perceptions of the recommendee. One implication of these findings is that writers of letters of recommendation should emphasize specific performance examples. Whether citing numerical data or negative information is effective requires further study.     

IMPROVING APPLICANTS' REACTIONS TO REJECTION LETTERS: AN APPLICATION OF FAIRNESS THEORY

Explanations in the context of employment rejection letters were studied from the perspective of fairness theory (Folger & Cropanzano, 1998). In 2 scenario-based studies and 1 field experiment, Would Reducing explanations (i.e., explanations detailing qualifications of the individual who received the job), Should Reducing explanations (i.e., explanations of the appropriateness of the selection process), and Could Reducing explanations (i.e., explanations of external conditions that led to a hiring freeze) were systematically manipulated in communicating negative hiring decisions. Applicants' perceptions of fairness, recommendation intentions, and reapplication behavior were assessed. Results demonstrate strong support for the effectiveness of Would and Could Reducing explanations at reducing perceptions of unfairness and increasing recommendation intentions. In addition, applicants who received the Could Reducing explanation were more than twice as likely to reapply for a future position with the organization than those who received a standard rejection letter. A 3-way interaction among the 3 explanations suggests that 2 explanations may need to be combined in a rejection letter to generate the most positive effects. Findings are discussed from the perspective of fairness theory and practical implications are identified.     

Evaluating competence of women and men: Effects of marital and parental status and occupational sex-typing

A sample of 160 female and male college students read a completed job application and a letter written by the applicant. The job was in either a feminine or a masculine field. The applicant was described as either female or male, single or married, and having one or no children. Subjects answered seven evaluative questions about the competence of the applicant and the merits of the letter. Women, especially single ones, who applied for a sex-typical job generally were evaluated most favorably. Men, especially single ones, and women who applied for sex-atypical jobs were evaluated least favorably.     

Biases Influencing Recommendation Letter Contents: Physical Attractiveness and Gender1

This study investigated whether 2 well‐known biases, gender and physical appearance, influence readers' perceptions of different types of letters of recommendation (LORs; inflated vs. noninflated). Based on 244 participants, a main effect for letter type was found. Applicants with inflated letters were more likely to be hired and were predicted to become more successful, despite readers recognizing that the inflated letter contained exaggerations. A 3‐way interaction was also present. Gender and physical attractiveness did not influence reader perceptions when given an inflated letter, but when readers received a noninflated letter, attractive women were predicted to become most successful. These results demonstrate that readers may still be biased by irrelevant factors when reading LORs, emphasizing a need for letter reader training.     

It's just (family) business: The impact of familial work experience on perceived qualification and hireability during the selection process

Though scholars have explored the impact of familial work experience (FWE) posthire, research has yet to determine the role of such experience during the selection process. Drawing from Attribution Theory and research on nepotism and family business dynamics, we suggest that the presence of FWE on an applicant's selection materials will lead to reduced perceptions of qualifications and hireability. Through two online experiments (N₁ = 170, N₂ = 251), we found mixed support for this proposition. In our first study focused on cover letters, we found that applicants who reported FWE were not appraised differently than those who did not. In our second study focused on letters of recommendation, however, we found that applicants who reported FWE were perceived as less qualified and less hireable. Moreover, we found that the level of job (i.e., service vs. managerial) moderates these relations, such that managerial applicants with FWE on their letter of recommendation were perceived as less hireable than those who did not. Implications for research and practice are discussed, and future research directions are offered.     

Affective Disposition and the Letter of Reference

The present study attempted to determine the relationship between affective disposition and the favorability of letters of reference. We hypothesized that individuals with positive dispositions would write more favorable letters than would individuals with less positive or neutral dispositions. In addition, we also hypothesized that length of letter would partly mediate the relationship between affective disposition and letter favorability. To test these hypotheses, two studies were conducted. In order to present letter writers with a controlled stimulus, Study 1 entailed having 110 undergraduate students write letters of reference for two hypothetical job candidates in a laboratory setting. In order to test the generalizability of the laboratory study, Study 2 involved 95 faculty members who submitted three recent letters of reference they had written. Results showed that affective disposition was related to the favorability of letters of reference in both studies. Results also revealed that length of letter partly mediated the relationship between affective disposition and letter favorability.     

Employer Preferences for the Form and Substance of Employment Application Cover Letters

This study investigates the effect some principal characteristics of employment application cover letters have on personnel officers. A sample of personnel executives from 100 major companies was queried as to their perception of the desirability of 12 common cover letter characteristics. The results indicate that the personnel officers do not consistently perceive letters in the manner suggested by the existing literature. Some characteristics are shown to elicit negative responses from personnel officers, and thus should be avoided by job applicants. Several characteristics are strongly preferred by the sample surveyed. The model for an employment cover letter derived from this study should enhance the applicant's chances for a favorable response, or at least prevent letter forms which might detract therefrom.     

Letters of Recommendation: What Information Captures HR Professionals' Attention?

HR professionals evaluated the credentials of job candidates based upon actual letters of recommendation (LORs). The LORs contained both relevant and irrelevant information about the job candidate. Policy capturing revealed that professionals differed in both their consistency in evaluating candidates and in the relative weights they gave various forms of information. Some sex differences in decision policies also were discovered. Results are discussed in terms of how to strengthen the LOR as a selection tool.     

LEGAL CONCERNS IN THE USE OF WEIGHTED APPLICATIONS1

The use of the standard weighted application procedure relies on strictly empirically derived keys for validity. While weighted applications are generally valid in terms of the correlation between score on the application and position on the criterion, the empirical scheme may weight items that can not be shown to be relevant to the job for which they predict. To the extent that employment decisions are based on non-job-relevant weighted applications, such decisions may be contrary to the letter or the spirit of the Civil Rights Act. Alternative methods incorporating job relevance into the weighting procedure via job analysis inject the “hand of reason” into the process. Such rational-empirical approaches ensure job-relatedness as well as validity.     

Employee self-enhancement motives and job performance behaviors: investigating the moderating effects of employee role ambiguity and managerial perceptions of employee commitment

This study examined the effects of employee self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors (organizational citizenship behaviors and task performance) and the value of these behaviors to them. The authors propose that employees display job performance behaviors in part to enhance their self-image, especially when their role is not clearly defined. They further argue that the effects of these behaviors on managerial reward recommendation decisions should be stronger when managers believe the employees to be more committed. The results from a sample of 84 working students indicate that role ambiguity moderated the effects of self-enhancement motives on job performance behaviors and that managerial perceptions of an employee's commitment moderated the effects of those organizational citizenship behaviors that are aimed at other individuals on managers' reward allocation decisions.     

Investing in karma: when wanting promotes helping

People often face outcomes of important events that are beyond their personal control, such as when they wait for an acceptance letter, job offer, or medical test results. We suggest that when wanting and uncertainty are high and personal control is lacking, people may be more likely to help others, as if they can encourage fate's favor by doing good deeds proactively. Four experiments support this karmic-investment hypothesis. When people want an outcome over which they have little control, their donations of time and money increase (Experiments 1 and 2), but their participation in other rewarding activities does not (Experiment 1b). In addition, at a job fair, job seekers who feel the process is outside (vs. within) their control make more generous pledges to charities (Experiment 3). Finally, karmic investments increase optimism about a desired outcome (Experiment 4). We conclude by discussing the role of personal control and magical beliefs in this phenomenon.     

The value of relative-time-spent ratings in task-oriented job analysis

Recent studies have called for the abandonment of the relative-time-spent scale in task inventories. This recommendation is based on findings that the job profile created with the scale data is highly correlated with the profile created from a much simpler “Do you perform this task?” checklist. We examined this issue using 3 inventories and 42 jobs (N=2252). Profile correlations were computed on only the tasks actually performed by incumbents to avoid possibly inflated rs due to including irrelevant tasks. The specificity of task inventory items was proposed as an explanation for the high correlation between the two job profiles. Specificity of items was examined by looking at both the type (job duties versus tasks) and the amount (number of items in job profile and average number of items relevant to each job) of items used in the inventory. Correlations between time spent and checklist profiles were in the .80's and .90's regardless of the number of irrelevant tasks or the specificity of tasks. We agree with previous military research and conclude that the relative-time-spent scale has limited incremental utility beyond a dichotomous checklist.     

Imagine Me and You,I Do: Effects of imagined intergroup contact on anti‐fat bias in the context of job interviews

Imagined intergroup contact (IIC) has been demonstrated to alleviate prejudice toward social groups as a whole, but the extent to which it prevents biases in ratings of individual job candidates has not yet been examined. This study uses a simulated employment interview where a female candidate either higher or lower in body fat is rated by participants who have undergone an IIC or a control manipulation. IIC successfully alleviated discrimination in ratings of interviewee competence but had no significant effect on ratings of warmth. Competence ratings fully mediated the effect of the two‐way interaction of IIC and interviewee body fat on a dichotomous hiring recommendation provided 1 week later. IIC may be an effective and inexpensive intervention for reducing bias in job interview contexts.     

The Effect of Non‐native Accents on the Evaluation of Applicants during an Employment Interview: The development of a path model

As the workplace becomes increasingly global, organizations are more likely to employ individuals with non‐native accents. The present study looked at the influence of accents on the evaluation of job applicants during an interview. In addition, a path model was developed to understand the accent condition–hiring recommendation relationship. Participants were asked to evaluate an applicant with one of three accents (Midwestern US, French, Mexican) at two understandability levels (low and high) by listening to an audiofile. The results showed that the applicant with the Midwestern US accent was seen as more hirable than the applicant with the French low understandability accent. The path model indicated that the accent condition–hiring recommendation relationship was mediated by similarity, interpersonal attraction, and understandability.     

The Presentation of Self in Letters of Application: A Mixed‐Method Approach

The application letter, as the first phase of employment‐seeking, is an opportunity for a job applicant to make a favorable impression on a potential employer. In the current study, the author used a mixed‐method approach to empirically explore strategies for self‐presentation in job application letters and determine the methods used in the letters and their lexical content. An array of self‐presentation strategies, both structural (relating to the formal aspect of the letters) and tactical (involving specific tactics or strategies), were identified and discussed. Job candidates’ self‐evaluation strategies in application letters may contribute to a more accurate assessment of interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies. The results suggest that lexical and meaning levels of analysis in letters of application should be treated as distinct.     

The Relation between Selection Expectations,Perceptions and Organizational Attraction: A test of competing models

Little is known about how applicants' selection expectations and perceptions interplay in predicting applicant attraction outcomes (organizational attractiveness, job pursuit intention, and recommendation intention). In the present study, 340 entry‐level applicants for jobs in a large financial company provided information about their selection expectations before the procedure, and about their perceptions and attraction to the organization after the procedure. Regression analyses indicated that applicant perceptions, and in particular perceptions of warmth/respect, mediated the relationship between selection expectations and organizational attractiveness and job pursuit intention. No support was found for the moderating role of selection expectations in the perception–attraction relationship. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.