The effect of applicant–employee fit and temporal construal on employer attraction and pursuit intentions

Although applicant–employee fit has emerged as an important topic in recruitment research, little is known about how job seekers’ perceived similarity with the employees working for an organization affects employer attraction. In this research, we introduce temporal construal as a crucial moderating variable and study how the temporal decision context affects the weighting of applicant–employee fit. In particular, we argue that applicant–employee fit is construed in abstract, high‐level terms, and exerts a stronger influence when prospective applicants hold a distant time perspective. In contrast, instrumental attributes such as pay level represent low‐level construals and gain greater relevance when prospective applicants hold a near time perspective. Two experiments involving a student sample and a sample of unemployed job seekers supported these predictions.     

Applicant–employee similarity and attraction to an employer

Considerable research has supported the similarity–attraction effect, wherein similarity on various dimensions predicts interpersonal attraction. The present study extended this notion to workplace attraction, by examining whether applicant similarity to prospective co‐workers enhances attraction to the potential employer. Similarity between college‐aged women and prototypical employees at well‐known retail stores was assessed. Both perceived similarity and prototype similarity predicted perceptions of employer attractiveness. Although perceived similarity produced larger effect sizes, prototype similarity showed promise as an indirect measure of person‐to‐person fit.     

Investigating Web‐Based Recruitment Sources: Employee testimonials vs word‐of‐mouse

Although the internet has dramatically changed recruitment practices, many web‐based recruitment sources have not yet been investigated. The present study examines the effects of web‐based employee testimonials and web‐based word‐of‐mouth (i.e., ‘word‐of‐mouse’) on organizational attraction. The source credibility framework is used to compare these company‐dependent and company‐independent recruitment sources. In a sample of potential applicants for a head nurse position, word‐of‐mouse was associated with higher organizational attractiveness than web‐based employee testimonials. However, potential applicants were more attracted when testimonials provided information about individual employees than about the organization. Conversely, word‐of‐mouse was associated with higher organizational attractiveness and more organizational pursuit behavior when it focused on the organization instead of on employees. Most of these effects were mediated by credibility perceptions.     

Fit perceptions in the employment interview: The role of similarity,liking, and expectations

We examined (1) how interviewers construct fit perceptions about applicants and (2) the relationship between these perceptions and actual hiring recommendations. It was hypothesized that actual demographic similarity and human capital similarity would indirectly affect fit perceptions. These fit perceptions would be predicted by the interviewer's perceived similarity to applicants, mediated by two factors: interviewers' liking of the applicant and interviewers' expectations of applicant performance. Actual interviewer‐applicant dyads (N=118) were studied. The results indicated that the relationship between perceived similarity and fit perceptions is mediated by performance expectations but not by liking. This study provides evidence that interviewers are more rational than previous research suggested. However, the fact that human resource interviewers are more likely to perceive applicants as similar to themselves than line interviewers suggests that interviewers' neutrality is questioned.     

Symbolic Attributes and Organizational Attractiveness: The moderating effects of applicant personality

The present study examined the moderating influence of the Big Five personality factors in the relationship between five symbolic, trait‐based inferences about organizations (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Prestige, and Ruggedness) and organizational attractiveness. Drawing on the similarity‐attraction paradigm, six hypotheses were formulated, stating that the relationship between trait‐based inferences and organizational attractiveness would be stronger for persons who perceive the organization as similar to them. Results of moderated regression analyses on data from a sample of 245 prospective applicants for the Belgian military revealed two significant two‐way interactions, showing that Sincerity was positively related to organizational attractiveness only for individuals high on Conscientiousness, and that the relationship between Excitement and organizational attractiveness is more positive for individuals high on Openness to Experience. Practical implications, strengths and limitations, as well as directions for further research are presented.     

The Employment Interview: The Role of Sex Stereotypes in the Evaluation of Male and Female Job Applicants in the Netherlands1

This field study focused on the influence of sex stereotypes in the evaluation of male (N=38) and female (N=21) job applicants in the Netherlands. The employee selection process for higher-level technical and academic jobs in real life situations was studied, with special attention to the assessment of applicants by members of selection committees. It was demonstrated that, according to the job interviewers, the ideal applicant had more masculine than feminine traits. Males and females were regarded as having the same qualifications for the job, but because male applicants were assessed as having more masculine characteristics and female applicants more feminine characteristics, the male applicants were accepted more often. The job interviewers acted according to a fit model: The applicant most similar in traits to the ideal applicant was hired for each job.     

The Antecedent and Consequence of Person–Organization Fit: Ingratiation,similarity, hiring recommendations and job offer

This study investigates how the ingratiation and perceived similarity of a job applicant can affect the judgment of an interviewer in determining person–organization fit (P–O fit), hiring recommendations and the job offer during a job interview. Data were collected from 144 interviewers and 184 applicants from 28 companies in Taiwan. The results suggest that applicant ingratiation has a positive effect on an interviewer's perceived similarity with the applicant, and that this perceived similarity mediates the relationship between applicant ingratiation and the interviewer's judgment of the applicant's P–O fit. The results further suggest that the relationship between the interviewer's judgment of the applicant's P–O fit and the job offer is mediated by hiring recommendations. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Comparing Personality Characteristics,Values, and Goals as Antecedents of Organizational Attractiveness

Person–organization (P–O) fit was examined as an antecedent of individuals’ attraction to organizations by operationalizing P–O fit as the similarity between individuals and organizations on three points of comparison: personality dimensions, values, and goals. It was hypothesized that compared to P–O fit on values and on goals, P–O fit on personality dimensions would be related more strongly to organizational attractiveness. It was also hypothesized that relative to P–O fit on goals, P–O fit on values would be related more strongly to organizational attractiveness. The results indicated that each of the points of comparison had a unique effect on organizational attractiveness and that individuals were more attracted to organizations that were similar to them than to organizations that were dissimilar to them.     

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.     

The Mediating Processes Linking Applicant Personality Traits and Interviewer Evaluation

This study examines interview preparations (i.e., social preparation and background preparation) and impression management (IM) tactics (i.e., self‐focused IM and other‐focused IM) as the mechanisms between applicant personality characteristics and interviewer evaluation. Data were collected from both actual job applicants and interviewers. Results show that personality characteristics (i.e., extraversion and conscientiousness) have indirect effects on interviewer evaluation in terms of perceived person–job fit (P–J fit) and interpersonal liking through these two types of applicant behaviors. This study accomplishes two goals: (1) it extends the socioanalytic theory of personality ( Hogan, 1996 ) by testing the intervening roles played by applicants' behaviors that correspond to getting along with and getting ahead of others; and (2) it suggests that these applicant behaviors might be important cues for practical interviewers' effective assessment of applicants' performance‐related characteristics.     

Contextualized personality measures in employee selection: Extending frame‐of‐reference research with job applicant samples

This study compared contextualized and non‐contextualized personality measures in operational hiring situations, unlike previous research which has largely relied on student or job incumbent samples. Comparisons were made with regard to (A) the frames‐of‐reference adopted by applicants when responding to the measures, (B) relations with subsequent employment interview scores, (C) applicant reactions, and (D) mean scores for the personality scales. The findings highlight potential concerns with using non‐contextualized personality measures for employee selection, as job applicants will likely adopt various frames‐of‐reference unrelated to the intended focus of measurement (i.e., work). Results also indicated that it may be premature to assume contextualized measures elicit improved applicant reactions despite their apparent job‐relatedness. The discussion concludes with suggested directions for future research.     

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 RELATION OF INSTRUMENTAL and SYMBOLIC ATTRIBUTES TO A COMPANY'S ATTRACTIVENESS AS AN EMPLOYER

This study adds a new marketing-based angle to the study of the attractiveness of organizations in the early stages of the recruitment process. Drawing on the instrumental-symbolic framework from the marketing literature, we expected that the meanings (in terms of inferred traits) that prospective applicants associate with employing organizations would play an important role in applicants' attractiveness to these organizations. Two groups of prospective applicants (275 final-year students and 124 bank employees) were drawn from the applicant population targeted by the bank industry. These applicants were asked to rate a randomly assigned bank in terms of job/organizational factors and to ascribe traits to this bank. In both samples, trait inferences about organizations accounted for incremental variance over job and organizational attributes in predicting an organization's perceived attractiveness as an employer. Moreover, it was easier to differentiate among organizations on the basis of trait inferences versus traditional job and organizational attributes. Practical implications for image audit and image management are discussed.     

Recruiting Through the Stages: A Meta‐Analytic Test of Predictors of Applicant Attraction at Different Stages of the Recruiting Process

We used meta‐analysis and semipartial correlations to examine the relative strength and incremental variance accounted for by 7 categories of recruiting predictors across multiple recruitment stages on applicant attraction. Based on 232 studies (250 samples, 3,518 coefficients, n= 108,632), we found that characteristics of the job, organization, and recruitment process, recruiter behaviors, perceived fit, and hiring expectancies (but not perceived alternatives) accounted for unique variance in applicant attraction at multiple stages. Perceived fit was the strongest relative and unique variance predictor of applicant attraction albeit a nonsignificant predictor of job choice. Although not among the largest zero‐order predictors, recruiter behaviors accounted for substantial incremental variance at the first 2 stages. Organizational characteristics are more heavily weighed by applicants when maintaining applicant status as compared to the stage of application, and recruitment process characteristics are weighed progressively more as the recruitment stages advance. Job characteristics accounted for the greatest unique variance in job choice decisions. Job characteristics are more predictive in field studies, whereas recruiter behaviors, recruitment process characteristics, hiring expectancies, and perceived alternatives produced larger effect sizes in the laboratory. Results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications with future research suggestions.     

Beauty Revisited: The impact of attractiveness,ability, and personality in the assessment of employment suitability

This study examined the relative weight that hiring managers place on applicants' attractiveness, general mental ability (GMA), and the Big Five personality dimensions in assessing employment suitability for high and low customer contact positions. A sample of 130 managers from 43 hotel properties in the United States and Canada evaluated applicant profiles that varied on these dimensions. The policy capturing results demonstrated that attractiveness does impact employment suitability ratings across positions. However, attractiveness is valued less than GMA and conscientiousness. The attractiveness weight was greater in the evaluation of high customer contact positions, suggesting that attractiveness may be perceived as more job‐relevant for positions where employees interact extensively with people outside the organization. These findings are discussed along with implications for practice and future research attention.     

Using Recruiter Assessments of Applicants’ Resume Content to Predict Applicant Mental Ability and Big Five Personality Dimensions

Information provided on applicants’ resumes provides a convenient, cost–effective means for applicant screening. We sought to determine if recruiters’ assessments of the presence of certain types of information on job applicants’ resumes was related to applicants’ general mental ability and personality traits. Forty recruiters from 35 organizations assessed the extent to which specified items were present on the resumes of job applicants. Results indicated relationships between recruiters’ judgments regarding applicants’ resume information and applicants’ cognitive ability and Big Five personality characteristics. Implications for the use of resume information in the selection process are discussed.     

PAY PREFERENCES AND JOB SEARCH DECISIONS: A PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT PERSPECTIVE

The present study investigated the degree to which pay preferences influenced job search decisions in both hypothetical and actual organizations, and the degree to which preferences for particular compensation attributes depended on job seekers' dispositional characteristics. Based on prior theory and research, we hypothesized that certain pay systems generally would be preferred by job seekers, that these pay systems would affect applicant attraction to organizations, and that different types of job seekers would be attracted to different types of pay systems. The sample comprised 171 college students who were seeking jobs during the study, and who represented six majors, three degree types, and two degree levels. Experimental policy-capturing results and results obtained about actual companies with which the job seekers would potentially interview supported hypotheses that organizations perceived to offer high pay levels, flexible benefits, individual-based pay, and fixed pay policies were more attractive to job seekers. Results further suggested that the attractiveness of these pay policies may be heightened by greater levels of fit between individual personality traits and compensation system characteristics.     

Foreign and domestic company attractiveness to host national employees in Japan: A person–organization fit and image theory perspective

This study contributes to research on organizational attractiveness and human resource management (HRM) by drawing on image theory to examine the effect of organizational characteristics (foreign vs. domestic company country‐of‐origin, HRM practices, organizational culture, and work environment) on organizational attractiveness perceptions by host country national (HCN) employees. Drawing on person–organization fit theory, we also examine the moderating effects of HCNs' demographic characters (age and gender), work‐related skills (English proficiency and international experience), and value orientations (individualism and risk aversion) between the relationship of these organizational characteristics and organizational attractiveness. A between‐subject scenario‐based experiment with 800 HCN employees in Japan suggest that not the company country‐of‐origin, but the local adaptation of organizational culture, HRM practices, and work environment influence HCNs' organizational attractiveness perceptions. HCNs' demographic characteristics, work‐related skills, and value orientations had moderating effects between these organizational characteristics and organizational attractiveness perceptions.     

Corporate Social Responsibility, Applicants’ Individual Traits, and Organizational Attraction: A Person–Organization Fit Perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore whether different aspects of corporate social responsibility (i.e., economic, legal, and ethical) have independent association with job applicants?? attraction to organizations and how applicants combine the information. Further, from a person?Corganization fit perspective, we examine whether applicants are attracted to organizations whose corporate social responsibility (CSR) reflects their differences in ethical predispositions (i.e., utilitarianism and formalism) and Machiavellianism. Using factorial design, we created scenarios manipulating CSR and pay level. Participants read each scenario and answered questions about their attraction to the organization depicted in the scenario. We found that each aspect of CSR had an independent relationship with organizational attraction and the probability of accepting a job offer. Participants combined information from each type of CSR in an interactive, configural manner. Applicants with different ethical predispositions and Machiavellianism personality were affected by CSR to different extents. Understanding how job applicants evaluate CSR information may give managers an opportunity to influence applicant attraction. Further, our study shows that organizations may be able to maximize the utility of their CSR investments by selectively conveying CSR information in recruitment brochures that are attractive to their ideal applicants. This is the first study to examine how job applicants form their perception based upon different configurations of the multiple aspects of CSR. In addition, this is the first study to examine the moderating effect of individual differences in ethical predispositions and Machiavellianism on the relationship between CSR and applicant attraction.