ONLINE JOB BOARDS AS AN EMPLOYER RECRUITMENT TOOL BY VERA BRENČIČ JOHN B. NORRIS UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PURDUE UNIVERSITY

2 KEY OBSERVATIONS 1.Internet access in the U.S. households: 75% in 2004 compared to 66% in 2003 (Nielsen/NetRatings, 2004) businesses: 89% in 2002 compared to 78% in 1998 (Forman, 2005) 2.Internet as a job and worker search tool unemployed workers: 38% in 2002 compared to 14% in 1998 (Stevenson, 2008) employed workers: 14% in 2002 compared to 7% in 1998 (Stevenson, 2008) employers: % of Global 500 companies with a corporate career website increased from 29 in 1998 to 94 in 2003 (iLogos, 2003) 3.Internet use and job searcher’s labor market experience firm tenure (Hadass, 2004) unemployed worker’s prospects of finding a job (Kuhn and Skuterud, 2004) employed worker’s prospects of finding a new job (Stevenson, 2006, 2008)

EMPLOYERS’ USE OF ONLINE JOB BOARDS

4 GRAPH 1: Changes in the stock of vacancies in the U.S. Source: the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Conference Board, and Monster.com.

5 GRAPH 2: Changes in the stock of online vacancies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe Source: Monster.com.

6 A job posting on Monster.com

7 TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE EXTENSIVE MARGIN “SEND THIS JOB TO A FRIEND” LINK

8 TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE EXTENSIVE MARGIN “APPLY NOW” LINK

9 TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE INTENSIVE MARGIN “Worried about too much response? You will receive s from all job seekers who apply. If a job seeker does not meet your requirements, their will be marked with ‘Does Not Meet Criteria’ allowing you to sort them accordingly.” Monster.com website

EMPLOYERS’ USE OF SEARCH TOOLS OFFERED BY ONLINE JOB BOARDS EVIDENCE FROM MONSTER.COM

11 DATA COLLECTION MONSTER.COM 2004 data collection: stock of job postings on July 10 th 10 U.S. cities: 36,613 postings 11 job categories: 44,375 postings 2005 data collection: flow of new job postings between April 30 th and July 7 th 10 U.S. cities: 87,494 postings 11 job categories: 109,305 postings 2006 data collection: flow of new job postings between June 26 th and July 8 th all cities/regions and job categories: 142,618 postings Cities (in the 2004 and 2005 samples): Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco Job categories (in the 2004 and 2005 samples): Banking, Insurance, Finance/Economics, Financial Services, Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical, Certified Nursing Assistants, Registered Nurses, Manufacturing/Production, Internet and E-commerce, Information Technology, Administrative and Support Services

12 Financial Representative Company: Northwestern Mutual Status: Full Time, Temporary/Contract/Project Location: US-MA-Wellesley Hills Job Category: Financial Services Use the employer's preferred method to send your resume - click Apply Now! It's faster & easier than ever! Job Description Financial Representatives with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network provide expert guidance and innovative solutions for the planning needs of individuals and businesses. They strive to understand their clients’ goals and visions in order to develop financial solutions that put them on a path to success. These representatives are in business for themselves—but they’re not alone. Supported by our network of financial specialists, training programs and mentoring opportunities, they have access to the resources, products and assistance they need to help their clients and build their practices. Devotion to and interaction with our communities has led Northwestern Mutual through 145 years of industry experience. As of 2002, we’ve been voted the “Most Admired” company in our industry 19 times by Fortune magazine, and have always received the highest possible ratings from the four major rating services: Standard and Poor’s (AAA); Moody’s (Aaa); Fitch (AAA); A.M. Best (A++). That reputation has been made possible by our Financial Representatives, who in 2000, were ranked the “Best Sales Force in the Industry” by Sales & Marketing Management magazine. The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network has projected the need for additional Financial Representatives nationwide over the next twelve months. If you’re a top-notch performer, value freedom as your own boss, want to be financially rewarded for hard work and have the desire to impact people’s lives positively everyday, then you may be a candidate we want to speak with. Preferred Qualifications: BA or BS degree from a four-year institution; strong interpersonal skills; self-motivated; history of personal success Enjoy working in a fast-paced, highly productive, value-driven environment? The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network is the marketing name for the sales and distribution arm of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, Milwaukee, WI. Contact Information Company: Northwestern Mutual Contact: It's faster & easier than ever! Send this Job to a Friend ONE OBSERVATION IN THE DATA Preferred Qualifications: BA or BS degree from a four-year institution Supported by our network of financial specialists, training programs and mentoring opportunities, they have access to the resources, products and assistance they need to help their clients and build their practices. Use the employer's preferred method to send your resume - click Apply Now! Send this Job to a Friend

13 EMPLOYERS’ USE OF SEARCH TOOLS

14 EMPLOYERS’ USE OF ONLINE SEARCH TOOLS THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In Barron et al. (1997) the employer’s search is characterized by two decisions: stopping rule (extensive margin) precision of the signal about match quality (intensive margin) Barron et al. show that vacancy attributes such as: vacancy costs on-the-job training human capital requirements affect the employer’s search at the extensive and intensive margins

15 CONTROL VARIABLES Task/Worker characteristics: –teamwork –job category (industry) –attention to detail/quality provision –multitasking –temporary employment –self-driven individual –on the-job independence –number of “skill” Firm characteristics: –multiple job openings in a single posting –job description’s length (in number of characters) –opening posted by recruitment agency –link to other job opportunities –link to corporate website Other: –job’s location (region) –payment of relocation costs –number of forgone weeks of online posting at the time of data retrieval

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18 VACANCY WITHDRAWAL FROM MONSTER.COM A measure of duration of a vacancy’s online posting: vacancy start date vacancy end date

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21 CONCLUDING REMARKS Evidence suggests that employers’: search technology active versus passive search are important determinants of employers’ online search New data collection of: alternative measures of employers’ search outcomes employers’ parallel use of online and offline search tools would offer improvements to this paper’s analysis More attention to analysis of online recruiting industry