ONLINE JOB BOARDS AS AN EMPLOYER

RECRUITMENT TOOL BY

VERA BRENČIČ JOHN B. NORRIS UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PURDUE UNIVERSITY

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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

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GRAPH 1: Changes in the stock of vacancies in the U.S.

Source: the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Conference Board, and Monster.com.

050

100

150

200

01 Jan 04 01 Jan 05 01 Jan 06 01 Jan 07 01 Jan 08Year

Monster Employment Index Online Help-Wanted Index

Help-Wanted Index BLS Job Opening Index (s.adj.)

BLS Job Opening Index

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GRAPH 2: Changes in the stock of online vacancies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe 0

5010

015

020

0

01 Jan 04 01 Jan 05 01 Jan 06 01 Jan 07 01 Jan 08Year

Monster Employment Index: U.S. (monthly)

Monster Employment Index: Canada (quarterly)

Monster Employment Index: Europe (monthly)

Source: Monster.com.

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A job posting on Monster.com

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TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE EXTENSIVE MARGIN

“SEND THIS JOB TO A FRIEND” LINK

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TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE EXTENSIVE MARGIN

“APPLY NOW” LINK

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TOOLS THAT FACILITATE SEARCH AT THE INTENSIVE MARGIN

“Worried about too much response? You will receive emails from all job seekers who apply. If a job seeker does not meet your requirements, their email 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

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DATA COLLECTIONMONSTER.COM

2004 data collection:• stock of job postings on July 10th

• 10 U.S. cities: 36,613 postings• 11 job categories: 44,375 postings

2005 data collection:• flow of new job postings between April 30th and July 7th • 10 U.S. cities: 87,494 postings • 11 job categories: 109,305 postings

2006 data collection:• flow of new job postings between June 26th and July 8th

• 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

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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: Email: 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

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EMPLOYERS’ USE OF SEARCH TOOLS

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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

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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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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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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