Effects of recruiter friendliness and job attribute information on recruitment outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the effects of recruiter friendliness and both verifiable and non-verifiable job attributes in the recruitment process.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 498 participants watched a videoed simulation of a recruitment interview and completed a questionnaire. Three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the interaction and main effect hypotheses.FindingsApplicant reactions were more favorable with a friendly recruiter. The more favorable the verifiable job attribute information (JAI), the more favorable the applicant reactions were to the employment opportunity. Compared to applicants who received negative or no non-verifiable JAI, applicants who received positive or mixed non-verifiable JAI were more attracted to the recruiter, perceived the employment opportunity as more desirable, and were more willing to pursue the employment opportunity. Reactions were most favorable in the positive non-verifiable JAI condition, less favorable in the mixed condition, and least favorable in the negative condition. Surprisingly, the “no information” mean was above the negative information condition.Originality/valueThis fully crossed 2 × 3 × 4 experiment simultaneously examined 2 levels of recruiter friendliness, 3 levels of verifiable job attributes and 4 levels of non-verifiable job attributes. The five dependent variables were attraction to the recruiter, attraction to the employment opportunity, willingness to pursue the employment opportunity, the perceived probability of receiving a job offer and the number of positive inferences made about unknown organizational characteristics. Previous research examining the effects of employment inducements and job attributes were conducted in field settings where it is difficult to control the amount and favorability of JAI applicants receive.