RESEARCH ARTICLE
What (not) to add in your ad: When job ads discourage older or younger job seekers to apply
This article relates to:
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Notice
- Volume 31Issue 3International Journal of Selection and Assessment
- pages: 484-484
- First Published online: March 21, 2023
Aylin Koçak,
Eva Derous,
Marise Ph. Born,
Wouter Duyck,
Corresponding Author
Aylin Koçak
Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Correspondence Aylin Koçak, Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEva Derous
Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Department of Psychology Education & Child Studies/Work and Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorMarise Ph. Born
Department of Psychology Education & Child Studies/Work and Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Optentia and Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorWouter Duyck
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAylin Koçak,
Eva Derous,
Marise Ph. Born,
Wouter Duyck,
Corresponding Author
Aylin Koçak
Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Correspondence Aylin Koçak, Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorEva Derous
Vocational and Personnel Psychology Lab, Department of Work, Organization and Society, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Department of Psychology Education & Child Studies/Work and Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Search for more papers by this authorMarise Ph. Born
Department of Psychology Education & Child Studies/Work and Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Optentia and Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorWouter Duyck
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Both older and younger job seekers face difficulties when entering the workforce. Qualification-based targeted recruitment (QBTR) might be used to attract older/younger job seekers, yet how this strategy is perceived by older/younger job seekers has not been considered before. The present study fills this gap and investigated effects of negatively metastereotyped information in job ads (i.e., personality requirements or traits) on application intention and self-efficacy of both older and younger job seekers. An experimental study (Ntotal = 556; 44.6% aged 50 or older, 55.4% aged 30 or younger) showed that negatively metastereotyped traits in job ads (e.g., “flexible”) lowered older job seekers’ application intention and that this effect was mediated by older job seekers’ self-efficacy regarding that trait. No such effects were found among younger job seekers. Results showed that organizations can fail to attract older candidates because of the traits mentioned in job ads, which is particularly alarming when aiming to target age-diverse applicants. Suggestions for practitioners and future research are formulated.
Practitioner Points
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Research largely overlooked how older and younger-aged job seekers experience personality requirements in ads.
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Instead of attracting older job seekers, negatively metastereotyped personality requirements in ads lowered their application intention through lower self-efficacy.
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Hence, talented job seekers from underrepresented groups (like older-aged job seekers) may self-select out.
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Organizations should, therefore, avoid metastereotyped personality requirements in job ads.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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