Do recruiters select workers with different personality traits for different tasks? A discrete choice experiment

C. Wehner; A. de Grip; H. Pfeifer

doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102186

Do recruiters select workers with different personality traits for different tasks? A discrete choice experiment

C. Wehner^*, A. de Grip, H. Pfeifer

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This paper explores whether firms recruit workers with different personality traits for different tasks. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among recruiters of 634 firms in Germany, asking recruiters to choose between job applicants who differ in seven characteristics: professional competence, the Big Five personality traits, and the prospective wage level. We find that all personality traits affect the hiring probability of the job applicant, with conscientiousness and agreeableness having the strongest positive effects. However, for analytical tasks, recruiters have a stronger preference for more open and conscientious applicants, while favoring more open, extraverted, and agreeable workers for interactive tasks.

Original language	English
Article number	102186
Number of pages	14
Journal	Labour Economics
Volume	78
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102186
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2022

JEL classifications

j23 - Labor Demand
d91 - "Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving"
m51 - "Personnel Economics: Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions"

Keywords

Recruitment
Personality traits
Tasks
Discrete choice experiment
JOB-PERFORMANCE
TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE
SKILL CONTENT
MIXED LOGIT
VIGNETTE
MODEL
EMPLOYERS
AGREEMENT
ACQUAINTANCESHIP
PREFERENCES

Access to Document

10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102186Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

@article{3367ce753eac448f956aac8f138de8f6,

title = "Do recruiters select workers with different personality traits for different tasks? A discrete choice experiment",

abstract = "This paper explores whether firms recruit workers with different personality traits for different tasks. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among recruiters of 634 firms in Germany, asking recruiters to choose between job applicants who differ in seven characteristics: professional competence, the Big Five personality traits, and the prospective wage level. We find that all personality traits affect the hiring probability of the job applicant, with conscientiousness and agreeableness having the strongest positive effects. However, for analytical tasks, recruiters have a stronger preference for more open and conscientious applicants, while favoring more open, extraverted, and agreeable workers for interactive tasks.",

keywords = "Recruitment, Personality traits, Tasks, Discrete choice experiment, JOB-PERFORMANCE, TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE, SKILL CONTENT, MIXED LOGIT, VIGNETTE, MODEL, EMPLOYERS, AGREEMENT, ACQUAINTANCESHIP, PREFERENCES",

author = "C. Wehner and {de Grip}, A. and H. Pfeifer",

note = "Data source: discrete choice experiment in the BIBB-CBS 2017/2018 survey Funding Information: Comments from Wilbert van der Klaauw, Bart de Koning, Mark Levels, Samuel M{\"u}hlemann and two anonymous referees were very much appreciated and helped improve the paper. We wish to thank the participants of the CEDEFOP, EUROFOUND and IZA Conference on Workplace and Management Practices, the Lunch Talk Series on VET and Personnel Economics at the University of Zurich, the IAB Conference on Labour Market Transitions, the Scientific Advisory Board Meeting at BIBB, and the 7th Congress on Research in Vocational Education and Training at the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) for their valuable comments. We also appreciate the support of Natalie Reid for language consulting. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022",

year = "2022",

month = oct,

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doi = "10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102186",

language = "English",

volume = "78",

journal = "Labour Economics",

issn = "0927-5371",

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AU - Wehner, C.

AU - de Grip, A.

AU - Pfeifer, H.

N1 - Data source: discrete choice experiment in the BIBB-CBS 2017/2018 survey Funding Information: Comments from Wilbert van der Klaauw, Bart de Koning, Mark Levels, Samuel Mühlemann and two anonymous referees were very much appreciated and helped improve the paper. We wish to thank the participants of the CEDEFOP, EUROFOUND and IZA Conference on Workplace and Management Practices, the Lunch Talk Series on VET and Personnel Economics at the University of Zurich, the IAB Conference on Labour Market Transitions, the Scientific Advisory Board Meeting at BIBB, and the 7th Congress on Research in Vocational Education and Training at the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) for their valuable comments. We also appreciate the support of Natalie Reid for language consulting. Publisher Copyright: © 2022

PY - 2022/10/1

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N2 - This paper explores whether firms recruit workers with different personality traits for different tasks. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among recruiters of 634 firms in Germany, asking recruiters to choose between job applicants who differ in seven characteristics: professional competence, the Big Five personality traits, and the prospective wage level. We find that all personality traits affect the hiring probability of the job applicant, with conscientiousness and agreeableness having the strongest positive effects. However, for analytical tasks, recruiters have a stronger preference for more open and conscientious applicants, while favoring more open, extraverted, and agreeable workers for interactive tasks.

AB - This paper explores whether firms recruit workers with different personality traits for different tasks. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among recruiters of 634 firms in Germany, asking recruiters to choose between job applicants who differ in seven characteristics: professional competence, the Big Five personality traits, and the prospective wage level. We find that all personality traits affect the hiring probability of the job applicant, with conscientiousness and agreeableness having the strongest positive effects. However, for analytical tasks, recruiters have a stronger preference for more open and conscientious applicants, while favoring more open, extraverted, and agreeable workers for interactive tasks.

KW - Recruitment

KW - Personality traits

KW - Tasks

KW - Discrete choice experiment

KW - JOB-PERFORMANCE

KW - TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE

KW - SKILL CONTENT

KW - MIXED LOGIT

KW - VIGNETTE

KW - MODEL

KW - EMPLOYERS

KW - AGREEMENT

KW - ACQUAINTANCESHIP

KW - PREFERENCES

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DO - 10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102186

M3 - Article

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VL - 78

JO - Labour Economics

JF - Labour Economics

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ER -