<p> Millions of Americans are unemployed, looking for work, and hoping to secure job interviews. A job applicant's employment status and sex have the potential to influence hiring managers' judgments as to who is interviewed and, ultimately, hired. In this study, participants reviewed and evaluated fictitious job applicants' resumes. Six resumes which portrayed various combinations of applicant employment status (currently employed, short-term unemployed, long-term unemployed) and sex were developed. However, each participant was only asked to review one resume. Despite the resumes depicting different employment conditions, all of the job applicants had equivalent work experience relevant to the job for which they were applying. Results indicated that employment status and sex did not affect whether applicants were seen as possessing characteristics often associated with the unemployed. However, employment status and sex had a significant interaction when it came to hiring decisions. When making hiring decisions, long-term unemployed females were rated significantly less favorably than employed females, short-term unemployed females, and long-term unemployed males. The data suggest that the effects of unemployment may differ for males and females, and these factors may affect job opportunities. To hire the best employees, hiring managers need to be aware of their biases when making interview and hiring decisions because the factors on a resume can work together to impact these decisions.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1544513 |
| Date | 09 October 2013 |
| Creators | Rosenblum, Amy |
| Publisher | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds