Job Applications

Although a number of laws exist concerning equal employment opportunity (EEO), research suggests that discrimination still exists. Are attitudes and intentions regarding EEO compliance evolving among those who are planning managerial careers and have grown up in the era since passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? To explore this question, the present study investigated business students' evaluations of various job applications. Specifically, students were exposed to resumes of job applicants who varied in terms of their employment experience, age, race, and sex. Analyses indicated a main effect for employment experience and two small interactions. The relationship of these perceptions to actual future behaviors was discussed. Results were also compared to those of previous studies of business students' attitudes and intentions regarding discrimination in employment.

PurposeAnonymous recruitment seeks to limit managers’ reliance on stereotypes in employment decisions, thereby reducing discrimination. This paper aims to explore how managers interpret the information embedded in anonymised job applications and how they interpret the organisational priorities driving the adoption of anonymous recruitment.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews with 30 managers in two Australian public sector organisations were analysed.FindingsThe results showed that managers used implicit signals and cues to infer the gender identities of applicants in anonymised applications, reintroducing the possibility of bias. Managers perceived that anonymous recruitment sent positive external signals to prospective employees but were sceptical about its effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe results showed that removing applicants’ names and identifying information from applications may not be sufficient to reduce bias. In organisations where managers are sympathetic to equity and diversity issues, use of anonymous recruitment may provoke resentment if managers perceive organisational distrust or inconsistent objectives. Limitations regarding the size and nature of the sample are acknowledged.Practical implicationsOrganisations seeking to reduce gender discrimination in recruitment may consider adopting standardised application procedures or training managers to understand how stereotypes affect evaluations. Organisations should also assess managerial support for, and understanding of, anonymous recruitment prior to implementation.Originality/valueThe findings add to existing knowledge regarding the effects of implicit gender signals in managers’ assessments and the effectiveness of anonymous recruitment in reducing gender bias. It also contributes to signalling theory by examining how managers interpret the signals conveyed in organisational policies.

The use of anonymous job applications to combat hiring discrimination is gaining attention and interest. Results from a number of field experiments in European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are considered here) shed light on their potential to reduce some of the discriminatory barriers to hiring for minority and other disadvantaged groups. But although this approach can achieve its primary aims, there are also some cautions to consider. Anonymous job applications have the potential to remove or reduce some discriminatory hiring barriers facing applicants from minority and other disadvantaged groups. When implemented effectively, anonymous job applications level the playing field in access to jobs by shifting the focus toward skills and qualifications. Anonymous job applications should not, however, be regarded as a universal remedy that is applicable in any context or that can prevent any form of discrimination.

:  This paper analyses some 99 job applications and 239 student complaint letters collected over a period of five years. The investigation focuses on two broad aspects of these letters: firstly, opening and closing statements; and secondly, internal discourse strategies. Findings reveal that apart from a general uncertainty as to which of the complimentary closes (Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully) should be selected for letters beginning ‘Dear + Sir’ and ‘Dear + a name’, job applications and students’ complaint letters are fast developing distinctive linguistic and discourse characteristics of their own in Cameroon.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of learning strategy instruction on the completion of job applications by students identified as learning disabled. Thirty-three students (average age 15 years 6 months) were randomly assigned by grade and gender to one of two experimental conditions: learning strategy instruction or traditional instruction. The result was 16 students (10 boys and 6 girls) being placed under the learning strategy instruction condition and 17 students (10 boys and 7 girls) being placed under the traditional instruction condition. Results indicated that in addition to statistically significant lower numbers of information omissions and information location errors, holistic ratings of the overall neatness of the job applications were significantly higher for those students under the learning strategy instruction condition. In addition to these positive changes in the performance measures, social validity data suggest that students under the learning strategy condition would be more likely to receive an invitation for a job interview. The findings and future research needs are discussed.

Seven youths from a residential treatment facility for juvenile offenders served as subjects in a study designed to train minimally literate individuals to read and complete job applications. An item analysis was conducted on applications from 30 employers in a metropolitan area. Based on that analysis, a Master Employment Application was created to be representative of a typical job application; it required 35 separate items of biographic information from the prospective employee. A nine-step training program was conducted in a Visual Response System classroom, a specially designed room in which students respond simultaneously on individual overhead projectors. The training program progressed from matching items projected by the teacher to writing responses to biographic items on overhead projector transparencies of the Master Employment Application. A multiple baseline design across sets of biographic items was used to evaluate the program's effectiveness. All subjects' scores on the Master Employment Application increased as a function of the training program and were maintained in a two week follow-up. Students also increased their performance on three real job applications used to assess generalization.

Abstract Under the theoretical framework of Hyland’s interpersonal model of metadiscourse, an in-depth analysis of the distribution and characteristics of metadiscourse in English job applications is carried out. The findings show that metadiscourse is frequently used in English job applications and these resources have different occurrence frequencies. The writers use more interactional metadiscourse than interactive metadiscourse. Among all the metadiscourse subcategories, self-mentions, transitions and hedges are frequently used. The analysis demonstrates that all metadiscourse resources seem to stress the interpersonal potential in order to convey a persuasive message under an informative mask. It is also shown that metadiscourse use is genre-constrained and the writer’s writing purpose.

The use of anonymous job applications to combat hiring discrimination is gaining attention and interest. Results from a number of field experiments in European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are considered here) shed light on their potential to reduce some of the discriminatory barriers to hiring for minority and other disadvantaged groups. But although this approach can achieve its primary aims, there are also some cautions to consider.

Employment consultant Jenny Bates, of Pritchard Cameron Ltd of Wellington, with job applications from the Soviet Union. Photographs taken 15 November 1989, by Evening Post staff photographer Jon Hargest. Original newspaper caption reads: "Wellington employment agencies are being inundated with letters from people in the Soviet Union looking for jobs. One agency has received about 40 in the past three weeks and another had 10 arrive on one day last week. Pritchard Cameron personnel consultant Jenny Bates said the applications came mainly from engineers. Most of the letters say the applicants have seen the priority list dfor jobs in this country at the New Zealand Embassy in Moscow" (Evening Post, 15 November 1989). Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s) individual image on strip. Physical Description: Cellulose triacetate negative, 35mm Finding Aids: Print in Turnbull Library Pictures Evening Post illustrations file at 13/3 Politics. Immigration.

Anonymous job applications have the potential to remove or reduce some discriminatory hiring barriers facing applicants from minority and other disadvantaged groups. When implemented effectively, anonymous job applications level the playing field in access to jobs by shifting the focus toward skills and qualifications. Anonymous job applications should not, however, be regarded as a universal remedy that is applicable in any context or that can prevent any form of discrimination. ELEVATOR PITCH