Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Using a unique database reflecting the details of technical job interviews, we study how high-tech employers source and evaluate candidates in tight labor markets. We show that for jobs involving new technologies, employers rely more heavily on recruiters and referrals to access a pool of employed workers who may have already acquired these skills on-the-job at competitor firms. Second, by text-mining interview questions, we show that employers trying to fill such positions are more likely to ask interview questions that indicate how quickly prospective IT hires can learn on the job, rather than asking about prior experience. Employers ask such questions 39% more frequently for these jobs than for jobs involving mature technologies. These effects are robust to including employer, job title, and labor market fixed effects. Our findings are consistent with the argument that employers design technical HR strategies to complement their technology choices.
Recommended Citation
Tambe, Prasanna and Ye, Xuan, "Sourcing and Screening High-Tech Workers" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 16.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/Economics/Presentations/16
Sourcing and Screening High-Tech Workers
Using a unique database reflecting the details of technical job interviews, we study how high-tech employers source and evaluate candidates in tight labor markets. We show that for jobs involving new technologies, employers rely more heavily on recruiters and referrals to access a pool of employed workers who may have already acquired these skills on-the-job at competitor firms. Second, by text-mining interview questions, we show that employers trying to fill such positions are more likely to ask interview questions that indicate how quickly prospective IT hires can learn on the job, rather than asking about prior experience. Employers ask such questions 39% more frequently for these jobs than for jobs involving mature technologies. These effects are robust to including employer, job title, and labor market fixed effects. Our findings are consistent with the argument that employers design technical HR strategies to complement their technology choices.