Providing Advice to Job Seekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on On-Line Advice

Michèle Belot, Philipp Kircher and Paul Muller

Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series from Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh

Abstract: Helping job seekers to identify suitable jobs is a key challenge for policy makers. We develop and evaluate experimentally a novel tool that provides tailored advice at low cost and thereby redesigns the process through which job seekers search for jobs. We invited 300 job seekers to our computer facilities for 12 consecutive weekly sessions. They searched for real jobs using our web interface. After 3 weeks, we introduced a manipulation of the interface for half of the sample: instead of relying on their own search criteria, we displayed relevant other occupations to them and the jobs that were available in these occupations. These suggestions were based on background information and readily available labor market data. We recorded search behavior on our site but also surveyed participants every week on their other search activities, applications and job interviews. We find that these suggestions broaden the set of jobs considered by the average participant. More importantly, we find that they are invited to significantly more job interviews. These effects are predominantly driven by job seekers who searched relatively narrowly initially and who have been unemployed for a few months.

Keywords: Online job search; occupational broadness; search design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 72
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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http://www.econ.ed.ac.uk/papers/id262_esedps.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: Providing Advice to Jobseekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on Online Advice (2019)
Working Paper: Providing Advice to Job Seekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on Online Advice (2016)
Working Paper: Providing Advice to Job Seekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on On-Line Advice (2015)
Working Paper: Providing Advice to Job Seekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on On-Line Advice (2015)
Working Paper: Providing Advice to Job Seekers at Low Cost: An Experimental Study on On-Line Advice (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:edn:esedps:262

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