The Relative Importance of Personal Characteristics for the Hiring of Young Workers

Peter Hoeschler and Uschi Backes-Gellner

No 142, Economics of Education Working Paper Series from University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW)

Abstract: We investigate the relative importance of different personal characteristics for firms' hiring decisions. Our design allows firms to observe potential workers during a long screening period. At the end of that period firms can decide to make job offers, thereby revealing their preferences about workers' personal characteristics. We connect real-world job offers and workers' personal characteristics, both of which are usually unobserved. To investigate the relative importance of various personal characteristics for the likelihood to receive a job offer, we use a unique panel data set of entry-level workers. We find that grades and non-cognitive skills are important for receiving a job offer, with the Big Five Personality traits being the most important predictor. We find no effects for intelligence or economic preferences.

Keywords: Job Offers; Ability; Non-Cognitive Skills; Preferences; Vocational Education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D03 J24 M51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43 pages
Date: 2017-12, Revised 2018-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-hrm and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iso:educat:0142

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