Inferring incompetence from employment status: An audit-like experiment

Abstract

Audit studies demonstrate that unemployed people are less likely to receive a callback when they apply for a job than employed candidates, the reason for this is unclear. Across two experiments (N = 461), we examine whether the perceived competence of unemployed candidates accounts for this disparity. In both studies, participants assessed one of two equivalent curriculum vitae’s, differing only on the current employment status. We find that unemployed applicants are less likely to be offered an interview or hired. The relationship between the employment status of the applicant and these employment-related outcomes is mediated by the perceived competence of the applicant. We conducted a mini meta-analysis, finding that the effect size for the difference in employment outcomes was d = .274 and d = .307 respectively, while the estimated indirect effect was -.151[-.241, -.062]. These results offer a mechanism for the differential outcomes of job candidates by employment status.

French Validation of Pinel's Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire Among Unemployed People: Links with Well-Being, Motivation, objective Job Search Behavior, and Access to Employment

“…When they are portrayed, they are othered and described as undeserving people who share a common benefit culture and do not value hard work (Okoroji et al, 2021). This negative stereotype has consequences in the labor market, as hiring managers use unemployment duration as a negative signal and a proxy for unobservable characteristics such as social skills, work motivation, competence and productivity (Fernández-Blanco & Preugschat, 2018;Okoroji et al, 2023;Van Belle et al, 2018). Thus, jobseekers are discriminated against on the basis of the duration of their unemployment, with the critical duration of unemployment appearing to be between six and nine months (Eriksson & Rooth, 2014;Ghayad, 2013;Kroft et al, 2013).…”