Personnel selection as a signaling game.

Bangerter, Adrian; Roulin, Nicolas; König, Cornelius J.

doi:10.1037/a0026078

Cited by 219 publications

(303 citation statements)

References 164 publications

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“…Self-verification in the job search context can be considered through the lens of signaling theory (Bangerter et al, 2012). This theory stresses the importance of applicants sending good signals to interviewers in the job search process.…”

Section: Self-verification Striving As a Differentiator On The Job Mamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are high stakes involved, and most job candidates have little incentive to present themselves accurately unless they perceive it will make them seem like a better fit for the position (Bangerter, Roulin, & König, 2012). However, we propose that Andy's strong drive to self-verify-to present herself accurately so that others understand her as she understands herself (Swann, 1983;Swann, Stein-Seroussi, & Giesler, 1992)-allowed her to differentiate herself from her other highly-qualified competitors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For strong contenders, selfverifying should give recruiters confidence that the candidate is self-aware, knows her strengths and limitations, and will bring more of herself to work (Roberts, Cha, Hewlin, & Settles, 2009). This should help confirm their positive impressions about high-qualified candidates, whereas they may feel less confident about their impressions of candidates who have been more circumspect about revealing themselves.Self-verification in the job search context can be considered through the lens of signaling theory (Bangerter et al, 2012). This theory stresses the importance of applicants sending good signals to interviewers in the job search process.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The advantage of being oneself: The role of applicant self-verification in organizational hiring decisions.

Moore

Lee

Kim

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Psychology

111

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In this paper, we explore whether individuals who strive to self-verify flourish or flounder on the job market. Using placement data from two very different field samples, we found that individuals rated by the organization as being in the top 10% of candidates were significantly more likely to receive a job offer if they have a strong drive to self-verify. A third study explored the mechanism behind this effect, using a quasi-experimental design to explore whether individuals who are high and low on this trait communicate differently in a structured mock job interview. Text analysis (LIWC) of interview transcripts revealed systematic differences in candidates' language use as a function of their self-verification drives. These differences led an expert rater to perceive candidates with a strong drive to self-verify as less inauthentic and less misrepresentative than their low self-verifying peers, making her more likely to recommend these candidates for a job. Taken together, our results suggest that authentic selfpresentation is an unidentified route to success on the job market, amplifying the chances that high-quality candidates can convert organizations' positive evaluations into tangible job offers.We discuss implications for job applicants, organizations, and the labor market. At the beginning of the movie The Devil Wears Prada, a character named Andy Sachs has survived all the pre-screenings for an assistant position at an elite fashion magazine. She enters the office of the Editor-in-Chief, the person ultimately deciding if she will receive the job offer. Andy is highly qualified for the position: She was the editor of her own college newspaper and won national awards for her journalism. However, during the interview with the Editor-inChief, Andy is not stylishly dressed, admits that she is neither skinny nor glamorous like the other employees of the magazine, and declares that she has little interest in fashion. Andy's authentic descriptions of herself and her interests do not make her an obvious choice for the position. Yet her accurate self-assessment and refusal to misrepresent her interests in order to appear more "ideal" for the role piques the interest of the demanding head of the magazine, and she lands the job.Presenting oneself accurately and authentically, as Andy Sachs did, is not the most intuitive strategy for many candidates on the job market (Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009;Dipboye, 1992;Fletcher, 1989). There are high stakes involved, and most job candidates have little incentive to present themselves accurately unless they perceive it will make them seem like a better fit for the position (Bangerter, Roulin, & König, 2012). However, we propose that Andy's strong drive to self-verify-to present herself accurately so that others understand her as she understands herself (Swann, 1983;Swann, Stein-Seroussi, & Giesler, 1992)-allowed her to differentiate herself from her other highly-qualified competitors. We argue that the extent to which job candidates strive to self-verify is a...

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Section: Self-verification Striving As a Differentiator On The Job Mamentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The advantage of being oneself: The role of applicant self-verification in organizational hiring decisions.

Moore

Lee

Kim

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Psychology

111

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“…Signaling theory (Bangerter, Roulin, & König, 2012;Connelly, Certo, Ireland, & Reutzel, 2011;Jones, Willness, & Madey, 2014;Spence, 1973) helps to understand how organizations might influence their attractiveness among potential applicants and how these applicants in turn might interpret organizations' signals. So, although organizations can try to manage their employer attractiveness by signaling specific attributes, perceptions of their attractiveness as employers are based not only on the messages and signals they send but also on "inferences drawn by the applicants receiving those signals" (Celani & Singh, 2011, p. 228).…”

Section: Study Background and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Outsiders’ Perceptions Of Diversity Mixed Messages

Windscheid

Bowes

Kidder

et al. 2016

AMPROC

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To attract a gender diverse workforce, many employers use diversity statements to publicly signal that they value gender diversity. However, this often represents a misalignment between words and actions (i.e., a diversity mixed message) because most organizations are male dominated, especially in board positions. We conducted 3 studies to investigate the potentially indirect effect of such diversity mixed messages through perceived behavioral integrity on employer attractiveness. In Study 1, following a 2 ϫ 2 design, participants (N ϭ 225) were either shown a pro gender diversity statement or a neutral statement, in combination with a gender diverse board (4 men and 4 women) or a uniform all-male board (8 men). Participants' perceived behavioral integrity of the organization was assessed. In Study 2, participants (N ϭ 251) either read positive or negative reviews of the organization's behavioral integrity. Employer attractiveness was then assessed. Study 3 (N ϭ 427) investigated the impact of board gender composition on perceived behavioral integrity and employer attractiveness using a bootstrapping procedure. Both the causal-chain design of Study 1 and 2, as well as the significance test of the proposed indirect relationship in Study 3, revealed that a diversity mixed message negatively affected an organization's perceived behavioral integrity, and low behavioral integrity in turn negatively impacted employer attractiveness. In Study 3, there was also evidence for a tipping point (more than 1 woman on the board was needed) with regard to participants' perceptions of the organization's behavioral integrity.

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“…In particular, applicant reactions research might benefit from a greater integration of frameworks other than organizational justice, which predominates work in the area. For example, a signaling theory framework might suggest a different approach and attention to different features of the recruitment environment as signals attended to by applicants (see Bangerter, Roulin & Konig, 2012 for a good theoretical integration of signaling theory and employee selection). Greater attention to the cognitive processes underlying applicant processing of information, via the elaboration likelihood model or other frameworks, might yield better insights into what information applicants attend to and when they do so.…”

Section: Personnel Assessment and Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%