Recruiter and Job Influences on Candidates for Employment

While many studies have assessed the effects of job applicants' behavior on employment outcomes, little attention has been paid to the factors that influence job applicants to accept or reject an employment offer. A study was conducted to determine the effects of interviewer behavior and job attributes on applicant employment decisions. Subjects viewed videotaped job interviews which varied by interviewer affect, interviewer knowledge of the job, and the attractiveness of job attributes. Subjects were questioned about their perceptions of interviewer behavior and their potential interest in the job based on interviewer job descriptions and job attributes. Subjects perceived interviewer behavior as an indicator of employment potential, as well as of job desirability. However, the primary determinant of job desirability was the attractiveness of job attributes.