Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Influence of Recruiter Characteristics and Organizational Recruitment Support on Perceived Recruiter Effectiveness: Views from Applicants and Recruiters

  • Published:
Human Relations

Abstract

There is very limited information availableabout whether organizational recruitment practicesinfluence the impressions made by recruiters on jobapplicants. In response to the scarcity of two-sidedinformation about recruitment processes, the present studyobtained data directly from 1571 applicants and 216matched recruiters who interviewed them. Results suggestthat, similar to previous research, a large proportion of variance in applicants overall impressionsof recruiters could be explained as a function of theirimpressions about more specific recruitercharacteristics and behaviors, particularly perceivedconcern for the applicant and information given toapplicants, and enthusiasm regarding the job vacancy. Inaddition, recruiters self-perceptions of overalleffectiveness were also highly predictable on the basis of more specific self-perceptions, particularlyself-perceived interpersonal effectiveness. However,applicants' perceptions of recruiter effectiveness werenot well predicted by recruiters' self-perceptions of behavior, or by reported organizationalrecruitment support. Implications for future researchand practice are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • ARVEY, R. D., & CAMPION, J. E. The employment interview: A summary and review of rece nt literature. Personnel Psychology, 1982, 35, 281–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • ASCH, B. J. Do incentives matter? The case of Navy recruiters. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 1990, 43, 89–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • BANDURA, A. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 1977, 84, 191–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • BARBER, A. E., HOLLENBECK, J. R., TOWER, S. L., & PHILLIPS, J. M. The effects of interview focus on recruitment effectiveness: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1994, 79, 886–896.

    Google Scholar 

  • BREAUGH, J. A. Recruitment: science and practice. Kent Series in Human Resource Management, Boston: PWS-Kent Publishing Co., 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • BRETZ, R. D., RYNES, S. L., & GERHART, B. Recruiter perceptions of applicant fit: Implications for individual career preparation and job search behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1993, 43, 310–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • CARROLL, V. P., LEE, H. L., & RAO, A. G. Implications of sales force productivity heterogeneity and demotivation: A Navy recruiter study. Management Science, 1986, 32, 1371–1388.

    Google Scholar 

  • DREHER, G. F., ASH, R. A., & HANCOCK, P. The role of the traditional research design in underestimating the validity of the employment interview. Personnel Psychology, 1988, 41, 315–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • FEINSTEIN, S. Recruiting 101: Companies alienate students they try to hire. Wall Street Journal, July 18, 1989, A1.

  • FRANK, R. H., & COOK, P. J. The winner-take all society. New York: The Free Press, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • GERHART, B., & MILKOVICH, G. T. Employe e compensation: Research and practice. In M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 3). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists' Press, 1992, pp. 481–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • GLUECK, W. F. Recruiters and exe cutive s: How do they affect job choice ? Journal of College Placement, 1973, 34, 77–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • HACKMAN, J. R., & OLDHAM, G. R. Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1976, 16, 250–279.

    Google Scholar 

  • HARRIS, M. M., & FINK, L. S. A field study of employment opportunities: Does the recruiter make a difference ? Personnel Psychology, 1987, 40, 765–784.

    Google Scholar 

  • HERRIOT, P. Down from the ivory tower: Graduates and their jobs. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • HERRIOT, P., & ROTHWELL, C. Organizational choice and decision theory: Effects of employer's literature and selection interview. Journal of Occu pational Psychology, 1981, 54, 17–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • HUEY, J. How McKinsey does it. Fortune, November 1, 1993, 128 (11), 56–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • JUDGE, T. A., & CABLE, D. M. Applicant personality, organizational culture, and organizational attraction. Personnel Psychology, 1997, 50, 359–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • KEPPEL, G. Design and analysis: A researcher's handbook. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • KIM, J., & MUELLER, C. W. Factor Analysis Statistical Methods and Practical Issues. Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07–014, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • LABICH, K. Kissing off corporate America. Fortune, February 20, 1995, 131(3), 44–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • LATHAM, G. P., & LOCKE, E. A. Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1991, 50, 212–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • LIDEN, R. C., & PARSONS, C. K. A field study of job applicant interview perceptions, alternative opportunities, and demographic characteristics. Personnel Psychology, 1986, 39, 109–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • LOCKE, E. A., FEREN, D. B., McCALEB, V. M., SHAW, K. N., & DENNY, A. T. The relative e ffectiveness of four methods of motivating employee performance. In K. D. Duncan, M. M. Gruneberg, and D. Wallis (Eds.), Changes in working life. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  • MINER, M. G. Recruiting policies and practices. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • MORRISON, E. W., & BIES, R. J. Impression management in the feedback-seeking process: A literature review and research agenda. Academy of Management Review, 1991, 16, 522–541.

    Google Scholar 

  • MOUNT, M. K, BARRICK, M. R., & STRAUSS, J. P. Validity of observer ratings of the big five personality factors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1994, 79, 272–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • NELSON, A. The need for recognition. Management Solutions, April 1988, 32–36.

  • PEARCE, J. L. Job attitude and motivation differences between volunteers and employees from comparable organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1983, 68, 646–652.

    Google Scholar 

  • PETTY, R. M., & CACIOPPO, J. T. The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 19), Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 1986, pp. 123–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • POWELL, G. N. Applicant reactions to the initial employment interview: Exploring theore tical and methodological issues. Personnel Psychology, 1991, 44, 647–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • POWELL, G., & GOULET, L. Investigating the Relationship Between Reactions to Campus Interviews and Subsequent Employment De cisions by Organizations and Applicants. Working Paper, University of Connecticut, 1995.

  • RYNES, S. L. The employment interview as a recruitment device. In R. W. Eder and G. R. Ferris (Eds.), The employment interview. Sage: Newbury Park, CA, 1989, pp. 127–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L. Recruitment, job choice, and post-hire consequence s: A call for new re search directions. In M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 2). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists' Press, 1991, pp. 399–444.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L., & BOUDREAU, J. W. College recruiting in large organizations: Practice, evaluation and rese arch implications. Person nel Psychology, 1986, 39, 729–758.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L., BRETZ, R. D., Jr., & GERHART, B. The importance of recruitment in job choice: A different way looking. Personnel Psychology, 1991, 44, 487–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L., & CONNERLEY, M. L. Selecting with an eye to attraction: Applicant reactions to alternative selection procedures. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1993, 7, 261–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L., HENEMAN, H. G., III, & SCHWAB, D. P. Individual re actions to organizational re cruiting: A review. Personnel Psychology, 1980, 33, 529–542.

    Google Scholar 

  • RYNES, S. L., & MILLER, H. E. Recruiter and job influences on candidates for employment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1983, 68, 147–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • SCHMITT, N. W., & COYLE, B. W. Applicant decisions in the employment interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1976, 61, 184–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • SCHMITT, N. W., & KLIMOSKI, R. J. Research methods in human resources management. Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing Co., 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • SNOW, C. C., & SNELL, S. A. Staffing as strategy. In N. Schmitt and W. C. Borman (Eds.), Personnel Selection in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • STAW, B. M., McKECHNIE, P. I., & PUFFER, S. M. The justification of organizational performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1983, 28, 582–600.

    Google Scholar 

  • STEVENS, C. K., & KRISTOF, A. L. Making the right impre ssion: A field study of applicant impression management during job interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1995, 80, 587–606.

    Google Scholar 

  • TAYLOR, M. S., & BERGMANN, T. J. Organizational recruitment activities and applicants' reactions at different stages of the recruitment process. Personnel Psychology, 1987, 40, 261–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • TURBAN, D. B., & DOUGHERTY, T. W. Influences of campus re cruiting on applicant attraction to firms. Academy of Management Journal, 1992, 35, 739–765.

    Google Scholar 

  • VALENZI, E., & ANDREWS, I. R. Individual difference s in the decision process of employment interviewers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1973, 58, 49–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • WALTERS, R. W. Its time we become pros. Journal of College Placement, 1985, Summer, 30–33.

  • WOLFF, A., & KETEYIAN, A. Raw recruits. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Mary L. Connerley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sara L. Rynes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Connerley, M.L., Rynes, S.L. The Influence of Recruiter Characteristics and Organizational Recruitment Support on Perceived Recruiter Effectiveness: Views from Applicants and Recruiters. Human Relations 50, 1563–1586 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016923732255

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016923732255

Search

Navigation