Person-organization fit and inadvertent attraction: how signaling in job advertisements affects organizational attraction

Baik, Sooyun (2020) Person-organization fit and inadvertent attraction: how signaling in job advertisements affects organizational attraction. Doctoral thesis, University of London: London Business School.

Abstract

In my dissertation, I examine how companies attract job seekers they do not intend to attract and drive away job seekers with desirable qualities by highlighting certain messages in their job advertisement. I also examine how job advertisements signal different meanings that may be more salient to certain types of job seekers than others. I then suggest underlying reasons why it may occur and discuss potential ways to achieve P-O fit. In the first part of my dissertation, I demonstrate that recruiters are currently more likely to advertise for "talented" employees instead of "hard-working" employees. However, I argue that signaling a high premium on talent may not help organizations attract the talent that they seek. Integrating the P-O fit and signaling theories, I theorize that when organizations highlight talent as a cultural value, they attract more narcissistic job seekers who are not more talented, but only believe themselves to be so. Additionally, I show that recruiters are not aware of the adverse attraction that results from their emphasis on talent. In the second part of my dissertation, I explore that organizations endorsing hard work as a value attract more women and people with a stronger giver orientation and higher guilt-proneness. I find that organizations communicating an appreciation for hard work appeal more to people who prefer giving (over taking) and who are prone to feeling guilt, and these people are disproportionately women. Together, these studies suggest that when organizations want to attract women and employees with a giver orientation and guilt-proneness, they would benefit from emphasizing hard work as a value. Together, my research raises the possibility that current organizational practices are not optimal in attracting the most desirable employees.