The Interactive Effects of Recruitment Practices and Product Awareness on Job Seekers’ Employer Knowledge and Application Behaviors

Abstract

In this paper, I draw on research from the literatures on marketing and recruitment to identify how recruitment practices and company product awareness are related to job seekers’ application behaviors through three aspects of job seekers’ employer knowledge. Based on results from a within-subjects design with data from 123 recruiting companies and 456 student job seekers, my findings suggested the relationships between recruitment strategies and application intentions and decisions are moderated by product awareness. Specifically, low-information recruitment practices are significantly and positively related to application behaviors through employer familiarity and employer reputation when product awareness is low rather than high. In contrast, high-information recruitment practices are related to job seekers’ application behaviors through employer reputation and job information when product awareness is high rather than low.