The Hiring Process

The NOS survey data show that U.S. establishments use a variety of methods for publicizing the availability of job opportunities to potential workers. Newspaper advertisements and informal referrals from employees are used most frequently. Referrals are more often used together with other approaches than as a sole recruitment strategy; those establishments that rely exclusively on “network hiring” tend to be small, less formalized, and in the private sector. Organizations display strong proclivities to rely on the same approaches to recruitment for different types of employees, but there are occupationally related variations in recruiting techniques. Professional referrals and advertisements are more typical approaches for high-prestige occupations than for low ones, and some variations in recruitment practices are associated with occupational gender composition.