Including socioemotional skill signals in CVs increases interview In collaboration with the Economic Policy Research invitations only if the Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), the World Bank set out skill is solicited in the to test (1) whether socioemotional skill signals in CVs are valued by employers at the initial hiring stage (evaluation vacancy text, and reduces of CVs and selection for interviews), and (2) whether the same socioemotional skill signals are perceived differently interview invitations for in male versus female candidates’ CVs. We chose to study women when the skill this issue in two large cities in Turkey – Istanbul and Ankara – due to the size and dynamism of the labor market, as is unsolicited. well as the salience of gender issues and skills constraints (Turkey has the lowest female labor force participation rate among the OECD countries, and one that is well below the country’s level of development and education of the population). Turkey also has had an active policy dialogue between the World Bank and government counterparts on labor, gender, and skills; and strong partnerships with donors to advance on closing gender gaps in economic participation. The case in point is that the study was funded by the World Bank’s Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality. A deeper look into the hiring The Project process: does gender or the skills on your CV play a role Could better signaling of socioemotional skills in job applications help women get an upper hand when for getting an interview? applying for jobs? Or, can gender bias arising from socially ascribed norms and perceptions on roles of the sexes unduly influence employers’ assessments of job seekers’ socioemotional skills and thus affect In the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, only one subsequent hiring decisions? in two working-age adults has a job, and the region is To answer these questions, we conducted a experiencing more and more limited job creation to correspondence audit study focused on young job seekers. absorb the working-age population. In some countries, We created fictitious CVs of both female and male young only three out of ten women are working or looking for job seekers to apply for real jobs. These candidates were jobs, and across all countries, they have a harder time similar in every aspect, except whether they signaled finding a job and spend more time looking for one. At socioemotional skills in their CVs. the same time, employers complain that, despite high Fictitious candidates signaled their socioemotional unemployment, difficulty finding workers with the “right” skills through descriptions of work experience as well skills – including socioemotional skills, such as resilience, as extracurricular activities. With that in mind, we then created and sent out 10,748 fictitious CVs to 2,687 motivation, and the ability to work in teams and to real vacancy ads published on a large online job portal take initiative – is one of the main constraints to their in Turkey. To each job, we sent two female and two male business. But it is not easy for job applicants to signal candidates, who varied only in whether or not they signaled that they have these sought-after skills when submitting socioemotional skills in their CVs (one woman and one man a job application. Attention in CVs and job ads is placed did, the other two candidates did not). Then we waited to on detailing education and work experience, which see whether they receive a callback for an interview, all the while using the online job portal to track the candidate’s employers use as imperfect skills proxies in their decision progress through the hiring stages, such as the filtered of whom to consider for a job. longlist and employer’s viewing of the full CV. The Results JOBS Signaling socioemotional skills is valued only if Employers who do not ask for socioemotional these skills are requested in the vacancy ad. skills in the vacancy text do not place additional The results suggest that, once a candidate’s full CV value on these skills being signaled in the is viewed, employers are about two percent more candidates’ CVs. likely to invite for interview a candidate who signaled The potential payoff for signaling socioemotional skills socioemotional skills that were explicitly solicited in on the CV disappears when employers are not requesting the vacancy ad, compared to one who did not signal these skills in the vacancy ad. the requested skills. Women experience a penalty for unsolicited In Turkey, there is no clear indication of other socioemotional skill signaling. gender discrimination against women in the When socioemotional skills are not requested by the selection process up to the interview. employer, male candidates who include such skill signals If anything, employers appear to show a minor are treated the same way as those who do not. However, preference for female applicants when they make their a woman who signals socioemotional skills when these initial longlist (but this is only marginally significant). are not solicited in the vacancy text is around five percent Once applicants pass through this first stage, employers less likely to be invited for an interview than a woman do not differentiate between men and women, at least who does not include any socioemotional skills in her CV. until the interview phase. Policy Implications Socioemotional skills matter for the labor market, but may be ultimately make a difference between landing the job or not. country and industry dependent – as ever, context matters. In It might also be that at the final stage, when deciding between the hiring process in Turkey, socioemotional skills matter only female and male candidates, the preference for a male when they are sufficiently relevant to the employer for them candidate is made explicit. to be explicitly solicited in a vacancy ad. Bias may still be a factor in hiring. It is possible, for instance, Although socioemotional skill signals are generally thought that employers might see a female candidate who includes an to boost candidates’ chances of securing job interviews unsolicited socioemotional skill signal as overconfident, and and advancing through the hiring process, candidates must that overconfidence is perceived as a negative characteristic for be careful when considering women but not for men. Or it can be inclusion of such signals in In Turkey, socioemotional skills that employers perceive unrequested their CVs. A CV that maximizes socioemotional skill signals for these signaling the candidate’s matter only when they are sufficiently female candidates as compensating for qualifications, at least in terms relevant to the employer for them to be lower capacity or performance in other of socioemotional skill signals, explicitly solicited in a vacancy ad. skills (even when this is not the case). without considering vacancy Clearly, further research is needed requirements may backfire due to employers’ potentially on how gender and socioemotional skills play out in the hiring negative perception of unsolicited skill signals. This appears to process. Continuing to study the complex interplay between be especially true for female applicants. employers’ value of socioemotional skills in recruitment and Whereas the study focused on the initial stage of recruitment candidates’ signaling of these skills is important, more so as and we find limited evidence of gender and socioemotional active labor market programs and intermediation services skills making a difference, it is plausible that employers aiming at helping job seekers get an upper hand in the evaluate candidates’ socioemotional skills at the interview recruitment process emphasize the signaling of a diversity stage that the study does not cover, and that these skills can of skills beyond technical ones. About eMBeD The Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD), the World Bank’s behavioral science team in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice, works closely with project teams, governments, and other partners to diagnose, design, and evaluate behaviorally informed interventions. By collaborating with a worldwide network of scientists and practitioners, the eMBeD team provides answers to important economic and social questions, and contributes to the global effort to eliminate poverty and enhance equity. Stay Connected eMBeD@worldbank.org #embed_wb worldbank.org/embed bit.ly/eMBeDNews Last Update: May 2nd, 2019