Determinants of Callbacks to Job Applications: An Audit Study

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2016
Volume: 106
Issue: 5
Pages: 314-18

Authors (3)

Henry S. Farber (not in RePEc) Dan Silverman (Arizona State University) Till von Wachter (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We summarize findings from an audit study investigating how unemployment duration, age, and holding a low-level "interim" job affect the likelihood that experienced college-educated females applying for administrative support jobs receive a callback from potential employers. The results show no relationship between callback rates and unemployment duration. In contrast, workers age 50 and older and workers with an "interim" job are significantly less likely to receive callbacks. We also summarize disparate findings in the growing literature of resume-based audit studies of career histories, and discuss avenues in which the literature could achieve results that are more comparable and externally valid.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:106:y:2016:i:5:p:314-18
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29