Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach

Understanding human behavior in the decision-making process represents a challenge for researchers in the socio-economic field. The complexity comes from multiple criteria acting simultaneously. Hiring decisions are made on a set of criteria representing the attributes of the applicants. This study’...

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Main Authors: Monica Mihaela Maer Matei, Ana-Maria Zamfir, Cristina Mocanu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/3/728
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author Monica Mihaela Maer Matei
Ana-Maria Zamfir
Cristina Mocanu
author_facet Monica Mihaela Maer Matei
Ana-Maria Zamfir
Cristina Mocanu
author_sort Monica Mihaela Maer Matei
collection DOAJ
description Understanding human behavior in the decision-making process represents a challenge for researchers in the socio-economic field. The complexity comes from multiple criteria acting simultaneously. Hiring decisions are made on a set of criteria representing the attributes of the applicants. This study’s main objective is to investigate Romanian employers’ behavior when recruiting for jobs targeting graduates from economic studies. The method used to identify the weights employers assign to different skills was based on an experimental technique-choice based conjoint. A survey experiment was conducted to produce causal conclusions about the recruiting process. The estimation was performed with a methodology based on machine learning, which allows to investigate interactions between subjects’ characteristics and conjoint criteria. The findings of our experiment align with other studies pointing to the increased relevance of non-cognitive skills for employability. Additionally, our results show that criteria weights in hiring decisions depend on company size, ownership, activity sector or personal characteristics of the recruiter. Our research provides a mechanism for understanding employers’ perspectives. This is valuable for informing job seekers to adjust their job search strategies and to invest in the skills offering hiring opportunities. Moreover, universities can use the results to adapt their educational programs to labor market needs.
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spelling doaj.art-2218459ca80745b8ba3f57e65a4886ac2023-11-16T17:23:43ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902023-02-0111372810.3390/math11030728Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint ApproachMonica Mihaela Maer Matei0Ana-Maria Zamfir1Cristina Mocanu2Department of Education, Training and Labour Market, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, 010643 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Education, Training and Labour Market, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, 010643 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Education, Training and Labour Market, National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, 010643 Bucharest, RomaniaUnderstanding human behavior in the decision-making process represents a challenge for researchers in the socio-economic field. The complexity comes from multiple criteria acting simultaneously. Hiring decisions are made on a set of criteria representing the attributes of the applicants. This study’s main objective is to investigate Romanian employers’ behavior when recruiting for jobs targeting graduates from economic studies. The method used to identify the weights employers assign to different skills was based on an experimental technique-choice based conjoint. A survey experiment was conducted to produce causal conclusions about the recruiting process. The estimation was performed with a methodology based on machine learning, which allows to investigate interactions between subjects’ characteristics and conjoint criteria. The findings of our experiment align with other studies pointing to the increased relevance of non-cognitive skills for employability. Additionally, our results show that criteria weights in hiring decisions depend on company size, ownership, activity sector or personal characteristics of the recruiter. Our research provides a mechanism for understanding employers’ perspectives. This is valuable for informing job seekers to adjust their job search strategies and to invest in the skills offering hiring opportunities. Moreover, universities can use the results to adapt their educational programs to labor market needs.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/3/728choice based conjointcriteriaemployabilityskills
spellingShingle Monica Mihaela Maer Matei
Ana-Maria Zamfir
Cristina Mocanu
Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
Mathematics
choice based conjoint
criteria
employability
skills
title Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
title_full Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
title_fullStr Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
title_full_unstemmed Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
title_short Criteria Weights in Hiring Decisions—A Conjoint Approach
title_sort criteria weights in hiring decisions a conjoint approach
topic choice based conjoint
criteria
employability
skills
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/3/728
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