Algorithmic Writing Assistance on Jobseekers' Resumes Increases Hires
General Economics
2023-01-20 v1 Economics
Abstract
There is a strong association between the quality of the writing in a resume for new labor market entrants and whether those entrants are ultimately hired. We show that this relationship is, at least partially, causal: a field experiment in an online labor market was conducted with nearly half a million jobseekers in which a treated group received algorithmic writing assistance. Treated jobseekers experienced an 8% increase in the probability of getting hired. Contrary to concerns that the assistance is taking away a valuable signal, we find no evidence that employers were less satisfied. We present a model in which better writing is not a signal of ability but helps employers ascertain ability, which rationalizes our findings.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2301.08083,
title = {Algorithmic Writing Assistance on Jobseekers' Resumes Increases Hires},
author = {Emma van Inwegen and Zanele Munyikwa and John J. Horton},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.08083},
year = {2023}
}