The effects of work experience on interpretations of recruitment advertisements and organizational attraction

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate potential differences in experienced and inexperienced workers’ interpretations of recruitment ads. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses a between subjects design to compare responses to recruitment advertisements. The advertisements varied in terms of compensation information. Findings - Work experience did not alter perceptions of organizational culture but it did affect levels of organizational attraction. The implication is that all workers interpret recruitment advertisements in a similar manner but more experienced workers prefer different work environments than less experienced workers. Research limitations/implications - The results generally support the use of student populations or inexperienced workers in recruitment research. The study was limited to perceptions of pay statements. Other forms of recruitment information needs to be investigated. Practical implications - Companies seeking to recruit experienced workers need to be attentive to how those workers will view the company’s culture based on information in their recruitment advertisements. Originality/value - This study is one of a very limited number of organizational attraction studies comparing experienced and inexperienced workers. It is important because it helps clarify the underlying mechanisms impacting organizational attraction based on work experience.