The Influence of Resume Quality and Ethnicity Cues on Employment Decisions

Abstract

This study examined the effects of resume writing quality and ethnicity cues on employment decisions. Prior research on resume quality is scant and no prior studies have examined the role of both resume quality and ethnicity on employment decisions. Participants reviewed a fictitious resume (error-laden or error-free) of a Black, Hispanic or White candidate for the job of Sales Manager. Applicants with error-laden resumes were less likely to be interviewed, hired, offered lower starting salaries and rated lower on job-related traits than applicants with error-free resumes. Although ethnicity did not affect the likelihood of getting interviewed or hired, White applicants were offered higher salaries and rated higher on several job-related traits than Black and Hispanic job applicants. Furthermore, Black applicants with error-free resumes received over 6% less in starting salary than White applicants with error-laden resumes. A practical implication of these findings is that applicants should ensure that their resume contains no spelling, grammatical or typographical errors. These results also suggest that non-White job applicants need job qualifications that exceed those of White applicants to achieve pay equity. This paper provides further evidence for and enhances understanding of implicit race bias toward non-White job applicants.

Costly Mistakes: Why and When Spelling Errors in Resumes Jeopardise Interview Chances

“…More specifically, as suggested by moderation analyses, recruiters' self-reported language sensitivity is associated with differential treatment of applicants who leave spelling errors in resumes. Perhaps of even larger concern is our finding that women (similar to ethnic minorities, Shore et al, 2021) are penalised more severely for error-laden resumes. Therefore, to reduce inter-rater variability, optimise procedural fairness of hiring procedures (Gilliand, 1994) and grow a professional environment providing equal opportunities, organisations could consider organisation-wide guidelines on the application elements that are relevant for hiring practices.…”

“…More specifically, spelling errors in resumes are associated with lower applicant ratings, hiring chances and proposed starting salaries (Charney & Rayman, 1989;Charney, Rayman & Ferreira-Buckley, 1992;van Toorenburg, Oostrom & Pollet, 2015;Martin-Lacroux & Lacroux, 2017;Martin-Lacroux, 2017). Moreover, there is some initial evidence for heterogeneity of spelling errors' effect with a higher penalty inflicted on more experienced (Martin-Lacroux & Lacroux, 2017) and non-white applicants (Shore, Tashchian & Forrester, 2021). In their study, however, Martin-Lacroux and Lacroux (2017) also suggest that penalties for spelling errors vary with the recruiter's own spelling capacities, with the penalty disappearing among recruiters with low spelling abilities.…”

Costly mistakes: Why and when spelling errors in resumes jeopardise interview chances

“…More specifically, as suggested by moderation analyses, recruiters’ self-reported language sensitivity is associated with differential treatment of applicants who leave spelling errors in resumes. Perhaps of even larger concern is our finding that women (similar to ethnic minorities [ 28 ]) are penalised more severely for error-laden resumes. Therefore, to reduce inter-rater variability, optimise procedural fairness of hiring procedures [ 57 ] and grow a professional environment providing equal opportunities, organisations could consider organisation-wide guidelines on the application elements that are relevant for hiring practices.…”

Artificial Intelligence and Résumé Critique Experiences

“…This would allow for an examination of the ways in which use of an AI can help students write better résumés. This is clearly of interest given that the quality of students' résumés can influence their success in job search processes (Shore et al, 2021).…”

“…Addressing such issues is important to student employability. After all, recruiters prefer well-written résumés over poorly written ones (Shore et al, 2021). Strategic feedback is helpful, too.…”