The Effectiveness of Job Search Instruments: Employers and Job Seekers Perspectives

The effectiveness of job search instruments is crucial in today's evolving labor market. Traditional methods may not be as valuable as new digital technologies provide new channels for finding jobs and hiring employees. This thesis paper examined the effectiveness of job search instruments from two perspectives: an individual and a company. For the analysis the data from Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey and internal data from one of the leading Russian EdTech companies were used. For the individual-level analysis eight different job search channels were used: State and Non-state employment services, Friends, Relatives, Enterprises direct contact, Internet and Non-internet advertisements, Social networks. In the thesis paper five types of Acquisition Channels for the company-level investigation were analyzed: Organic traffic, Performance marketing, Referral programs, Social networks and Online recruitment platforms. Duration of the job search process and the effectiveness of hiring were considered as evaluation measures. The econometric analysis was performed in RStudio software. It was concluded that there is a relationship between job search tools and job search duration. Furthermore, there is a relationship between employees’ acquisition channels and hiring effectiveness. For job search, reaching out to the company directly is the most effective channel, while Internet advertisements – is the least effective. For the deeper analysis, 255 combinations were generated, accounting for all possible combinations of job search instruments to find the best combination of job search instruments for job seekers. For the company the best and the worst employee acquisition channels are the HeadHunter platform and performance marketing channels, respectively.