Download This PaperImproving Job Search Skills: A Field Experiment on Online Employment Assistance
28 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2020 Last revised: 6 May 2025
Abstract
Finding a job requires effective search skills to engage successfully with employers with vacancies. In a field experiment, we test a website that supplements such search skills by providing editable resume and cover letter templates as well as tips on how to look and apply for jobs. Exposure to the website was randomized among about 2,700 job seekers in Australia. The intervention increased job-finding rates, particularly among job seekers aged 35-50 (up to 8 percentage points), with larger effects for women within this age group (up to 10 percentage points). The quality of job matches improved too.
Keywords: online job search assistance, search skills, active labor market policy
JEL Classification: J08, J64, J68
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