Marshall Digital Scholar

An Analysis of Job Application Method Preference: Comparing Online and Traditional Recruitment Systems

Marshall University

The use of the internet has become pervasive in the recruitment process involving both hirers and job seekers. Prior to this era, firms relied on traditional methods for recruitment. Presently, organizations try to balance the combination of electronic hiring tools and various other traditional methods for recruitment but they differ in the extent to which they adopt a mix of these systems. While some can be found at the extremes, others situated in between have adopted hybrid forms that combine both methods in varying proportions. Candidates who are mainly the targets of these recruitment approaches are the consumers of what is on offer. Using 98 polled responses from college students involving a survey instrument, contingency tables and a chi-square test for independence of variables, this study examined candidates’ method preference in the recruitment process. Findings indicate that access to information and ease of use are dependent on application method.