A third type of job search behavior: the use of the formal-informal joint channel in matching individual qualifications with hiring requirements in urban China

Jing Shen

doi:10.1186/s40711-015-0007-9

Abstract

This study highlights the necessity of distinguishing the use of the formal-informal joint channel from the sole reliance on either the formal or informal job search channel. I first used interview data collected in three Chinese cities as well as ethnographic case studies in the existing literature to illustrate a typology of the distribution of job search behavior, by focusing on the match between individual qualifications and employers’ hiring requirements. Based on data drawn from the 2003 China General Social Survey, the subsequent quantitative analysis confirms that neither the formal nor the informal job search channel dominates individual job search behaviors in practice. Rather, the formal-informal joint channel is used most frequently. Quantitative findings also show that competitive individual job seekers who possess both certifiable and non-certifiable qualifications are more likely to jointly use formal and informal job search methods. This study confirms that contact use plays a positive role in job searches, but very often in combination with the use of formal job search methods, rather than being used alone.

Highlights

Since Granovetter’s (1973, 1974) seminal study demonstrated the importance of personal ties in individual job searches, informal job search methods have been widely studied across societies (Bian 1997; Boxman et al 1991; Campbell and Rosenfeld 1985; Erickson 2001; Flap and Boxman 1999; Lin and Dumin 1986; Marsden and Campbell 1990; Volker and Flap 1999; Wegener 1991)
From the perspective of matching individual qualifications with hiring requirements of job positions, this paper articulated the necessity of distinguishing the formal–informal joint channel as a third type of job search behavior, independent from the sole reliance on either the formal or informal job search channel
Using concrete job–person matching cases collected in China’s changing employment context and ethnographic case studies in the existing literature, each type of job search behavior derived from the typology was illustrated

Summary

Introduction

Since Granovetter’s (1973, 1974) seminal study demonstrated the importance of personal ties in individual job searches, informal job search methods have been widely studied across societies (Bian 1997; Boxman et al 1991; Campbell and Rosenfeld 1985; Erickson 2001; Flap and Boxman 1999; Lin and Dumin 1986; Marsden and Campbell 1990; Volker and Flap 1999; Wegener 1991). A commonly adopted approach is to examine the positive effects of informal job search methods by focusing only on a single type of job search behavior. Despite the insights contributed by the existing studies, the approach of comparing different types of single job search methods does not accurately reflect individuals’. Shen points out that “ individual job seekers usually mobilize social contacts and follow the informal application procedures simultaneously, the use of informal job search methods is usually considered separately from that of formal channels in the existing studies” (Shen 2014, 1). This study highlighted that failing to consider contact use in combination with formal job search methods directly causes the long-lasting unsolved debate in the existing literature about whether contact use plays a positive role in job searches. By using the 2003 China General Social Survey, Shen (2014) demonstrate that the joint use of formal and informational channels leads to better job search outcomes (measured by the likelihood of job search success within 3 months and income obtainment), as compared to the use of either the formal or informal job search channel alone

Objectives

Methods

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Conclusion