The effects of humour in online recruitment advertising

Abstract

This study explores humour in recruitment advertising by examining the effects on job seekers of humour in online job advertisements. The results from an experimental study in which the humour content in job ads was manipulated indicate that humour negatively affected job seekers' attitudes towards the job ad, the company, and the job. However, humour content had no effect on job seekers' attitudes towards the managers depicted in the ads and no impact on intentions to apply for the job. Yet humour content enhanced intentions to share job ads, which is an important marketing response given the increased importance of social media. The study contributes to the growing literature on humour in advertising and to the literature on recruitment advertising by investigating the use of humour in the hitherto unexplored job advertising context.