Impact of insecure employment trajectories on employers’ hiring decisions in Switzerland

In this study we analyse how precarious labour market experiences can affect individuals' future employment chances in Switzerland. Using longitudinal data can indeed discover such pattern, but the data may not reveal whether it is due to changed job search behaviour of the applicants or to hiring behaviour from the employer side. In order to differentiate between the two dynamics, we are investigating the recruiters' side by controlling for features of the applicants' side within the setting of a field experiment and are applying a factorial survey design. Employers, who are currently recruiting for real vacancies were asked to assess hypothetical CVs. Drawing on signalling theory we test how job applicants' precarious labour market experiences such as unemployment duration, unemployment timing, and job hopping experience can affect recruiters' assessment, and how different education and employment experiences may mediate these effects. Preliminary findings indicate that unemployment as well as job hopping experiences indeed negatively affect recruiters rating, but appropriate education and employment experience can alleviate the negative rating significantly.