TARGET PRACTICE: AN ORGANIZATIONAL IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO ATTRACTING MINORITY AND FEMALE JOB APPLICANTS

• Published in: Personnel psychology Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 157 - 187
• Main Authors: AVERY, DEREK R., McKAY, PATRICK F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 350 Main Street , Malden , MA 02148 , USA , and PO Box 1354, 9600 Garsington Road , Oxford OX4 2XG , UK and PO Box 378 Carlton South , 3053 Victoria , Australia Blackwell Publishing 01-03-2006; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Affirmative action; Applicants; Demographics; Employers; Employment; Females; Gender; Gender Differences; Gender Discrimination; Individual Differences; Job Applicants; Job hunting; Males; Minority & ethnic groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Perceptions; Recruitment; Resistance (Psychology); Social Psychology; Studies; Women; Workplace diversity
• ISSN: 0031-5826; 1744-6570
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2006.00807.x

On account of a number of factors, many companies have increased recruitment targeting female and ethnic or racial minority job applicants. Despite evidence suggesting that these applicants are attracted by different factors than traditional applicants and an abundance of recruitment tactics suggested in the popular press, no empirically based approach to recruiting these populations has emerged. This article reviews and integrates literature on organizational impression management, recruitment, marketing, and social psychology and provides a framework to assist practitioners in attracting minority and female job applicants. In addition, several avenues for future research are discussed.