2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

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From Attraction to Rejection: A Qualitative Research on Applicant Withdrawal
It is recognized that the recruitment process consists of multiple stages or phases. The first stage
involves the identification and generation of applicants (from the organization’s perspective) or
job opportunities (from the individual’s perspective). During the next stage, applicants become
selectees if they pass the selection tests. At the last step, jobs are offered to the persons with the
highest ranking. At every moment applicants can decide to self-select out of the recruitment
process. As the term selection has been reserved for the processes used by organizations in
hiring, self-selection has been the term used to refer to the individual’s selection decision (Ryan,
Sacco, McFarland, & Kriska, 2000). Until now, research has overlooked applicant withdrawal
that takes place in an early stage of the hiring process (Barber, 1998). In this research, we
focused on applicants who decide to withdraw from the hiring process after the first hurdle of the
selection process. These applicants passed the initial screening test at the career office, but did
not show up at the selection center for their physical, medical and psychological screening.
The study of self-selection is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, applicants’ decisions to
withdraw from the selection process may affect the size and quality of the applicant pool (Barber
& Roehling, 1993). If the organization’s top choices withdraw, this will lead to a reduced utility
of the hiring system (Murphy, 1986). Conversely, self-selection can have positive results for the
organization in terms of reduced turnover, and higher employee satisfaction, commitment, and
performance (see Wanous, 1992). Secondly, while there are plenty of studies examining why job
offers are accepted, until today it is still unclear why job offers are rejected (Turban, Eyring, &
Campion, 1993). Thirdly, if the number of qualified women and minorities advancing through
the selection process decreases, this may affect adverse impact statistics and the ability to meet
diversity goals (Schmit & Ryan, 1997). Thus, understanding the causes of applicant withdrawal
is important.
Research on Applicant Withdrawal
Although applicant withdrawal is often discussed in the literature on recruitment and job choice
(e.g., Rynes, 1991, 1993), the empirical research has largely been directed at rejection of job
offers and not at withdrawal behavior earlier in the process (Barber, 1998; Schmit & Ryan, 1997).
As a result, relatively little is known about applicants’ decisions to withdraw from an
organization’s selection process prior to the point of a job offer (Schmit & Ryan, 1997). In one
of the earlier studies in this area, it was found that the time delay between application and the
next step in the selection process was related to applicant withdrawal from civil service position
selection processes (Arvey, Gordon, Massengill, & Mussio, 1975). The strongly negative effects
of recruitment delays were also observed by Rynes, Bretz, and Gerhart (1991), particularly
among male students with higher grade point averages and greater job search success. More
recently, Schmit and Ryan (1997) examined the role of test-taking attitudes and racial differences
in the decisions of applicants to withdraw from the selection process. They found small effects of
comparative anxiety, motivation, and literacy scales on withdrawal behavior, and small race
differences on test attitude scales. Applicant withdrawal or self-selection has also been examined
as a theoretical rationale for the effects of realistic job previews (RJPs): “Applicants who are not
likely to be satisfied with the job will not accept job offers, and those who do accept will
therefore be more likely to remain” (Barber, 1998, p. 85). Several studies found support for this
theory in that exposition to RJPs was associated with higher job rejection rates (Meglino, DeNisi,
Youngblood, & Williams, 1988; Premack & Wanous, 1985; Suszko & Breaugh, 1986; Wiesner,
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003