EFFECTS OF JOB PREVIEWS AND COMPENSATION POLICY ON APPLICANT ATTRACTION AND JOB CHOICE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of job previe ws and compensation policy on applicant attraction and job choice. A l aboratory study was conducted in which subjects were asked to choose b etween a job described by a realistic job preview (RJP) and a job desc ribed by a traditional job preview (TJP). The conditions varied by the compensation policy of the jobs presented in the job previews (high v ersus average). This resulted in the following four conditions: (1) TJ P-High Compensation, RJP-Average Compensation; (2) TJP-Average Compens ation, RJP-Average Compensation; (3) TJP-High Compensation, RJP-High C ompensation; and (4) TJP-Average Compensation, RJP-High Compensation. The results of within conditions repeated measures analyses indicated that subjects rated the TJP job as more attractive than the RTP job on ly when the compensation of the RJP job was average. When the compensa tion of the RJP job was high, there were no differences in subjects' r atings of attractiveness. Further, subjects indicated a greater intent ion to accept the TJP job and were more likely to choose the TJP job o ver the RTP job in all conditions except when the compensation policy of the RJP job was greater than the TJP job. The results of between co nditions analyses indicated that subjects were more than twice as like ly to choose an RJP job with high compensation than one with average c ompensation when the compensation of the TJP job alternative was avera ge. These results suggest that the effects of RJPs on applicant attrac tion and job choice might depend on the compensation of the job and ot her job attributes. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.