EDMONTON — If you’ve ever landed a new job, only to show up on the first day and realize the work you’re doing wasn’t outlined in the job description – you aren’t alone.
According to Sara Mahabadi, an assistant professor in the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta, it’s common for a job to change between the time it is posted and when someone is hired, especially if you work for a startup.
“We had examples of people being hired after a couple of months and the job was completely different,” says Mahabadi, who along with Lisa Cohen of McGill University co-authored a recent study on the evolution from posting to hiring, published in Organization Science.
“So they ended up disappointed and exited the organization. These are consequences both parties want to avoid as much as they can.”
Mahabadi and Cohen examined 51 startups with fewer than 30 workers within their first three years. They interviewed more than 100 employees, job seekers, founders, hiring managers, successful entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, and made several key findings:
Some startups use the hiring process to determine their needs. Job seekers were sometimes hired despite lacking a few of the posted qualifications because the employers were impressed with their skills – a key takeaway for anyone interested in a job who fears they don’t have every quality listed. It’s especially true for women and members of under-represented groups who can be less comfortable applying for jobs without all of the stated qualifications.
The current workforce has revised expectations. Mahabadi says today’s hiring landscape – even among larger organizations – is seeing a lot of transformation, combining new jobs, and new skills, especially in the wake of COVID.
Sometimes managers repost a position with a revised description. It happens when they can’t find candidates who fit what they’re looking for. The researchers’ data analysis shows that during hiring some job postings had tasks added, removed or replaced.
Be prepared for inevitable evolution in the hiring process. Losing employees after valuable time spent training is not ideal, while employers also don’t want new hires to feel deceived.
More information can be found here. To speak with Sara Mahabadi, please contact:
Sarah Vernon | University of Alberta communications associate | svernon@ualberta.ca