Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2021
  • Working Paper

Hunting for Talent: Firm-driven Labor Market Search in the United States

By: Rembrand Koning, Sharique Hasan and Ines Black
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
ShareBar

Abstract

This article analyzes the phenomenon of firm-driven labor market search—or outbound recruiting—where recruiters are increasingly “hunting for talent” rather than passively relying on workers to search for and apply to job vacancies. Our research methodology leverages three approaches. We first develop a labor market model that incorporates firm-driven search and then derive the equilibrium conditions under which firms use outbound recruiting and study its effect on hiring strategy, performance, and worker outcomes. We then test our model’s predictions using two data sources representing worker outcomes and firm choices. First, data from a nationality representative survey of 13,000 US workers shows that the percentage of workers hired through recruiting has increased from 4.2% in 1991 to 17.8% in 2020. This share is larger for higher-skilled workers, those with online profiles on LinkedIn, and those employed in high-technology hubs (e.g., Silicon Valley). We complement this analysis with data on the near universe of online job postings from 2010 to 2020. Here, we find that firms, especially those that need high-skilled workers, are hiring more recruiters with significant skill in scouring the internet for passive candidates. Indeed, demand for such recruiters has tripled over the past decade. A key implication of our model and findings is that outbound recruiting is most beneficial for firms that have higher skill demands, and at the margin, may shift firms to seek out higher-skilled workers.

Keywords

Hiring; Referrals; Outbound Recruiting; Labor Markets; Selection and Staffing; Networks; Recruitment; Strategy; United States

Citation

Koning, Rembrand, Sharique Hasan, and Ines Black. "Hunting for Talent: Firm-driven Labor Market Search in the United States." SSRN Working Paper Series, No. 3576498, September 2021.
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

About The Author

Rembrand M. Koning

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Events, Knowledge Spillovers, and Entrepreneur Performance in Togo

    By: Stefan Dimitiadis and Rembrand Koning
    • December 2022
    • Management Science

    Social Skills Improve Business Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Entrepreneurs in Togo

    By: Stefan Dimitriadis and Rembrand Koning
    • October 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Lyra Health: Transforming Mental Health

    By: Rembrand Koning and Nicole Keller
More from the Authors
  • Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Events, Knowledge Spillovers, and Entrepreneur Performance in Togo By: Stefan Dimitiadis and Rembrand Koning
  • Social Skills Improve Business Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial with Entrepreneurs in Togo By: Stefan Dimitriadis and Rembrand Koning
  • Lyra Health: Transforming Mental Health By: Rembrand Koning and Nicole Keller
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College