Hiring on Soft Skills or Qualifications: Post-Hiring Outcomes

Last registered on May 27, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Hiring on Soft Skills or Qualifications: Post-Hiring Outcomes
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018708
Initial registration date
May 22, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 27, 2026, 10:59 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Jennifer Kades
Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Lukas Hensel
PI Affiliation
Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Robert Garlick
PI Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Kate Orkin
PI Affiliation
Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-11-01
End date
2027-12-31
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
This is a longer-term follow up from an existing randomized controlled trial, registered under entry AEARCTR-0013145. We study how shifting the weight placed on different hiring criteria in an applicant recommendation algorithm impacts employment outcomes for applicants and firms, using a field experiment on a large online jobs platform.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Garlick, Robert et al. 2026. "Hiring on Soft Skills or Qualifications: Post-Hiring Outcomes." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18708-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-11-01
Intervention End Date
2024-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Employment outcomes (e.g. employment, earnings), match quality (e.g. retention, performance, wages), and job search outcomes (e.g., job search effort, job search expectations).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
See attached pre-analysis plan.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
See attached pre-analysis plan.
Randomization Unit
Job postings
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Our sample includes roughly 1,000 job postings.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Our sample includes roughly 1,000 job postings, resulting in a sample of over 30,000 individual applicants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The job postings in our sample are randomized into one of two treatment arms, with a sample of roughly 500 job postings for each of our control group and treatment group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Duke University Campus IRB
IRB Approval Date
2016-01-12
IRB Approval Number
2017-0345
IRB Name
University of Cape Town Campus IRB
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-20
IRB Approval Number
COM/01149/2024
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information