Job Information and Social Networks

The experiment contains two interventions delivered to students attending different colleges in Mumbai. The first intervention provides students information about job openings in their area of interest. The second intervention offers students CV training. Only one of the interventions is provided in any given college.

2020-03-01

2020-07-31

Job applications, knowledge of job openings, CV quality, information sharing decision

CV quality will be measured using a rubric based off of specific criteria taught in the training session.

Employment, heterogeneity by identify of recipient / provider of information

In half of sample colleges, all students receive soft skills training from our local training partner as an enticement to attend an onboarding session and follow-ups. Half of these students are then randomly assigned to receive a weekly job list of 10-15 local jobs in a specialization selected by students at baseline. The job intervention lasts for five weeks. The control group does not receive any direct job information over this time period.

In the other half of colleges, half of students are randomly selected to receive a CV building training at baseline. The training is designed to give specific formatting and information guidelines for creating a high-quality CV. The control group of students are not given any training at baseline and instead are asked to complete a survey. After two weeks, the control group of students are “surprised” with a CV training identical to that provided to the treatment group. Finally, three weeks post-baseline, we cross-randomize the job information treatment as before (half of students receive a list of 10-15 relevant jobs).

STEP 1: ORIENTATION
o The orientation will happen a few weeks before the scheduled training and is designed to recruit students for the experiment. The orientation will comprise of a roughly 10 minutes pitch which will be accompanied by a short slide deck. This will cover a brief background on the team, the project, how the training is helpful and what all the session will cover, and our expectations from students who plan on registering.

STEP 2: REGISTRATION
o The orientation will be followed by a registration which sings students up to participate in the training in each college, along with their information (name, E-Mail, phone number and which area of specialization they belong to). We also ask them to take a standardized test to measure baseline ability and to bring their CV to the training in a few weeks (or e-mail it ahead of time).


STEP 3: TRAINING and BASELINE

o Using registration lists, we will randomly invite half of students in each college to attend a one of two types of training sessions. For intervention one, the treatment group will receive the soft skills session (which is given to all students within that college), after which they will be given a list of jobs in their area of interest. The job list will list the firm, job description, offered wage, and a link to apply. Candidates will be asked to apply to any jobs they are interested in during the session, and will be given a hard copy of the jobs to take with them. The control group will only receive the soft skills training. Additionally, during the training sessions, each group will be asked to complete a detailed baseline survey collecting data on their social network, job preferences, rankings of hypothetical jobs, and other demographic variables.
o For Intervention two, the treatment group will receive a detailed CV training which gives specific formatting and content tips. Students will be asked to create or edit their CVs during the session. CVs will be validated and copies will be collected by the trainers. The control group will only be asked to complete the baseline survey during this session.
o After two weeks the intervention two control group will be brought in for another training session. They will be asked to bring the current version of their CVs to collect and analyze as an outcome measure of CV information spread. Afterwards, they will be given the same CV training previously received the treatment group.


STEP 4: WEEKLY FOLLOW-UPS

o In intervention one, both treatment and control groups will be brought in weekly for a short interview. Treatment individuals will be given a new list of job openings and asked to apply to those they wish and asked a to complete a short survey about any interviews / job offers they have received. The control group will be asked about whether they have heard about or applied to any jobs given the treatment group in the previous week, and if so, who they heard the information from. The control group will also be asked to complete a short survey.
o In intervention two, there will be no follow-up until after the second week when both treatment and control groups have received their CV training. After week two, and the subsequent cross randomization into a job-list group and control group, we will proceed with the same weekly follow-ups as conducted in intervention one.

Randomization done in office by a computer

Schools were randomly selected to receive either intervention one or two. Within schools, individual students were randomly selected into treatment.

No

6 schools, 100 students per school

600 students

There are 3 schools assigned to intervention one, and 3 schools assigned to intervention 2. Within each school 50 students are assigned to their respective treatments. This comes to a total of 150 treatment and 150 control students for intervention one, and 150 treatment and 150 control students for intervention two.