Work Hard or Play Hard? Degree Class, Student Leadership and Employment Opportunities

Arbeitspapier

We investigated the impact on first hiring outcomes of two main curriculum vitae (CV) characteristics by which graduates with a tertiary education degree distinguish themselves from their peers: degree class and extra-curricular activities. These characteristics were randomly assigned to 2,800 fictitious job applications that were sent to real vacancies in Belgium. Academic performance and extra-curricular engagement both enhanced job interview rates by about 7%. The effect of a higher degree class was driven by female (versus male) candidates and candidates with a master’s (versus a bachelor’s) degree. We did not find evidence for these CV characteristics to be substitutes or to reinforce each other’s effect.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: GLO Discussion Paper ; No. 276

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Labor Demand ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Higher Education; Research Institutions ; Field Experiments
• Subject: degree class ; extra-curricular activities ; hiring ; field experiment

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Baert, Stijn ; Verhaest, Dieter
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Global Labor Organization (GLO)
• (where): Maastricht
• (when): 2018

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/184871
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET