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Sounding “Different”: The Role of Sociolinguistic Cues in Evaluating Job Candidates
Author(s) -
Cocchiara Faye K.,
Bell Myrtle P.,
Casper Wendy J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
human resource management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.888
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-050X
pISSN - 0090-4848
DOI - 10.1002/hrm.21675
Subject(s) - categorization , employability , merge (version control) , seekers , personnel selection , selection (genetic algorithm) , psychology , disadvantaged , social psychology , sociolinguistics , racism , sociology , public relations , linguistics , political science , computer science , management , pedagogy , gender studies , philosophy , artificial intelligence , law , economics , information retrieval
An increasingly diverse labor pool has increased the likelihood that HR recruiters will encounter job seekers who speak with different dialects. Prior studies have investigated the effects of applicant dialect on employment selection outcomes. In this article, we merge this research with stereotyping, “modern racism,” and sociolinguistics literatures to formulate propositions surrounding two questions of interest: (1) Do prospective employers categorize job applicants using sociolinguistic cues? and (2) If so, what impact does this categorization have on evaluations of applicant employability? We believe this research can provide significant insights into HR practice as discriminatory behaviors change and adapt to fit social norms, particularly in employee recruitment and selection contexts. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.