Perceived worth of human capital across IT jobseekers in the digital era

Abstract

In an era of technological transformation in labor markets, jobseekers navigate a new landscape of wage uncertainty during the hiring process. Not disclosing wage expectations typically leads to subsequent wage bargaining, which can impact the job matching process and the final agreed-upon wage. This study delves into when jobseekers are more inclined to disclose wage expectations in their online CVs, considering the interplay of human capital accumulation (education, professional skills, work experience) and job-related signals (mobility, job commitment, work schedule/mode). Analyzing over 152,000 anonymous online CVs of tech professionals from 2016 to 2020 in one of the Eastern European countries, the study uses the OLS model with Heckman correction for sample selection bias. The findings reveal trends in wage expectation disclosure. Younger IT jobseekers, along with those who are more educated, skilled, and mobile, tend toward wage bargaining, seldom disclosing wage expectations. Similar effect holds for women jobseekers. Conversely, older jobseekers with basic skills, seeking full-time roles and clear work schedules, are more likely to voluntarily post wage expectations. This research extends compensation literature by focusing on online CVs and exploring a broader range of indicators, reflecting the significant impact of technology-driven social changes on jobseeker behavior in modern labor markets.