"This article addresses the formalization of hiring processes and its impact on the type of the employee hired. Using the French Offre d'emploi et recrutement (OFER) survey on the hiring practices of 3584 firms in 2005, we investigate how firms organize the selection of job applicants and analyse the outcome of this selection with regard to the profiles of successful applicants. The data analysis reveals four types of screening processes: an informal process (streamlined) and three formalized processes (written-based, testing and professionalized). The use of a type of screening process depends on the constraints and resources of the firm and on the expected type of match. Finally, logit regressions show that personal and professional networks tend to penalize women and formal testing screening processes seem to favour unemployed or inactive people, whereas the formalized screening processes are likely to penalize individuals without diplomas."

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