Gender differences in the pecuniary returns to job search: Which search methods are the most (and least) effective?

Although recent empirical research has established important behavioral differences between the sexes in many aspects of labor mobility, one aspect that has received surprisingly little attention is the methodology utilized by workers in job search.  For example, job search may consist of an active strategy such as sending resumes directly to employers or using an employment agency, or a more passive approach like reading the want ads online.  Using data from the 2008-2013 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), this study explores the pecuniary returns to the job search methods and strategies utilized by young workers.  Because the NLSY97 collects detailed information on the actual methods of job search employed by respondents, including internet usage, I am able to construct measures of job search methodology which can then be related to subsequent employment and wage outcomes.  The sample for analysis consists of more than 11,900 person-year observations covering the observation period.  Although men and women show very similar patterns of search methodology, significant gender differences in the pecuniary returns to search and method are identified.  Estimation results from wage growth equations identify positive returns to both job search and mobility for men.  Men who changed jobs earned wage premiums of 7 percent relative to those who did not move, while job searchers collected premiums nearly 3.5 percent above those who did not search.  In contrast, I find no pecuniary return to job search for women; wage growth premia relate exclusively to job mobility.  I then proceed to analyze the effectiveness of the various search methods employed by workers where some notable gender differences again emerge.  In general, I find that men generate the highest pecuniary returns from attending job training methods or courses and from contacting friends and relatives about job opportunities.  Women receive the highest rewards by contacting private employment agencies and sending resumes directly to employers.  The least effective search methods are using a public employment agency (for men) and attending job training methods or courses (for women).  Interestingly, I could not identify a positive return to using the internet in search.  This research offers some additional insight into male-female wage differentials.  If women systematically pursue methods of job search that are less successful and that have lower financial payoffs than those pursued by men, then the different ensuing patterns of job mobility and wage growth will contribute to the gender wage gap.