A Quantitative Study of User Perception of Credibility of Jobs Posted on Online Job Search Portals

Purpose : This study aims to study the factors which influence user perception of credibility of jobs posted on online job search portals Design/Methodology/Approach : A quantitative research methodology was used and 240 responses received, via a web-based survey, were analysed. These responses covered user perception across more than 10 leading online job portals. Findings : Credibility perception of jobs posted on online job search portals differs across users belonging to different categories with respect to years of work experience, job application response, and number of jobs changed. Number of responses received on their online job applications and the proportion of jobs they get via the online portals emerged as significant predictors of users’ credibility perception of the jobs posted on such portals. Practical Implications : Marketers of online job search portals must collaborate with their recruitment partners to focus on driving response rate and actual job seeking success rate for users on their portals. Originality/Value : This study bridges a key gap in current literature regarding a limited understanding of how users perceive the usefulness of online job search portals. regression with Rating as the dependent variable of as a predictor. The p-value indicates is of of jobs posted on the jobs search portals. The also as the users from on their job However, a low r-square of 3% indicates that it small of the variation in


Introduction
As per estimates more than 4 Cr Indians search for jobs annually and more than 80% of these job postings are filled through online job search portals (Economic Times, 2022). Given the rate of internet penetration, Edgeley (1995) had anticipated more than two decades ago that online job portals will act as a significant channel for job seekers. However, very limited research has been done on the effectiveness of these online job search portals (Crossley & High, 2005).
This study looks at the factors such as the proportion of jobs received from job search portals, response rate of job applications, and credibility perception of jobs posted to evaluate the usefulness of online job portals. A quantitative research methodology was used and 240 responses received via a web-based survey were analysed.

Literature Review
Job portals such as LinkedIn, Naukri enable recruiters to recruit candidates online by enabling "the recruitment process, including placing job advertisements, receiving resumes, and building human resource databases with candidates and incumbents" (Schreyer & McCarter, 1998). These online portals are one of the most preferred means of recruitment for the firms (Kapse, et. al., 2012).
Perceived usefulness is a well-researched construct in the field of user adoption of innovation. It has been defined as the degree to which a user believes that using a particular innovation can be advantageous (Davis, 1989). The usefulness of online job portals can be judged through the end outcome of getting a job through the portal.
Wadhawan & Sinha, (2018) studied factors such as Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of use, Extended Services, Prospective career opportunities, System quality and Perceived Trustworthiness and their impact on customers' perception of the job search portals. Factors such as Information Content Quality, Interactivity, Trust, Cost, Habit, Attractiveness and Effectiveness, Ease of Navigation, and Search Engine Optimization have been found to influence user perception towards e-recruitment portals (Leelavathi et al., 2020). Some studies have analysed features offered by these portals and how they can use data and visualization to improve usefulness for the users (Si et al., 2021).
Researchers have studied how online job portals can enhance ease of use (Amanova et al., 2021). There are some studies which also look at job search portals' effectiveness from the recruiters' perspective (Jayswal et al., 2015) and the accompanying challenges, methods and trends for the recruiting firms (Singh, 2017). However, there are very limited studies in literature which look at credibility as a contributing factor to usefulness of online job portals (Wadhawan & Gupta, 2019). The online job portals have now been in business since decades however there is very limited research on how users interact with and perceive the usefulness of these portals (Amanova et el., 2021).
This study bridges this gap in literature by trying to understand user perception of the usefulness of online job portals. The subsequent sections present the methodology used and then the data analysis, findings, conclusion and managerial implications of the findings.

Research Methodology
A mix of convenience and judgemental sampling methods as used to collect the responses. A web-based survey was designed. The link to the survey was posted on prominent professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn and responses were sought. Responses were also sought by reaching out to professional social networks on social networking platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Judgement was used to ensure the sample represents a good mix across age categories, gender, years of work experience, and field of experience. Judgemental sampling was also used to ensure the sample comprises a mix of respondents who: • were looking for their first job or were in their first job and thus are largely perception driven regarding job portals • have changed multiple jobs and thus have a fair experience of job portals.
From the responses received, 240 responses were selected for analysis. Incomplete and irrelevant responses were excluded from this analysis.

Data Analysis and Findings
The data was analysed using descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive methods. Some of the key findings are summarised below.
LinkedIn clearly emerged as the portal of choice for job seekers with Naukri as the distant second. Respondents seem to be engaging in a variety of job portals in their job search endeavours.

Reducing Usefulness for Job Seekers?
One of the probing areas of this study was to understand user perception regarding the usefulness of these job search portals in their job search journey. A majority 62% of participants reported to have not received any or hardly any of their jobs through these job search portals.
Not just the end outcome of getting a job, but 64% respondents reported to have received recruiter responses to either none or to very few of their job applications on these job search portals.
More than 67% of the respondents with 5 years or more of work experience felt that the response rate to applications on these job portals has reduced over the last 5 years.

Proposed Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested based on the 240 responses received. Summary of the hypotheses and the test results are summarised below. Detailed description of the analysis is given subsequently. The data supports this hypothesis. A chi-square test gave statistically significant results so as to reject the null hypothesis. This means that there is a significant difference in perceptions of credibility of job posts for users from different experience categories. Findings indicate that those with less than 10 years of experience do not doubt the credibility of job posts while a significant number of those with more than 10 years of experience perceive low credibility of jobs being posted on job portals. a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 9.10.

Hypothesis 2
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals depends on their job application success rate This hypothesis is partially supported by our data. This indicates that the credibility perception of jobs posted is to some extent driven by whether the user has been successful in landing jobs through the portals or not. We see a partial significance and hence some more data is required to conclusively accept or reject this hypothesis. a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 18.20.

Hypothesis 3
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals depends on their income level. Hypothesis received partial validity from data. The results indicate that income level of users to some extent influences their perception of credibility of jobs being posted on the job portals. Users in one lakh plus monthly income bracket do perceive low credibility as compared to users with lower income levels. We see a partial significance and hence some more data is required to conclusively accept or reject this hypothesis.

Hypothesis 4
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals is based on the response rate to their applications This hypothesis is validated by the data. Users who receive a high response rate to their applications from recruiters also have a significantly high perception of the credibility of jobs posted on the job portals. However, users who receive a low response rate to their applications show a perception of low credibility towards the jobs being posted on the job search portals. a. 1 cells (11.1%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 3.74.

Hypothesis 5
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals depends on their perception of reduced response rate in the last 5 years.
This hypothesis is also validated by the data. Users who perceive that the response rate of job applications has reduced in the last 5 years also perceive a low credibility of job posts on job portals. It is possible that they view this decline in the response rate as an indication of low credibility of jobs posted on the portals. a. 1 cells (11.1%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2.93.

Hypothesis 6
Users' choice of preferred job portal depends on their seniority level This hypothesis is not supported by data. As per our data, there is no significant pattern to suggest that users' choice of preferred job portals changes with their seniority levels. This indicates that there are no job portals which are perceived as 'specialized' with respect to certain experience categories or seniority levels. a. 3 cells (20.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.00.

Hypothesis 7
Users' choice of preferred job portal depends on their field of experience This hypothesis is also not supported by data. This indicates that users' choice of their preferred job portal does not differ depending on their respective fields. This also indicates that there are no job portals which are perceived as 'specialized' with respect to certain functional or industry categories.

Hypothesis 8
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals depends on their field of experience This hypothesis is also not supported by data. This indicates that the users' field of influence has no influence on their credibility perception of the jobs posted on the job portals.

Hypothesis 9
Users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals depends on the number of jobs they have changed This hypothesis is supported by data. Data indicates that the proportion of respondents who have a low credibility perception of jobs posted increases with the number of jobs changed. It can be inferred that as users go through job changes their credibility perception decreases. a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 6.01.

Hypothesis 10
The proportion of jobs users got through the job portals can predict users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals.
A regression analysis was run with Credibility Rating as the dependent variable and the proportion of jobs got through the job search portal as a predictor. The p-value indicates that the proportion of jobs got through the job search portal is a significant predictor of users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on the jobs search portals. The coefficient also indicates that credibility perception increases as the proportion of jobs got from the portal increases. However, a low r-square of 4% indicates that it only explains a small fraction of the variation in credibility.

Hypothesis 11
The response rate to users' job applications can predict users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on job portals A regression analysis was run with Credibility Rating as the dependent variable and the response rate of applications as a predictor. The p-value indicates that the response rate is a significant predictor of users' perception of credibility of jobs posted on the jobs search portals. The coefficient also indicates that credibility perception increases as the users receive more responses from recruiters on their job applications. However, a low r-square of 3% indicates that it only explains a small fraction of the variation in credibility.