Making the Cut

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Millions of workers are engaged in nontraditional employment, including part-time roles, temporary agency jobs, and underutilized skills, while many face long-term unemployment. Research has primarily focused on how these conditions impact workers’ well-being, rather than how hiring agents view applicants with such backgrounds. This book shifts the perspective to hiring agents—HR managers, recruiters, and talent acquisition specialists—and examines their evaluation of candidates with nonstandard or precarious employment histories. By considering social factors like race and gender, the author reveals insights into the hiring process, detailing who secures jobs and who does not. Through a field experiment on hiring decisions across four occupational groups and in-depth interviews with hiring agents in the U.S., three key findings emerge. Hiring professionals interpret different employment experiences uniquely; the implications of nonstandard and precarious work histories vary for job outcomes; and race and gender intersect with employment histories, influencing callback rates. Hiring agents often rely on group-based stereotypes to create divergent narratives about similarly experienced workers, leading to complex labor market inequalities. This exploration of bias, discrimination, and the evolving nature of work provides a deeper understanding of the hiring process in today’s economy.