Recruiters’ Use of Friendship in Résumé Assessment: When Qualification Does Not Always Make the Cut

An experiment was conducted with upper level undergraduate business students to investigate the mechanism by which recruiters use friendship with the job applicant in initial résumé screening. Using actual résumés, this study showed that the recruiters’ friendship with the job applicants interacted with applicants’ qualifications in influencing recruiters’ screening decisions such that friendship aided those considered less qualified for the job in résumé assessment more so than those considered qualified for the job. Further, it was found that the influence of friendship on initial screening decisions (i.e., interview offer) was fully mediated by résumé assessment. The importance of understanding résumé assessment from the standpoint of recruiters as well as job seekers was discussed.