Organizational Website Usability and Attractiveness Effects on Viewer Impressions

Previous research on the rapidly growing field of Internet recruitment has operated under the implicit assumption that recruitment websites can and do influence viewers’ opinions of recruiting organizations. This study empirically tested this assumption using a pre/post-test experimental design. Results indicated that viewers’ ratings on company familiarity, favorability, image as an employer, and organizational attractiveness were affected by organizations’ recruitment websites. Moreover, changes in viewers’ evaluations of these companies were directly related to the usability and attractiveness of their websites. Specifically, greater increases in favorable evaluations from the preto post-test measures occurred with companies that maintained websites that were easy to navigate and that were appealing in terms of their colors, fonts, and images.