Abstract: Job advertisements are a key tool for companies to attract talent. We conduct a RCT in which we vary the content of job advertisements for STEM positions at one of the largest technology firms in Europe. We examine how emphasizing career advancement and job flexibility in job ads causally affects the firm's applicant pool. We find substantial treatment effects for entry-level positions, but not for senior-level roles. Highlighting career advancement increases applications from men, while emphasizing flexibility increases applications from both women and men. Tracking applicants throughout the hiring process, we find that emphasizing career advancement also increases the number of applicants who graduated from a top university, are rated as a strong fit by company representatives, and are invited to an interview. In contrast, emphasizing flexibility does not significantly affect these later-stage outcomes. In a separate survey experiment conducted among STEM students, we find that the content of job advertisements influences young professionals’ perceptions of job characteristics and the work environment. In particular, highlighting career advancement shifts beliefs toward better career benefits, but also to toward a lower work-life balance.

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