Online Buddies for Job Seekers: A Field Experiment

Nature of the intervention: We built a platform to connect currently unemployed job seekers with "buddies" who recently changed occupation. We contacted unemployed individuals searching in occupations with poor prospects. We randomized 260 out of 524 interested job seekers into the treatment group who got access to a platform. There they could initiate a potential match with a buddy, exchange messages and set times for interaction which could take part outside the platform. They could also watch video testimony from some buddies. We evaluated the impact over the subsequent 18 months for employment and earnings.

Abstract

We design an online platform to connect unemployed job seekers with ‘buddies’: former job seekers who recently found employment. We focus on job seekers who search in occupations with poor prospects and buddies who successfully switched occupations. In a randomized controlled trial, we evaluate the impact of access to the platform on labor market outcomes. We find sizable effects. Thirteen to 18 months after getting access, initially unemployed job seekers are 6 percentage points (11%) more likely to be employed and earn Euro 226 more per month than those without access. The positive impact is concentrated among the long-term unemployed.