2020, Shai Bernstein, "Job Search Behavior on the AngelList Talent Platform"

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the focus of job-seekers toward larger and more resilient companies. NBER researchers Shai Bernstein of Harvard Business School and Richard Townsend of the University of California, San Diego, in joint work with Ting Xu of the University of Virginia, study job search behavior on the AngelList Talent platform (27907). They find greater relative interest in job postings from larger firms, particularly among searchers with more education and experience, after the onset of the pandemic. Searchers also relaxed their reservation criteria for new positions, becoming more receptive to opportunities that promise lower wages or might require relocation. The findings raise questions about how the pandemic, or other economic downturns, affect the flow of talent to start-up entrepreneurial firms. Bernstein describes these and other findings in the video above.