Thanks to the vision and leadership of members of the European Economic Association, the Royal Economic Society, and the Spanish Economic Association, in 2018 in Naples the full-fledged European Job Market took off and changed the dynamics of junior hiring both in Europe and globally. Since then, recruiters in Europe that had never considered hiring through an international job market, started participating. Together with recruiters in Europe that had in the past recruited on the international job market, they all made the European job market a huge success and a landmark in the history of the three associations.
The best way to celebrate this 5-year milestone is to make sure that the European job market will make the junior hiring process become even broader and more inclusive, making it sure that “none (neither candidates nor employers) is left behind.”
To reach this goal, the governing bodies of the three associations, and the committee of the European Job Market for Economists have recently discussed how to design the 2023-2024 European job market so that candidates and recruiters can plan ahead and engage in a coordination game. A unanimous decision has been reached along these lines:
- Interviews should be held virtually from Monday, December 11 to Thursday December 14 through Teams, Zoom, or similar platforms.
- We encourage recruiters to hold flyouts in January, February and March.
- The EJM platform and directory can serve as a central source of information on job openings and candidates.
- We encourage all recruiters to avoid making offers with a deadline earlier than February 1, 2024.
Regarding 1: holding the interviews online benefits both the candidates and the recruiters. Both sides of the market can schedule more interviews. Candidates and/or recruiters with financial constraints in a given year are not excluded from participating. Candidates and recruiters far away from Europe can easily participate in the European job market. Being inclusive is the three associations’ mantra! And when considering environmental issues, technology becomes a great ally of both the European job market and the environment as well.
Regarding 2: Keeping the flyout stage of the job market within a restricted 3-month period keeps the duration of the job market limited, helps to coordinate efforts, and gives certainty to candidates. For the many who think that flyouts in person have many benefits, keeping them concentrated in a time window allows for effective planning.
Regarding 3: Having a centralized information platform prevents someone being left behind. While the interview stage moves online, this is still the European junior job market.
Regarding 4: in some countries there are legal constraints regarding the starting date of a labor contract, which in turn affects the deadlines of the job offers. Yet, when there are no legal constraints, we encourage all recruiters to avoid the disruptive practice of exploding offers. Our common goal is to help our PhD students’ and junior faculty’s careers and the best way to prove that we mean what we say is to show that in one of the most critical times of their careers — getting their first job — we are on THEIR side.
In sum, let’s coordinate, let’s avoid disruptive behavior, and the outcome will be a better, healthier, and great working environment in the economics profession in both Europe and worldwide.
The 2022-2023 junior job market season is almost over. We take this opportunity to wish all the young colleagues who got jobs in academic or policy-making institutions, as well as in the private sector, all the best for their careers!!!
Best wishes,
The European Economic Association’s Executive Committee
The Royal Economic Society’s Trustee Board
The Spanish Economic Association’s Executive Committee
