Thanks to the vision and leadership of the board 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 for Economists (EJME) 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 EJME 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 EJME will make the junior hiring process become even broader and more inclusive, making sure that “none (neither candidates nor employers) is left behind.”
To reach this goal, the governing bodies of the 3 associations, and the Committee of the European Job Market for Economists have recently discussed how to design the 2023-2024 EJME 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 recognized and easy-to-use video-conferencing platforms.
- Recruiters are encouraged to hold flyouts (in person or virtually) in January, February and March.
- Candidates and recruiters can use our EJME Candidate Directory, a virtual tool that allows search and matching, and serves as a central source of information for candidates and recruiters.
- All recruiters are encouraged 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 EJME. Being inclusive is the three associations’ mantra! And when considering environmental issues, technology becomes a great ally of both the EJME 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.
Regarding 3: Having a centralized platform prevents someone from being left behind. While the interview stage moves online, this is still the European junior job market for economists.
Regarding 4: in some countries there are legal constraints regarding the starting date of a labour 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 behaviour, and the outcome will be a better, healthier, and great working environment in the economics profession both in Europe and worldwide!
If you are an institution and wish to show your support for our coordination, please read how you can do this here