29.3466, Calls: Applied Ling, Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Socioling/Belgium

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LINGUIST List: Vol-29-3466. Mon Sep 10 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.3466, Calls: Applied Ling, Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Socioling/Belgium

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Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2018 15:47:08
From: Eline Zenner [eline.zenner at kuleuven.be]
Subject: The Language of Recruiting: Caught between Persuading and Gatekeeping

 
Full Title: The Language of Recruiting: Caught between Persuading and Gatekeeping 

Date: 03-Jun-2019 - 05-Jun-2019
Location: Leuven, Belgium 
Contact Person: Eline Zenner
Meeting Email: eline.zenner at kuleuven.be

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Discourse Analysis; Pragmatics; Sociolinguistics 

Call Deadline: 24-Sep-2018 

Meeting Description:

Recruitment in professional contexts occurs through many different
communicative genres, ranging from job ads (e.g. Verwaeren et al., 2017) over
CV’s and cover letters (e.g. Waung et al., 2017) to job interviews (e.g.
Timming, 2017) and assessments. Focusing on the perspective of the recruiter,
an interesting tension is seen in these genres between the need to persuade
well-suited candidates to apply for the vacant position and the need for
gatekeeping, viz. the need to prohibit unsuited candidates access to the
position and the firm. 

Although the job ad can be seen as typically tailored to persuading (see e.g.
van Meurs et al. 2015) and job interviews are primarily known for their
gatekeeping function (Kerekes 2007), both genres nevertheless portray a
notable tension between the two communicative goals. As previous research
reveals, this tension can be uncovered through quantitative and qualitative
analysis of the language variants and varieties used in these genres. For
instance, as van Meurs (2010) and Zenner et al. (2013) discuss, gatekeeping
can occur in job ads through the use of English as language of communication,
restricting the position to applicants who master the language. Additionally,
as e.g. Van de Mieroop & Schnurr (2018) and Roberts & Sarangin (1999) discuss,
job interviews are hybrid activity types, where more institutionally oriented
discourse types (foregrounding the exchange of information) and more
relational discourse types (foregrounding personal information) occur. Both
discourse types reveal a tension between gatekeeping (only candidates that fit
in both in terms of skills and in terms of personality will be considered) and
persuading (candidate’s that actually fit in need to be convinced that the
firm is a place they want to work).

Theme session organizers:

Eline Zenner (KU Leuven, eline.zenner at kuleuven.be) and Frank van Meurs
(Radboud University Nijmegen)

References:

Kerekes, J. A. 2007. The co-construction of a gatekeeping encounter: An
inventory of verbal actions. Journal of Pragmatics 29: 1942-1973.
Roberts, C., Sarangi, S. 1999. Hybridity in gatekeeping discourse: issues of
practical relevance for the researcher. In: Sarangi, S., Roberts, C. (Eds.),
Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medical, Mediation and
Management Settings. Berlin/New York. Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 473–503.
Timming, A. R. 2017. The effect of foreign accent on employability: A study of
the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and
non-customer-facing jobs. Work, Employment and Society, 31(3), 409-428.
Van de Mieroop, D. & S. Schnurr. 2018. Candidates’ humour and the construction
of co-membership in job interviews. Language & Communication 61, 35-45.
van Meurs, F., H. Korzilius & L. Bergevoet. 2015. English words and phrases in
Dutch job advertisements: Do they function as peripheral persuasion cues?
Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics 4(1): 21-38.
van Meurs, F. 2010. English in job advertisements in the Netherlands: Reasons,
use and effects. Nijmegen: LOT.
 Verwaeren, B., Van Hoye, G., & Baeten, X. 2017. Getting bang for your buck:
The specificity of compensation and benefits information in job
advertisements. The International Journal of Human Resource Management,
28(19), 2811-2830.
Waung, M., McAuslan, P., DiMambro, J. M., & Mięgoć, N. 2017. Impression
management use in resumes and cover letters. Journal of Business and
Psychology, 32(6), 727-746.
Zenner, E., D. Speelman & D. Geeraerts. 2013. Macro and micro perspectives on
the distribution of English in Dutch: A quantitative usage-based analysis of
job ads. Linguistics 51(5): 1019-1064.


Call for Papers:

This theme session aims to contribute to this line of research that studies
the mechanisms for persuading and gatekeeping in the language of recruitment.
Contributions ideally pay specific attention to the tension between the two
communicative goals described above (see ''Session Description''). 

Timeline:

- Submission of abstracts (400 words) to theme session organizers by 24
September
- Notification of acceptance from theme session organizers by 30 September
- Submission of theme session proposal by theme session organizers on 30
September
- If the theme session is accepted: submission of individual abstracts by
presenters by 15 November




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