Sorting by Skill over the Course of Job Search

We use novel high-frequency panel data on individuals' job applications from an online job posting engine to study (1) whether at the beginning of search job seekers with different levels of education apply to different jobs, and (2) how search behavior changes as search continues. First, we find that there is sorting by education at the beginning of search. Second, as search continues, job seekers apply to different types of jobs than at the beginning of search. In particular, assuming that sorting at the beginning of search is positive, as search continues there is less sorting by education and job seekers, on average, apply to lower quality jobs.