ABSTRACT
In the UK, codes of practice, established by government-appointed commissions, advise on ‘appropriate’ and nondiscriminatory recruitment procedures. These codes, while not legally binding, are an important soft law mechanism and employers wishing to avoid discrimination claims are aware of the need to ensure that their selection and recruitment practices meet the standards set in the codes, which include the recommendation not to use word-of-mouth recruitment.1 Consequently, most large UK employers operate formal procedures, requiring of job applicants that they apply in writing, completing an application form and addressing specified criteria related to the requirements of the post. This chapter, by focusing on the job search methods of refugees and recent migrants, explores why, despite government policy to encourage transparency in recruitment through support for formal job search procedures, many recent immigrants show a preference for informal job search mechanisms. The chapter suggests that this may well be because informal mechanisms are more likely to result in job offers. Accordingly, the chapter deconstructs informal job search methods, to demonstrate that they are as complex and as structured as formal methods. The chapter draws on two research projects, one focusing on refugees and the other on recent migrants, in the course of which around 280 semistructured in-depth, face-to-face interviews were undertaken.2
