Do Public and Private Recruiters Look for Different Employees? The Role of Public Service Motivation

During times of demographic change in developed countries, public sector employers need recruitment strategies in the competition for human capital. Recently, differentiation strategies relying on public service motivation (PSM) for public human resource management have been brought forward. This study examines how public sector employers position themselves in the labor market by means of a quantitative content analysis of 473 of job requirements and job benefits stated in job advertisements for lawyers. The results suggest that while there are substantial sector differences in job advertisements and public sector employers promote specifically public characteristics, only a few of them stem from PSM.