Citizens' Expectations vs. Recruitment Signals: Are Public Administrations Trying to Attract the Ideal Public Servant?

ABSTRACT

Job advertisements play a crucial role in attracting applicants, yet little is known about how closely they reflect the values citizens expect from public servants. Drawing on signaling theory and prior research on citizens' normative expectations of ideal public servants, this study employs a large language model to analyze 1825 job advertisements from health and transportation departments across seven U.S. states. Compared to the values citizens associate with ideal public servants in previous research, job advertisements predominantly emphasize values, such as expertise and dedication, while undersignaling relational values like serviceability, responsiveness, and honesty. Our findings suggest a misalignment between the values signaled in recruitment practices and those citizens associate with the ideal public servant. By adopting a citizen‐driven perspective, this study prompts scholars and public managers to question recruitment practices that may underemphasize values citizens prioritize in public servants, potentially limiting public administrations' ability to attract qualified candidates.