Linguistic Profiling and Employability: An Integrative Review

Abstract: The purpose of this integrative review was to interrogate the impact of linguistic profiling on perceived employability and provide strategies for minimizing the deleterious effects of linguistic profiling on career development processes. We employed an interdisciplinary and integrative literature review method to examine the scope of the problem of linguistic profiling on a global landscape. The systems theory of career development (STF) provided a framework through which to interpret the extant research. The literature search process coupled with inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in 47 publications retained in the study sample. The extant literature demonstrated the influence of several identified elements of the STF. Most of the studies used a matched- or verbal-guise approach to determine the effects of language characteristics on employability. The identified literature revealed evidence of reduced perceptions of employability in persons whose speech includes non-standard accents and dialects. These effects varied depending on the type of accent and the status of the potential job. The findings demonstrate the potential influence of geographic location and social stigmas on one’s career development in light of language and speech characteristics. This study brings to light the pervasiveness and routinely negative impacts of linguistic profiling on employability of marginalized populations across many organizational and geographic contexts. We provide evidence-based practical solutions to improve career outcomes for accented speakers.