Somewhat surprisingly, help-wanted advertisements are often ineffective. For example, studies have found that people hired through newspaper advertisements, compared to those hired through other recruiting methods, do not perform their jobs as well and are absent from work more often. Perhaps ads are ineffective because they fail to reach the most viable candid—successful individuals who are not currently looking for a new job. Further, other recruitment methods, such as employee referrals, may do a better job of enticing the most qualified applicants—a friend can be more persuasive than a written ad.55 Help-wanted advertising reaches a large audience, which can quickly turn into a disadvantage if too many people respond to an ad. As noted earlier in the chapter, the process of screening vast numbers of applications often becomes an administrative nightmare.