Graduating students' responses to recruitment advertisements

Abstract

Many firms spend substantial resources in their efforts to recruit the best graduates, and recruitment advertisements can be a critical medium for potential employees deciding on whether to apply for jobs. It is important, therefore, that recruitment advertisements attract the attention of potential applicants and encourage them to apply. The purpose of this study was to examine the variables that influence attention to advertisements and the intention to apply for advertised positions among final-year commerce students. A quasi-experiment was conducted to investigate the relative impact of three factors in a recruitment advertisement: the use of the word graduate in the heading, the use of pictures in the advertisement, and the mention of a career path or opportunities for development and promotion. The results highlight the importance of a heading with the word graduate and support a proposed three-step model for designing a recruitment advertisement.