Employers interviewing entry-level candidates relied heavily on the job seeker's employment tests to evaluate applicants, and also considered their "online social footprint." (Image: Shutterstock)
When considering recent college graduates for entry-level jobs, grades, resumes and LinkedIn profiles don't matter as much as employment tests and what candidates post on other social media outlets, according to the report, "Evidence Items as Signals of Marketing Competencies and Workplace Readiness-A Practitioner Perspective," published in the Journal of Marketing Education by researchers at The Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University.
"While there is an ongoing debate regarding whether academic curriculum and activities at universities actually prepare students for the job market, ours is the first research that examines what academic activities actually signal competence," says SDSU marketing professor Heather Honea, who, along with professors Paula Peter and Iana Castro, published the report.
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"We learned the majority of employers place more value on activities such as case studies and aptitude test results as a valid measure of job skills than overall GPA," Honea says. "In other words, we found when it comes to completing successful job interviews, performance on tests actually matters."
According to the report's abstract, the researchers systematically compiled a list of evidence items and then explored what employers perceive to be compelling evidence of graduates' competencies. They found that employers interviewing entry-level candidates relied heavily on the job seeker's employment tests to evaluate applicants, and also considered their "online social footprint." They also found that employers were less likely to see grades and professional profiles (Linkedin, resumes) as indicators that entry-level candidates possess their desired skill sets.
"This research provides insights regarding how marketing curriculum should be leveraged in terms of assessments and deliverables that could be used by students to signal workplace readiness to employers," the abstract concludes.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
