Organizational attractiveness as an employer on college campuses: An examination of the applicant population

I extended recruitment research by sampling from the applicant population t o investigate factors related to a firm's attractiveness as an employer on college campuses. Specifically, I surveyed potential applicants at nine dif ferent universities and university personnel (faculty and placement staff a t eight of those universities to investigate relationships of recruitment a ctivities, organizational attributes, familiarity with the firm, and the so cial context with a firm's attractiveness as an employer. Results indicated that recruitment activities influenced firm attractiveness through influen cing perceptions of organizational attributes. Additionally, Familiarity wi th the firm and the social context, operationalized as perceptions of unive rsity personnel, were related to potential applicants' attraction to the fi rm. Finally, of additional interest was the ending of no differences in per ceptions of organizational attributes ol attraction to the firm between res pondents who interviewed with the firm and respondents who had not intervie wed with the firm. The implications of such results for firms interested in attracting applicants are discussed. (C) 2001 Academic Press.