Evidence Items as Signals of Marketing Competencies and Workplace Readiness: A Practitioner Perspective

Abstract

Although past research has spent considerable effort identifying competencies and academic activities that are associated with workplace readiness, the literature is largely silent regarding what might best serve as evidence to employers that a graduate possesses specific marketing competencies. In the current research, we develop a comprehensive set of evidence items that serve as potential signals of specific macro and micro competencies demanded for marketing graduates’ employability. Specifically, we first systematically compile a list of evidence items and then explore what employers perceive to be compelling evidence of graduates’ competencies. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to capture and compare multiple evidence items related to academic curriculum, standardized measures, experience-based indicators, and the social-collaborative media environment and connect them to specific competencies as signals of workplace readiness. 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.