Selecting that First Job

Abstract

From a preselected list of 20 items that may influence students' impressions of potential employers, 550 U.S. hospitality students from 19 schools ranked those factors and assigned those involving personal interaction the highest ratings. The most influential factors were (1) Experience with the company as a consumer; (2) Word of mouth from faculty members; (3) Word of mouth from alumni; (4) Company representative's personality; (5) Word of mouth from students; (6) Guest lecturers in class; (7) Company representative's appearance; (8) Company participation in job fair; (9) Three-month work experience, internships; and (10) Companysponsored tours. Least influential were company-sponsored scholarships, company videos, company-sponsored social events, and company information on the internet or worldwide web.