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A Six Year Longitudinal Study of Graduate Expectations: The Implications for Company Recruitment and Selection Strategies
Author(s) -
Mabey Christopher,
Clark Timothy,
Daniels Kevin
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2389.1996.tb00071.x
Subject(s) - psychology , selection (genetic algorithm) , job satisfaction , set (abstract data type) , longitudinal study , socialization , social psychology , job performance , personnel selection , applied psychology , management , economics , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , programming language
All job extrants formulate a set of expectations about what a new job will be like. A least in part, these expectations are shaped by their experience of the organization's selection process. What impact do these early impressions have upon subsequent job attitudes and behaviour? This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of UK graduates from a few weeks prior to organizational entry to five or six years after commencing employment. Both the level of pre‐entry expectations and the congruency of these expectations with work experience are found to correlate with subsequent job satisfaction and organizational commitment. More support is found for the congruent expectations hypotheses, and the implications of this for company selection and socialization strategies are discussed.