ERIC Number: EJ1260193
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Aug
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0273-4753
EISSN: N/A
Attracting Students to Sales Positions: The Case of Effective Salesperson Recruitment Ads
Deeter-Schmelz, Dawn R.; Dixon, Andrea L.; Erffmeyer, Robert C.; Kim, Kyoungmi; Agnihotri, Raj; Krush, Michael T.; Bolman Pullins, Ellen
Journal of Marketing Education, v42 n2 p170-190 Aug 2020
Given the recent proliferation in sales programs, business colleges face a new set of challenges. Sales competencies are changing rapidly, and firms struggle with identifying and attracting sales candidates on campus. Therefore, it is important that we understand needed competencies and how the content of job advertisements may differentially appeal to various student populations. To do so, we develop a conceptual model, based on signaling theory, that focuses on how students formulate their intention to pursue a given sales position. Our research utilizes a two-study approach. First, we explore the desired entry-level sales skills communicated by employers through job advertisements. Next, we examine both student and advertisement characteristics and their distinct relationships with the satisfaction with the job ad and the intention to apply for a sales position. Our study is unique, as we examine distinct undergraduate groups' (sales, marketing, other business, and nonbusiness students) responses to sales job advertisements. Our findings demonstrate that differences in job ad clusters and student group characteristics influence the intention to pursue a sales position. Specifically, different student majors perceive job characteristics communicated within job ads differently. As such, our research provides insight into academic programs as well as corporate sales recruiters.
Descriptors: Advertising, Salesmanship, Job Applicants, Business Schools, Sales Occupations, Employer Attitudes, Student Characteristics, Majors (Students), Undergraduate Students, Marketing, Student Attitudes, Corporations, Personnel Selection, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A