Potential hire's expectations from life & corporate.
| Author | Mani, Vijaya |
Background
Students are faced by a millennial generation lifestyle. Expectations exert powerful influences upon student behaviour whether they come from external sources or are held internally as a belief or self-expectations (Rose, 2001). Students face a wide spectrum of opportunities and avenues to explore once they complete their graduation or post graduation. This has resulted in increasing their level of expectations from what it was earlier.
Expectations are double-edged swords, raising or lowering student outcomes according to their positive or negative nature. (Rose, 2001).
Employees form the crux of every organisation. Employee aspirations have gradually evolved, thus inducing employers to devise new ways of managing their demands. A hefty pay packet is not sufficient to lure an employee (Nair, 2011). Today factors such as convenient work location, vacation or paid time off and flexible schedule are some of the main reasons for which employees join a company. The change in expectations could be attributed to several reasons. The millennial generation has a different set of priorities while managing their lives. Also, there is a substantial amount of peer pressure to make it big. The rise in expectations could be attributed to the increase in employment opportunities, which in turn could be attributed to our growing economy.
Over the past few decades, several studies note a shift in students' work values and expectations compared to the generations before them (Loughlin & Barling, 2001; Ng & Burke, 2006; Smola & Sutton, 2002). For example, in the 1950's, graduates focused on promotional opportunities, high salaries, and job security, while students in the 1960's focused on the meaning of life, and students of the 1970's and 1980's directed their careers towards individual achievement and reward. In the 1980's, students indicated their primary concerns for choosing a career path as future earning potential, promotional opportunities and employer location (Parmley, Parmley & Wooton, 1987). In the 1990's, students' primary concerns for choosing a particular career path focused on promotion, challenge and responsibility, working conditions and the type of work (Devlin & Petersen, 1994). With the changing global landscape, as well as changes in the traditional family norms in Western culture, future research is necessary to understand the career expectations of current students and the implications these student expectations have on organizations, recruiters and managers (Jarlstrom, 2000; Kirrane & Ryan, 2000; Rose, 2001; Ng & Burke, 2006). Recruiters seek the best 'match' for their company in terms of individual attributes in relation to company needs and culture. However, given the changing perceptions of today's students, the need for recruiters to modify their recruiting strategies exists (Jarlstrom, 2000). Researchers have assisted recruiters in this matter. For example, with the 'employer knowledge framework', applicants evaluate a firm based on the employer information regarding physical attributes of the employer (e.g. firm size, geographical location), job information (e.g. pay, benefits, promotional opportunities) and people information (that is, potential coworker information) (Cable & Turban, 2001). Students are more interested in working for firms with products or services that they can associate with than firms whose products or services they know little about, which can frame recruiter outreach strategies. Similarly, in the hospitality industry, hospitality students valued direct contact with the potential employer first and foremost in their career search (Sciarini & Woods, 1997). Other important factors to recruitment include references from faculty members, alumni, and other students; the company representative's personality and appearance, class guest lecturers; company participation in job fairs; and internships or co-ops (Sciarini & Woods, 1997). Based upon the Canadian study previously cited, current students will be selecting career paths based upon the working conditions, opportunities, and flexibility that employers can offer, and firms will need to re-evaluate their recruitment procedures to mirror these expectations (Ng & Burke, 2006).
Students' perceptions with respect to promotion, length of employment, students' job search processes, ideal jobs, and professor involvement reveal different views into today's students. In the 21st century, students feel that promotional paths will typically involve lateral moves with rotation through several different jobs and geographic locations rather than the stereo-typical vertical promotions with long tenure at a particular firm (Gratton & Hope-Hailey, 1999). As for the length of expected employment in the first career position, the Canadian study of...
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