What do student jobs on graduate CVs signal to employers?
•In line with previous studies finding a positive relation between student employment and labour market outcomes, we find that student work increases both the probability of being invited for a job interview and the probability of being hired for the job.•Including a student job on one's résumé...
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| Published in: | Economics of education review Vol. 75; p. 101979 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier Ltd
01-04-2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | •In line with previous studies finding a positive relation between student employment and labour market outcomes, we find that student work increases both the probability of being invited for a job interview and the probability of being hired for the job.•Including a student job on one's résumé always signals a better work attitude, a larger sense of responsibility, more maturity, an increased motivation, and a larger social capital.•On the other hand, we find that student employment does not signal more knowledge, and especially not when this student employment was performed during the academic year.•Moreover, only student work in line with one's field of study is a positive signal of increased skills and trainability.
Due to the prevalence and important consequences of student work, the topic has seen an increased interest in the literature. However, to date the focus has been solely on measuring the effect of student employment on later labour market outcomes, relying on signalling theory to explain the observed effects. In the current study, we go beyond measuring the effect of student work and we examine for the first time what exactly is being signalled by student employment. We do this by means of a vignette experiment in which we ask 242 employers to evaluate a set of five fictitious profiles. Whereas all types of student work signal a better work attitude, a larger social network, a greater sense of responsibility, an increased motivation, and more maturity, only student employment in line with a job candidate's field of study is a signal of increased human capital and increased trainability. |
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| ISSN: | 0272-7757 1873-7382 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101979 |