Effect of Degree Characteristics on Hiring Outcomes for I-O Psychologists

Online I-O graduate education: Where are we and where should we go?

“…The study most relevant to SIOP members is Rechlin and Kraiger's (2012) survey of 23 I-O psychologists employed in consulting firms and directly responsible for hiring other I-O psychologists. Respondents were provided brief descriptions of eight fictitious candidates who varied on three factors: degree from an online versus traditional university, a master's degree versus a PhD, and completion of an internship during their degree program.…”

“…However, online programs are less likely to require a preliminary exam and much less likely to require a supervised internship. Recall that Rechlin and Kraiger (2012) found that, independent of program mode, employers preferred graduates with internship experience. Thus, one way for online master's programs to produce graduates who are more competitive with those from face-to-face programs is to take strides to provide an internship or other applied developmental experience for their students.…”

The overlooked role of concurrent employment in online graduate education in industrial-organizational psychology

“…In this vein, we contest that internship experience may not be as important in the context of online graduate programs, particularly those that are applied in focus, to the extent that students are already employed full time. The focal article points out that many organizations prefer hiring students with internship experience; however, it is not clear whether this accounts for students who are currently full-time employees (Rechlin & Kraiger, 2012). Graduate students who are full-time employees may already have opportunities to implement, practice, or suggest many of the I-O practices they are learning in their coursework (Rowe, 2018).…”

“…Although university programs do not have the power to combat industry biases that favor internships and in-person programs over online or hybrid programs (Rechlin & Kraiger, 2012), steps can be taken to improve online graduate student employability. University programs can work with students to find jobs that match their skill sets and communicate the many career options available to them (government, industry, external consulting, entrepreneurship, etc.).…”

Work experience, the scientist-practitioner model, and cooperative education.

“…A more recent study by Rechlin and Kraiger (2012) asked 23 I-O psychologists working in consulting firms and responsible for hiring other I-O psychologists to assess paper applicants differing on three factors: degree level, online program, and completion of an internship. Whereas all three factors were significant, of interest here is the finding with the internship factor.…”