Heterogeneous effects of graduates’ international mobility on employers’ hiring intentions—experimental evidence from Germany

Abstract

International student mobility (ISM) is considered increasingly important for professional careers. Referring to theories of human capital and job market signalling, we assume that different forms of ISM experience can serve as signals for general, specific and transnational human capital. To test this idea, we use a factorial survey experiment to investigate the weights HR managers of German employers allocate to ISM experience in hiring decisions, both generally and conditionally to other characteristics of the application. A screening situation was simulated by randomly presenting hypothetical applicants, thereby systematically varying ISM experience (no experience, private sojourn, studying abroad, internship abroad) and other graduates' characteristics ascribed and achieved. In contrast to the usual graduate and employer surveys, the experimental approach allows us to investigate employers' evaluations directly while capturing problems of endogeneity. Results show that while an internship abroad is more rewarded by employers than studying abroad or a private sojourn, good grades and occupation-specific professional experience are still the most important. Though the effects of ISM experience are partly independent of those of other characteristics, graduates with migration background and those with a master's degree benefit less from ISM experience. Moreover, ISM experience is more rewarded by employers who operate in international contexts. Overall, the analysis uncovers a heterogeneous signalling power of ISM experience, conditional to different types of human capital and to characteristics of applicants and employers.

Does the effect of studying abroad on labour income vary by graduates’ social origin? Evidence from Germany

“…Studying abroad can positively influence students' personality development (Zimmermann and Neyer 2013;Zimmermann et al 2020), transversal skills (Pinto 2020;Roy et al 2019;Sorrenti 2017), and labour market outcomes (Iriondo 2020;Jacob et al 2019;Kratz and Netz 2018;Liwiński 2019a;Petzold 2020;Waibel et al 2017Waibel et al , 2018. In this context, various scholars have pointed out that the likelihood of getting access to the possible benefits of studying abroad varies notably across student groups (for an overview, see Netz et al 2020).…”

Who benefits most from studying abroad? A conceptual and empirical overview

“…Similarly, the effect of studying abroad on the risk of unemployment and skills mismatch does not vary significantly depending on whether graduates have a migration background in Norway. However, graduates with a migration background seem to benefit slightly less from study periods and private stays abroad regarding the propensity of being hired in Germany (Petzold, 2020). In summary, existing evidence on heterogeneous effects of studying abroad depending on socio-demographics is thus mixed.…”

“…It also emphasises that specific groups of students may build up cumulative advantages or disadvantages over their life course due to (even minor) heterogeneous effects of studying abroad (Zimmermann et al, 2020). The life course perspective also stresses the importance of other aspects of temporality: Although further research is needed in this respect, there is evidence that the timing of a stay abroad matters (Petzold, 2020;Van Mol et al, 2020). Moreover, the effect of studying abroad seems to vary over graduates' careers: Country differences notwithstanding, the labour market effects of studying abroad-especially with regard to labour income-seem to be more pronounced a few years after graduation than shortly thereafter (d 'Hombres & Schnepf, 2021;Netz & Grüttner, 2020;Van Mol et al, 2020;Wiers-Jenssen & Støren, 2020).…”

“…For instance, gains in multicultural effectiveness are particularly notable among students without previous sojourns abroad (Zimmermann et al, 2020). Also, graduates who can signal transnational human capital in other ways are less likely to benefit from studying abroad in terms of their probability of being hired (Petzold, 2020).…”

Program Specific Effects of a Semester Abroad on the Likelihood of Pursuing a PhD

“…In line with existing studies addressing the outcomes of student mobility (e.g., Messer & Wolter, 2007;Petzold, 2020;Van Mol, Caarls, & Souto-Otero, 2020), the present study is based on human capital theory (Becker, 1964). According to human capital theory, utility maximizing individuals invest into their skills with the aim to increase their human capital.…”