The Interaction of Attraction and Selection: Implications for College Recruitment and Schneider's ASA Model

Abstract

Les jeunes qui viennent d'obtenir leur premier diplôme universitaire ( Ӷ college ӷ ) constituent un potentiel important de candidats à l'embauche dans les grandes entreprises. Les responsables des organisations ont besoin de savoir en quoi les profils de ces futurs diplômés susceptibles d'être attirés et sélectionnés par l'organisation se différencient des profils de la population générale des candidats. Nous avons, dans cette recherche, étudié la relation existant entre les profils de 223 étudiants sur le point d'obtenir leur diplôme du Ӷ college ӷ et l'attirance pour une organisation, l'obtention d'un score satisfaisant à une procédure de sélection et l'interaction de ces deux variables. Les résultats montrent que ceux qui sont attirés par l'organisation diffèrent de ceux qui ne le sont pas. Ceux qui seraient retenus pour la poursuite du recrutement sont différents de ceux qui seraient éliminés. Mais l'interaction de l'attirance et de la sélection n'est en rapport avec aucune des differences individuelles. En outre, l'attirance et la sélection n'interagissent pour réduire la variance sur aucune des variables de différences individuelles. Ces résultats ouvrent une nouvelle perspective sur les conséquences modélisées dans le schéma Attirance-Sélection-Elimination de We are grateful to William Balzer, John Callender, and Charlie Reeve for their helpful comments and suggestions on previous drafts of this article. We also thank Amanda Julian and Derek Steinbrenner for their assistance with data collection, entry, and analysis. 420 SLAUGHTER ET AL. © International Association for Applied Psychology, 2005. B. Schneider (1987). On discute enfin des implications de notre recherche pour ce modèle et pour le recrutement des étudiants de Ӷ college ӷ .New college graduates are an important source of hires in large firms. Of interest to organisational decision makers are how the individual-difference profiles of soon-to-be college graduates that are likely to be attracted to, and selected by, the organisation compare with the profiles of the overall applicant population. In this research, we investigated how self-reported attraction to an organisation, achievement of a passing score on an organisation's screening device, and the interaction of these two variables related to the individual-difference profiles of 223 senior-level college undergraduates. Results indicated that those who were attracted to the organisation differed from those who were not attracted. Those who would be screened in for further selection by the organisation differed from those who would be rejected. However, the interaction of attraction and screening was unrelated to any of the individual differences. Moreover, attraction and screening did not interact to restrict variance on any of the individual-difference variables. These results provide a new perspective on the effects hypothesised in B. Schneider's (1987) Attraction-Selection-Attrition model. Implications for this model and for recruiting from the college student population are discussed.

An assessment of attraction toward affirmative action organizations: investigating the role of individual differences

“…Scholars have repeatedly called for more research addressing the first phase of recruitment (Anderson, 2001;Barber, 1998;Breaugh & Starke, 2000;Highhouse & Hoffman, 2001;Rynes, 1991), characterized by job seekers' gathering information from a variety of organizations and limited personal contact with organizational representatives. These early stages are important because the information included in recruitment materials influences job seekers' initial organizational attractiveness perceptions and thus the characteristics of those composing the applicant pool (Slaughter, Stanton, Mohr, & Schoel, 2005;Taylor & Collins, 2000;Turban & Cable, 2003). One organizational characteristic that is often communicated in recruitment material and may influence initial perceptions is an organization's affirmative action program (AAP) (Cox, 1991;James, Brief, Dietz, & Cohen, 2001;Thomas, 1991;Williams & Bauer, 1994).…”

Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods

“…Particularly in large organisations, hiring graduates has become an annual cycle and a core component of HR strategy (Slaughter, Stanton, Mohr & Schoel, 2005). From an organisational perspective there are many advantages to hiring graduate employees.…”

Empathy and psychopathic traits as predictors of selection into business or psychology disciplines

“…Vocational personality theories such as the attraction, selection, and attrition (ASA) model (Schneider, ) posit that individuals will actively self‐select their environments, such as study and vocational pathways based on their personality traits and values. The initial attraction phase of the ASA model highlights that people's preferences for particular organisations tends to be based primarily on unconscious estimates of the resemblance between self (i.e., personality traits) and the organisation's culture (Slaughter, Stanton, Mohr, & Schoel, ). Organisations conduct both formal and informal selection processes in order to ensure they hire individuals who are of good “fit” to their organisational culture, making up the selection aspect of the ASA model (Slaughter et al, ).…”