Recent college graduates still prefer traditional job search methods like job boards and career fairs over social media platforms. A study of 50 recent graduates found most found jobs through online postings and referrals, with few using LinkedIn. While companies have strong social media presences, graduates don't extensively follow them and aren't strongly influenced by brand awareness. Graduates care most about growth potential, pay and hours in a first job rather than understanding a company's values.

1. Help Wanted: How Social Media and
Employment Branding Impact Recent
College Graduates
CANDICE CRANE
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DR. CLEMONS, ED. D.

2. Abstract
Baby Boomers are retiring at a faster rate and are often replaced by Millennials who have
different values, perceptions and environmental preferences than the preceding generations.
Organizations are increasingly adapting their recruiting strategies to target this younger
audience.
This study examines the impact social media and employment branding have on the job search
and selection process of recent college graduates.
A quantitative analysis was performed on a sample of recent college graduates (N=50) to
determine how tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are used in comparison to
traditional job search methods. An additional analysis was performed to determine how
employment brand and employee value propositions impacted the job search and selection
process

3. Introduction
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of this study was to determine
the impact social media and employment
branding have on recent college graduates.
The study focused on what tools were used
during the job search and selection process
and investigated how brand awareness and
employee value proposition impacted
company attractiveness.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
RQ1: How do recent college graduates use
social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and
LinkedIn to identify opportunities?
RQ2: How are recent college graduates
influenced by a company’s employment brand
when looking to join an organization?

4. Literature Review: Millennials
A 2013 study showed no significant differences between Generation X and Generation Y
regarding job search self-efficacy, job search methods and ideal job. They further determined
there is not a significant difference in generational brand awareness (Kolesnicov, 2014).
The researcher suggested companies should invest in their brand in order to attract candidates of all
ages.
A 2012 study to determine the predictors of organizational attraction for Millennials found that
work-life balance content on websites along with website user ability increased Millennial
attraction (Ehrhart, Mayer, & Ziegert, 2012).
The researches of this study speculate the reason for the increased attraction is due to Millennial’s
ability to decipher information quickly and infer an appreciation for a company’s commitment to
technology.

5. Literature Review: Social Media
Although social media has changed the landscape of networking and connectivity, many social
media sites are being underutilized in college and professional recruiting (Peterson-Withorn,
2014).
According to a 2014 Human Capital Media Advisory Group talent acquisition survey, 78.3% of
companies use LinkedIn while only 25.5% use Twitter and 38.6% use Facebook (Mihelich, 2014,
para. 14).
A 2011 study of 34 recruitment experts in France determined that although social media is not
a point where it can replace other e-recruitment tools such as career websites and job boards,
many experts consider it a more dynamic and stronger relational tool (Girad et al., 2014).

6. Literature Review: Employment Branding
An employment brand is defined as the way an organization’s prospective applicants,
candidates, and employees perceive the organization as an employer (Employment Branding,
n.d., para. 1).
A 2014 study found that employee testimonials on independent websites, forums and online
communities have a greater impact on potential applicants than company websites (Kaur &
Dubey, 2014).
The same study found that job seeker’s assessment of the organizational image begins at an early stage
much before they actually come into direct contact with the company.
Collins & Stevens (2002) found that exposure to early recruitment activities was positively
related to job seekers attitudes and perceived attributes. Further, these elements of brand
image were significantly related to application intentions and actual decisions (p. 1132).

7. Results- Literature Review
A 2012 study to determine the predictors of organizational attraction for Millennials found that
work-life balance content on websites along with website user ability increased Millennial attraction
(Ehrhart, Mayer, & Ziegert, 2012).
The researches of this study speculate the reason for the increased attraction is due to Millennial’s ability to
decipher information quickly and infer an appreciation for a company’s commitment to technology.
A recent study by Kolesnicov (2014) “provides empirical evidence to support the importance
companies should attribute to a differentiated employer brand communication based on generational
differences” (p. 6).
Other studies have shown that social media is considered an essential strategy or at least ‘very
useful’ in part because of the creation of online communities and the company’s ability to develop a
“conversational” employment brand (Girad et al., 2014, p. 15).
No study has focused specifically on the impact social media and employment have on recent
college graduates of the Millennial generation.

8. Methodology and Procedure
METHODS
The research design used a quantitative method
which analyzed data collected from a survey
completed by fifty participants who graduated
college in the years 2013, 2014 or 2015.
The purpose of this design was to measure which
employment resources were used most and least
often by recent college graduates and what impact
company branding had on their decision to join a
company.
PROCEDURE
Convenience sampling was used to collect survey
data from recent college graduates in the following
ways:
o Researchers personal Facebook page
o LinkedIn Blog authored by the researcher
A purposive sampling method was used to solicit
participants who met this criteria on LinkedIn:
o <1 year: experience/ years in position/ years at
company
o Seniority = Entry
o School = University of Wisconsin-Madison OR Mercer
University
o Within 500 mi of 53406 AND 100 mi of 30329

9. Results – Social Media
Q1. How did you find your first job out of school?
Answer Options
Response
Percent
Response
Count
School career fair 8.3% 4
Community career fair 0.0% 0
On-line job posting 41.7% 20
Facebook 0.0% 0
Twitter 0.0% 0
LinkedIn 8.3% 4
Referral 30.6% 15
Previous internship 12.5% 6
 93.1% of the respondents
found their job through
traditional methods
 Only 8.3% found their job
through social media
 The only social media tool
used was LinkedIn
Conclusions

10. Results - Social Media
8.73
7.5
7.43
7.29
6.20
5.82
5.35
5.35
4.55
4.27
3.65
On-line job posting
Networking
Referrals
School career fair
LinkedIn
Industry/company reputation
Professor recommendations
Lists of best companies to work for
Community career fair
Facebook
Twitter
Rank from most to least the tools you utilized when looking for your first job out of school

11. Results- Social Media
When the respondents were asked if their company had a strong social media presence, 62.0%
said yes however only 36.7% said they followed their company on social media prior to joining the
company.
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Other (please
explain)
If you answered Yes to the previous
question, which platform did you follow them
on? The respondents that did follow their
company on social media prior to
beginning their employment were split
almost evenly between the following three
platforms: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

12. Research Question 1
RQ1: How do recent college graduates use social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
to identify opportunities?
Results of the data show that recent graduates prefer traditional methods such as job boards,
networking, referrals, and school career fairs over social media platforms such as LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter.
This coupled with a very small percent of recent graduates stating they found their job on
social media (8.3% on LinkedIn), suggest that recent graduates are still relying on traditional job
search tools rather than social media.
The findings also suggest there is no significant preference of social media tools. LinkedIn,
Facebook and Twitter, when used, were leveraged almost equally during the job search and
selection process.

13. Results- Employment Branding
When was the first time you heard of the company you
ended up working for immediately after college?
Answer Options
Response
Percent
Response
Count
For as long as I can remember 32.0% 16
At some point prior to graduation 22.0% 11
Only during my job search 46.0% 23
 Only 32% of respondents
were familiar with their
company prior to college
 68% of respondents only
recently became familiar
with their organization
with the majority learning
about the company only
during the job search
Conclusions

14. Results- Employment Branding
20%
40%
40%
What significance did the strength of a company’s brand
have on your decision to pursue them as an employer?
Very significant- I only
wanted to work for
companies that are well
known
Somewhat significant- I was
more attracted to well
recognized companies, but I
considered companies that
were less well known
Not significant- I didn’t care if
I had heard of the company
or not. If I liked the
opportunity I would pursue it
 Only 20% of the
respondents stated the
strength of the company’s
brand played a significant
role in pursuing them as a
future employer
 The remaining 80% were
split evenly between
somewhat significant and
significant
Conclusions

15. Results- Employment Branding
30%
54%
10%
6%
How would you rate your understanding of your first company’s Employer
Value Proposition (EVP) at the time of hire? The EVP includes why this is a
good company to work for and what the company believes in.
Very clear at hire- I knew exactly
why this was the company I wanted
to work for
Somewhat clear at hire- The
company was attractive in certain
ways but I learned a lot about the
company once I joined
Not very clear at hire- The company
did not do a very good job identifying
who they were but I liked the job
description or the person that hired
me
I had no idea what the company was
about before I joined. I needed a job
and the pay was competitive
 Only 30% of the
respondents stated the
EVP was very clear at time
of hire
 10% did not know what
the company was about
before they joined
Conclusions

16. Results- Employment Branding
4.16
4.59
4.08
5.04
3.98
2.43
3.71
Hours
Pay
Benefits
Growth potential
Company stability
Community service orientation
Industry
What is/was most attractive to you about your first employer out of school?

17. Research Question 2
RQ2: How are recent college graduates influenced by a company’s employment brand when
looking to join an organization?
Results of the data show recent graduates are open to exploring companies they have never
heard of and are willing to join a company even if the employer’s value proposition is not
entirely clear at time of hire or if the company’s values do not exactly match with the recent
graduate.
Furthermore, the results indicate that growth potential, pay and hours are the most important
attributes or factors for recent college graduates of the millennial generation.

18. Discussion
This study shows that Millennials, although adept in social media, prefer using traditional job
tools over social media during their job search and selection process.
Recent college graduates do not appear to be attracted to an organization based on their social
media presence as the majority of the study participants did not follow their company on a
social media platform prior to joining the organization.
The professional network site LinkedIn is not significantly favored over more traditional social
media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
The strength of the company’s brand does not play a significant role in determining
attractiveness.
Recent college graduates are attracted to growth potential, pay and hours. Other
organizational attributes such as the Employers Value Proposition (EVP) were considered
however total clarity regarding the EVP did not need to be achieved prior to accepting an offer.

19. Questions?
Contact Info:
Candice Crane
candicecrane06@gmail.com

20. Kolesnicov, I. (2014). Employer Branding Through Social Media In the Generation Y Context (Doctoral dissertation,
Aarhus University). Retrieved from
http://pure.au.dk/portal/files/82370237/Thesis_Proposal_Employer_Branding_Through_Social_Media_In_the_G
eneration_Y_Context_Iulia_Kolesnicov.pdf
Mihelich, M. (2014). E-Recruiting: Dead and alive. Workforce, 93(5). Retrieved from www.galileo.usg.edu
Peterson-Withorn, C. (2014, July 7). Virtual reality and the brave new world of college recruiting. Forbes.com, 20.
Retrieved from http://www.galileo.usg.edu/
References

21. Ehrhart, K. H., Mayer, D. M., & Ziegert, J. C. (2012). Web-based recruitment in the millennial generation: Work-life
balance, website userbility, and organization attraction. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology,
21, 850-874. Retrieved from www.galileo.usg.edu
Girad, A., Fallery, B., & Rodhain, F. (2014). Integration of social media in recruitment: A delphi study. HAL archives-
ouvertes. Retrieved from www.galileo.usg.edu/
References