Matching - A mixed study on how companies and business students perceive each other

Abstract: Every year many students are graduating from their university and are faced with the difficulty of acquiring an employment, especially large difficulty in Sweden as the unemployment rate is large amongst young adults. The companies are also facing a challenge, of how to receive the best applicants to their job openings, to ensure they will stay competitive as companies. The authors are examining how the students will acquire employment by investigating what demands companies have on applicants and employees at their companies, and what demands the students in Umeå believe the companies have. It is also examined how the companies are marketing themselves to future employees and students and how these marketing efforts are perceived by the students. The theories of interest to examine the research questions mentioned concern employer branding, marketing tools and planned behaviour. This thesis is using a mixed method approach. In the qualitative part of the thesis the authors used semi-structured interviews that were conducted with companies within the business sector in the municipality of Umeå. A survey in the form of a self-completion questionnaire was used in the quantitative part to measure the perception of Umeå University’s business program students. The result showed that the companies valued experience within their field and personality traits highest. The students had a good understanding of what demands the companies had on their employees and felt that they could fulfil most demands, however having experience within the field the company operates within was most difficult. Most companies used marketing tools such as attending recruitment fairs, holding lectures or engaging in student run organisations. The students did like these techniques the best, i.e. marketing through the university and through recruitment fairs, however, did not appreciate marketing through advertisement. The students value the opportunity to talk to current staff at a company and therefore like recruitment fairs and activities that are organized by the university. The main recommendation is that the students should get more work experience and the companies need to make it easier for the students to achieve this, hence, it will enable the students to fulfil more criterions companies have on their employees.