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Introduction
With some regional differences, employment levels in many developed economies are very high, and competition for skilled staff is intense. Competitive labour markets aside, competition for employees is likely to become an increasingly important issue as the population worldwide ages (Wilden, Gudergan, & Lings, 2010). Employer branding has gained favour as a management tool over the last decade. Even as firms face global economic conditions that are both difficult to forecast and subject to extreme variance, the need to attract, retain and motivate staff remains (Moroko & Uncles, 2009).
Attracting potential candidates is an important issue in the recruitment process. Organizations need to attain differentiation and become more competitive in attracting talented (Egerová, Lan?ari?, Eger, & Savov, 2015) and especially young people through employer branding (EB) initiatives. Understanding what attracts talented recruits to a company may provide important insights for human resources managers (Alniacik, Alniacik, Erat, & Akcin, 2014). Examining the attributes of employer brand is relevant for practitioners and researchers.
Attractiveness is revealed when young people seek the opportunity to participate in the selection process at a specific company.
This study seeks to gain an understanding of symbolic factors related to prospective applicants' initial attraction to a company as a place to work. First, we investigate how young people, business students in their final year at university, assess the personality traits of an ideal employer.
Second, we examine how these respondents use internet and especially company recruitment websites and company social media to gain information about their future employer.
1. Employer Branding
Brands are among a firm's most valuable assets and as a result brand management is a key activity in many firms. The application of branding principles to human resources management has been termed "employer branding". Employer branding represents a firm's efforts to promote, both within and outside the firm, a clear view of what makes it different and desirable as an employer (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004).
The concept of employer branding has recently become a prominent topic in the human resources management field (Alniacik et al., 2014). The term "employer brand" was first conceptualized by Ambler and Barrow (1996) in their pioneering paper. The concept of employer branding has emerged as a result of the application of marketing principles to human...