A Fresh Look at the Interplay of Work Goals, Work Attributes and Graduates’ Intention to Apply for a Job

Abstract

University graduates are a favorable source of human capital but due to changing dynamics of the external environment and growing uncertainties, managers of both public and private sector find it difficult to attract, recruit and retain competent graduates. Therefore there is a need to study work goals and work attributes of a new generation of workforce. To fill this void, the present study aims to explore the effect of work goals and work attributes on graduates’ intention to apply for the job. To this end, we involved (n = 270) university graduates from Pakistan and the data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0. Results show that the majority of university graduates intend to join public sector organizations upon their graduation. Our findings further indicate that work goals influence university graduates to apply for a job at different types of organizations. Finally, we discuss the limitations, future research opportunities, and implications for theory and practice in depth.