More and more employers are facing a shortage of suitable talented staff. An even higher challenge is getting candidates for a profession considered as shortage occupation. It is, therefore, decisive for organizations to present themselves as an attractive and reputable employer. Employer attractiveness and reputation play an important role in attracting new candidates and retaining existing employees in the organization. The purpose of the research was to discover the dimensions of employer attractiveness that are important for students of electrical engineering, how the dimensions of attractiveness are related to the reputation of the employer and the role of the two in the target group's intention to apply for a job. The electrical engineer is considered a shortage occupation in Slovenia. The research involved 187 final year electrical engineering students (138 men and 49 women) who were about to complete a university master's and undergraduate study programme and a post-graduate undergraduate programme. The sample included colleges and universities of electrical engineering in Ljubljana and Maribor. The participants completed a battery of the following scales: EmpAt scale (EmpAt scale; Berthon et al., 2005), Corporate Reputation scale (Turban et al., 1998), Intentions to Apply for a Job; Highhouse et al., 2003).
The results showed that the developmental and economic dimensions are crucial to electrical engineering students to apply for a job with a particular employer. In addition to the above-mentioned two dimensions, the participants also considered the interest, social and application dimensions as essential for perceiving the attractiveness of employer. Reputation was also most important in connection with the last two. The research provides results that can serve as guidelines for organizations to develop strategies for successful communication of the employer's brand and, consequently, to attract and employ electrical engineering students in their organizations.
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