Spotlight Online for Employment and Recruiting Professionals, September 15, 2010

Offering a high starting salary, plus great benefits? That may not be enough to help your organization woo its top candidates.  

Results of NACE’s 2010 Student Survey show that job location—specifically, the job’s proximity to the new grad’s family—plays a big role in determining whether a job offer is accepted or rejected. 

Economic uncertainty is most likely fueling the allure of a job close to home but doesn’t account for all of it. In fact, core to the character of the Millennial generation is the desire for security and stability, represented, in many cases, by family.  

That desire to work close to home cuts across gender and racial/ethnic lines, although men and Asian-American students are a bit more inclined to look beyond their home terrain than others. 

Interestingly, academic major does matter in terms of the importance of location: Graduates in the engineering fields were much more likely to look nationally for jobs (44 percent) than others, while education majors were most likely to look for jobs locally (68 percent). 

NACE’s 2010 Student Survey was conducted February 9, 2010, through April 30, 2010. More than 31,470 students representing more than 400 colleges and universities nationwide took part; more than 13,000 of those were graduating seniors. A final report on the study’s findings will be available in late September.