'Context' matters: factors considered by employers when selecting new graduate veterinarians

Abstract

Assisting students to develop employability attributes is considered a core responsibility of higher education institutions. While there are some common employability attributes across disciplines, there are also differences. Empirical research into employability from less-well represented disciplines, such as veterinary science, helps to broaden the current employability discourse. Using semi-structured interviews, and criterion sampling for maximal variation, this study explored factors employers consider when selecting new graduate veterinarians for employment. Eighteen employers were interviewed and data were analysed using thematic analysis within the context of an interpretivist, constructivist lens. Accounts were distilled into 20 sub-themes, or ‘selection factors’, and arranged into four interlinked themes: (1) personal attributes; (2) interpersonal skills; (3) veterinary capabilities; and (4) job match. This work illuminates the complexity of each selection factor including local influences, employer interpretations and ‘filter in’ and ‘filter out’ considerations. Findings emphasise the critical role that employer circumstances and needs can play in the selection of new graduate veterinarians, and the influence of perceptions of candidate job suitability and employee-workplace match. Our results resonate with existing employability literature, while highlighting some nuanced and previously underemphasised selection factors that may be of relevance beyond our discipline.