The Research-Practice gap in Australian graduate selection: a bridge too far?

The selection process is at the sharp end of human resources which determines those who are going to work together to achieve the organisation's objectives. There is competition for and shortages of talented employees which is important to graduate selection. Additionally, there has been research into the gap between academic research and the human resources practices adopted by organisations: the largest gap being in recruitment and selection. Despite this, there is limited Australian research in selection techniques with a quantitative research focus. This paper provides results of preliminary qualitative research into the current Australian graduate selection practices, the reasons for the choice of practices and comments about which practices are more indicative of graduate employee performance.