The vignettes method for evaluating the social skills recruiters expect

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study proposes a way of evaluating the importance recruiters ascribe to certain social skills. In an increasingly competitive recruitment setting, the qualities employers seek are often psychological and relational and not always associated with applicant’s actual education and training. If skills of this kind are to be enhanced in order to gain entry into the world of work, then the question arises as to how they are developed in the course of education. With this in view, the vignettes method, which is still little used in France, involves asking recruiters to assess fictitious CVs indicating certain characteristics of young higher-education graduates and in particular certain social skills. This paper runs through the stages of compiling effective vignettes. The contributions and limitations of this method are set out and discussed in light of the results obtained.