Which Students Become and Stay a Salesperson? Longitudinal Evidence From an Undergraduate Cohort Post Graduation

Abstract

This study follows a cohort of business students for more than 5 years after their first collegiate exposure to sales education. We investigate whether student intent to pursue a sales career carries through to post-graduation employment. Following 396 students surveyed a week after their first exposure to sales via an introduction to marketing class lecture, we show that students’ self-declared interest in a sales career, as reported on the Intent to Pursue Sales Careers (ITPSC) scale, predicts their first job after college. Taking a sales curriculum during college more than doubles the likelihood of ending up and remaining in a sales role after graduation; however, this effect is explained by students’ early intent. Specifically, 2.6 years after initial data collection, ITPSC scores predict first-role post-college employment in both frontline employee and sales roles, overpowering the explanatory effect of sales curriculum enrollment. Moreover, even 2.9 years after graduation and 5.1 years after the first measurement, the ITPSC score continues to predict whether young professionals are in selling or frontline roles.