Utilities may be measured directly by questionnaire or indirectly through the statistical analysis of choices individuals make among profiles of jobs or products. In the present research, 211 undergraduate students directly rated the importance to themselves of 10 factors such as location and starting salary thought to be relevant to students seeking their first full-time jobs. Participants also rated 32 hypothetical job profiles, from which indirect measures of job factor utilities were calculated. Finally, participants rated and ranked four additional job profiles. The present research suggested that both measures of utilities may predict job-choice behavior better than either measure used alone.
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