A Survey of Athletic Training Employers' Hiring Criteria

OBJECTIVE: To identify athletic training employers' hiring criteria and to determine if the importance of individual hiring criteria vary by setting. DESIGN AND SETTING: The Athletic Training Employer Needs Assessment Survey was mailed to athletic training employers advertising in the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) placement vacancy notice between October 1996 and October 1998. SUBJECTS: A total of 111 athletic training employers in NATA Districts 7, 8, and 10 were surveyed. MEASUREMENTS: Employers rated the importance of hiring criteria on a 7-point Likert scale. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each criterion and compared these values to ascertain the importance of individual criteria. A principal component analysis was done to determine the underlying factors. RESULTS: Hiring characteristics can be divided into 4 factors that include highly related criteria: (1) personal characteristics, (2) educational experience, (3) professional experience, and (4) work-related attributes. In addition, the hiring characteristics desired by employers varied among athletic training settings. CONCLUSIONS: When interviewing and presenting themselves for entry-level positions, athletic trainers should pay particular attention to the attributes within the 4 hiring criteria factors. Also, the desired hiring criteria of athletic training employers differed by setting. Applicants need to pay particular attention to these hiring criteria differences when constructing résumés, cover letters, and professional correspondence and when interviewing with prospective employers.