Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of experience abroad, academic success and university reputation on students' employability in the Lebanese labor market. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a between-subject design to identify whether academic success, university reputation and experience abroad have an impact on how potential recruiters (i.e. employers) are perceiving student employability. The study uses 16 fictitious applications of business graduates, which differed in grade-point average, university reputation and experience abroad, rated by 784 Lebanese professionals. Findings: The results suggest that high-performing students with experience abroad and high-performing students from a reputable university are perceived to be more employable. For low-performing students, having completed an experience abroad results in a lower reward in terms of employability. Research limitations/implications: The present study offers an analysis of students' employability through employers' lens; it offers insights for students on how to be perceived as more employable in a context where competition among future workers is fierce. Practical implications: The results of this research provide a roadmap for graduates for enhancing their employability in Lebanese markets and offer actionable insights to employers. Originality/value: The most original contribution of this study is the analysis of university reputation impact on the likelihood of receiving positive feedback during the evaluation process. The impact of two Lebanese universities, one ranked in the QS ranking and one not, was investigated. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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