LinkedIn as a data source to rank universities according to graduate’s employability in top companies

Abstract The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of ranking universities considering the number of its graduates employed in top companies (selective employability), as mapped through LinkedIn. To achieve this, we analyzed the presence of 3,716,720 graduates from eighty Spanish universities hired by the Iberian Index companies, considering the percentages of graduates from each university working in those companies. The index obtained presents a short statistical range to correctly discriminate all universities. Moreover, the selective employability indicator is influenced by the distance between universities and companies (i.e., companies attract graduates from universities near their headquarters). This issue jeopardizes the use of this metric as a standalone ranking indicator. Finally, LinkedIn shows several limitations as a data source (mainly representativeness, reliability, and accuracy).