The article is theoretical-empirical in character. For the preparation of the theoretical part the method of cognitive-critical analysis of literature on the subject from the area of marketing and management was used. On the basis of the results of this analysis it is possible to conclude that there is a cognitive and research gap with regard to the identification of the reasons for the lack of interest in the university as an employer. For the purpose of reducing these gaps, five research goals and a hypothesis were formulated. The hypothesis says that gender is a feature differentiating the reasons for the lack of will to start working at a university. For the purpose of achieving these targets and checking the research hypothesis empirical research was conducted. In course of the empirical research the method of questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data. The survey covered the representatives of the group of young, Polish, potential employees. The collected primary data was processed by means of statistical analysis and Kruskal-Willis test. The results of this analysis suggest that the respondents followed mainly negative associations with universities, relying on their own experiences and on external opinions. It turned out that gender was a differentiating feature to a statistically significant extent only in case of one reason, namely, the will to use knowledge acquired during studies in a workplace other than a university.