Career resources and securing quality work: graduate perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT Empowering graduates to secure quality post-graduation employment is a key goal for higher education institutions and their students. University support in developing career resources may aid transition to work by enhancing social support and networks, fostering a strong sense of professional self, promoting career self-management, and instilling career confidence. Yet there lacks empirical understanding of these resources and the role they play, including how they interrelate, how they vary by personal characteristics, and how they are developed. This study examines how graduates fare in the labour market, characterises their career resources, and explores the relationship between career resources and graduate-level employment. These insights will contribute to theoretical understanding of building employability and inform effective employability programmes in higher education. The mixed-method approach encompasses an online survey of 324 bachelor graduates of Australian universities, followed by focus groups to further explore participants’ experiences. Employed graduates felt that their work did not align adequately with their degree-based knowledge and skills. Those with greater career confidence, social support, and career self-management experienced better outcomes, with these resources showing strong interconnections. Universities should consider a multi-faceted approach in developing employability, addressing multiple dimensions of career resources from the beginning of students’ degrees.