Employer requirements and employability mindsets influencing graduate workers’ self-confidence in gaining employment

Ingrid L. Potgieter,Nadia Ferreira,Melinde Coetzee

doi:10.4102/ajcd.v1i1.4

Abstract

Background: Little is known about when (under which mindset conditions) graduate workers’ self-confidence in gaining employment increases.Objective: The current study explored the interaction effects between employers’ importance attached to graduate workers’ graduateness and employability qualities, and graduate workers’ mindsets of marketability, entrepreneurial orientation and networking or job search orientation in predicting their self-confidence in gaining employment.Method: The study was exploratory and cross-sectional in nature, involving (N = 153) predominantly black African (71%) graduate-level workers employed in the South African services industry.Results: Hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed significant moderation effects on the mindsets of entrepreneurial orientation and marketability.Conclusion: The findings added new insights to the employability research literature by introducing the influencing role of the prospective employee’s own mindset in raising intrinsic self-confidence in gaining employment, while also triggering extrinsic self-confidence in employability in the link with employers’ requirements for graduateness and employability qualities.

Highlights

Little is known about when graduate workers’ self-confidence in gaining employment increases
Adult workers increasingly regard employers’ perceptions of their graduateness and employability qualities as important factors to consider for their sustainable participation in the labour market
We explore the interaction effects between two employer variables, and three individual employability mindset conditions as moderating variables in predicting higher levels of self-confidence in gaining employment

Summary

Introduction

Little is known about when (under which mindset conditions) graduate workers’ self-confidence in gaining employment increases. Adult workers have come to understand that there is neither career stability nor a promise of future employment They have come to realise that their ability to craft a meaningful livelihood relies on their ability to confidently grow and develop, and adapt and adjust to an ever-changing labour and work environment (Baruch, 2017). According to Clarke (2018), working adults have become more concerned about sustainable employability themselves It appears that the effects of the labour market’s inconsistency and competitiveness have been compounded by greater levels of job insecurity. These conditions seemed to have weakened working adults’ confidence in terms of finding a job or employment (Clarke, 2018). More knowledge is needed about the mindset conditions that may contribute to an individuals’ selfconfidence in gaining employment (Beaumont et al, 2016)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion