Encouraging students to draw on work experiences when articulating achievements and capabilities to enhance employability

Abstract

Employability drives higher education policy yet despite the investment in developing "rounded" graduates, students experience difficulties in articulating their achievements and capabilities during graduate recruitment. The purpose of this research was to trial and evaluate a career development intervention aimed at drawing on work experiences when applying for graduate roles. Students (N = 136) from two contrasting disciplines, Business and Physiotherapy, and two institutions participated in a two-staged intervention. A focus group was also conducted with career advisors (N = 9) to examine student engagement with career development learning. Findings indicated that students were confident in their ability to draw on relevant work experience in job applications and showed low levels of engagement in the intervention due to time constraints from their study commitments. Despite the varied contexts of the degree programs investigated, similarities in engagement and student feedback were noted. Factors contributing to weak engagement in career provision along with strategies for improvement are presented.

Lean in? The role of single sex schools in the gendering of confidence in high school adolescents

“…Despite indications of self-esteem and self-efficacy concepts overlapping (Judge et al., 2002), they are distinct and hence we recommend that a life-span study of general and social self-efficacy should be undertaken and compared with studies into self-esteem across the lifetime. As others note in studies of careers, self-efficacy and confidence (Das et al., 2014; Jackson & Edgar, 2019), there is also the issue of self-reporting of data.…”

Leadership style and psychological contract

“…Given the amount of time spent in the work environment, meaningfulness in work is an important aspect of working life (Rothmann & Welsh, 2013), and indicative of a more transactional perspective on the psychological contract. Moreover, according to Jackson and Edgar (2019), in the current work context there has been a shift from a relational employment relationship premised on loyalty and respect to a transactional employment relationship focused on an economic exchange.…”

Integrating career development into an undergraduate IT curriculum at an Australian University

“…Numerous authors define internship as an integral component of a student’s time at university as it provides an opportunity to prepare for the working world (Australian Government, 2016 ; Jackson, 2015 ; Jackson & Collings, 2018 ; Koppi et al, 2010 ; Lucas et al, 2009 ; McIlveen et al, 2011 ). Jackson and Edgar ( 2019 ) found that students are not confident at drawing on their internship experience to assist in applying for graduate roles, demonstrating the need for internship as a part of an integrated suite of activities to assist career development.…”

“…During their time at university, students need to identify and prepare for their chosen career path by navigating through a variety of experiences that align with their personal career goals. To do this students need to be able to manage their own career development, however Jackson and Edgar ( 2019 ) found that student engagement with career services and interventions during their time at university can often be poor. While a variety of career development models exist in the literature (Bandura, 1986 ; Crites, 1973 ; Farmer, 1985 ; Hackett & Betz, 1981 ; Holland, 1985 ; Lent et al, 1994 ; Parsons, 1909 ; Super, 1980 ), their application within the university curriculum is often varied (Watts, 2005 ).…”