Job-seeking narratives: in search of graduate capitals acquired during student placements

Being a graduate is no longer sufficient to secure a fulfilling and rewarding graduate role. This paper drew on Tomlinson's Graduate Capital Model to analyse the job-seeking narratives of recent computing graduates searching for a graduate job. Participants (n = 38), drawn from a national place...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of sociology of education 2024-04, Vol.45 (3), p.402-419
Main Authors: Smith, Sally, Smith, C. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College graduates
Cultural capital
employability
graduate attributes
Graduate capitals
Graduate studies
Human capital
Identity
Job hunting
job-seeking
Narratives
student narratives
student placement
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Summary:Being a graduate is no longer sufficient to secure a fulfilling and rewarding graduate role. This paper drew on Tomlinson's Graduate Capital Model to analyse the job-seeking narratives of recent computing graduates searching for a graduate job. Participants (n = 38), drawn from a national placement programme, were interviewed up to 12 months after they had graduated. Narrative interviews were analysed using the five graduate capitals of the Model, providing empirical evidence of the acquisition and application of graduate capitals, in particular through experiences of student work placements. The study found strong claims of human and cultural capital, arising from placement experience, while social and identity capital acquisition was found, but to a lesser extent. Fragile psychological and identity capitals were eroded by multiple unsuccessful job applications. This work empirically tested the Graduate Capital Model, contributing to understanding of capitals and their interplay.
ISSN:0142-5692
1465-3346
DOI:10.1080/01425692.2024.2328125