Work-integrated learning (WIL) students are exposed to a range of stressors that can impact wellbeing. However, there is a paucity of research exploring stress prior to the work experience, such as in the job search and application process. To address this issue, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 undergraduate first-year…

This study aimed to understand the role of regulatory focus for influencing self-directed learning activities during a job search. The authors surveyed 185 job-searching university students at two time points to explore the conditions under which regulatory focus (promotion and prevention foci) impacts self-directed learning activities and the…

The COVID-19 outbreak early 2020 has had a considerable impact on the global labor market. Many businesses closed down, constrained their working hours, reduced their staff, and/or limited their new recruitments. Many employees have been obliged to work remotely and interact digitally. Due to the pandemic, the unemployment rates have gone up to…

Based on ethnographic observations in a programme on job search training in Fribourg, Switzerland, I discuss the regimentation that is expected from job seekers on how to 'sell the self' in the labour market, i.e. on how to successfully manage a job interview. I will show how in attempting to narratively package their trajectories, the coaches'…

Singapore is host to an increasing number of foreign tertiary students, who also intend to work there upon graduating to serve a bond and/or for better career prospects. According to Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC), an individual's career decision making and choices are not systematic, but are subject to change. Using twenty-six interviews with…

This article explores the relationship between students' identities, their ideas about professional appearance and their anticipated transition to the world of work. It is based on a series of semi-structured interviews with 13 students from a vocationally-focused university in England. It was found that participants viewed clothing and appearance…

We recruited 20 community members in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo state and Yewa Local Government Area, Ogun state in Nigeria to explore experiences and perceptions of Internet access and computer use. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using open-ended questions to collect qualitative data regarding accessibility of information and…

The institutionalised categorisation of adults who are over 55 years of age, unemployed and low-skilled as "older" and "disadvantaged" may adversely affect their employment prospects and their self-esteem. This paper reports on the findings of a study that explored the experiences of a small group of such adults; in particular,…

In the expanded higher education in China, middle-class students are found to have better access to job information than their underprivileged counterparts; they also gain better jobs in the labour market. Researchers have turned to social capital theory to explain this phenomenon, claiming that middle-class students with wider social network and…

This article sets out to find factors that promote or hinder employment opportunities for immigrant teachers educated in the host country. The data were collected through online questionnaires and focus group discussions among two student cohorts. After a year of graduating from English-medium teacher education in Finland, the employment…

The authors investigate the role of emotions in the job search and choice process of novice job seekers. Results of qualitative analyses of the first-person accounts of 41 job seekers indicate that participants whose recollections of their job search contained emotional language were more likely to display a haphazard job search strategy than…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on research carried out with employers to determine demand for business and management skills in the Scottish workforce. Design/methodology/approach: The research used a questionnaire in which employers were interviewed (either telephone or face to face), completed themselves and returned by e-mail,…

This article provides a new account of American job seekers' individualized understandings of their labor-market difficulties, and more broadly, of how structural conditions shape subjective responses. Unemployed white-collar workers in the U.S. tend to interpret their labor market difficulties as reflecting flaws in themselves, while Israelis…

Some years after the world-wide crisis starting in 2008, also many recently graduated Dutch academics were confronted with the problem of how to cope with getting a job. This article focuses on the coping strategies they use when searching after a job, spending the day, and coping with limited financial means. 91 graduated academics completed a…

Purpose: The paper seeks to provide perspectives on the job search expectations and job seeking strategies of Australian graduates, including their perceptions of University Careers Centres (UCCs). Design/methodology/approach: A total of 45 new graduates and representatives of five UCCs were interviewed. Findings: Both Australian graduates and…