Graduates’ Perceptions of Their Attributes when Making the Transition to Employment and in Managing Their Careers

Abstract

Little research attention has been given to how graduates perceive their knowledge, skills and other qualities (KSOQs) in their careers, despite significant attention to graduate attributes by universities and employers. The common perception is that graduates complete their degrees, make the transition to employment and become effective professionals in a relatively straight forward manner, facilitated by their graduate attributes. This thesis considers whether graduates understand how to transfer their attributes in terms of KSOQs and the part these attributes play in their careers. This thesis also considers whether graduates demonstrate career agency by actively managing their early careers. The limited existing literature on graduate transition is mostly grounded in the psychology rather than the management literature. In addition, the (much more extensive) literature on graduates’ KSOQs, also known as graduate attributes, has focused on the varying perspectives of universities and employers regarding what the attributes ‘are’ and how they should be embedded in degree programs. However, graduates’ opinions of their skills and other qualities (SOQs), and of their early career management, have rarely been sought.