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Evaluating the problem of college students graduating into underemployment and unemployment
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Content
Evaluating the Problem of College Students Graduating Into Underemployment
and Unemployment
by
Kirk Snyder
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education
August 2021
© Copyright by Kirk Snyder 2021
All Rights Reserved
The Committee for Kirk Snyder certifies the approval of this Dissertation
Dr. Mary Andres
Dr. Kathy Stowe
Dr. Eric Canny, Committee Chair
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021
iv
Abstract
This mixed methods study examined factors associated with undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment among new college undergraduates through the context of
CCU, a private research university located on the west coast of the United States. This study’s
research questions explored the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that influence
specific employment outcomes for undergraduate students upon graduation. The research was
conducted through a 15-question survey sent to randomly selected recent alumni, resulting in 316
responses. Eleven voluntary interviews were also conducted with survey participants
representing different majors and employment outcomes. I gained approval to access this
population through the leadership of the CCU central career center, alumni relations, and the
university’s Institutional Review Board.
The data analysis produced three primary themes of findings that address influences associated
with knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps. The themes were: 1) findings of
employment outcomes and student experiences; 2) findings of professional self-awareness and
employment outcomes; and 3) findings of career planning efficacy based-on students resources
and services.
Recommendations included the CCU Career Education Initiative to create a formal institutional
focus on connecting the student experience to the world of work; requiring a career development
course for all undergraduate students at the beginning of their sophomore year; establishing a
personalized online career portal for all undergraduate students; engaging students earlier in the
career planning process; and providing university-based and school-based mentorship programs
specifically focused on professional self-awareness and career planning efficacy. Further,
reorganizing the reporting structure of CCU career services to the Office of the Provost and
v
creating a Vice Provost of Career Education role to centralize, oversee, and manage change
associated with CCU career services; increasing integration and coordination between academic
advising and career services; and establishing school-based career offices at all CCU schools
represent additional recommendations.
vi
Acknowledgements
To my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Eric Canny, for encouraging me to pursue this
research and guiding me to remain focused and unwavering in my commitment to the value of
the data. Thank you Dr. Canny.
To my dissertation committee members, Dr. Mary Andres and Dr. Kathy Stowe, for
supporting the importance of this research and providing your own individual expertise to add
breadth and depth to this work. I appreciate and thank both of you for your feedback and ideas
to make this dissertation better.
To my own students who inspire and motivate me each day, and make me feel like I am
in the right job! Your diversity, creativity, candor, and commitment to excellence has made me a
better educator, and unbeknownst to you, also a better student throughout my doctoral journey. I
have confidence in a better tomorrow, because of all of you.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice.....................................................................1
Related Literature.................................................................................................................3
Organizational Context and Mission ...................................................................................4
Organizational Goal .............................................................................................................5
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................7
Study Questions ...................................................................................................................9
Statement of Significance ....................................................................................................9
Methodological Framework ...............................................................................................11
Stakeholder Groups ............................................................................................................13
Terms .................................................................................................................................15
Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................................16
Professional Disadvantages of Underemployment and Unemployment ...........................16
Connecting Students and Their Education to Relevant Career Paths ................................21
The Need For More Relevant Career Services ..................................................................25
The Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework ..............................................29
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences ..................................29
Conceptual Framework: the Interaction of Stakeholder’s Knowledge, Motivation, and
the Organizational Context ..........................................................................................47
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................49
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................51
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale............................................................................53
viii
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale ......................................................................54
Data Collection and Instrumentation .................................................................................57
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................59
Credibility and Trustworthiness .........................................................................................60
Ethics..................................................................................................................................61
Limitations and Delimitations............................................................................................63
Chapter Four: Research and Findings ............................................................................................65
Demographics of Survey Respondents ..............................................................................68
Demographics of Interview Participants ............................................................................73
Theme One: Findings of Employment Outcomes and Student Experiences .....................75
Theme Two: Findings of Professional Self-Awareness and Employment Outcomes .......95
Theme 3: Findings of Career Planning Efficacy Based-On Student Resources and
Services ......................................................................................................................111
Summary of Themes and Influences................................................................................130
Chapter Five: Recommendations, Implementations, and Evaluation ..........................................135
Recommended Solutions to Theme 1: Employment Outcomes and Student
Experiences ................................................................................................................140
Recommended Solutions to Theme 2: Professional Self-Awareness and Employment
Outcomes ...................................................................................................................146
Resources and Services ....................................................................................................150
Implementation Plan ........................................................................................................158
Evaluation Plan ................................................................................................................168
Further Research ..............................................................................................................172
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................174
References ....................................................................................................................................178
Appendix A: Demographic Items ................................................................................................195
ix
Appendix B: Interview Items .......................................................................................................203
x
List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational Performance Goal and Stakeholder
Performance Goals .............................................................................................................8
Table 2: Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization (KMO) Worksheet: Knowledge..................35
Table 3: Assumed Motivational Influences on Performance and Assessments ............................40
Table 4: Assumed Organizational Influences ................................................................................46
Table 5: Employment Outcome of Respondents ...........................................................................68
Table 6: Respondents’ Gender .......................................................................................................69
Table 7: Unemployed and Underemployed at Graduation (Gender) .............................................70
Table 8: Age of Respondents .........................................................................................................71
Table 9: Sexual Orientation of Respondents .................................................................................71
Table 10: Ethnicity/Race of Respondents ......................................................................................73
Table 11: Demographics of Interview Participants .......................................................................74
Table 12: Employment Goals Upon Enrollment ...........................................................................78
Table 13: Engagement With Career Services ................................................................................81
Table 14: Factors Used to Decide on Career Fields to Pursue for Full- Employment Outcomes .82
Table 15: Employment Outcomes and Major Selection Criteria ...................................................85
Table 16: Employment Outcomes and Utility of Career Services .................................................90
Table 17: Employment Outcomes and Career Services Engagement Among Respondents
Who Engaged With Career Services .............................................................................92
Table 18: Timeline of Engagement with Central Career Services Among Respondents Who
Engaged With the Central career services center ..........................................................99
Table 19: Reasons Why I Engaged With University-Provided Career Services .........................100
Table 20: Career Planning Engagement Among Unemployed and Underemployed
Respondents .................................................................................................................105
Table 21: I Have an Understanding of My Professional Interests and Abilities .........................112
Table 22: Reasons why I engaged With University-Provided Career Services ...........................121
xi
Table 23: I am Optimistic About my Professional Future and I Have a Good Understanding
About My Professional Interests and Abilities ............................................................122
Table 24: I Am Optimistic About My Professional Future .........................................................125
Table 25: I Engaged With Career Services Specific to my Major ...............................................126
Table 26: Determination of Theme One Influences of Findings of Employment Outcomes and
Student Experiences ....................................................................................................131
Table 27: Determination of Theme Two Influences: Findings of Professional Self-Awareness
and Employment Outcomes ........................................................................................132
Table 28: Determination of Theme Three Influences of Findings of Career Planning Efficacy
Based-On Student Resources and Services .................................................................133
Table 29: Summary of Assumed Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs and
Validation ....................................................................................................................157
Table 30: Implementation Plan Table ..........................................................................................159
xii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Methodological Framework ...........................................................................................12
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................49
Figure 3: Theme One .....................................................................................................................77
Figure 4: Theme Two.....................................................................................................................97
Figure 5: Theme Three.................................................................................................................114
Figure 6: Theme One Recommendations ....................................................................................137
Figure 7: Theme Two Recommendations ................................................................................... 138
Figure 8: Theme Three Recommendations ..................................................................................139
1
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice
The problem of undesired underemployment and unemployment outcomes among new
college graduates represents an inversion of numerous expectations, but primarily the
expectation for many students that the college degree is a gateway to gainful employment
reflecting individual interests and passions (Cunningham, 2016). In 2011, overall
underemployment and unemployment reached nearly 60% for new college graduates (Abel et al.,
2014). According to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the overall
unemployment rate for new college graduates exceeds the general population and 41% were
underemployed (Redden, 2020). The effect of undesired underemployment immediately
following college graduation creates a negative effect through at least the first 10 years of an
individual’s career (Verbruggen et al., 2015). Negative employment outcomes surrounding any
graduation cohort’s entry into the labor market are assumed to shape future career and economic
opportunities (Vinichenko et al., 2016). This negative effect continues to follow these students,
even if an underemployed individual transitions into a new job that is no longer considered
underemployment (Verbruggen et al., 2015).
Underemployment as a term can further be defined as the perception of overqualification
for current job; unfilled desire to use work skills that are unrecognized in present job; and a sense
of entitlement to a better job (Livingstone et al., 2017). Further, the likelihood of undesired
underemployment for recent college graduates is much greater even in good economic climates
when their jobs do not align with their degree (Robst, 2007). Conversely, there is a significant
and positive income benefit among recent college graduates who are employed in jobs that are
more closely aligned with their education and affirm individual measurements of professional
worth including interests and abilities (Abel & Deitz, 2015). Therefore, it is valuable for college
2
students seeking full-employment outcomes to graduate with employment that aligns with their
education as evidenced by 25% higher salaries among those graduates who are directly utilizing
their degree professionally compared to their peers who graduate into undesired outcomes of
underemployment (Abel & Deitz, 2015).
The problem of underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates is
important to address because there is a loss to the economy, a loss of individual self-worth, and a
loss of the value associated with a college degree due to high rates of college students who are
underemployed and unemployed upon graduation. Providing college students with the
opportunity to consider where they fit within the world of work and connecting their education to
potential career paths that incorporate individual abilities, interests, and values as motivational
triggers is necessary to avoiding undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment at
graduation along with the ensuing negative effects associated with these undesired employment
outcomes post-graduation (Robst, 2007). Further, research found that beginning in 2009 and
moving forward, among surveyed college freshmen, nearly 90% expressed that “getting a better
job” was a primary reason for going to college (Pryor et al., 2011). While this statistic is
indicative of employment goals associated with college freshmen and not students later in their
academic experience, it suggests there is a need for institutions of higher learning to provide
career services that create more active involvement from students in the career planning process
(Seibert et al., 2013). Overall, the majority of students do not know what they are looking for in a
professional outcome when they enter college and the career decisions they make as students,
including the selection of majors, will impact their careers over a lifetime (Stinebrickner &
Stinebrickner, 2014). As a result, there is a need for colleges and universities to provide students
seeking full-employment outcomes with better career tools to make effective career planning
3
decisions and graduate into their desired outcome of full-employment, in effect, providing the
conditions in order for students to get the desired results.
Related Literature
Work is important for self-construction and self-esteem, representing a sizeable
percentage of time spent for most people as adults (Dutton et al., 2010). Research suggests that
when individuals are underemployed and unemployed, they often develop systems to cope with
their situation including rationalizing and trivializing their circumstances (Pignault &
Houssemand, 2018). For example, in Pignault and Houssemand (2018), unemployment is
described by a 25 year-old college graduate as part of a new stage in his career process where he
studies, graduates, looks for a job, finds that his job is not the right job, and then has to look for a
job all over again because he does not know where he fits. A 2016 GradStaff study reveals seven
out of 10 new college graduates were experiencing underemployment or unemployment due to
factors that include inadequate career development and job preparation engagement with data
suggesting undesired underemployment can be more harmful than undesired unemployment in
terms of subsequent job opportunities for recent college graduates (Nunley et al., 2017).
Positive support for an employee’s individual identity, including demographics and
abilities, by their employer fuels an environment of respect and motivates employees to take
work-related actions that promote positive outcomes for both employees and employers (Dutton
et al., 2010). The positive validation of the individual value an employee brings to a job through
their identity is connected to multiple favorable professional outcomes, including an employee’s
enhanced capacity to deal with stress and workplace adversity, fostering creativity, enhanced
work processes and the ability to adapt to new work settings (Dutton et al., 2010).
4
Research suggests individuals who are able to express their unique value at work in a job
fit that leverages their individual identity and unique value, communicate and relate to one
another in a positive way (Rothbard & Ramarajan, 2009). Further, individuals who experience
overall positive affirmation in the workplace are positioned to access and leverage the full
complexity of their abilities when performing tasks associated with their individual work roles
(Rothbard & Ramarajan, 2009). Individual identities are created in part through relationships
with others, and work-related friendships along with daily interactions in the workplace play a
significant role in self-construction (Dutton et al., 2010). However, in order to fully leverage the
personal, professional, and organizational benefits stemming from and facilitated by an
employee’s own unique professional value, it is necessary for employees to be employed in a job
that is also aligned with their interests and passions, which represents a key component of unique
professional value (Rothbard & Ramarajan, 2009).
Organizational Context and Mission
The organization being studied is a large private West Coast university in the United
States identified for the purposes of this study as California Coast University of (CCU). The
central mission of CCU is to cultivate the development of students to benefit others and society
by enriching both the mind and human spirit. CCU is in many rankings listed as one of the
world’s leading private research universities with a total enrollment of approximately 45,00
students split almost equally between undergraduate students and graduate and professional
students.
Due to the identified problem of practice and the organizational structure of the
university, it is also necessary to examine the mission of CCU’s central career center, serving
both undergraduate and graduate populations. The mission of the central CCU career center,
5
responsible for serving all enrolled students, is to prepare students for global careers through
partnerships with industry leaders across a wide spectrum of fields and innovative technology.
CCU’s decentralized structure is relevant to recognize as context in this study. Due to
CCU’s decentralized organizational structure, in addition to CCU’s central career center, there
are multiple satellite career offices across several but not all discipline-specific Schools at the
university engaged in delivering services and resources without being accountable to university-
wide standards of practice. Therefore, this context can affect the relationship between the
university and its students as this decentralized approach to the delivery of career services and
resources may result in the lack of clear career development pedagogy. Demographic statistics
includes a student population comprised of 29% White/Caucasian, 25.4% International, 19.9 %
Asian, 14.6% Hispanic, and 5.3% Black/African American students were examined in this study
in relationship to the identified problem of practice. Additional statistics examined were gender
and first-generation college student status among the CCU student population in order to provide
another layer of context examined in this study in relationship to the identified problem of
practice.
Organizational Goal
Currently, the mission statement of the university does not directly address student
employment outcomes. Involving campus practitioners in collecting relevant data as it relates to
identified problems is essential in order to create a positive outcome of change (Dowd, 2005).
The problem of practice of college students graduating into undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment at CCU is partially obscured because the university does
not collect or provide university wide data about the employment outcomes of all students upon
graduation. Further, the increasing relevance of student services as it relates specifically to career
6
planning services provided by CCU is made even more significant as higher education becomes
more connected to the long-term success of the global economy (Rosenbaum et al., 2016). This
relevance becomes particularly important as more of the world’s population is increasingly
linked to colleges and universities, which directly ties to both the mission of CCU and the
mission of the central career center (Hughey & Burke, 2010).
For the purposes of this study, the organizational goal is to increase the number of
students across all CCU Schools graduating into desired full-employment outcomes. As already
presented, among surveyed college freshmen, nearly 90% expressed “getting a better job” was a
primary reason for going to college, representing an initial high-priority focus for students early
in the college experience for full-employment outcomes (Pryor et al., 2011). Further, according
to Humphreys (2013), while many graduates have the education and abilities to succeed
professionally, they falter when it is time to conduct job searches or are inadequately skilled in
presenting their qualifications as a result of their college experience. Even in periods of relatively
high unemployment, more than 50% of employers report difficulty finding qualified candidates
for job openings, with one-third reporting that recent graduates are very unprepared for their job
searches (Marketplace and Chronicle of Higher Education 2013, 10–11). For over 40 years, the
Cooperative Institutional Research Program has polled new college students about their decision
to attend college. Of all the options presented to survey respondents, “to be able to get a better
job” received the highest number of respondents identifying this goal as “very important”
(Rampell, 2015). Therefore, while CCU does not cite this student goal in its mission, it is a high
priority for college students. For the purposes of this study and stated in the opening sentence for
this section, the identified organization goal was to increase the number of students across all
USC schools graduating into full-employment outcomes. The evaluation of CCU’s achievement
7
of this goal was based on the findings of this study in addition to available documents provided
by CCU.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to developing recommendations to increase the number of
CCU students seeking full-employment upon graduation to graduate into full-employment
outcomes. The study’s findings may help CCU inform and change policies and practices in order
to increase the quality of the educational experience for students. The analysis focused on
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences as they relate to solving the problem of
students graduating into undesired professional outcomes of underemployment and
unemployment in order to increase desired full-employment outcomes among new graduates.
This study focused on the key stakeholder identified in this research as CCU students, while also
discussing the relevance of other stakeholders including CCU faculty and staff.
Increasing the number of CCU students graduating into desired full-employment
outcomes was examined and evaluated through a three-stage approach. First, the problem of
undesired underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates was established
and defined at CCU. Next, a specific framework served to examine the identified problem and
how it connects to CCU’s organizational mission and goals as well as gaps between actual
performance levels within the organization. Last, through the data analysis, recommendations
were made to close performance gaps and reduce outcomes of undesired underemployment and
unemployment among new graduates and increase outcomes of desired full-employment.
This study also seeks to examine and evaluate the level of awareness graduating college
students possess about their own individual professional value and interests. It is necessary to
gain understanding about any connection between the professional self-awareness of CCU
8
students and the effectiveness of career services and resources at the university. This part of the
study focused on the type of career services CCU provides students and the level of engagement
students have with these services. For example, different employment outcomes were also
considered to be context for the people involved in the study and their particular situation. By
better understanding the types of career services and career development pedagogy provided by
different CCU schools set within the university’s decentralized structure, this study adds to the
possible to add to the context surrounding different professional outcomes upon graduation for
CCU students. Table 1 describes organizational and stakeholder performance goals.
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Performance Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
To cultivate the development of students to benefit others and society by enriching both the
mind and human spirit
Organizational Performance Goal
Increase the percentage of all students at CCU graduating into desired full-employment
outcomes by 25% by 2025.
Stakeholder 1 (Primary) Stakeholder 2
(Supplementary)
Stakeholder 3
(Supplementary)
All CCU students Faculty Staff
By May 2023 all students will
be provided with the career
education and resources to
achieve outcomes of desired
full-employment upon
graduation.
By August 2023, faculty will
successfully begin to
provide students with
effective educational career
tools to avoid outcomes of
undesired underemployment
and unemployment at
graduation.
By August 2023, all career
offices staff will begin to
provide services and
resources that connect
students’ education, and
unique interests and values
to jobs that reflect these
individual desires and goals.
9
Study Questions
This study focused on an analysis of the identified problem in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational ability needed to reach the performance goals of CCU in order to
increase the number of students graduating into full-employment outcomes. The analysis
determined the influences contributing to current employment outcomes and then move on to
analyze the level of engagement students experience with university services and resources as a
means to increase both their motivation and ability to find full-employment outcomes upon
graduation. Three questions guided this study:
1. What are the knowledge, motivational and organizational influences that contribute to
specific employment outcomes among new college graduates at CCU?
2. What is the organizational culture and relationship between CCU students and CCU career
services and resources?
3. What type of knowledge do CCU students need to increase their motivation to find full-
employment outcomes upon graduation?
Statement of Significance
It is important to solve this problem because undesired outcomes of underemployment
and unemployment for new college graduates results in a significant loss to the economy, a loss
of individual self-worth, and a loss of the value associated with a college degree. Making college
students and institutions of higher learning aware of the significance of connecting education
with potential employment outcomes in order to assist students in their career decision-making
process could prevent them from experiencing the negative consequences associated with
underemployment and unemployment early in their careers (Verbruggen et al., 2015). First, there
is the potential loss to the economy because of the sheer size of the college student population. In
10
Fall 2018, 19.9 million students were projected to attend colleges and universities just in the U.S.
(U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Due to the size of this population where the majority of
college students are graduating into outcomes of underemployment and unemployment, whether
by choice or not by choice, the size of this population suggests a substantial negative economic
effect exists as a result of those among this population graduating into undesired employment
outcomes (Abel et al., 2014; Nunley et al., 2017).
Second, there is a loss of individual self-worth associated with undesired
underemployment that is also present for students who experience undesired unemployed after
college graduation, which manifests in the lives of these new graduates in several negative ways.
For example, people not only lose economic stability, they also lose time structure, activity,
social contact, collective purpose, and status (Pignault & Houssemand, 2018). After spending a
minimum of four years and often going into substantial debt to earn a college degree, graduating
into a life without purpose is not an acceptable outcome.
Third, this problem results in a loss in the value of a college degree. College is viewed as
a primary means to create financial security over a lifetime. When students are faced with high
college debt combined with undesired underemployment and unemployment following
graduation, the financial value of a college degree becomes diminished. According to Abel et al.
(2014), there is an inherent connection between the relationship of selecting a major to college
success and selecting a major to job satisfaction. Therefore, colleges and universities need to be
more proactive when assisting students to connect their degrees to jobs as a component of the
career planning process (López, 2018).
Research supports the conclusion that college students graduating into undesired
underemployment and unemployment is a problem that needs to be addressed. This study aims to
11
provide increased understanding about the identified problem, increase the effectiveness of the
delivery of career services and resources across CCU, add to the accountability between the
university and the key stakeholder identified in this research as CCU students, and inform and
change policies in order for students to have a higher quality experience.
Methodological Framework
The conceptual framework utilized in the study is the gap analysis process model by
Clark and Estes (see Figure 1). The framework identifies a key organizational goal, set specific
performance goals, measure the gap between current achievement and desired performance goal
levels and then identify the cost-benefit of closing each gap was utilized in this study (Clark &
Estes, 2008). According to Clark and Estes (2008), a conceptual framework is necessary in order
to create a clear understanding of complex problems along with potential solutions. In order to
increase organizational performance, a framework identified as a gap analysis provides a clear
understanding of organizational missions and goals, as well as develop recommendations to
improve organizational performance as it relates to the identified problem of practice (Clark &
Estes, 2008). The key organizational goal identified in this study was to increase the percentage
of students across all CCU schools graduating into desired full employment outcomes by 25%.
By using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, it was possible to gather,
observe and analyze organizational data including data from the key identified stakeholder of
CCU students as well as utilizing this data to gain further insight into the role the study’s
identified secondary stakeholders of faculty and staff play in the identified problem. Measuring
the gap between actual performance and the desired performance of achieving the key business
goal addresses axiological, ontological, and epistemological concepts relative to examining the
delivery of career services and resources as they are currently delivered within CCU’s
12
decentralized structure. Further, any disparity in the level of these services provided to students
in different schools and programs were also identified. This research utilized a mixed-methods
approach (Creswell, 2014). Data were collected via a quantitative survey, one-on-one interviews,
and available documents from CCU. A list of definitions at the end of this chapter identifies
common terms used in the study and in this dissertation.
Figure 1
Methodological Framework
13
Stakeholder Groups
CCU has multiple stakeholders. However, the stakeholder most affected by the identified
problem is CCU students. Due to nearly 90% of new college students in the U.S. initially
expressing as freshmen that their primary reason for going to college was to get a better job
(Pryor et al., 2011), the overwhelming significance of this goal represents why students are being
identified as the key stakeholder in this study. Leaders need to be perceived as doing what is
“right” and “good” for their stakeholders (Northouse, 2015). Therefore, based on this stakeholder
goal, it is students who are most negatively affected when graduating into undesired outcomes of
underemployment or unemployment.
Primary Stakeholder
In the last two decades, students and employers have gained a widely accepted role as
key stakeholder groups in higher education (Beerkens & Udam, 2017). Further, college students
define the quality of their education primarily through the quality of graduate outcomes, with
students expressing a desire for institutions of higher learning keep up with quickly changing
environments to ensure their education stays labor market relevant. Therefore, in addition to
almost 9 out of 10 new college students stating they enrolled in college in order to get a better
job, this increasing focus on students and employers as key stakeholder groups in higher
education adds to the importance of students being identified as the primary stakeholder group in
this study. In the context of higher education, while an institution’s strategic character such as
tradition, heritage, and prestige, play a role in attracting students, the overriding element of
employable credentials has emerged as significantly important (Finch et al., 2015). While both
primary and secondary stakeholders groups would provide a fully comprehensive analysis of the
identified problem of practice, it is nonetheless imperative to focus on the stakeholder group of
14
students whose future is most effected by immediate employment outcomes at graduation.
Further, because CCU is a tuition driven private institution, the employment outcomes of its
students contributes to the motivation level that drives prospective students to select CCU over
another university.
Secondary Stakeholders
Other stakeholders include CCU faculty and staff. Faculty represent the most significant
supplementary stakeholder role because the faculty provide students with the education
necessary to be prepared for employment after college. Research suggests faculty provide
students with critical opportunities to connect theory and practice both inside and outside the
classroom to explore post-collegiate next steps (Brown, 2015) Therefore, connecting individual
skills to potential careers that result from classroom activities also contribute to a student’s career
readiness and employability (Brown, 2015). Staff, also represent a supplementary stakeholder
role, including university employees who provide career services to students. In order for career
services offices to provide effective and efficient career services to students as a key university
resource, it is necessary for colleges and universities to recognize these administrative units as a
critical and valuable resource to students and the entire institution (Vinson et al., 2014).
Therefore, as higher education becomes more connected to the long-term success of the global
economy and more of the world’s population is increasingly linked to colleges and universities,
as supplementary stakeholders, both faculty and staff play key roles in solving the identified
problem of undesired underemployment and unemployment outcomes among new college
graduates (Hughey & Burke, 2010).
15
Terms
• Decentralized describes organization where planning and decision making are distributed
or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group.
• Full employment refers job that requires a college degree, provides a salary on par with
national averages for new college graduates, and represents a fit with the interests of the
individual student.
• Professional Value is the individual value each unique student brings to the job market
based on education, demographics, unique interests, abilities, and goals.
• Undesired Underemployment refers to being over qualified for ones’ current job; unfilled
desire to use work skills that are unrecognized in present job; and a sense of entitlement
to a better job.
• Undesired Unemployment refers to individuals who are jobless, actively seeking work
and available to take a job.
16
Chapter Two: Literature Review
This review of literature addresses research that underscores central factors contributing
to the outcomes of undesired underemployment and unemployment among new college
graduates, and the resulting short and long-term implications these outcomes have on students’
lives. This chapter focuses on three specific areas as a result of the review process. The first area
provides an overview of research that indicates how students graduating into outcomes of
undesired underemployment and unemployment are professionally disadvantaged in their careers
in the short term, immediately following graduation, and in the long term, throughout their
careers. The second area reviews research about the importance for college students to connect
their education to relevant career paths, including the importance of individual diversity in the
equation for where they fit within the world of work relative to specific and unique interests,
abilities, and values. In addition, the second area examines research highlighting the importance
of self-knowledge to connect individual value to potential career paths in order to avoid
undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment at graduation. The third area
investigates research highlighting the type of career services that can lead to positive or negative
employment outcomes for college students including the benefits of early engagement in the
career planning process. Following this review of the literature, Chapter Two will address the
Clark and Estes (2008) Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework by focusing on the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences that contribute to students graduating into professional
outcomes of undesired underemployment and unemployment.
Professional Disadvantages of Underemployment and Unemployment
College students are professionally disadvantaged by graduating into outcomes of
undesired underemployment and unemployment. When students graduate college without jobs
17
that require degrees and pay a salary on par with the national average for new college graduates,
there is an associated and significant negative impact on their professional lives and career
development over time (Verbruggen et al., 2015). New college graduates across most types of
programs increasingly experience overall underemployment, a condition that can persist for
months and often years (Cunningham, 2016). Research states a student’s lack of professional
focus and a formation of career development strategies while enrolled in college can result in a
prolonged period of unemployment before entering the job market (Bayirbag, 2013).
Beginning in 2001, the percentage of new college graduates who are underemployed and
unemployed, whether by choice or not by choice, has increased (Abel et al., 2014). According to
a 2018 Avenica/GradStaff study, nearly seven out of ten new college graduates in the U.S. are
either underemployed or unemployed at graduation (LaBombard, 2016). However, because
research suggests the expectation to graduate college with a job in their field of study motivates
the majority of students in the United States to earn a degree, along with this increasing number
of underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates, the number of undesired
outcomes is also increasing (Cunningham, 2016). Therefore, among those students across all
types of programs who are seeking full-employment outcomes following college are being
presented with a professional disadvantage when they graduate without jobs that utilize their
degrees (Abel et al., 2014).
Effects of Underemployment and Unemployment at Graduation
When students graduate college and take jobs that do not utilize their degrees, there is
diminished career evolution and growth (Verbruggen et al., 2015). Conversely, studies reveal a
positive effect when utilizing and connecting one’s education with a job immediately following
college graduation (Abel et al., 2014). Therefore, positive career development over time for a
18
new college graduate is greater for students who pursue a job for factors that correlate with their
individual educational experience including pursuing a job based on recognized individual
interests and values (Seibert et al., 2013).
Employment outcomes of undesired underemployment and unemployment after college
is documented to lead to a persistent downgrading of career expectations and outcomes for
college graduates along with an increased risk of losing permanent access to better employers
(Oreopoulos et al., 2012). Relative to the impact of undesired underemployment and
unemployment outcomes, it is important to recognize that initial job placement following college
graduation plays an important role in the ensuing job mobility for the careers of young college
graduates. Oreopoulus et al. (2012) also found college graduates with higher initial rates of
unemployment immediately following graduation experience permanent earnings losses over
time.
In addition to a loss of earnings, outcomes of undesired underemployment and
unemployment at graduation also impact the psychological well-being of these new graduates
who may experience emotional distress including guilt, shame, and embarrassment, which can
become barriers to becoming employed (Blau et al., 2013). Research finds that
underemployment and underemployment have a direct correlation to lower levels of physical
health and psychological well-being compared to those fully employed (Friedland & Price,
2003). Therefore, among new college graduates, outcomes of undesired underemployment and
unemployment are reflective of how both employment and education merge together to impact
s t ude nt s ’ perception of their professional prospects, their educational experiences, and their
identity (Cunningham, 2016). However, with increasing frequency, many college graduates are
finding expectations for employment prospects are not being realized, and at least initially,
19
college graduates, across most academic disciplines are experiencing underemployment —a
condition that can persist for months, if not years, after graduation (Schmitt & Boushey, 2012).
Further, the experience of being underemployed (not by choice) carries with it a powerful
emotional effect that weighs heavily on the thoughts of these individuals, compelling them to
both question how they became underemployed along with feelings of uncertainty about how to
escape this experience (Cunningham, 2016). Following the initial employment outcome of
undesired underemployment or unemployment, these conditions will persist in some fashion for
many new college graduates and include difficult choices regarding whether or not to pursue
work based on their individual interests as well as separating their degree from employment
pursuits (Friedland & Price, 2003). The effect of undesired underemployment and
unemployment among new college graduates is substantial, and creates both immediate and
long-term career and professional development barriers that call for a change in how college
students are prepared for positive full-employment outcomes after graduation for those students
seeking full-employment outcomes.
Historical Structure of Career Education and Services in Higher Education
The structure of career services offices at colleges and universities to deliver career
services and resources has remained mostly static since approximately 1979 (Vinson et al.,
2014). The most notable change in the field of college career education and services surrounding
how these offices deliver services has been a shift in the organizational placement of career
services offices with a 50% increase over the last four decades in these offices reporting to
student affairs within colleges and universities. According to Vinson et ql. (2014), over the last
century, career services offices at U.S. colleges and universities has historically evolved from a
vocations placement center to becoming more of a comprehensive resource center. Moving
20
forward into the 21st century, it will be necessary for colleges and universities to operate career
services offices to operate as independent administrative units aligned with the i ns t i t ut i on’s
academic goals to serve all students equally across the entire institution (Vinson et al., 2014).
Further, one challenge faced by career services offices across the U.S. is a lack of adequate
funding to invest in the human capital necessary to provide students with robust and
comprehensive career services to connect their individual interests and education to a desirable
job in addition to being recognized as providing a valuable type of career education that is
fundamental to the effectiveness and success of each institution.
According to Arnold (2018), all aspects of life, work, and education are subject to
changing external factors. Colleges and universities as disseminators of knowledge provide
fundamental building blocks that lead society from the past to the future (Arnold, 2018).
Therefore, Arnold (2018) suggests that in order for colleges to keep pace with these
contemporary changes, it is critical to examine whether or not colleges have successfully
adjusted their approach to providing career education and services to ensure that within a
changing world, students have the relevant individual tools and skills to professionally succeed
in the world of work beyond graduation. Dey and Cruzvergara (2017), state it is necessary to
connect career services together with the college classroom and place s t ude nt s ’ employability at
the center of all campus communities. Therefore, an individualized approach to support career
readiness can be assisted by providing students with more opportunities to identify career goals,
individual interests, skills, and professional values, and then supporting a personalized approach
to the career development and planning process (Solberg et al., 2012). The competitive pressures
of a modern day workplace that is being reshaped from the expansion of technologies that
provide new methods of operating, communicating, and delivering products and services, needs
21
to be more fully addressed in higher education curriculum in order to successfully support
students in their transition from college to work following graduation (Arnold, 2018). Career
education as a component of curriculum and not simply a concept associated with career services
offices set within an i ns t i t ut i on’s student affairs organization can further connect students and
their education to full-employment outcomes at graduation.
Connecting Students and Their Education to Relevant Career Paths
Research reveals providing college students with the opportunity to consider where they
fit within the world of work and connecting their education to potential career paths that
incorporate individual values and interests as motivational triggers is critical to avoiding
undesired underemployment and unemployment at graduation and the negative effects of both of
these outcomes post-graduation (Robst, 2007). Career planning and decision-making should
emphasize the relationship between individuals and their career (Chen & Zhou, 2018).
Therefore, when new college graduates are not able to connect their education and majors to
professional outcomes that will utilize their individual professional value and strengths, there is a
resulting mismatch between new graduates and the job fit (Robst, 2007). The selection of the
university and of the department of study are the most critical career decisions a student can
make in higher education as a foundation to connect s t ude nt s ’ education to potential best fit
careers (Bayirbag, 2013). Further, Chen and Zhou (2018), found it is important for college
students to recognize the compatibility of making career choices based on individual diversity
and desires by increasing the professional self-awareness about how students individually match
themselves with a satisfying job. Therefore, individual diversity among college students as it
relates to their professional value is a significant and distinct underlying dimension of key factors
22
that need to be addressed leading to satisfying employment after graduation (Murphy & Collins,
2015).
Individual Diversity and Professional Outcomes
Data indicates that self-suppression and conforming to strict societal norms about what is
acceptable and not acceptable in the workplace does not contribute to positive career planning
decision making (McKee et al., 2017). These norms range from ethnicity, age, sexual orientation,
gender identity and mental health issues, and suppressing one’s authentic self, leads to a job fit
where employees do not fully realize their potential contributions to an organization (McKee et
al., 2017). Further, suppressing one’s authentic self does not lead to workplace happiness,
identified as a vital component of sustainable professional success (Virick et al., 2017).
Researchers at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,
found that employees who understand their best professional moments can be achieved through
personal authenticity are more likely to develop their own potential in ways that reflect the
unique value of their authentic selves (Ferdman & Deane, 2013). Through this Ross School of
Business research, participants gained awareness that fragmentation between their work self and
non-work self, actually acted against their own professional self-actualization (Ferdman &
Deane, 2013). Beginning in 2009, nearly 90% of college students expressed that getting a better
job was a primary reason for going to college (Pryor et al., 2011). Therefore, it is important to
recognize that data indicates students’ feelings about the importance of their diverse identities
effects their educational and professional outcomes (Clauson & McKnight, 2018).
Sampson et al. (2013) stated that stereotyping, lack of role models, and bias in education
are factors that can become external barriers to positive career decision-making readiness and
capability, leading to negative employment outcomes. Researchers found college students who
23
may be addressing barriers in understanding how to connect their education to positive career
development can benefit from career services that specifically address individual student
identities (Fickling et al., 2018). Career development scholars and practitioners have taken the
position that career services offices need to do more to serve diverse populations (Evans et al.,
2005). In response to this position, the National Career Development Association (NCDA) in
2015 listed diversity and the promotion of social justice as one of its five professional values in
its code of ethics (Fickling et al., 2018). However, The NCDA also cited that it is critical to
reframe beliefs about potential career paths and fields in addition to increasing self-awareness as
it relates to the career development process as being among the most important steps that can be
taken to create positive change and facilitate positive employment outcomes for those students
seeking career services (Fickling et al., 2018). Although career counselors at college career
centers value diversity and social justice, little is known about how these centers actively seek to
serve students in ways that put these values into action (Fickling et al., 2018).
Self-Knowledge and the Transition From College to Work
According to the literature, the majority of college students do not know what they are
looking for in a professional outcome when they enter college, and recognizing the positive
value of personal descriptors and attributes can positively affect the career decisions they make
as students and impact their careers over a lifetime (Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2014).
However, researchers found that recognizing this value is complicated due to the need for
students to manage college life while simultaneously learning to be themselves, thus increasing
the struggle to determine their work identity and future career path (Fouad et al., 2006).
According to Arnold (2018), from the perspective of employers, only 14% thought most college
students are prepared with the self-knowledge needed to successfully transition from school to
24
work. As a result of these collective research findings, there is a need for colleges and
universities to provide students with better career tools to make better career planning decisions
(Arnold, 2018).
According to Bayirbag (2013), the disconnection between a s t ude nt ’s academic
experience and potential career paths following college graduation can cause feelings that
college was a waste of time, energy, and money. Creating a bridge between college curriculum
and individual career hopes and ideals throughout a s t ude nt ’s learning process can positively
shape career choices and career paths (Bayirbag, 2013). When the connection is not made for
students between their education and who they are as human beings, students often choose to
stay away from what may be their ideal job due to sacrificing the development of their own
unique aptitudes and interests due to a lack of self-awareness and perceived realities of the job
market that may or may not actually exist (Bayirbag, 2013). Further, this lack of connection
between college students' field of study and potential career paths leads to anxiety about
unemployment following college that actually works against professional self-discovery and
positive career development (Yasar & Turgut, 2020).
The majority of college students express a lack of readiness to make effective career
decisions including specific information about stages of the career development process (Fouad
et al., 2006). College students are most concerned with external and internal conflicts around
career decision-making and cite knowledge about their own self-efficacy including vocational
identity is a primary concern (Fouad et al., 2006). Franek (2017) suggests alternating college
courses with experiential education focused on career development including job-shadowing
programs, internships, community service, study abroad, and independent projects, can support
students in achieving their professional goals after college by increasing understanding about
25
themselves. Further, a student’s individual career planning abilities in addition to self-efficacy
around the career planning and decision-making process can be improved through exposure to
module-based, career-related programs designed to increase career maturity that includes paying
attention to individual interests and abilities (Talib et al., 2015). Focusing attention on the value
of the qualitative differences among college students, including their fields of studies and
individual strengths, provides an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of the connection
between a student’s education and relevant career paths.
The Need For More Relevant Career Services
Research reveals colleges need to do more to provide students with traditional career
services because the ability of students to find a job in their desired field and their earning
capacity depend on well-informed strategic career decisions (González Canché et al., 2014).
González Canché et al. (2014), found the ability of students to find a job in their desired field, as
well as their earning capacity in those jobs, depends on making well-informed strategic career
decisions leading up to graduation. Researchers identified faculty, staff, and other students from
educational settings as primary influencers that drive career decisions (González Canché, et al.,
2014). Further, studies indicate a need for institutions of higher learning to provide career
services that create more active involvement from the students throughout the college experience
(Seibert et al., 2013).
The Benefits of Early Engagement About Individual Career Planning
The majority of students do not know what they are looking for in a professional outcome
when they enter college and need help to identify individual needs and interests (Seibert et al.,
2013). The career decision making process for college students is not necessarily based on
individual acumen, and therefore it is the role of colleges and universities to provide services and
26
resources to educate students about career planning (Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2014).
Therefore, the need to provide college students with effective career development tools to
identify potential career paths is further evidenced by the favorable employment outcomes for
accounting and engineering majors where jobs clearly and directly utilize their education
immediately following graduation (Vien, 2015). For example, data reveals college students who
have selected majors that lead to specific job fits have lower rates of underemployment at
graduation because their academic programs provide a clear pathway of understanding about
how a job can specifically align with their education (Vien, 2015).
For educators, employers, and students alike, college career services need to expand
opportunities for students to make individual connections between their education and life
trajectories, and become a systemically important link in the college experience (Vinichenko et
al., 2016). Therefore, universities that claim leadership in educating and training the future
workforce are also tasked with the challenge to not only have a powerful research, academic, and
educational infrastructure, but an infrastructure that facilitates an increase in the percentage of
students employed in the area of their major to 100% (Vinichenko et al., 2016). According to
Bayirbag (2013), when students pursue a job search strategy of having many eggs in many
baskets, the time needed to find best-fit job options gets dispersed in an ineffective way
(Bayirbag, 2013). Further, a student’s lack of understanding about their specific strengths and
interests early in their academic pursuits leads to a job search process with too many options
results in a waste of time and energy as well as creating extra pressure on students (Bayirbag,
2013).
Research suggests career maturity and career planning ability can be improved when
there is a specific focus on individual career development (Talib et al., 2015). This finding aligns
27
with seminal research on the subject of career development process among young adults
conducted by Super (1990), that found young adults aged 15–24 attained a higher level of career
maturity than peers when directed to pay attention to their individual interests and abilities in
terms of their career development process. According to Talib et al. (2015), individuals can be
trained to develop career awareness and maturity relative to their own individual abilities, skills,
talents, and interests to develop effective career planning strategies that will benefit them over
time.
The period of time students are enrolled in college serves as the key period for effective
individual career planning where correct career decisions support personal career development in
the future (Chen & Zhou, 2018). Career planning and decision-making for college students
requires self-knowledge and knowledge about potential career paths, and necessitate
communication, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and execution skills to make career choices
(Meder et al., 2013). Studies surrounding the issue of early engagement in the career planning
process for college students indicate the level of self-efficacy could be enhanced with support of
the institution that includes both encouragement and practical experience to connect individual
interests and abilities to work environments (Chen & Zhou, 2018). These findings align with
Bandura’s (1977) seminal research, which stated self-efficacy can be enhanced through
experience, learning, support, encouragement, and an individual’s interaction with the
environment. Therefore, it is reasonable to postulate that early engagement on career planning
and career self-efficacy can lead to increased professional self-awareness and maturity along
with learned skills that result in positive employment outcomes for graduating college students.
28
Preparing Students for Post-Graduate Employment
The need for career services to better connect students’ professional self-awareness and
education to relevant career paths is made even clearer in research findings based on surveys
conducted with both employers and college students by Hart Research Associates (2015) on
behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. In this study, researchers found
the perceptions of preparedness for entry into specific fields and roles between graduating
college students and employers were widely diverging, with new college graduates falling short
on all measurable preparedness outcomes by the employers while the graduates believed they
were well prepared for success (Arnold, 2018). According to Bayirbag (2013), this discrepancy
can also lead students to postpone job-hunting. For example, a total of 55.9% of students
expressed they would not start looking for a job until after graduation as a result of a lack of
understanding about their own professional viability and how to connect it to career paths
(Bayirbag, 2013). Further this discrepancy between professional self-awareness and the job
market results in a trial and error strategy at work for the majority of students viewing the first
few jobs after college as temporary (Bayirbag, 2013).
Chen and Zhou (2018) stated that college students often abandon psychological cognition
in the career decision-making process, resulting in giving up careers they are authentically
interested in and qualified for, due to a lack of understanding about their own self-efficacy as it
relates to individual abilities and interests. Further, this lack of understanding directly affects the
scope of career choices students pursue and career behavior over time (Chen & Zhou, 2018).
Therefore, the career decision-making process needs to emphasize the relationship between the
human and career information, and the human and personal value, in order to realize the
compatibility and accessibility of effective career matching (Chen & Zhou, 2018). Colleges can
29
make a significant contribution to solving the problem of undesired underemployment and
unemployment among new graduates by providing more opportunities for professional self-
discovery and actively connecting the classroom to the world of work in order to benefit the
economy; the individual self-esteem of students; and the overall value of a college degree.
The Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Conceptual Framework
This study used the Clark and Estes (2008) conceptual framework for gap analysis in
order to provide a systematic and analytical method to identify the performance goals for CCU
as it relates to the identified problem of practice. In order to bridge performance gaps and
increase organizational effectiveness, it is necessary to understand the diverging realities
between achieving organizational goals and current organizational outcomes. The gap analysis
framework provides an opportunity for CCU and its students as the primary stakeholder group,
and faculty and staff as secondary stakeholders, to achieve increased knowledge about CCU’s
current performance relative to the professional outcomes of graduating college students in
comparison to the identified goals it seeks in the future (Clark & Estes, 2008). This framework
by Clark and Estes (2008) provides an opportunity to identify key themes and associated
influences as opportunities to inform and make recommendations intended to increase the overall
effectiveness of the university’s recognized stakeholders and facilitate research-based change to
encourage actions and behaviors that better facilitate students seeking full-employment outcomes
upon graduation to achieve these outcomes.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization Influences
This section of the chapter examines knowledge and motivation influences on the
organization as it relates to undesired underemployment and unemployment outcomes among
graduating students. Specifically, it examines the student’s factual, conceptual, procedural, and
30
metacognitive knowledge of graduating college into what is defined in this study as a desired
full-employment outcome (Krathwohl, 2002). In addition, motivation is what advances
engagement in any given task in order to create a desired outcome (Mayer, 2011). Therefore,
also reviewed in this section will be the theories of self-efficacy and goal orientation, and the
associated connection to the motivation of identified stakeholders to achieve CCU’s goal to
increase the number of students graduating college into desired full-employment outcomes
(Rueda, 2011). Finally, the gap analysis will include analyzing organizational influences by
addressing the cultural model and cultural settings that effect the performance of all identified
stakeholders and goal achievement (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Central to this approach is
identifying the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences impacting stakeholders that
will support the achievement of CCU’s identified goals and closing performance gaps.
Knowledge and Skills Influences
Clark and Estes (2008) identify the need to examine both knowledge and skills when
examining performance gaps. Seminal research identifies four types of knowledge: factual,
conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Bloom et al., 1956); Krathwohl (2002). This type of
knowledge influence is important to this study because in order to achieve the goal of increasing
the number of students graduating into full-employment outcomes, it is necessary to understand
the specific types of knowledge and skills required to reach this goal. Preparing students for a
professional outcome of full-employment requires that each of these types of knowledge play a
central role in increasing the professional self-awareness of each student and understanding how
to fully employ the value each student uniquely brings to the job market in preparation for a
desired full-employment outcome upon graduation. Identifying both the primary and secondary
stakeholder’s knowledge and skills in order to perform the necessary tasks to achieve CCU’s
31
goals for increasing the number of students graduating into desired full-employment outcomes is
critical to implementing effective change.
This section will examine the literature related to the types of knowledge students need to
possess in order to reach a desired full-employment outcome upon graduation. Specifically, this
examination will explore the types of knowledge the primary student stakeholder needs in order
to avoid an outcome of underemployment and unemployment while simultaneously increasing
full-employment outcomes. Clark and Estes (2008) also address how organizations rely on
stakeholders’ ability to enhance their knowledge and adapt to change in order to be high
performing. In order to enhance knowledge, it is necessary to understand the different types of
knowledge that play a role in these different outcomes. Krathwohl (2002) describes factual
knowledge as specific information required to solve problems. Conceptual knowledge utilizes
interrelationships between unique and relevant factors, and procedural knowledge addresses the
ability to perform systematic step-by-step functions (Krathwohl, 2002). Metacognitive
knowledge is identified as self-knowledge relative to how individuals learn and perform
(Krathwohl, 2002).
Students Need to Know Specific Information to Make Effective Career Planning Decisions
In order for college students to create a deep understanding about how to make effective
career decisions, scholars have put forward traditional, standardized and even descriptive career
decision-making theories to provide factual information about the career planning process
(Owens et al., 2015). However, these theories are often considered to be too quantitative and
rational to be applied to contemporary college students in a fast-changing global environment.
While career decision-making is recognized as a complex cognitive process in which the
decision-maker organizes facts about themselves and the career environment to make career
32
choices, college students' decision-making skills need to be highly informed by information that
aligns self-knowledge and career knowledge, including communication, analysis, synthesis,
evaluation, and execution of relevant personal and environmental data points in order to create
and implement an individual career plan (Chen & Zhou, 2018).
Students need to know about the interrelationship between relevant factors about
themselves and the job market. Cognitive, contextual, and personality inputs interact with each
other to affect career planning and career (Wendling & Sagas, 2020). The complexity of the
career-decision making process addressed direct and indirect relationships of the variables that
include personality, self-efficacy, career goals, career barriers, and support systems (Wendling &
Sagas, 2020). Research suggests career preparation brings together dimensions including
personality and knowledge about work in a manner that is interrelated in early adulthood
(Stringer et al., 2011). Further, these interrelated career preparation dimensions suggest that
career planning and decision-making precede career confidence and have a direct effect on the
processes of career preparation and identity development in young adults. In seminal research, it
was found while young adults are developing their identities in a number of different domains,
including career, world views, and relationships, career identity is defined as the sense of self
derived from one's development of the intersection between an occupational career and one's
overall identity. Erikson posited that without satisfying work, or a positive career identity
(Arnett, 2000; Erikson, 1968). According to Erikson (1968), forming an identity is the primary
developmental task of this time period for young adults.
33
Students Need to Know How to Prepare for a Positive Employment Outcome at
Graduation
Sampson et al. (2004) define problem-solving as “a series of thought processes in which
information about a problem is used to arrive at a plan of action necessary to remove the gap
between an existing and a desired state of affairs" (p. 5). Individuals seeking to identify a course
of action for their careers involves brainstorming, crystallizing career options, narrowing options,
and putting their thoughts into action (Bullock-Yowell et al., 2012). Outcome expectations,
defined as beliefs about the consequences of engaging in and performing specific behaviors, are
more likely to be manifested when students have clarity about behaviors that contribute to their
goals. Further, when students expect exploring career options and outcomes through specific
procedural models will be effective, they are more likely to engage in seeking, acquiring, and
implementing information that yields a desirable employment outcome (Bullock-Yowell et al.,
2012). The preparation stage of career planning and development requires that individuals have
some grasp of the career choice issues they are facing and have started to think about how to
identify an appropriate career. The action stage then involves engaging in behaviors that are
believed to create desirable outcomes including college major and career direction (Hammond et
al., 2017). As stated by Chen and Zhou (2018), an effective career decision-making model
should increase both the compatibility and accessibility of a student’s career desire through the
cognition of people and career matching. Therefore, understanding the career planning and
development process through an effective model that is relevant to all students requires the
process to provide a foundation for professional self-discovery.
34
Students Need to Know About Their Individual Career Interests, Strengths, and Abilities
By distinguishing the four types of knowledge CCU students need to possess to create
effective change, it will be possible to facilitate the identification of relevant contributing factors
associated with the problem of practice as well as implement change initiatives to achieve the
stated organizational goals. For example, preparing students for an outcome of full-employment
requires that metacognitive knowledge plays a central role in increasing the professional self-
awareness of each student and understanding how to fully employ the value each student
uniquely brings to the job market (Bayirbag, 2013). According to Chen and Zhou (2018), there
are significant differences in career planning, career choice orientation, as well as self-evaluation
of individual ability. For example, researchers found that when a student’s general indecisiveness
is high, it is necessary to locate the specific sources of the student’s indecisiveness including
self-concept and identity as a necessary stage for effective career decision-making (Gati & Amir,
2010). Therefore, according to Gati and Amir (2010), it is necessary to develop a systematic
procedure for interpreting career decision-making barriers and increase students’ self-knowledge.
Table 2 presents the knowledge influences.
35
Table 2
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organization (KMO) Worksheet: Knowledge
Organizational Mission
To cultivate the development of students to benefit others and society by enriching both the mind
and human spirit
Organizational Global Goal
To increase the percentage of students across all CCU schools graduating into
Desired full-employment outcomes by 25 percent by May 2025.
Stakeholder Goal
By May 2023, all identified primary and secondar stakeholders will have the tools to
successfully implement new initiatives, strategies and services to increase the percentage of
students across all CCU schools graduating into desired full-employment outcomes by 25
percent.
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type (i.e.,
declarative (factual or
conceptual), procedural, or
metacognitive)
Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Students need
knowledge of their
own professional
value.
Declarative factual and
conceptual
Survey and Interview questions
focused on students’
understanding of their
individual professional value
at the time of college
graduation.
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type (i.e.,
declarative (factual or
conceptual), procedural,
or metacognitive)
Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Students need to have
knowledge about the
process to identify
jobs.
Procedural Survey questions will identify
students’ understanding of the
career development process
and track individual
engagement with university-
based career services and
resources.
Students need
metacognitive
processes regarding
how to recognize their
interests and values.
Metacognitive Interview questions will focus
on the extent of individual
reflection and awareness,
collaboration with university
career services and resources,
and exploration of the job
market prior to graduation.
36
Motivational Influences
This section of the chapter will focus on literature as it relates to the motivational
influences of students to engage in the type of career development process that will lead to a full-
employment outcome upon graduation. This literature will explore the level students engage in
the cultivation of professional self-awareness as well as engagement with university-based career
services and resources. Further, the pursuit of actively identifying jobs that align with individual
student interests, abilities, values, and education, to pursue post-graduation employment while
still in college will be investigated. Motivation is presented in this study as a key concept not
singularly defined, due to its link to both basic drive and needs, as well as a series of connections
of social and cognitive processes (Pintrich, 2003). Recognizing what motivates students to
engage in a career development process facilitating a full-employment outcome includes the
evaluation and understanding of contributing factors that result in undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment at graduation in order to identify effective solutions that
will result in the desired positive change (Clark & Estes, 2008).
For this study, the literature review will explore self-efficacy theory and goal orientation
theory. These two primary theories are reviewed in this chapter as constructs to view the
motivational influences on the primary stakeholder of students. According to Bandura (2000),
self-efficacy is critical to achieving a desired outcome based on positive behaviors. Further, self-
efficacy theory is presented here as the belief that students are capable of completing the
necessary tasks to achieve the identified goal (Pajares, 2006). In this context, students are being
challenged, relative to their individual perceptions of their efficacy, to implement career planning
strategies that will lead to a desired full-employment outcome upon graduation. Goal orientation
theory is presented as the potential to facilitate students’ discovery and implementation of the
37
necessary tools to reach a desired full-employment outcome upon graduation (Yough &
Anderman, 2006). In the context of this study, goal orientation theory contributes to mastery of
the career development process through increased professional self-awareness, effective
engagement with university career services and resources, and increased learning about the types
of jobs that will align with individual interests, abilities, values, and education. The following
sections will focus on the primary stakeholder of CCU students and their motivational influences
as described through the two theories presented above.
Self-Efficacy Theory
Bandura (2000) states that self-efficacy is necessary to demonstrate positive behaviors
that will contribute to execute a course of action toward a goal. Self-efficacy in this study will be
presented as having a direct relationship to motivation due to students needing to believe they are
competent and capable of executing key courses of action that will lead them to a desired full-
employment outcome, thus avoiding undesired underemployment and unemployment upon
college graduation (Rueda, 2011). Further, seminal research suggests the stronger the self-
efficacy or mastery expectations is for individuals, the more actively engaged they are in the
efforts to achieve a desired outcome (Bandura, 1977). Therefore, influencing positive outcomes
in order to minimize problematic or undesirable outcomes provides humans with the incentive to
act (Bandura, 2000).
College Students Need to Believe in the Professional Value of Their Abilities,
Engagement, and Productivity as it Relates to Employment Outcomes. In their seminal
research, Zimmerman et al. (1998), found the belief that students have in their own efficacy
influenced not only the goals college students set for themselves, but also goals for professional
outcomes. While a positive relationship between students’ belief in their ability to achieve goals
38
as a motivational construct leads to positive outcomes, performance-avoidance goals to avoid
failure in front of others have a negative relationship to positive outcomes (Hsieh et al., 2007).
Hsieh et al. (2007) also found that in addition to having greater self-efficacy, students who
adopted significantly more mastery goals achieved higher levels of academic standing.
Behaviors that contribute to specific employment outcomes at graduation begin early in a
college student’s academic experience. In their research connecting self-efficacy, academic
achievement and career development, Wright et al. (2013) found self-efficacy is an important
cognitive variable related to both academic achievement and positive employment outcomes and
begins early in college students’ higher education experience. This connection is supported by
research that identifies self-efficacy among college students beginning at the early stages of their
college career plays a central role in students’ ability to persist through college and achieve
academic success (Robbins et al., 2004). Further, self-efficacy as it relates to academic
achievement is directly connected to students’ individual career development process while in
college and post-graduation employment outcomes (Hull-Blanks et al., 2005).
Goal Orientation Theory
According to Yough and Anderman (2006), goal orientation theory establishes the
importance of mastery, self-improvement, learning, and advancement. For the purposes of this
study, goal orientation theory will be explored through two key components: (a) mastery goals
and (b) performance goals (Yough & Anderman, 2006). First, mastery goals are categorized as
relating to mastering a task or a specific type of knowledge that provides context for people to
compare current behavior with past behavior (Yough & Anderman, 2006). For the purposes of
this study’s primary stakeholder of CCU college students, this categorization can be effective
when comparing their individual outcomes to their own standards. Further, Yough and
39
Anderman (2006) categorize performance goals as they relate to a level of achievement that goes
beyond peers who are seeking the same achievement or outcome. This is important because both
of these key components of goal orientation theory are connected to the professional outcome
that students are seeking relative to stated motivation when enrolling and attending college.
Relative to the secondary identified stakeholders of faculty and career services staff, while this
study does not directly survey and interview secondary stakeholders, both mastery goals and
performance goals for these secondary stakeholders in relationship to the identified problem of
practice will be examined.
The influence related to goal orientation theory examined here was that college students
need to see improvements in their employment outcomes. At CCU, examining mastery and
performance goals will provide additional information about the different types and levels of
student motivation as it relates to professional outcomes upon graduation. At CCU, mastery is
currently challenged due to CCU’s decentralized structure and the absence of a university-wide
systems-based approach to increase professional self-awareness as it relates to individual student
interests, abilities, values, and how to connect students’ education to potential jobs that align
with this self-awareness. According to Senko and Tropiano (2016), aligning goal achievement
must reflect a desire to attain competence, and the distinction between mastery and performance
is based on the actual definition of competence. Mastery goals, as they relate to achievement,
addresses both task-based criteria and personal criteria (Senko & Tropiano, 2016). Conversely,
performance goals relate to interpersonal criteria including the desire to outperform others
(Senko & Tropiano, 2016). However, it is important to note the desire to outperform others does
not emerge independently; students may desire to outperform their peers for other reasons
(Senko & Tropiano, 2016). With this distinction defined, both mastery and performance goals
40
were examined in this study to gain greater understanding about contributing factors to the
identified problem of practice and their relationship to the achievement of organizational goals
including approach-avoidance conflict. Research states that both of these goals, mastery and
performance goals collectively, give tasks meaning, while orchestrating students’ emotions,
thoughts, and behaviors into contrasting patterns of learning behaviors (Senko & Tropiano,
2016). Table 3 identifies these motivational influences along with information from the
organization mission, global goal, and stakeholder goal in addition to assessment strategies.
Table 3
Assumed Motivational Influences on Performance and Assessments
Organizational Mission
To cultivate the development of students to benefit others and society by enriching both the mind
and human spirit
Organizational Global Goal
To increase the percentage of students across all CCU schools graduating into
desired full-employment outcomes by 25 percent by May 2025.
Stakeholder Goal
By May 2023, all identified primary and secondar stakeholders will have the tools to
successfully implement new initiatives, strategies and services to increase the percentage of
students across all CCU schools graduating into desired full-employment outcomes by 25
percent.
Assumed Motivational Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-efficacy: Students need to believe in their
capabilities and view themselves as valuable
to an employer upon graduation.
Survey and interview questions focused on
students’ understanding of their individual
professional value at the time of college
graduation.
Goal orientation: Students need to see
improvements in full-employment outcomes
for CCU students at graduation.
Survey and interview questions on the
importance of connecting students’ education to
potential career paths in addition to the desire
of achieving a full-employment outcome.
41
Organizational Influences
This section of the review focuses on the organizational influences required to implement
change initiatives that will result in an increase in desired full-employment outcomes.
Knowledge and motivation in relationship to the culture of an organization are key elements
required to effectively conduct a gap analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008). When stakeholders are
missing any aspect of knowledge, or on the other hand, lacking the necessary level of motivation
to achieve organizational goals, the desired performance outcomes sought by the organization
are typically not achieved because it is not embedded into the organization’s culture. Clark and
Estes (2008) examine culture as another key element that contributes to performance,
particularly as it relates to the goals, beliefs, emotions, processes, and values learned by the
stakeholders, which in this study is CCU students. However, even when knowledge and
motivation are a significant part of an organization’s culture, desired outcomes may still go
unrealized as a result of organizational influences preventing the achievement of its identified
goals. For example, organizations that view employees as a primary organizational stakeholder
and provide career development strategies and opportunities for employees that advances
employees' career potential, report measurable gains in both job performance and improved
levels of employee commitment to the organization (Bambacas, 2010).
There are a number of organizational culture theories addressing change that are pertinent
to this study’s focus on creating and implementing new initiatives, strategies, and services to
increase the percentage of students across all CCU schools graduating into desired full-
employment outcomes by 25%. Research states that excessive organizational change is a
significant challenge across business and academic environments (Johnson et al., 2016). Further,
many researchers emphasize organizations must change frequently and efficiently to deal with
42
the increasing turbulence and complexity of today’s business environments (Bercovitz &
Feldman, 2008). Viewing students as the primary organizational stakeholder can add value to
better understand the role both knowledge and motivation play into contributing to an
organizational culture that leads to specific employment outcomes for CCU college students
upon graduation. Further, these models will assist in understanding how providing specific types
of career education and development resources, services, and pedagogical strategies might also
improve student performance and commitment around the issue of employment outcomes.
The Organization Needs to Align the Classroom to the Changing World of Work
The identified problem of undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment
among college students at graduation, and its connectedness to an ever-changing, complex, and
often turbulent job market, set within the concept of change overload, will be explored in order
to better understand how to sustain CCU’s identified goal over time. One cultural setting
influence is the organization’s ability to provide dynamic career education and resources that are
relevant for all types of job markets. For example, according to Abrahamson (2004), many
change initiatives are being identified as fraught and intense, bringing potential stress to the
organizational environment that can work against effecting positive change. Further,
Abrahamson (2000) also addresses initiatives to manage the impact of initiative overload as it
relates to changing the culture of an organization to effect desired positive change.
According to Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001), cultural settings provide a legitimate
framework to facilitate movement towards a goal when people gather for a common purpose.
Aligning the classroom as well as career education and resources to reflect changes in the world
of work can contribute to a cultural setting that can progress all stakeholders to its desired goal of
increasing desired full-employment outcomes for students upon graduation. Researched concepts
43
relating to cultural models and settings that are relevant to the change process includes a focus on
the importance of the identity of individual stakeholders and the organization itself, as well as
inclusiveness in the decision-making process and a culture of reflection in order to improve
effectiveness and overcome resistance to change (Burke, 2013; Schein, 2004; Schwandt &
Marquardt, 2000). Further, challenges surrounding the management of organizational change in
institutions of higher education have several unique characteristics that include 1) overcoming
traditional faculty resistance to change; 2) working with faculty governance; and 3) working
through and around the administrative decision-making process and departmental power
structures (Clarke, 2007; Tagg, 2012). Therefore, it is critical to recognize the role that culture
plays within institutions of higher education as a contributor to forward movement towards the
goal of increasing desired full-employment outcomes for CCU students by 25% by the year
2025.
Last, research also indicates that higher education organizations must embrace rapid rates
of change in order to stay relevant and competitive in the 21
st
century marketplace (Burke,
2013). For the purposes of this section, recognizing these two key areas: (a) effectively managing
and implementing multiple change initiatives simultaneously and over time to effect the desired
positive change, and (b) overcoming organizational resistance to engage in change, addresses
motivational influences related to both knowledge and motivation of all identified primary and
secondary stakeholders.
44
The Organization Needs to Promote the Positive Individual Value of Each Student’s Unique
Interests, Abilities, and Values
For first year college students, negative academic emotions serve as detrimental factors to
engagement and achievement (Tempelaar et al., 2012). Research also states that unpleasant
emotions about the educational environment and individual efficacy among new college students
can significantly influence how students engage and perform in college (Pekrun et al., 2010).
Another cultural influence setting is the ability of students to discover and leverage their own
professional value as a central driver of the job search process. Providing more opportunities to
create environments that support individual student development requires both the
acknowledgement and understanding that one size does not fit all (Niculescu et al., 2016). For
example, promoting the individual value students bring to the job market based on specific
interests, abilities, and values can serve as a first stage or contemplation of the career
development process for college students early in their academic experience (Wendling & Sagas,
2020). According to Wendling and Sagas (2020), in the career domain, students may implicitly
assume that a career ‘‘just happens’’ after college. Following the contemplation stage, the
decision-making stage occurs when students have some grasp of the issues surrounding career
choice and have started to think about how to make desired changes to identify an appropriate
career (Niculescu et al., 2016). By promoting professional self-discovery and validating the
unique value each student possess, the institution of higher learning would be engaging in
activities leading to facilitating effective decisions on a career direction or potentially to change
directions (Niculescu et al., 2016).
45
The Organization Needs to Value Change in an Ever-Changing and Complex Job Market
One cultural model influence is CCU’s need to recognize how the changing job market in
an increasingly global environment driven by technology also changes how students need to be
equipped to graduate into full-employment outcomes. According to Erlinghagen (2019), because
market conditions are constantly undergoing changes, it is necessary for organizations as well as
employees to steadily adapt to these changes. Students who are currently enrolled in college will
enter a job market environment that will likely be nearly unrecognizable by the time they reach
their peak earning potential in their late 30s. The relationship between education, individual and
contextual factors, and labor market outcomes at various stages in the life course including upon
college graduation is complex (Kriesi & Schweri, 2019). Therefore, valuing change in the work
environment is necessary in order to essentially adapt to preparing student for jobs that do not
even exist in today’s marketplace. Starting with the demand for labor, whether or not the
organization adapts to change and to what extent, can generally be described as being related to
the organization’s flexibility (Erlinghagen, 2019).
The Organization Needs to Value the Alignment of Career Education and Services to Reflect
the Individual Interests, Abilities, and Values of Students
To graduate students into outcomes of full-employment, the organization needs to
provide them career education and services to support the connection of individual professional
strengths to jobs that will leverage them. Students who engage in career development may face
real or perceived internal and external barriers like a lack of recognition of individual acumen
and traits. It is this lack of recognition that prevents students from benefitting from career
services (Fickling et al., 2018). Research suggests individual career planning ability requires
paying attention to personal interests and abilities (Salleh et al., 2013). Therefore, to deliver
46
effective career education and services, colleges need to provide students increased opportunities
to recognize and align their personal and professional assets as a foundational step to increasing
desired full-employment outcomes. Table 4 identifies the organization mission, global goal,
stakeholder goal, and assumed organizational influences.
Table 4
Assumed Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
To cultivate the development of students to benefit others and society by enriching both the mind
and human spirit
Organizational Global Goal
To increase the percentage of students across all CCU schools graduating into
Desired full-employment outcomes by 25 percent by May 2025.
Stakeholder Goal
By May 2023, all identified primary and secondary stakeholders will have the tools to successfully
implement new initiatives, strategies and services to increase the percentage of students across all
CCU schools graduating into desired full-employment outcomes by 25 percent.
Assumed Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
The organization needs to value change in an
ever-changing and complex job market.
Interview questions focused on students’ specific
acquisition of career planning tools to prepare
them for full-employment outcomes over time
including how to navigate changes in the job
market.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
The organization needs to value alignment of its
career education and services to reflect the
individual interests, abilities, and values of
students.
Survey and interview questions that focus on
student needs for specialized career services
and resources along with identifying barriers to
individual engagement with existing career
services and resources.
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
The organization needs to provide students with
specific resources that allow them to connect
their education to a changing world of work.
Interview questions about what students need to
successfully transition from college to work in
a desirable and relevant way.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
The organization needs to provide on-going
opportunities to discover individual interests,
abilities, and values through required career
development education and resources.
Survey and interview questions about types of
career services students engaged with and the
types of resources and services needed to reach
a full employment outcome at graduation.
47
Conceptual Framework: the Interaction of Stakeholder’s Knowledge, Motivation, and the
Organizational Context
The conceptual framework for this study requires a framework that addresses knowledge,
motivation, and organizational context as identified by Clark and Estes (2008). According to
Merriam and Tisdell (2016), it is necessary to construct research questions that will result in the
organization achieving its goals. Engaging in systematic inquiry in order to gain insight and
understanding of complex problems begins by choosing a study design that correlates with your
research purpose and is a comfortable match with the researcher’s worldview, personality, and
skills (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Therefore, it is important to understand the philosophical
foundations surrounding different types of research in order to design and implement an effective
research study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The constructivist worldview associated with the
conceptual framework described by Clark and Estes (2008), aligns with this researcher’s
worldview as well as providing a practical lens to increase understanding about the identified
problem of college students graduating into outcomes of underemployment and unemployment.
Maxwell (2013) states the purpose of a conceptual framework is to illustrate the primary
concepts, ideas, and variables that will be studied and to depict the relationship between them.
Further, the role of the framework is to assist in developing the design of the research, including
goals, research questions, and methodology as well as the identification of any possible threats to
validity (Maxwell, 2013). The conceptual framework indicates there is a connection between
self-efficacy and motivation as it relates to the career development planning process among
college students. Research reveals that career decision self-efficacy is considered a significant
factor in the career development of college students (Betz, 2004; Chung, 2002; Conklin et al.,
2013). Further, Bandura’s (1977) seminal concept of career decision self-efficacy directly refers
48
to the belief of an individual that they can successfully complete the tasks necessary to make
effective career decisions.
Organizational factors also contribute to successfully implementing effective
organizational change. For example, the decentralized environment of CCU plays a significant
role that impacts how students engage in the career planning and development process, and this
will affect the organization’s ability to consolidate the necessary initiatives to solve the identified
problem. As a result of CCU’s organizational structure, there are distinctive cultures between
each of its seventeen separate schools. In order to create an environment that will facilitate
success change across all schools as identified in the organizational goal, the conceptual
framework used in this study will assist stakeholders to forge a university-wide culture
surrounding the career planning and development process that will then lead to effective
organizational change and achieving the identified organizational goal. The following framework
(Figure 2) depicts the various components that factor into this process of implementing effective
change.
49
Figure 2
Conceptual Framework
Conclusion
This study’s purpose is to explore and understand the factors that contribute to the
problem of undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new college
graduates. In this chapter, a review of the literature demonstrates that understanding the level of
professional self-awareness among college students and their associated ability to connect
individual interests, abilities, and education to post-graduation jobs that align with these same
interests, abilities, and education is key to initiating effective change to solve this problem.
50
Students as primary stakeholders, and faculty and staff as secondary stakeholders, may be
experiencing gaps in knowledge about how students are engaging in career services and
resources and the types of career services and resources students need to graduate into an
outcome of desired full-employment. Literature supports the importance of understanding
students’ self-efficacy and goal orientation as it relates to the identified problem of practice of
undesired underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates.
Motivational influences have also been explored to better understand the types of
knowledge students need to experience a full-employment outcome. Innovative leaders in higher
education must also address a balance between implementing effective change that achieves
desired goals while at the same time navigating the reality of change overload as described in the
literature. According to Corley and Gioia (2004), change overload can also negatively impact
both individual and organizational identities. The framework focused on both knowledge and
motivational influences of students relative to CCU’s organizational structure, and the potential
role it might play in achieving its identified organizational goal. Chapter Three will present the
methodology this study used in order to explore and better understand the assumed knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences that contribute to the specific employment outcomes of
new college graduates as CCU.
51
Chapter Three: Methodology
This study utilizes a mixed methods approach through a quantitative survey and
qualitative interviews to explore emerging themes aligned with its research questions. This
study’s research questions explored the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that
influence specific employment outcomes for undergraduate students upon graduation.CCU
students are the primary stakeholder population that is the focus of this study. CCU students
represent an overall population of approximately 48,500 students including undergraduate and
graduate students. This study primarily focused on undergraduate students which represent a
population of approximately 20,500 of full-time students across multiple individual CCU
schools. This population breaks down demographically as 29% White/Caucasian; 25.4%
International; 16.9% Asians; 14.6% Hispanic; 8.8% Other; and 5.3% Black/African/American. It
is significant to note that CCU is a highly competitive institution with an admission rate for the
fall 2019 freshman class of 11.4% among 66,198 applicants. Further, the average GPA for the
2019 freshman class ranges between 3.72 and 3.99 with an average SAT range between 1360
and 1510. Fifteen percent of the fall 2019 freshman class are first-generation college students.
Among this primary stakeholder population of CCU students, the undergraduate student
retention rate for freshman classes entering between 2015 and 2018 ranged between 96% and
97%, based on full-time freshman students returning for their sophomore year. It is also
significant to note the six-year graduation rate for undergraduate CCU students for graduating
classes between 2014 and 2019 ranged between 91% and 92%. The secondary identified
stakeholders of faculty and staff represent an overall population of approximately 21,000. This
secondary stakeholder population breaks down to 4,600 full-time faculty and 16,400 staff
employed 50% time or more.
52
When examining the responses of the participants participating in this study, factors that
include majors and demographic criteria were evaluated in connection with specific types of
employment outcomes upon graduation. Demographic data points are important to address in
this study because the contemporary workplace requires the acceptance, understanding, and
celebration of the differences in other people’s values, ages, religious beliefs, genders,
ethnicities, sexual orientations, educational backgrounds, and physical abilities (Alexander et al.,
2015). Self-inclusion can reduce negative outcomes in the workplace while increasing positive
outcomes that benefit individual employees who represent diverse populations in addition to
benefiting the organization (Ferdman & Deane, 2013). Relative to the connection between
demographic data points and specific employment outcomes among new CCU graduates,
recognizing any relationship between under-represented or minority populations adds another
layer of information impacting knowledge, motivation and organizational factors associated with
students graduating into outcomes of underemployment and unemployment.
The conceptual framework of the gap analysis process model by Clark and Estes (2008)
was used to learn about the following concepts and measure the gap between current
achievement and desired performance goal levels, and then identify the cost-benefit of closing
each gap identified in this study (Clark & Estes, 2008).
• The level the university is delivering individually impactful career resources and services
to undergraduate students across all schools and programs.
• The level that students are effectively being provided with career education and tools to
increase individual awareness about their own professional value.
• The extent students are equipped to leverage their education, individual interests, and
abilities in order to set them up for a positive employment outcome upon graduation.
53
• The extent that equity issues related to employment preparation and outcomes across
specific CCU schools and majors are leveled for all students.
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1
The survey sampling was targeted to alumni who have graduated from CCU within the
last five years with an undergraduate degree. This criterion has been selected because a one- to
five-year timeline represented enough time since the survey participants graduated to determine
immediate correlational outcomes around employment while still being recent enough for
graduates to recall specific career related experiences as students as addressed in the survey’s
questions.
Criterion 2
The survey represented current undergraduates across all CCU schools by randomizing
this target population of recent CCU graduates to represent a broad range of majors as well as
demographic data points. Through this randomization, the survey provided an opportunity to
identify key differences relative to student knowledge and motivation as it relates to each of
CCU’s schools across multiple majors that may play a contributing role in specific employment
outcomes.
The survey sampling strategy was targeted to focus on recent CCU graduates who are one
to five years post-graduation at the undergraduate level. All recent graduates were surveyed for
the purpose of representing the greater population of primary stakeholders as described in the
above criterion. The approximate age of the participants ranged from 21 years to 27 years of age.
For the mixed-methods approach utilized in this study, the survey was larger and more random
compared to the interview component, which was small, non-random, and purposeful (Merriam
54
& Tisdell, 2016). Participants were invited to participate in the survey through an email sent to
this targeted population through a partnership with both the CCU Central Career Center and the
CCU Alumni Association in order to link to this specific population.
This targeted population was selected to represent the study’s primary stakeholder
because the one- to five-year post graduation timeline focused the research in order to meet the
criteria as outlined above. This survey sampling, therefore, added value to the study because
while qualitative research can never create an objective truth or reality, the survey acted as a
gateway to qualitative interviews that served as correspondence between research and the real
world for the purpose of increasing the credibility of the study’s findings (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). The survey dissemination represented the beginning of this study’s data collection and
was followed by volunteer interviews with these primary stakeholders.
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale
Criterion 1
Recent alumni interviewed for the study indicated their interest to do so after completing
the survey. By utilizing this approach of volunteering for an interview, participants likely had a
greater level of engagement about the topic and the s t udy’s specific focus. Therefore, the subject
entering the interview interaction potentially had the relevant experiences and perspectives to
contribute to the knowledge about the identified problem of practice. All interview participants
clearly understood the purpose of the study and were assured that complete confidentiality would
be provided. Because participants had already completed the survey, it was possible to
personalize each interview and build on their survey responses in order to maximize the
relevance of their career-related experiences as CCU students as well as their careers since
graduation.
55
Criterion 2
Interview subjects represented a cross-section of majors and demographic data points.
Research participants should reflect the diversity of the culture and conditions associated with
the topic of study and take into account individual differences including demographic data points
(McIntosh & Morse, 2015). Ensuring that recent CCU alumni selected for an interview reflected
this diversity, including multiple CCU schools and majors, helped avoid potential ethical and
negative research consequences. Therefore, this specific criterion contributed to the
generalizability of the study ’s results and offered an effective analysis of the identified problem
to generate potential solutions to bridge the performance gap and increase the percentage of CCU
students graduating into desired full-employment outcomes.
Further, this criterion supported the overall objective for incorporating a qualitative
approach to this research to look beyond quantitative variables linked to the problem, and
increase understanding about how specific change initiatives set within organizational contexts
can contribute to solving the problem of practice.
For the interviews, a non-random approach that emphasizes diversity of backgrounds and
student and post-graduation experiences supported the foundational underpinnings and
credibility of the interviews. The already stated rationale behind selecting recent alumni who
graduated with an undergraduate degree within the most recent five-year timeframe connected
the student experience to professional outcomes and career development immediately following
graduation in a relevant way. Using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, it was
possible to gather, observe, and analyze data that specifically provides insights into
organizational influences that effect the primary stakeholders of students as well as passive
56
information about the role the study’s identified secondary stakeholders of faculty and staff may
play in contributing to specific professional outcomes for new CCU graduates.
Measuring the gap between actual performance and the desired performance of
increasing the number of students graduating into outcomes of desired full-employment
addressed key concepts relative to examining the delivery of career services and resources within
CCU’s decentralized structure. Further, any disparity in the level of these services provided to
students in different schools and programs were also identified.
Seven key concepts were addressed:
• Employment outcomes at graduation.
• Expectations for employment outcomes at a graduation throughout the college
experience.
• Awareness about the career development and decision-making process for college
students.
• Type and amount of engagement students have with career services offices.
• Gaps between the types of career development services and resources that are being
provided and the types of services and resources students need.
• Individual perceptions of the job CCU is doing to graduate students into outcomes of full-
employment.
• The role identified secondary stakeholders play in facilitating professional outcomes of
graduating college students.
This portion of the study sought to interview 10 to 12 people from the larger survey
sampling. This represents approximately 10% of the total survey respondents. This qualitative
57
interview segment of the study was completed within three to four weeks of participants
completing the survey instrument.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Survey
The survey instrument (see Appendix A) consisted of 15 questions, including Likert-
scale, rating, and multiple-choice response options and 1 open-ended question. According to
Creswell and Creswell (2018), survey design requires a purpose statement that identifies the
proposed major variables in a study. This survey sought to examine and identify factors that
contribute to the outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new college
graduates. Further, the survey examined and evaluated the level of awareness graduating college
students possess about their own individual interests and values in order to gain understanding
about any connection between the professional awareness of new and recent graduates and the
effectiveness of career services and resources at CCU.
This survey also addressed the types of career services and resources CCU provides
students and the relationship between these services and resources and the level of motivation
and engagement students experience leading to specific employment outcomes upon graduation.
For example, different employment outcomes identified through the survey was also considered
as context for interview questions for the targeted, non-random participants involved in the study
that seek to identify student use of career services and resources (Alkin, 2010).
As previously stated, survey respondents were invited to participate in the study through
a partnership with both the CCU Central Career Center and the CCU Alumni Association to
connect to this specific population and link them first to an online survey. The email sent by both
the CCU Central Career Center and the CCU Alumni Association, invited participants to click on
58
a link in the email to connect to the survey instrument of 14 closed-end questions and 1 open-
ended question as described in the previous section. The survey was posted on Qualtrics due to
the ease of facilitating data collection into organized spreadsheets for data analysis and thereby
reducing the potential for entry errors while simultaneously accelerating hypothesis testing to
further prepare the interview questions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). This survey provided the
opportunity to identify participants for the second potion of this study’s research of qualitative
follow-up interviews representing the smaller, more focused, and non-random part of the study.
Interviews
The interview process focused on open-ended questions in order to collect meaningful
responses that reflect the unique experiences of each participant in order to increase the scope of
research findings. This qualitative portion of the study’s mixed methods approach (see Appendix
B) brought personal interests and values into the study in order to validate the accuracy of
research findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). All interview participants were recent CCU alumni
who graduated with an undergraduate degree within the last five years. As previously outlined,
interview participants reflected diverse backgrounds and demographic data points in order to
enhance knowledge about any type of inequities that exist in relationship to students graduating
into undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment.
All interviews followed a semi-structured interview protocol that lasted approximately 30
to 40 minutes. Participants were asked questions that focused on individual knowledge about
their own career education and development process as well as motivational and organizational
influences effecting this process. Organizational questions focused on connecting how the
knowledge and motivational influences of the primary stakeholders of CCU students is effected
by the delivery of career resources and services. Following the collection of the qualitative
59
interview data, the information was further analyzed to identify specific behavioral patterns
obtained and collected through the experiences of the interview participants that lead to specific
employment outcomes at graduation (Patton, 2002).
Data Analysis
To fulfill the purpose of this project and conduct an analysis of the responses from the
survey tool and interviews, the survey data was analyzed through the Qualtrics website.
Responses that did not contain a response for the status of employment outcome upon graduation
were eliminated. The individual volunteer interviews as a subset of the survey respondents were
conducted via Zoom and recorded with the permission of each interviewee. The interviews were
automatically transcribed through the Zoom software and each interview transcription was saved
as a stand-alone document for further analysis. The content from both the quantitative data
collected from the survey and the follow-up interviews were analyzed for emerging themes,
relevant patterns, and in-common behaviors related to the identified problem of practice. The
interviews were individually coded in order to identify specific themes, patterns, and concepts
(Galvin, 2015; Patton, 2015). The analysis of data for this study was based on Creswell’s (2014)
recommended process for presenting data analysis plans as a series of steps with one step leading
to another. The following five steps were utilized in this study:
Step 1: Report information about the number of participants in the sample who did or did
not respond to the survey.
Step 2: Examine data for overall initial analysis and identify balance or imbalance among
respondents.
Step 3: Categorize and describe data including numerical responses and percentages.
Step 4: Code interview data.
60
Step 5: Identify statistics and themes for inclusion in the study’s findings.
Step 6: Interpret data visually in figures and tables .
Following each of these six steps, the data was presented as research findings in this
study, which in turn lead to the recommendations based on the emerging themes and influences
in addition to the statistical data presented in figures and tables as well as in the study’s narrative.
These recommendations then led to an implementation plan specifically for CCU based on
Kotter’s 8 step change model (Kotter, 2012). Last, the data and findings that support the
implementation plan were organized into a plan of evaluation utilizing the four levels of
evaluation by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016).
Credibility and Trustworthiness
For the purposes of conducting research for this study, I advanced the study’s credibility
and trustworthiness at each juncture by focusing on preventing bias, facilitating safe and
authentic engagement with participants, and accurately collecting, analyzing, and presenting
data. According to Creswell (2012), researcher bias is the result of researchers seeking findings
that support and further their study’s foundational thesis or identified problem. I therefore
utilized a holistic approach and reflexivity for the study’s qualitative interview portion to
develop a complex picture of the identified problem that also incorporates how my personal and
professional background may shape interpretations of the meaning associated with all collected
data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Specifically, reflexivity defined as individual self-reflection
actively practiced addressed any potential imbalance of power with interview participants that
could negatively affect the interpretation of data provided (Finlay, 2002).
To ensure quantitative validity for the survey, both content validity and whether or not
the items being measured are the factors originally sought to be measured was a key focus to
61
ensure credibility of the study’s findings (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Further, looking at how
the various responses in the survey appear predictive of other findings in the qualitative
interviews provided another opportunity to enhance credibility and trust (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). The Qualtrics website as a collection resource also allowed me to run various reports in
order to more effectively analyze key factors and reduce the opportunity for data entry errors.
Further, the recruitment strategies for participants in both quantitative and qualitative parts of the
study, focusing only on those recent graduates who have graduated within the last five years with
a bachelor’s degree from CCU, prevented skewing the data.
Validity for qualitative research is a key strength of this type of research, based on the
determination of whether the findings are accurate from the standpoint of both the researcher and
the participants (Creswell & Miller, 2000). The method of triangulation was also used in order to
increase credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. Examining the evidence from different
data sources in order to use it to establish key themes was a priority to accurately interpret the
responses to the interview questions. Key findings may be confirmed by selected interviewees
for member checking in order to determine the accuracy of these findings (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). Further, checking the transcripts to ensure there are no mistakes and utilizing recordings
to check responses contributed to both the validity and accuracy of the study.
Ethics
This research serves the interest of current and future students as well as CCU and its
agents. Due to the nature of this study’s focus of inquiry, I do not foresee anyone being harmed
by any aspect of this research. This study only had one primary researcher, who designed the
research questions and frame its scope. The results were disseminated in this dissertation as well
as given to university leadership included selected agents of the university. All standards for
62
carrying out an ethical study were followed, and I observed and followed the rules and
regulations of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Southern California.
The Belmont Report (National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of
Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1978) was written in order to protect research subjects
based on three principles: Respect for persons; beneficence; and justice. Relative to consent, all
participants in this study were allowed to make their own choices to participate or not participate
as well as engage in follow-up interviews. I protected their identities as it relates to information
reported in the study’s surveys and interviews. All participants were addressed and treated with
respect and all promises of confidentiality and representations about the purpose of the study
made throughout the research process were adhered to and realized (Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
Further, I adhered to the principle that the research must first do no harm, and second, maximize
possible benefits and minimize possible harms. There was no compensation for participation
beyond helping current and future college students reach desired full-employment outcomes
upon graduation through their participation in the study. This study involves no more than
minimal risk to participants.
I am a professor at CCU who has created and currently teaches career courses in both the
undergraduate and graduate business programs. I believe this study can further benefit the
university by providing information that can add new value to its current approach to the
delivery of career education, services, and resources. Because I recognizes how participants
perceive my credibility and trustworthiness has an effect on their views of the study’s integrity, I
was open about both the purpose and intent of the study to all participants (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). There is a potential risk that my personal interest in this study’s findings could influence
the outcome of the study, and therefore my own biases were checked through a review of both
63
the survey and interview questions by his dissertation chair and committee. Further, participants
in the study were provided with information in the invitation to take the survey that I was
conducting this research as a doctoral student and not as a CCU professor in order to mitigate
any confusion among participants relative to the positionality of being the principal researcher.
Limitations and Delimitations
Limitations aim to identify potential weaknesses of the study while delimitations aim to
narrow the scope of study (Creswell, 2012). One limitation of the study is due to the inability of
surveys to capture all possible types of data for all participants in all circumstances (Robinson &
Leonard, 2019). Further, it is necessary when using a survey instrument to consider whether or
not respondents are able to be accurate and honest in their responses (Robinson & Leonard,
2019). Creswell and Creswell (2018) assert that limitations of interviews include information
being filtered through the views of interviewees, bias associated with the researcher’s presence,
and the inability for all participants to equally describe and communicate their unique
perspective. For mixed-methods procedures, by assuming that each type of data collection has
both limitations as well as strengths, it is possible for the researcher to consider how the
strengths of both approaches can collectively provide a more accurate understanding of the
research problem and overcome limitations of each (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Restricting a study to one specific demographic, which in this study includes only using
research participants who are recent CCU graduates, can be considered a delimitation that also
may limit relevance for any population beyond the parameters of this research study (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). Therefore, a general limitation of the study is the lack of comparison groups to
more accurately assess the effect that specific types of factors and influences have on specific
employment outcomes upon college graduation. For example, a significant gap between
64
individual self-awareness as it relates to the career development process and students using that
awareness to connect their education to right-fit employment opportunities, would indicate a
need for further exploration through additional questions focusing on self-awareness in order to
better reflect the unique experiences of each participant.
65
Chapter Four: Research and Findings
Chapter Four is an analysis of the study’s findings about the factors that contribute to the
problem of underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates at CCU. This
chapter will examine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to
employment outcomes for new college graduates at CCU. The purpose of this research was to
develop recommendations to increase the number of students graduating into desired full-
employment outcomes by examining the organizational culture and the relationships among the
key identified stakeholder of CCU students and CCU career services and resources. Therefore,
this study primarily identifies influences that contribute to specific employment outcomes
including undesired underemployment, undesired unemployment, and desired full-employment.
Further, this research examined the type of knowledge CCU students need to have in order to
positively increase their own motivation to identity and find full-employment outcomes upon
graduation from college. The following research questions guided this study:
1. What are the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences that contribute to
specific employment outcomes among new college graduates at CCU?
2. What is the organizational culture and relationship between CCU students and CCU
career services and resources?
3. What type of knowledge do CCU students need to increase their motivation to find full-
employment outcomes upon graduation?
The findings presented in this chapter focus on three themes that emerged through the
research and the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences for each of these three
themes. Each theme will highlight key information relating to the study’s research questions. The
three themes that emerged through the research and presented in this chapter are:
66
1. Findings of Employment Outcomes and Student Experiences
2. Findings of Professional Self-Awareness and Employment Outcomes
3. Findings of Career Planning Efficacy Based-On Student Resources and Services
Each of these three emerging themes include both quantitative data and qualitative data
addressing the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences contributing to each theme.
The quantitative data was collected from an online questionnaire that was distributed to 7,500
recent CCU students who graduated with an undergraduate degree through a direct email
invitation. This survey invitation was personally sent by the Executive Director of the CCU
Central Career Center in consultation with the CCU Alumni Association on behalf of the
researcher. This target population sample consisted of 1,500 graduates from each of the
following five graduating classes: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. This target population was
randomly selected through the CCU Alumni Association database in order to assist in examining
the relationships between and among the identified variables in this study that contribute to
achieving the goal of this research (Creswell and Creswell, 2018). The questionnaire was
completed by 316 respondents between the dates of December 2, 2020 and December 26, 2020.
The response rate was 4.21% (n = 316). The respondents represented diverse demographics and
employment outcomes across multiple CCU majors. For the purposes of analyzing survey data, I
did not purposely seek to limit survey participation based on any specific demographic
descriptors or employment outcomes in order to inclusively interpret and potentially draw
conclusions from the larger meaning of the data derived from the survey (Creswell & Creswell,
2018).
The quantitative data provided information to study specific employment outcomes of
recent CCU graduates earning an undergraduate degree from May 2015 through May 2019,
67
along with demographic information that could prove relevant in identifying influences or trends
contributing to different employment outcomes upon graduation. The qualitative data provided
the opportunity to apply a theory-based approach to more fully understand and interpret the
survey data while also adding new insight and understanding about all collected data. The
qualitative data represented a subset population of the survey respondents with participants
volunteering to be interviewed as an option at the conclusion of the survey. Among the 316
survey respondents, 118 (36.5%) volunteered to participate in a Zoom-based interview. Among
these 118 interview volunteers, I selected potential interview participants based on the goal of a
qualitative population representing diverse genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, majors, and
employment outcomes. Further, participant selection emphasized a focus on including more
respondents who identified as graduating into underemployment and unemployment outcomes
(not by choice) than those who graduated into full-employment or underemployment and
underemployment (by choice) outcomes. From this outreach to interview volunteers, 11
participated in 1:1 interviews discussed in greater detail later in this chapter. A saturation point
occurred at eleven interviews, where emerging themes that were aligned with the research
questions became clear.
At the beginning of each interview, participants provided their acknowledgement and
approval that the interviews were being recorded for the purposes of research. All participants
stated their approval to have their interviews recorded before the interview proceeded and no one
declined. I used a semi-structured approach to the interviews in order to provide greater
flexibility to ask follow-up questions to add further clarity and information. This interview
protocol recorded the experiences of participants that contributed to their own specific
employment outcomes upon graduation as well as their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related
68
to this study’s problem of practice (Merriam, 2009). The mixed-methods approach utilized data
provided by the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews as presented in this chapter. I
interpreted this data through triangulation of the findings of the survey, interviews, and the
literature.
Demographics of Survey Respondents
In mixed methods research design, collecting the demographics of research participants
provided opportunities to examine how individuals respond differently to dependent variables
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Overall, approximately 29.7% of survey respondents were
underemployed or unemployed (not by choice) upon graduation from CCU (see Table 5). An
additional 18.99% were underemployed and unemployed by choice with an additional 2.85% of
respondents indicating self-employment. Across all respondents, 48.42% indicated a full-
employment outcome.
Table 5
Employment Outcome of Respondents
Response Options Respondents Number Percentage
Unemployed Not by Choice 58 18.35
Underemployed Not by Choice 36 11.39
Fully-Employed 153 48.42
Unemployed By Choice 37 11.71
Underemployed By Choice 23 7.28
Self-Employed 9 2.85
n = 316 100
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According to Gibbs (2007), basic demographics such as sex and ethnicity are particularly
useful for organizing and comparing different societal experiences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Overall, 55.86% of the survey’s 316 respondents identified their gender as female compared to
39.24% who identified as male (see Table 6). In addition, 1.58% identified their gender as non-
binary and 0.32% preferred to self-describe.
Table 6
Respondents’ Gender
Response Options Respondents Number Percentage
Female 186 55.86
Male 124 39.24
Non-Binary 5 1.58
Prefer not to disclose 0 0
Prefer to self-describe 1 0.32
n = 316 100
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Among the respondents who identified as being unemployed (not by choice) at graduation,
the number of females and males was equal at 28, while 2 respondents who identified their
gender as non-binary were also unemployed (not by choice) at graduation. For respondents who
identified as being underemployed (not by choice) at graduation, there were slightly more
females (19) than males (16) in this category of potential employment outcomes along with 1
respondent who identified their gender as non-binary.
The majority of survey respondents identified their age in the 26-30 range (62.65%). In
addition, 32.61% identified their age as 20-25, followed by both categories of 31-35 and 36+ at
2.21% each, and 1 respondent (.32%) who did not disclose their age (see Table 8). Of the 316
survey respondents, 83.86% identified their sexual orientation as straight/heterosexual, 4.75% as
bisexual, 4.75% as gay, 2.85% as queer, 1.90% preferring not to disclose, 0.63% preferring to
self-describe, and 0.32% as questioning (Tables 7, 8, and 9).
Table 7
Unemployed and Underemployed at Graduation (Gender)
Response Options Respondents n = 316
# Unemployed Not by Choice
# Underemployed Not by
Choice
Female 28 19
Male 28 16
Non-Binary 2 1
Prefer not to disclose 0 0
Prefer to self-describe 0 0
n = 58 n = 36
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Table 8
Age of Respondents
Response Options Respondents Number Percentage
20-25 103 32.61
26-30 198 62.65
31-35 7 2.21
36+ 7 2.21
Did not Disclose 1 .32
n = 316 100
Table 9
Sexual Orientation of Respondents
Response Options Respondents Number Percentage
Bisexual 15 4.75
Gay 15 4.75
Lesbian 3 .95
Straight/Heterosexual 265 .83.86
Queer 9 2.85
Questioning 1 .32
Prefer not to Disclose 6 1.90
Prefer to Self-Describe 2 .63
n = 316 100
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In studying diverse groups, it is of central importance to focus on potential inequities
based on factors including race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation that may result in asymmetric
power relationships (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Among the 316 survey respondents, the
majority identified their ethnicity as White/Caucasian (49.05%), which also represents the
majority ethnicity of the current student population at CCU. It is noteworthy that 19.94% of
survey respondents identified as Asian, which aligns with the 19.9% of current CCU students
who are identified by CCU as Asian. Further, 4.75% of survey respondents identified as
Black/African American and this representation is within proximity, but slightly lower than the
5.3% of current students identified as Black/African American by CCU. Survey respondents who
identified as Hispanics represented 13.92% of survey respondents and is also within proximity,
but slightly lower than the 14.6% of current students identified as Hispanics by CCU. Further,
10.13% of survey respondents identified as having two or more ethnicities, in addition to 1.90%
who identified as Other, and 0.32% who indicated a preference not to respond to the ethnicity
question (see Table 10). Therefore, the demographic mix of respondents based on ethnicity
represents a balanced alignment with the demographic mix of overall CCU students.
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Table 10
Ethnicity/Race of Respondents
Response Options Respondents
Number
Percentage
Asian 63 19.94
Black or African American 15 4.75
Caucasian or White 158 49.05
Hispanics of Any Race 44 13.92
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0
Native American or Alaska Native 0 0
Two or More Ethnicities 32 10.13
Unknown 0 0
Prefer Not to Respond 1 .32
Other 6 1.9
n = 316 100
Demographics of Interview Participants
The interview participants were purposefully selected to assist in gaining a better
understanding about the study’s three primary research questions (Creswell, 2014). In order to
collect relevant information contributing to an analysis rich in data, the interview participants
provided diverse personal experiences and employment outcomes around the study’s three
primary research questions in order to assist in identifying performance gaps associated with the
process that contributes to underemployment and unemployment outcomes among new college
graduates (see Table 11 for participant demographics).
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Table 11
Demographics of Interview Participants
Interview
Participant
Employment Outcome Ethnicity Gender
Sexual
Orientation
1 Unemployed by choice White F
Straight/
Heterosexual
2 Fully-Employed White M Bisexual
3 Unemployed not by choice White F
Straight/
Heterosexual
4 Unemployed not by choice White M
Straight/
Heterosexual
5 Unemployed not by choice Black M Queer
6 Unemployed not by choice Hispanic M Gay
7
Underemployed not by
choice
Mixed
Ethnicity
F
Straight/
Heterosexual
8
Underemployed not by
choice
White M
Straight/
Heterosexual
9 Unemployed not by choice White F
Straight/
Heterosexual
10 Underemployed by choice White F
Straight/
Heterosexual
11 Fully-Employed Hispanic M
Straight/
Heterosexual
Qualitative research partly requires educating readers about the intent of qualitative
research including specific designs and approaches for documenting the data (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). In order to gain greater insight into the undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates, I focused on clarifying each
participant’s employment outcome at graduation, student experiences around career
development, perceived levels of professional self-awareness and career planning efficacy,
perceived relationship between their student experiences and employment outcomes, and career
trajectory since graduation. Through each interview participant’s individual personal narrative,
75
specific influences emerged that will be discussed as being associated with each theme identified
earlier in this chapter. For example, interview participants provided information about their own
student experiences around the career development process that indicates a potential need for a
more personalized approach to career planning based on individual student interests and goals
that often fall outside the norms of traditional post-college career paths based on majors. This
represents knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences, and suggests the need for
increasing self-efficacy around career planning and development in order to close existing
performance gaps, regardless of the category or type of employment outcome desired by the
student.
Theme One: Findings of Employment Outcomes and Student Experiences
Opportunities to increase performance can be determined by identifying the perceptions
and experiences of people associated with a business or organizational environment (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Gap analysis brings these perceptions and experiences out. Therefore, it is
necessary to set thresholds that represent the percentage of respondents who share perceptions
and experiences across all of the findings presented in this chapter in order to determine if a gap
exists. For the purposes of this study, among survey respondents, if 65% or more people reported
the same response, it was determined a gap was found. Among interview participants in this
study, if 65% or more people shared the same perception or experience associated with any
specific question, it was determined a gap was found. Last, if 50% of survey respondents and
50% of interview respondents reported the same response, perception or experience, it was
determined a gap was found across both populations.
According to Clark and Estes (2008), all of an organization’s goals are ultimately realized
by a system of interacting processes that require specialized knowledge and motivation to
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operate successfully. In the first theme that emerged in this study’s findings, four key knowledge
and motivation influences were identified around employment outcomes and student experiences
in both the quantitative survey and the qualitative interviews as presented in Figure 3. Students
need to possess specific knowledge about how to engage in the career planning process,
including the role that motivation plays in this process. The research findings suggest that in
order to realize a desired goal of full-employment upon graduation, students need to be provided
with focused knowledge about how to engage in the career planning process itself. The data also
showed the importance of providing students with knowledge about how to identify multiple
potential career paths and types of jobs that may directly or indirectly relate to their majors is
necessary to goal achievement, because finding employment is actually why the majority of
CCU students enroll in college in the first place (Arnold, 2018; Mourshed et al., 2012).
Organizational influence plays a key role in providing both knowledge and motivation based on
this study’s overall findings of employment outcomes and student experiences. All of these
influences will each be addressed separately in Influences 1, 2, 3, and 4 for Theme One.
77
Figure 3
Theme One
Influence 1 is foundational to the purpose of this research and is clearly reflected by the
majority of survey respondents who identified employment as their primary goal at the beginning
of their college experience. Overwhelmingly, 69% of survey respondents stated they “strongly
agree” with the following statement, “I enrolled in college to get a good job after graduation.”
An additional 22.7% stated they “agree” with this same statement (see Table 12). Therefore,
91.7% of all study participants indicated that getting a good job after college was a primary
78
motivation for enrolling in college and pursuing their degree. Thus, the need to associate
employment outcomes with the student experience is of importance to understand current
performance gaps around the problem of undesired underemployment and unemployment
outcomes upon graduation from CCU.
Table 12
Employment Goals Upon Enrollment
Q: “I enrolled in college to get a good job after graduation.”
Response Options Respondents
Number
Percentage
Strongly Agree 218 68.99
Agree 72 22.78
Neither Agree or Disagree 15 4.75
Disagree 9 2.85
Strongly Disagree 2 .63
n = 316 100
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This first influence in Theme One’s findings about employment outcomes and student
experiences primarily focuses on the influence of knowledge and students’ need to know about
how to engage in the career planning process. Mastery goals directly relate to the specific type of
knowledge that students need to achieve and compare their own employment outcomes to their
individual goals (Yough & Anderman, 2006).
Influence 2 in Theme One’s findings about employment outcomes and student
experiences centers around what Clark and Estes (2008) described as facilitating organizational
achievement of goals, focusing on students’ need to know how to identify potential jobs that will
leverage their major. The influence of knowledge is evidenced in this second influence, but also
the influence of the motivation became apparent. Study participants who identified as
underemployed or unemployed (not by choice) cited multiple reasons for their specific
employment outcomes, including a lack of understanding about how to connect their education
to the world of work and a lack of engagement with university-provided career resources around
their major or interests that would expand the scope of career paths to explore while enrolled at
CCU as students. Among the survey participants who identified as underemployed or
unemployed (not by choice), 64% cited “lack of understanding about how to connect my
education to the world of work” as a reason for graduating into undesired outcomes of
underemployment or unemployment. While 64% does not meet the 65% threshold of an
identified gap, I determined it is close enough to represent a significant finding.
Influence 3 in Theme One’s findings about employment outcomes and student
experiences identified the need for students to begin career planning early in their college
experience. Overall, the majority of survey respondents (71.43%) stated that they engaged with
the university’s central career services center as an undergraduate. Among the survey
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respondents who graduated into a full-employment outcome, 55% indicated they had engaged
with university-provided career resources and services as a freshman. Conversely, among survey
respondents who graduated into an outcome of undesired underemployment, only 7.9% engaged
with career resources and services as a freshman.
Among respondents who indicated they graduated into an undesired outcome of
unemployment, only 15.69% engaged with university-provided career resources and services as
a freshman. Therefore, the significance of this finding is that more than 65% of students who
graduated in an undesirable outcome of unemployment did not engage with university-provided
career resources and services as a freshman and meets the threshold of an identified gap.
According to Clark and Estes (2002), when organizations fall short of achieving their goals, the
best intervention is a gap analysis in order to determine the human causal factors. This
intervention includes assembling individual perceptions about challenges or barriers that stand
between CCU students achieving their employment goals upon graduation based on the influence
of knowledge as well as the motivation to engage in career resources and services contribute to
individual student perceptions about themselves and the job market. The gap between desired
outcomes of full-employment and the number of students graduating into full-employment
outcomes does have a correlational relationship to the timing of engaging in career planning for
students. Therefore, the influences of knowledge and motivation are primarily addressed in the
section on students’ need to begin engaging in the career planning process early in their college
experience. Table 13 presents respondents’’ engagement with career services.
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Table 13
Engagement With Career Services
Q: “I engaged with the university’s central career services center as an undergraduate
Response Options Respondents Number Percentage
Yes 225 71.20
No 90 28.48
Did Not Respond 1 .32
Influence 4 in Theme One’s findings about employment outcomes and student
experiences is the need for students to understand the importance of enjoying their work. Both
knowledge and motivation influences played a role in relation to students effectively pursuing
and achieving full-employment outcomes. Ninety-five survey respondents who graduated into
full-employment outcomes indicated that “enjoyment of the work” was one of the most
important factors they considered when deciding on a career field to focus on for their first post-
college job or 62%, which falls short of the 65% threshold for an identified gap. Comparatively
however, only 16 respondents or 27.5% who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not
by choice) considered enjoyment of the work as one of the most important factors they
considered when deciding on a career field to focus on. Therefore, it is significant that 72.5% of
respondents in this group did not consider enjoyment of work an important factor. Among those
respondents who identified as graduating into an outcome of underemployment (not by choice),
only 14 or 38.8% considered enjoyment of the work one of the most important factors they
considered (see Table 14). This finding is significant but represents an undetermined gap because
it does not meet the 65% threshold. Therefore, a gap was identified among respondents who
graduated into outcome of unemployment (not by choice).
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Table 14
Factors Used to Decide on Career Fields to Pursue for Full- Employment Outcomes
Q: What factors did you consider when deciding on a field to focus on for your first post-
college job?
Response Options Respondents
Full-Employment
Number
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Enjoyment of the work 95 16 14
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
I found the influence of motivation to pursue effective employment outcomes is increased
when students enjoy the work associated with their career exploration process. According to
Rueda (2011), achieving a goal relative to how a task aligns and is connected to an individual’s
identity addresses how individuals find value in any given task. The task of achieving a full-
employment outcome and the utility value of enjoying one’s work can in part be assessed based
on the perceived level of engagement demonstrated by students as they pursue a full-
employment outcome upon graduation. Therefore, students at CCU need to be equipped with the
knowledge and skills to identify work they enjoy as well as the motivation to recognize the
available organizational support to pursue employment goals relating to that type of work
enjoyment.
The following four sections will provide further findings about the associated knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences associated with the first theme of employment
outcomes and student experiences. These findings will detail both quantitative survey data as
well as qualitative interview data and address data-driven correlations and connections between
the findings about employment outcomes and student experiences as well as associated
influences.
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Influence 1: Students Need to Have Knowledge About How to Engage in the Career
Planning Process
Increasing student knowledge about how to effectively engage in the career planning
process, beginning early in their college careers, emerged as a key finding around why this
study’s interview participants avoided undesired outcomes of underemployment and
unemployment and reached their desired full-employment goal. Among survey respondents who
graduated into outcomes of undesired underemployment and unemployment, 60% indicated they
did not know how to begin the career development process. While this finding does not meet the
65% threshold for a gap among survey respondents, I found that it does represent a significant
finding due to the sheer number of overall undergraduate students enrolled at CCU.
Comparatively, only slightly more than 16% of respondents who graduated with a desired full-
employment outcome indicated they did not know how to begin the career development process.
Therefore, more than 65% of respondents who graduated into a desired full-employment
outcome did not indicate they did not know how to begin the career development process,
represents a significant finding that can shed further light on the student experience associated
with graduating into desired full-employment outcomes. Among interview participants who
graduated into outcomes of undesired underemployment and unemployment 6 out of 7 or 85.7%
stated they felt they did not know how to begin the career development process. Therefore, this
represents an identified gap among interview participants. Further, among interview participants
who graduated into a desired full-employment outcome, 100% told the interviewer they felt they
had a good understanding about how to begin the career planning process.
Recognizing how to identify potential career paths that are relevant and interesting to
individual students is key to acquiring the knowledge required to effect desired employment
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outcomes as evidenced among students who graduated into undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment. Interview Participant 9 graduated into an outcome of
unemployment (not by choice) and stated, “Because I never had a dream job in my head going
into college, I never felt like I had that guiding star to tell me what classes to take or direction to
go.” When discussing her own career development process as a student, she stated, “I think I
didn’t ever really know where to go for what I was trying to figure out in my career.” Interview
Participant 8 graduated into an outcome of underemployment (not by choice) and stated, “I took
advantage of all of the programs and services as a student, but in terms of connecting it to career
opportunities, I never really saw the direct connection for me.” Possessing knowledge about the
realities of multiple career paths is fundamental to effectively engaging in the career planning
process. Interview Participant 9 also stated that as a senior, she was “applying non-stop” to jobs
up to three per day, but was “kind of applying blind.” Interview Participant 8 also stated he “felt
like there was a different path worth trying” but “didn’t feel like there was an investment in
helping me figure out exactly what path was right.”
Understanding how to engage in the career development process based on individual
interests is a key contributor to effecting desired employment outcomes for college students.
While unique to each student, this understanding requires specialized knowledge that can be
leveraged when engaging in the career development and planning process. Further, this
knowledge supports accountability for both students and the organization in order to achieve the
organizational goal of increasing full-employment outcomes that the majority of CCU students
have identified for themselves as reflected by the enrollment expectations provided in Table 12.
This finding reflects the position of Clark and Estes (2002), that organizations and the systems
that support it need to be goal-driven, and performance goals need to support organizational
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goals. As Bandura (1977) posits, effective performance improvement must start with clearly
understood goals. Further, if more people have not achieved their desired goal among those who
planned for that specific goal, they may need more knowledge to achieve that goal (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Addressing individual interests to better understand how to engage in the career
development process is therefore directly related to effective performance improvement for CCU
students. Relevant engagement in the career planning process can therefore be viewed as a more
important goal than simply engagement with career services, and requires foundational and
specific knowledge in order to increase full-employment outcomes for graduating CCU students.
Influence 2: Students Need to Have Knowledge About How to Identify Jobs for Their
Majors
Among all survey respondents, when asked what factors they considered when deciding
on their college major, “enjoyment with subject matter” generated the highest response among
those students who graduated into full-employment outcomes at 45.4%, compared to only 18.5%
of respondents who identified as unemployed (not by choice), and 12.8% of respondents who
identified as underemployed (not by choice) upon graduation (Table 15).
Table 15
Employment Outcomes and Major Selection Criteria
Q: What factors did you consider when choosing a major?
Responses Full-Employment
Percentage
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
High amount of job
opportunities associated with
major after graduation.
58.94 17.22 7.95
Enjoyment with subject
matter.
45.37 18.50 12.78
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
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Further, 58.74% of survey respondents who graduated into full-employment outcomes
stated in the survey that a “high amount of job opportunities associated with major after
graduation” was a factor they considered when deciding on a major. Among those respondents
who were unemployed (not by choice) at graduation, only 17.22% considered this same factor.
Among students who were underemployed (not by choice), even less (7.95%) considered a “high
amount of job opportunities associated with major after graduation” as a factor they considered
when deciding on a major (see Table 14). Among interview participants who graduated into
unemployment (not by choice), only 2 out of 6 or 33% considered the number of job
opportunities associated with their major as a reason for selecting that major. Among both survey
respondents and interview participants, more than 50% of each population did not consider a
high number of job opportunities associated with their major when choosing a major and
therefore represents a gap.
However, findings from this study’s quantitative survey and qualitative interviews
suggest increasing knowledge about the types of potential jobs that are available for specific
majors after graduation can effect positive employment outcomes. Among those students who
graduated into outcomes of underemployment or unemployment (not by choice), 22.75% of
survey respondents cited a “lack of understanding about how to connect their education to the
world of work” as a contributing factor, and 20.7% cited a “lack of university-provided career
resources for my major or interests” as a contributing factor. Findings from the qualitative
interviews provided support for these quantitative findings about the role that the influence of
organization plays in students’ need to know how to identify jobs for their major. Seven
interview participants can be categorized as discussing how a lack of required student
engagement around connecting the classroom to potential careers is “part of the problem,” as
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stated by Interview Participant 4, who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not by
choice). This same participant also stated that “personalization and one on one conversations”
would be the ideal to create greater knowledge for students around identifying jobs that will
leverage individual majors.
This second influence in Theme One, also identifies knowledge as an influence that can
promote or take away from CCU students achieving their desired employment goals upon
graduation. For example, Interview Participant 3, who also graduated into an undesired outcome
of unemployment, stated she felt students were “not supposed to go outside of your bounds”
based on individual majors to explore potential career paths that may be indirectly related to that
major. Interview Participant 8 shared this perspective, stating, “What would have helped me was
getting a better understanding about what different kinds of career paths were open to my major.
I didn’t feel like it was built into the curriculum about how different topics related to, for
example, putting us in a job in the work world.” Interview Participant 9 stated, “In my major, I
didn’t learn about potential paths that might appeal to me through elective classes until the very
end. I still feel like I am a little lost.” Interview Participant 1 stated, “like in a way, you were a
little bit on your own. Giving students from any majors access to professors in different
disciplines would help create a career connection for students interested in different things.”
I found that career paths not explicitly connected to students’ discipline of study may
very well represent right fit career paths, but students are not equipped with the knowledge or
possess the motivation to explore them as relevant or viable career paths. Further, there is a
suggested implication that additional self-efficacy around major selection can have a positive
effect on students achieving their desired employment outcome.
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For students trying to connect their major to their own specific set of career interests and
goals, the aspect of performance relative to exploring career paths not superficially aligned with
associated majors is perceived by students as challenging to assess and navigate, and therefore
relies to a great extent on the influence of individual motivation. When college students avoid or
delay or simply disengage from attaining their post graduation career goals, it is probable that
motivation is an underlying cause (Clark & Estes, 2002). This difference around the influence of
motivation to connect majors to jobs that might not appear to have a direct connection on the
surface, but nonetheless represent a right fit that can still leverage specific majors, was best
expressed by Participant 11, who graduated into a desired full-employment outcome:
Coming from a low income background, my parents always had to work. I didn’t have
the financial support other students had and I was pretty much pushing myself through
school and focused on going to all of the career events and networking as much as I
could. I was also a transfer student and felt like I really had to hit the ground running as a
junior to figure it all out. It just comes down to the motivation to keep going for it. I got
an offer in November of my senior year through a combination of being self-guided and
also thanks to the resources at CCU.
The role that beliefs about oneself and prospects for learning how to be effective play a
primary role in motivation at work (Clark & Estes, 2008). For Participant 11, being motivated to
think outside the box and attend multiple career events, as well as engage with CCU services and
resources focused on networking opportunities that he stated were not necessarily employers or
paths he had previously considered, was important to achieving his desired full-employment
goal. This type of motivation appears to be a catalyst that led him to his desired full-employment
outcome. Through his exploration of all types of career paths, he equipped himself with the
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knowledge to identify a path that for the past five years since graduation in 2016, has resulted in
being employed by and successfully progressing with the same employer:
It was through networking that I found out about the different types of consulting that
were out there or I might not be where I am. I noticed that a lot of my peers didn’t do this
same type of networking to open up more opportunities for yourself.
Connecting college majors to potential career paths that may or may not be directly
related to associated majors reflects the need to provide students with the knowledge,
organizational services, resources, and tools that can increase motivation as an influence of
effective human behavior. According to Clark and Estes (2008), root motivation is a desire to be
effective. Therefore, how students choose, persist, and devote time and energy to identify all
types of jobs that are available to them based on their major can effectively contribute to positive
employment outcome and addresses knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences to
achieve their desired outcome.
Influence 3: Students Need to Begin Career Planning Early in Their College Experience
The third influence for Theme One’s findings about employment outcomes and student
experiences addresses influences of knowledge, motivation, and organization, and the need to
begin career planning early in the college experience. In addition to the significantly higher
number of students who graduated into full-employment outcomes who engaged with university-
provided career resources and services early in their college experience as already presented in
Table 13, 34% of survey respondents who graduated into full-employment outcomes “strongly
agree” they were provided with the necessary career services, resources, and tools to find a good
job after college.
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Comparatively, only 12.07% of respondents who graduated into an undesired outcome of
unemployment, and 5.56% who graduated into an undesired outcome of underemployment
“strongly agree” with this same statement (see Table 15). More than three times the number of
respondents who graduated into full-employment outcomes vs. undesired outcomes of
unemployment who engaged with career services as a CCU student, first engaged with these
services as a college freshman or sophomore (see Table 16). Therefore, this significant
difference in employment outcomes based on early engagement with career services, potentially
speaks to increased knowledge and motivation contributing to full-employment outcomes
through early engagement.
Table 16
Employment Outcomes and Utility of Career Services
Q: While in college, I was provided with the necessary career services, resources, and tools to
find a good job after graduation.
Responses Full-Employment
n = 153
Percentage %
Unemployment
(not by choice)
n = 58
Percentage
Underemployment
(not by choice)
n = 36
Percentage
Strongly Agree 33.99 12.07 5.56
Agree 45.75 29.31 22.22
Neither Agree or
Disagree
13.72 17.24 11.11
Disagree 6.54 27.59 36.11
Strongly Disagree 0 13.79 25.00
100 100 100
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To further highlight this connection between increased knowledge and motivation
associated with early engagement in the career planning process, multiple interview participants
discussed their perception that students need to begin thinking about post-graduation
employment sooner. Interview Participant 9, who graduated into an undesired outcome of
unemployment, stated, “Asking kids who are 18 or 19, ‘what do you want to do when you
graduate,’ that question gets skipped over too often, especially at CCU, where kids are driven
and doing seven different extracurriculars.” This participant also shared that while it appears
students “have it together,” the reality of students’ experience around career discovery early in
their college tenure is not a priority. Interview Participant 4, who graduated into an outcome of
undesired unemployment, stated, “I think the university could have done a better job of drawing
some sort of linear connection by having us do informational interviews early on.” Interview
Participant 5, who also indicated being unemployed (not by choice) at graduation, stated, “Make
it publicly known to students when they are freshman and sophomores where they can access
and research companies and positions, and ask questions about what is realistic for them when
they graduate. Deep down a lot of us don’t know what we want.”
As previously cited in this chapter, the majority of survey respondents (71.20%) stated
they engaged with the university’s central career services center as an undergraduate (see Table
13). However, from a percentage perspective, among survey respondents who engaged with
career services and graduated into a full-employment outcome, 60% indicated they had engaged
with these career services as a freshman or sophomore. This is important to reiterate through this
lens because conversely, only 16.4% of respondents who graduated into undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment indicated they engaged with career services as a freshman
or sophomore (see Table 17). Among interview participants who graduated into full-employment
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outcomes, 100% engaged with career services as a freshman. In addition, among those interview
participants who graduated into undesired outcomes of underemployment and underemployment,
only 2 out of 7 or 28.5% engaged with career services as a freshman. Therefore, a gap exists
between early engagement with career services and graduating into a desired outcome of full-
employment.
Table 17
Employment Outcomes and Career Services Engagement Among Respondents Who Engaged
With Career Services
Q: In which college year did you first engage with the university’s central career services
center?
Responses Full-Employment
Number
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Freshman 28 8 4
Sophomore 39 13 6
Junior 36 18 11
Senior 8 8 5
n = 111 n = 47 n = 26
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According to Clark and Estes (2008), education in any situation in which people acquire
knowledge and skills that might assist them in overcoming challenges and problems is necessary.
Early planning can equip students with the necessary knowledge to overcome challenges whether
identifying potential career paths not overtly connected to their education, adapting to different
market conditions or simply better understand the career planning and development process at a
more personal level. When people do not understand how to accomplish their goals, knowledge
and skill enhancement is required (Clark & Estes, 2008). Providing students with the necessary
knowledge and skills to effectively engage in the career planning process early in their college
experience will enhance positive employment outcomes as evidenced from this study’s findings
from both the quantitative survey and follow-up qualitative interviews.
Influence 4: Students Need to Understand the Importance of Enjoying Their Work
In an open-ended survey question about what respondents believe colleges can do to help
more students seeking full-employment upon graduation achieve their employment goal,
potential factors specifically related to students who graduated into a desired outcome of full-
employment were examined. One respondent who graduated into a full-employment outcome
stated, “Increase conversations around what brings joy in their life and what they want to be
doing on a day to day basis.” Another respondent who graduated into an outcome of full-
employment stated the importance of teaching students to “do what you are good at.”
This fourth influence that emerged from Theme One, focuses on the knowledge and
motivation influences associated with students understanding the important role that enjoying the
work they are pursuing plays in effecting a desired full-employment outcome. A survey
respondent who graduated into a desired full-employment outcome, stated colleges should
“emphasize doing what students will like and not just what career paths are more lucrative and
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prestigious.” Interview Participant 7, who was underemployed (not by choice) at graduation,
provided her own detailed experience on this fourth influence in Theme One. Specifically, she
cited a “lack of university-provided career resources” for someone with her particular career
interest of pursuing a career in the non-profit international sector.
To fully recognize the value of Interview Participant 7’s interview data, it is important to
understand her specific career path after she graduated from CCU with a bachelor’s degree
relative to this fourth influence. After spending the summer following graduation as a lifeguard
in her hometown, she applied for an internship in Laos, where she worked on a clean water
project for nine months. Following that experience, she made the decision to go back to school
and subsequently received her Master’s Degree in environmental engineering at a university that
was not CCU. In sharing her post-graduation career path, she stated her experience abroad in the
international non-profit sector as an intern in Laos, cemented her career focus based on her
“enjoyment of that work.” She shared that it was her enjoyment of her work in Laos that
motivated her to enroll in graduate school. Further, she stated her internship went beyond what
she would have ever described as an identifiable career path while an undergraduate, and through
that experience, she found herself motivated to “just wanting to spend all of my time doing that.”
In conclusion, she also noted her academic experience in graduate school was enhanced due to
having “a better idea” of what she enjoyed doing and how her graduate degree would contribute
to her career in that sector.
Among interview participants who graduated into undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment, five out of seven or 71.4% did not primarily consider
enjoyment of the work in their initial career planning process and represents an identified gap.
While mastery is considered a key factor in expectancy value theory, individual interest along
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with a sense of rewards and finding joy are predictors of performance and achieving goals
(Eccles, 2005; Pajares, 2006). For the purposes of this study, I found expectancy value through
this lens will contribute to positive employment outcomes because it leverages the value that
students perceive their employment goal will add to their overall quality of life based on work
enjoyment. Therefore, the knowledge to identify career paths and jobs that are perceived to
provide students with enjoyment of their work has the potential to increase motivation to actively
engage in the career planning process in a more effective and productive way. Last, perceived
enjoyment of the work associated with a student’s enjoyment of their studies can lead to positive
post graduation employment and contribute to greater academic motivation as experienced by
Interview Participant 7. This finding is evidenced by Interview Participant 7’s statement about
her increased academic motivation as graduate student pursuing a degree she believed would
result in employment with a high level of work enjoyment.
Theme Two: Findings of Professional Self-Awareness and Employment Outcomes
According to Clark and Estes (2008), understanding stakeholder knowledge and skills
relative to successfully performing the tasks required to achieve their goals is critical to effective
productivity. Specifically, understanding what motivated the identified primary stakeholders of
CCU students to effect a desired employment outcome of full-employment for those students
seeking full-employment upon graduation, is necessary in order to close performance gaps and
solve the problem of undesired underemployment and unemployment outcomes among new
college graduates. In Theme Two of this study’s findings, three key influences emerged around
professional self-awareness from both the survey and the follow-up qualitative interviews as
presented in Figure 4. The data showed that students need to have specific knowledge about who
they are as valuable individuals seeking employment in the world of work based on unique
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interests, abilities, and goals. The data also showed the first step in the career planning process
that students need to focus on is developing knowledge about themselves and their individual
professional value. Further, recognizing unique talents as behavioral characteristics, rather than
simply bullet points on a resume, has the potential to increase students’ motivation to effectively
engage in the career planning process. Organizational influences also factor into Theme Two’s
findings based on the need for increasing opportunities for students to increase their professional
self-awareness through coursework as well as internships and mentor relationships. Each of these
influences will be addressed separately in Influences 1, 2, and 3 for Theme Two.
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Figure 4
Theme Two
Influence 1 addresses that indicate focusing on the need for students to believe in their
capabilities and view themselves as valuable to employers. For example, not focusing on
external career development and planning factors such as job titles, and instead, first developing
self-efficacy and awareness about what they are capable of and connecting that capability to
career fields that are authentically interesting to them. The research found that a primary focus
on external factors associated with self-efficacy can lead students to devote time to career
planning activities that can contribute to undesirable outcomes. Therefore, this influence
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primarily focuses on knowledge, but also addresses motivation including the motivational
influences of self-efficacy and goal orientation.
An example that emerged from the survey data around Influence 1 was the perceived
importance of the value of resume writing instead of exploring career fields and professional
interests that are engaging and interesting. Among respondents who graduated into outcomes of
underemployment (not by choice), only three reported engaging with university-provided career
services to increase their professional self-awareness about unique interests and values by taking
a personality assessment. Comparatively, among this same group, five times more respondents
(18) reported engaging with university-provided career services for help with resume writing.
Among respondents who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not by choice),
only three reported engaging with university-provided career services to increase awareness
about unique interests and values by taking a personality assessment, while 37 went to career
services for help writing their resume (see Table 18). Therefore, this finding is significant
because 95% of respondents who graduated into an undesired outcome of unemployment and
91.7% who graduated into an undesired outcome of underemployment did not engage with
career services for increased awareness through a personality assessment. By segmenting this
type of engagement solely through the lens of undesired employment outcomes, it is possible to
understand factors that specifically lead to unemployment and underemployment among new
college graduates. Focusing on professional self-discovery represents both procedural and
metacognitive types of knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). Recognizing one’s capabilities in
combination with awareness and knowledge based on each student’s own cognition, can play a
positive role in motivating students to engage in activities that will increase full-employment
outcomes for new CCU graduates.
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Table 18
Timeline of Engagement with Central Career Services Among Respondents Who Engaged With
the Central career services center
Q: I engaged with the university’s central career services center as a freshman
Response Options Respondents n = 225
Full-Employment
Unemployment
(Not by choice)
Underemployment
(Not by Choice)
Freshman
Engagement
55% 15.69% 7.9%
Influence 2 in Theme Two’s findings about professional self-awareness and employment
outcomes, centers on the student’s need for knowledge about their own professional value. This
influence primarily addresses both knowledge and motivation, and focuses on the importance of
students to be aware of their own innate performative strengths. The research found knowledge
and self-efficacy about a student’s own performative strengths played a positive role in
identifying potential career paths that will leverage these performative abilities in order to
achieve employment goals. Among those survey respondents who stated they “strongly agree”
they have an understanding of their professional interests and abilities, 52% identified as being
fully-employed at graduation. Comparatively, only 13.8 % of respondents who identified as
being unemployed (not by choice), and 9.8% who identified as being underemployed (not by
choice), “strongly agree” they have an understanding of their professional interests and abilities.
Among those survey respondents who stated they “agree” that they have an understanding of
their professional interests and abilities, 47.5% identified as being fully-employed at graduation
compared to only 22% of respondents who identified as being unemployed (not by choice), and
10.6% who identified as being underemployed also not by choice (see Table 19). To increase the
focus of this finding, it is important to note that from the opposite side of the spectrum of
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agreement, 66.7% of survey respondents who were unemployed (not by choice), stated they
“strongly disagree” that they have an understanding of their professional interests and abilities
while no respondents who were fully-employed at graduation stated they “strongly disagree”
with the same statement. Therefore, a gap was identified between students who were
unemployed and underemployed (not by choice) at graduation and agreement that they have an
understanding of their professional interests and abilities.
Table 19
Reasons Why I Engaged With University-Provided Career Services
Responses Employment Outcome
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Personality Assessment 3 3
Resume Help 37 18
Other Reasons 18 15
n = 58 n = 36
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To highlight the importance of this influence on increasing full-employment outcomes,
Interview Participant 2, who was fully-employed upon graduation, stated he believed the career
exploration process around what you are naturally good at should start even earlier than college.
He stated he is “always fascinated by people who don’t know what they want to do,” because he
realized the connection between “what I enjoy doing because I’m good at it” and how it
“collides” with potential career paths early in his college career. He also stated, “If someone
doesn’t have a sense of what they enjoy doing and want to get better at it and pursue it
professionally, then you’re kind of screwed.” Clark and Estes (2008), state that a primary
motivational goal requires the support of a high-level of personal confidence in one’s abilities.
General self-confidence is less important for work motivation than task-specific confidence
(Clark & Estes, 2008). This study found that providing college students with knowledge about
their own unique talents and abilities as performative strengths, resulting from increased
professional self-awareness, positively contributes to greater confidence and students achieving a
desired full-employment outcome upon graduation.
Influence 3 in Theme Two’s findings in the area of professional self-awareness and
employment outcomes, identified the need for the organization to provide opportunities for
students to discover interests, abilities, and values. For example, the research found that both
mentors and internships served as vehicles to increase students’ professional self-awareness. This
theme primarily addresses the influence of the organization as the provider of these vehicles
while also addressing knowledge and motivation as positive byproducts of both mentor
relationships and internships. Survey respondents repeatedly noted the importance of access to
mentors and experiential learning opportunities through internships as key tools to effect a
desirable employment outcome. In response to the open-ended survey question asking
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respondents what they believe colleges can do to help more students achieve a desired full-
employment outcome upon graduation, the following comments represent the data that
specifically address Influence 3:
Connect more students to mentors.
More mentors.
Allow internship co-ops for students in engineering fields
More internships offerings or student jobs through USC
The staff should push internships that way students have some experience. Most jobs
today don't care about your degree they want to know your experience and how you can
benefit them.
More coaching and mentoring to provide job opportunities.
Mentor program with professionals in the workforce and current students. Maybe make
an internship requirement?
Mandatory internships, career fairs. Provide curriculum-based opportunities to engage
with employers from various industries and backgrounds.
Respondents across different employment outcomes widely perceived mentors and
internships as resources CCU could better utilize as further support to assist students in effecting
a positive employment outcome upon graduation. For example, Interview Participant 8, who
graduated into an undesired outcome of underemployment, waited until the last semester of his
senior year to engage in an internship. He stated how he incorrectly viewed having an internship
as “being able to check one of the boxes” that needed to be checked as a graduating senior in
order to get a job. He discussed that while his internship was unrelated to his major, he did have
some interest in the focus of the internship, but knew he didn’t want to pursue full-time
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employment with the provider of this internship. He stated the internship was not “an ideal mix”
of what motivated him in a job, and in retrospect, understanding “what does motivate me” should
be the focus of why students engage in an internship.
Clark and Estes (2008), refer to knowledge as our engine and transmission system, while
motivation is what fuels the system. In this analogy, the organization represent factors associated
with the current road conditions to reach our desired destination. In order for college students to
achieve their preferred employment outcome upon graduation, it is necessary to equip students
with real-world knowledge in order to recognize if ideas they have about their own career
interests are accurate and will therefore provide the necessary motivational “fuel” to arrive at
their desired employment destination. Based on this study’s data, in addition to providing
students with useful knowledge to effectively engage in their individual career planning and
development process, providing students with the organizational “road” conditions to access
mentors and internships as vehicles to increase professional self-awareness can substantially
assist them in reaching their employment goals at graduation.
The following three sections will provide further findings about the associated knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences associated with the second theme of professional self-
awareness and employment outcomes. These findings will detail both quantitative survey data as
well as qualitative interview data and address data-driven correlations and connections between
the findings about professional self-awareness and employment outcomes as well as associated
influences.
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Influence 1: Students Need to Believe in their Capabilities and View Themselves as
Valuable to an Employer
In this influence in Theme Two’s findings about professional self-awareness and
employment outcomes, the influence of knowledge emerged, based on how past experiences
including societal and familial experiences, effect students’ beliefs about their capabilities and
their potential for being successful (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is also significant to recognize that
students’ knowledge as it relates to individual self-awareness about career planning effectiveness
often stems from individual interpretations about the career planning process and are not always
accurate. The influence of motivation is also addressed in Influence 1 in Theme Two. For
example, this study found that focusing more on external factors such as job titles and salary as a
first-step in the career planning process can reduce the motivational influence of self-efficacy. In
the open-ended survey question asking respondents what they believe colleges can do to help
more students seeking full-employment upon graduation achieve full-employment outcomes,
relevant data was provided. “Stop focusing on the money!” was one respondent’s advice, in
addition to, “Help people find their passions instead of going through the motions.” One
respondent advised, “emphasize curiosity and learning over success,” as a tool to assist students
in achieving their desired employment outcome. Another respondent shared that “many students
may go to college with a job in mind that is put in their minds from a parent's expectation.” This
same respondent also stated that “giving students insight into the scope” of possibilities can open
their minds to career ideas they had not otherwise thought of or considered.
Placing an over-emphasis on external factors such as focusing on job titles, resume
writing, money, and prestige instead of a focus on the discovery of individual interests and
values as a first step in effective career planning, appears to have a direct effect on the level of
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motivation students experience to increase their level of professional self-awareness around the
career planning process. According to Clark and Estes (2008), people choose and expend mental
effort on those activities they believe will have the most impact. Therefore, because different
people have different levels of self-awareness and ideas about what criteria they should focus on
to plan post-graduation careers, different people will be motivated toward achieving outcomes
based in part, on their level of self-awareness. Among survey respondents who indicated they
graduated into an undesired outcome of unemployment or underemployment, 61.5% cited a lack
of personal engagement in the career development process as a reason for their undesired
employment outcome (see Table 20). While 61.5% does not meet the stated threshold of 65% for
an identified gap, I found it to be a significant finding about the influence of motivation and
professional self-awareness and employment outcomes.
Table 20
Career Planning Engagement Among Unemployed and Underemployed Respondents
Response Options Respondents
Unemployed
Percentage
Underemployed
Percentage
Lack of personal engagement in
the career development process
46.15% 15.38%
n = 94
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One respondent who indicated a full-employment outcome recommended that colleges
should “make sure students cultivate genuine interest” in career fields prior to pursuing them. To
discover individual interests and values, survey respondents suggested the need to “discuss non-
traditional career paths and bring in speakers to talk about their experiences,” and that it is
“important to encourage students to reflect on their own values and skills and value-mapping to
various careers.” Interview Participant 6, who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not
by choice), provided further information on this finding. He stated he wanted “real advice” from
career services professionals, and not just feedback on his resume and cover letter. He said he
was advised to “research companies and talk to people in the industry’s network,” but needed
more self-discovery to “chart my way out into the workforce.” He conveyed that he needed
“personalization” when it came to “the advice he really needed,” based on the identification of
individual interests and abilities, and how they could be leveraged in different career paths.
The value of increasing professional self-awareness by focusing on individual interests
over external factors as an opportunity to meet students’ need to believe in their capabilities and
view themselves as valuable to an employer, was supported by Interview Participant 2, who did
follow a path of increasing his professional self-awareness and as a result, graduated into a full-
employment outcome. He stated that he believed students should be encouraged to “try all of
these things because you want to experiment” as a vehicle to identifying individual interests. An
example he provided was that he took a gender studies class “because this makes me think all
these thoughts I’ve never thought before.” He expressed how he believed we live in a society
that doesn’t always foster this type of professional self-awareness and that translates into campus
culture, which directly draws on the influence of the organization. He said, “What we should be
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fostering is individual interests, and how there’s an industry for those interests” as a means to
better connect individual students with relevant and meaningful career paths post graduation.
According to Clark and Estes (2008), all aspects of an organization’s work processes that
relate to the achievement of specific goals must be noted. Based on the survey data and the more
in-depth data provided by interview participants, there is potentially an over-emphasis on
external factors ranging from resume writing to focusing on fields, job titles, money, and prestige
as first steps in the career planning process that can be a barrier to students believing in their
capabilities. I also found that students may pursue career paths based on the expectations or
perceived expectations of others, ranging from societal expectations to the expectations of
parents as criteria for viewing themselves as valuable to an employer.
Influence 2: Students Need Knowledge About Their Own Professional Value
The second influence that emerged in Theme Two’s findings of professional self-
awareness and employment outcomes directly addresses the role that knowledge about one’s
unique talents and abilities can play as a contributor to individual levels of motivation that
significantly affect the achievement of employment goals. According to Clark and Estes (2008),
knowledge and skills are required in order to achieve a desired outcome. Without the condition
of possessing necessary information and training, students will not be able to achieve a desired
outcome of full-employment upon graduation. Recognizing the role individual talents and
abilities as performative strengths play in effecting a full-employment outcome, requires students
to increase their professional self-awareness about how to identify and leverage their
performative strengths. Findings that emerged around Influence 2 was data suggesting
employment outcomes are connected to the level of importance of understanding students have
about how individual talents and abilities can be valuable in the world of work. Further, data
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suggests that measuring performative strengths against benchmarks perceived as valuable based
on the experiences or perceived values of others can lead to undesired employment outcomes.
In the open-ended survey question asking respondents what they believe colleges can do
to help more students seeking full-employment upon graduation achieve full-employment
outcomes, a common theme emerged among all respondents regardless of their employment
outcomes. Examples of these responses include, “increase conversations around what brings joy
in their life, and what they want to be doing on a day-to-day basis,” and “focus on marrying
passion and skills.” One respondent who graduated into an outcome of undesired unemployment
suggested, “Provide experiences that help students figure out what they love and help them
connect that to potential career options.” Another respondent who also graduated into an
undesired outcome of unemployment said, “Stop making students feel less than if they are not
good in the sciences or math. Everyone is great at something and that should be the focus.”
I found through the qualitative interviews, “passion” and figuring out “what they love”
equated to an appreciation for the value of individual talents and abilities that is not necessarily
aligned with students’ perception about what is or is not valuable in the world of work. Interview
Participant 2, who successfully graduated into a desired full-employment outcome, stated that his
discovery and appreciation for what he was “naturally good at” played a key role in effecting his
desired outcome. He said without self-awareness about “what you are naturally good at,” finding
a right fit career path is “like a shot in the dark to find something fulfilling.” This finding was
aligned with Interview Participant 1, who was unemployed by choice at graduation due to his
plan to travel before going to work full-time. He discussed how his own understanding of his
talents was an “evolutionary” process that included a “mix of both trial and error” that ultimately
led him to what he describes as the “right field and job.”
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Clark and Estes (2008) state that people will more easily and quickly choose to do what
interests them the most. Different students have different talents and value different ideals in the
world of work. I found that motivational value particularly as it relates to the motivational
influence of self-efficacy requires students to understand the unique talents and abilities that each
brings to the job market. Therefore, while Influence 2 primarily addresses knowledge and
motivation, the influence of the organization is also evident. Students need to be provided
knowledge about their own professional value through resources and services focusing on the
discovery of individual talents and abilities as performative strengths. For an organization of
higher learning, there is an opportunity to address students’ lack of understanding about the
motivational value their unique talents and abilities can contribute to the identification of work
that is also fundamentally rooted in intrinsic motivation, because it offers the potential to
leverage these same innate performative strengths.
Influence 3: The Organization Need to Provide Opportunities to Discover Interests,
Abilities, and Values
The influence of the organization as the key contributor to providing students with
opportunities to discover interests, abilities and values in Theme Two’s Influence 3. The
influences of knowledge and motivation also emerged as positive by-products of mentor
relationships and internships, and collectively serve as gateways to increasing professional self-
awareness. Clark and Estes (2008) cite a lack of necessary equipment and missing or inadequate
work processes as organizational barriers. Providing students with the right mentors and
internships can be viewed as necessary equipment to produce desired employment outcomes for
new college graduates at CCU. As a vehicle to increasing professional self-awareness, I found
both mentorships and internships clearly relate to procedural knowledge and have the potential to
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increase individual levels of motivation to pursue employment. In response to the open-ended
survey question about what colleges can do to help more students achieve a desired full-
employment outcome, the following statements reflect this need:
More internships.
Mentorship.
Make it easy to connect with alums as mentors.
Colleges can do more in terms of building mentorship programs between younger
students and professionals.
Build up your human capital and you will get a job with ease. People with real life
experience outside of academia are your number one best path to employment.
Interview Participant 10, who graduated into an outcome of underemployment (not by
choice) expressed how a mentorship program with professionals in the workforce combined with
an internship requirement for all students could create greater clarity for identifying a relevant
career path. “Students need professionals to help them walk through what they’re passionate
about and what they’re not. If mentor programs could be fostered by the university as a whole
and not just through organizations or majors, I see great value in this exposure to opportunities.”
Interview Participant 9, who was unemployed at graduation (not by choice), reflected on how she
wished she would have had a mentor prior to her last semester as a college senior in order to
better prepare for a full-employment outcome upon graduation. Conversely, Interview
Participant 11, who graduated into an outcome of full-employment had a mentor he believed
contributed to his desired outcome. He discussed the value for students to have mentors that can
help them better understand who they are professionally, relative to potential career paths and
employment opportunities post-graduation. He stated, “A mentor doesn’t have to be someone
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within the same type of industry or career field of interest, but someone who is willing to
dedicate some time to check in with a student about their careers.” Relative to making a
difference in a student’s employment outcome based on his own experience as a student, he also
stated, “I know how it can go a long way. I think there’s two things to point out. I think it’s
important to have self-awareness and have someone else give you that validation or reaffirm or
not reaffirm some things that you’ve been thinking about.”
The organization of CCU has an opportunity to effect greater knowledge and motivation
through increased student interactions with mentors as well as engaging more pointedly in
experiential learning opportunities that is exclusively acquired from internships. Specifically,
metacognitive knowledge reflects a set of capabilities for higher or clearer awareness of self
(Irvine, 2017). This higher or clearer awareness as a job seeker in college, engaging in the career
planning process often for the first time, can be enhanced through mentor relationships and
internships as contributors to increasing individual capacity for professional self-awareness that
can then lead to the achievement of a full-employment goal upon graduation. This increased
capacity for professional self-awareness relies on organizational influence to effect change.
Theme 3: Findings of Career Planning Efficacy Based-On Student Resources and Services
For CCU students engaging in the career planning process in order to reach a desired full-
employment outcome upon graduation, being provided with exposure and access to student
resources and services that result in students knowing how to effectively engage in career
planning with a high level of professional self-awareness including an understanding of their
professional interests and abilities, requires increasing university-provided career education
opportunities. In Theme Three of this study’s findings, the research found career planning
efficacy for CCU students has a strong relationship to students’ belief in their own interests and
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abilities, and possess the efficacy to take specific and necessary actions to reach a full-
employment outcome in a complex job market. This efficacy is most closely associated with
organizational influence, addressing the alignment of student resources and services provided by
CCU and providing students with a greater connection between their education and a changing
world of work as it relates to the recognition their professional interests and abilities have
marketable value.
Among survey respondents who graduated into desired full-employment outcomes, 52%
stated they strongly agree that they have an understanding of their professional interests and
abilities. Comparatively, only 13% of repondents who were unemployed (not by choice) and
9.8% of those underemployed (not by choice), strongly agree they have an understanding of their
professional interests and abilities. The overwhelming majority of survey respondents who
graduated into desired full-employment outcomes, either strongly agree or agree they have an
understanding of their professional interests and abilities. The overwhelming minority of
respondents who graduated into undesired outcomes of unemployment and underemployment do
not strongly agree or agree with this same statement (see Table 21).
Table 21
I Have an Understanding of My Professional Interests and Abilities
Response Options Respondents
Fully Employed
Percentage %
Unemployed
Percentage
Underemployed
Percentage
Strongly Agree 52% 13% 9.8%
Agree 47.5% 22% 10%
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
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Clark and Estes (2008), discuss how culture is a driving force behind the achievement of
performance goals, which for the purpose of this study is to increase the number of students
graduating into desired outcomes of full-employment. Therefore, it is necessary that the
organization of CCU provide multiple opportunities for students to gain the necessary knowledge
and motivation required to achieve their employment goals upon graduation, and eliminate
existing barriers around career planning efficacy in order to facilitate more full-employment
outcomes for students.
In the third theme of this study’s findings, three influences emerged around career planning
efficacy based on student resources and services from both the survey respondents and the
follow-up qualitative interviews (see Figure 5).
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Figure 5
Theme Three
First, the data showed that the organization needs to value change relative to how career
education is delivered in order to reflect the complexity of the contemporary job market to
maximize career planning efficacy for CCU students. For example, greater personalization of
career resources can increase career planning efficacy by recognizing each student’s individual
professional value and connecting it to multiple career paths reflecting that individual value. The
data also showed there is currently a need to create greater alignment between career education
resources and student academic advising services. In order to maximize the connection between
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the classroom and post-graduation employment opportunities, career education resources and
student services, primarily focused on academic advising, need to be synchronized and work
together effectively. Maximizing career planning efficacy for all CCU students also requires that
students are provided with specific resources connecting their education to the changing world of
work, including casting a wider net to identify and explore diverse opportunities. Each of these
influences in Theme Three’s findings about career planning efficacy and student resources and
services will be addressed separately in Influences 1, 2, and 3.
Influence 1 addresses findings from survey respondents and interview participants that
indicate a need for CCU to value change in a complex job market. This influence primarily
focuses on the organization, but also addresses knowledge and motivation as a result of students
engaging with university-provided student resources and services. Findings from the interviews
revealed the need for providing students with a deeper level of personalized understanding about
how they engage in the career planning process based on individual circumstances, life
experiences, and goals. Interview Participant 2, stated, “I didn’t have a plan as much as I
understood there were things I wanted to accomplish in order to maximize my probability to get
there,” adding, “I mostly did it on my own.” Interview Participant 5, who graduated into an
undesired outcome of unemployment stated, “I feel like there’s such ignorance amongst college
kids about what they like.” Interview Participant 9, who also graduated into an undesired
outcome of unemployment stated, “Even if you know what you are looking for, it’s very self-
directed. I knew I didn’t want to go into the traditional career paths for business majors, but I
didn’t know how to figure it out for me.” As a result of her experience, she told the researcher,
“I’ve always had this kind of internal struggle of where do I belong.”
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Influence 2 in this third theme about career planning efficacy based on student resources
and services, centered around the need for the organization to place greater value on the
alignment of career education and student services, including an increased connection between
career planning services and academic advising to add to the career planning efficacy of each
student. The interrelationships among the basic components of the career planning process set
within a larger organizational structure, have the potential to come together to facilitate desired
outcomes (Krathwohl, 2002). For example, knowledge around how different courses may relate
to potential career paths can increase each student’s own career planning efficacy. This
interrelationship was evidenced in both the survey data and interviews. One survey respondent
stated in the open-ended survey question asking what colleges can do to help more students
achieve a desired full-employment outcome upon graduation stated, “Individual mandated
counseling sessions that focus on each student’s professional and personal goals should go more
emotionally in-depth than just meeting about course requirements.” Another stated, “Learning
isn’t cookie cutter, neither is employment.” Another survey respondent suggested the university
“teach students in their freshman year what different types of professionals do every day, as that
will help them tailor their area of academic focus.”
In this study’s qualitative interviews, the need for the organization to provide more
conceptual knowledge was further evidenced by the need for a greater connection between
academic advising and career planning relative to course registration. Among the seven
interview participants who graduated into an outcome of underemployment or unemployment
(not by choice), 85.7% cited the need for a greater connection between advising and career
resources. Interview Participant 9, stated there is a greater need for students to have a better
understanding about their career interests before signing up for classes. When discussing her
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frustration at picking classes she thought would help prepare her for a career after graduation,
she said, “I didn’t really ever know where to go” for synchronized advising, adding, “What are
the (course) offerings, and who can inform me about this type of career?” Interview Participant
2, stated he felt like the majority of classes he took were “more about just general knowledge
than preparing me for anything, which is the point.” Interview Participant 6, stated he believed
CCU has an opportunity to take a lead in bridging this connection in order to add value to the
career development and planning process of college students. “All of my friends are complaining
about the quality of advisement they got from their universities.”
Influence 3 addresses findings in the area of career planning efficacy based on student
resources and services that are focused on the need for the organization to provide specific
resources connecting students’ education to a changing world of work. For example, the need for
students to cast a wider net as they explore potential fields, companies, and roles for post
graduation employment. Knowledge, motivation, and the organization are all addressed in
Influence 3 around how limited career planning efficacy results in a career planning process that
is also limited in scope. For example, the data showed that while students can have a basic
understanding about career planning, and be motivated to pursue post-graduation employment,
without organizational support to provide knowledge about how to expand the job search process
to reflect individual interests and abilities in a diverse array of fields and industries, students can
experience a less than desirable employment outcome. Increasing knowledge about career
planning efficacy leads to increased motivation to engage in the career planning process and
focuses students around achieving full-time employment as keys to success in the new world
economy (Clark & Estes, 2008).
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In response to the open-ended survey question asking respondents what they believe
colleges can do to help more students achieve a desired full-employment outcome upon
graduation, the data showed students did not have the career planning efficacy to expand the
scope of their job search. This was evidenced by responses that included, “I didn't have exposure
to different types of jobs and didn't know they existed,” as well as, “connect students with
resources that are not entrenched in long-standing corporate relationships.” Other comments
addressed this same need to expand the pool of jobs students are identifying for themselves:
Help students explore interests outside of their major and parental/peer expectations. By
the time I found out (about different types of employment opportunities), it felt like it was
too late.
Around this final influence in Theme Three, the data showed that in order to cast a wider
net when seeking post-graduation employment, college students may need to shift their questions
about what they can do with their degree or what type of careers are available to them, to
statements about how knowledge about themselves and world of work will allow them to see
how many different career paths they can recognize and pursue” (Prescod, 2019). This can only
be achieved when the organization provides resources and services to provide this type of
knowledge and self-efficacy.
Influence 1: The Organization Needs to Value Change in a Complex Job Market
The knowledge about how to do something includes subject-specific skills as well as
subject-specific techniques and methods (Krathwohl, 2002). In this influence that emerged in
Theme Three’s findings about career planning efficacy based-on student resources and services,
developing career planning efficacy to achieve a full-employment outcome requires the
organization to value change in how it provides career education as well as change in a complex
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job market. For example, the findings suggested the need to provide students with a
comprehensive understanding of themselves as a unique job seeker. While the organization is
identified as the primary influence in Theme Three’s Influence 1, both knowledge and
motivation also were found to be influences. Metacognitive knowledge addresses knowledge
about cognitive tasks, including both contextual and conditional knowledge, while also
incorporating self-knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). I found personalized career planning that is
more tailor-made for each individual student’s unique interests and abilities, as well as a higher
level of cognitive understanding about how to find a full-employment outcome upon graduation
that reflects both individual capacity and potential, requires individual attention. This type of
individual attention would represent a change in how career education is delivered as well as
simultaneously embrace change in the job market.
In the open-ended survey question where respondents offered their perspectives on what
colleges can do to better help students reach a full-employment outcome, the need for
personalized career planning clearly emerged. Suggestions included students being required to
take a career course that addresses career planning for each student uniquely, and the university
providing greater direction about how to connect individual circumstances, life experiences, and
goals to specific job opportunities and individual student majors. The following respondent
comments represent some of these suggestions:
It is frustrating not having a clear plan or direct coaching to support meaningful career
planning for each student’s diversity.
Make it part of course requirements to understand varying employment opportunities.
Have a class to teach students about what job opportunities you have with your major.
Have a career coach to have frequent check-ins with.
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I was not provided with assistance for going into the field of education. I was told they
didn’t know much about that, and I did my own research from then on.
From Day 1, have the students actually have a relationship with a counselor that frames
up what to expect in the job market when they leave. This relationship should be about
setting up the rest of their career. This should be for every school.
Based on this study’s quantitative survey data and qualitative interviews, the research
found that relative to realizing the goal of full-employment upon graduation, having greater
access to personalized career planning can result in greater efficacy and agency for CCU students
to achieve their desired employment goal. This finding represents a significant gap because
among all interview participants regardless of employment outcome, 91% identified the need for
a greater personalization for career planning for each individual student. Further, the type of
motivation that appears to drive most motivated activity is often discussed as efficacy and
agency, and can be described as the desire to be effective in one’s life (Clark & Estes, 2008).
This is evidenced in the data between respondents who “strongly agree” they are optimistic about
their future, and respondents who also “strongly agree” they have a good understanding about
their professional interests and abilities. When examining the intersection of how respondents
replied to both of these statements, among those who graduated into full-employment outcomes,
a total of 68 respondents fall into the category of strongly agreeing with both of these statements,
while only 16 respondents who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not by choice), and
13 respondents who graduated into outcomes of underemployment (not by choice), also strongly
agreed with both statements (see Table 22).
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Table 22
Reasons why I engaged With University-Provided Career Services
Responses Employment Outcome
Full Employment
Percentage
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
General Career
Exploration
50.68 18.92 11.49
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
This finding shows more than four times as many respondents who “strongly agree” they
are both optimistic about their professional future and that they have a good understanding about
their professional interests and abilities, graduated into their desired employment outcome of
full-employment. Further, personalized career planning services also has the potential to create a
sustained positive effect on self-efficacy post-graduation. For example, if you only examine
respondents who stated they “strongly agree” they are currently optimistic about their
professional future, 54% of respondents who graduated into an outcome of full-employment
stated they “strongly agree” they are currently optimistic about their professional future, while
only 12.5% of respondents who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not by choice) and
11.7% who graduated into an outcome of underemployment, also “strongly agree” with this
same statement (see Table 23). Therefore, the opportunity to increase career self-efficacy for
college students by adopting a more personalized approach to career planning services can
benefit students in at least the first five years of their career post-graduation, based on the set of
data parameters of survey respondents in this study. Further, this post-graduation benefit appears
to be connected to respondents achieving their goal of a desired full-employment outcome. This
finding was identified as significant because among interview participants who graduated into a
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desired full-employment outcome, 100% strongly agreed they are optimistic about their
professional future. Therefore a gap was identified because both survey respondents and
interview participants indicated the same response that is above the 50% threshold of shared
agreement across these two populations.
Table 23
I am Optimistic About my Professional Future and I Have a Good Understanding About My
Professional Interests and Abilities
Responses Employment Outcome
Full Employment
Number
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Number
Strongly Agree
(w/both statements)
68 16 13
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
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People who are positive and believe they have the capacity to be effective will achieve
substantially more than people who possess the same level of capacity but doubt their abilities
(Bandura, 1977). Providing students with more personalized career planning services that
include creating greater self-efficacy around the value of their individual circumstances, life
experiences, and goals can contribute to increasing positive beliefs about their professional
future and achieving their employment goal in a complex job market.
Influence 2: The Organization Needs to Value Alignment of Career Education and Services
As an assumed organizational influence, CCU needs to value the alignment of career
education resources and services to reflect the individual interests, abilities, and values, of its
students. Both mastery goals and performance goals as they relate to students achieving a desired
full-employment outcome upon graduation, require the organization to provide students with the
specific type of knowledge that will yield the necessary career planning efficacy to compare how
their behavior is contributing to their desired outcome (Yough & Anderman, 2006). In this
second influence in Theme Three’s findings about career planning efficacy based-on student
resources and services, the influence of the organization clearly emerged, but also evident was
conceptual knowledge as a desired by-product of productive engagement with student resources
and services. For example, there is the potential for disconnection between the knowledge
students are provided through career planning services and academic as separate entities, which
can negatively impact the achievement of individual student mastery and performance goals in
seeking and finding post-graduation employment. Therefore, it is important that student
resources and services provide students with a clear connection between concepts and principles
surrounding their academic experience and career planning.
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In addition to survey respondent statements around Theme Three’s Influence 2 already
addressed in this chapter, other survey respondents added further evidence about this second
influence. Comments included, “For me it would have been really helpful to get more CCU
support to bridge the gap between academia and my professional life.” Another respondent
stated, “Every student should have a 1 on 1 with a counselor once a semester to ask them what it
is they truly want to do with their career and then help guide them to the right teachers/classes on
campus who can help them in those fields.” Yet another survey respondent stated, “There needs
to be frank, direct, yet encouraging information available to undergrads about how their classes
help them get jobs. Sometimes you are in the wrong major and no one tells you it’s OK to switch
instead of just keep checking off the classes you need.” Interview participant 9, stated, “One of
my biggest gripes with counseling is that if you don’t want to do what they think you should do,
then they don’t care about you.” She stated that once any individual student feels this way, their
reaction is going to be, “So why would I go to you for help?”
The intersection between undesired employment outcomes and career planning efficacy
as it relates to the organization valuing the alignment of career education and student services,
includes understanding concepts and principles surrounding students’ academic experience and
career planning as connected entities can positively contribute to the achievement of employment
outcome goals. Among respondents who identified as being unemployed (not by choice) at
graduation, 43.33% stated that “a lack of university-provided career resources for my major or
interests” as a perceived reason for their undesired outcome of unemployment. Among those
respondents who identified as underemployed (not by choice), 28.33% stated the same perceived
reason. In the latter underemployed group, 28.33% was the highest ranked response to this
question among all underemployed respondents, and among the unemployed respondents,
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43.33% was the second highest ranked response (see Table 24). Therefore, a lack of university-
provided career resources that are connected to academic pursuits, including those based on
individual majors and interests, is cited by respondents as a top contributor to their own
undesired employment outcomes. This disconnection was also evidenced in the interviews.
Interview Participant 2 stated he didn’t feel his classes were preparing him for any relevant
career path, while Interview Participant 9, took it a step further stating that students need to have
more awareness about their career interests as a precursor to signing up for classes.
Table 24
I Am Optimistic About My Professional Future
Responses Employment Outcome
Full Employment
Percentage
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Percentage
Strongly Agree 54% 12.5% 11.7
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
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One hundred and three survey respondents identified as business majors. This is the same
number (103) as the number of respondents who identified as having a liberal arts major that
does not have its own major-specific career office. This is important to recognize because among
these liberal arts majors, only 40.78% graduated into a desired full-employment outcome
compared to 64.08% of business majors where there is a major-specific career office. The data
also showed that among all 312 survey respondents representing 11 different majors, the only
major that had no respondents graduating into full-employment outcomes also does not offer a
stand-alone career services office. Among all respondents who graduated into full-employment
outcomes, 83 engaged with career services offices specific to their academic major, while only
30 respondents who graduated into an outcome of unemployment (not by choice), and 11 who
graduated into an outcome of underemployment (not by choice), engaged with major-specific
career services (see Table 25). Further, among all respondents, the major with the highest
percentage (64.08%) of full-employment outcomes also has a stand-alone career services office
with multiple staff students in that major can access where there is potentially greater connection
between advising and career planning housed under the same centralized banner.
Table 25
I Engaged With Career Services Specific to my Major
Responses Employment Outcome
Full Employment
Number %
Unemployment
(not by choice)
Number %
Underemployment
(not by choice)
Number %
Yes 83 30 11
n = 153 n = 58 n = 36
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Mastery and performance goals require specific knowledge. Bandura (1977), in his seminal
work, found self-efficacy is more likely to occur when people are provided with opportunities to
learn, be supported, and be encouraged. How students interact with their environment to meet
academic goals required to graduate, and simultaneously interact with career planning, are
widely perceived by respondents as being separate endeavors that should be more connected and
aligned. Based on this study’s findings, there is an organizational need to value a greater
integration of career education and student services to increase career planning efficacy for CCU
students. Therefore, this influence’s primary focus on the organization is necessary in order to
create the type of knowledge students need to have to increase career planning efficacy based on
student resources and services.
Influence 3: The Organization Needs to Provide Specific Resources Connecting Students’
Education to a Changing World of Work
The third influence in Theme Three’s findings about career planning efficacy based on
student resources and services addresses knowledge, motivation, and the organization around
how students’ limited career planning efficacy leads to a job search that is not only limited in
scope, but can prevent the achievement of a full-employment outcome goal. In this sense, there is
a need for the organization to provide specific resources that connect each student’s educational
experience to a changing world of work. According to Clark and Estes (2008), when we provide
people with information they need to know in order to succeed, people experience less
uncertainty about how to achieve a performance goal. Finding a job in the contemporary job
market requires students to be able to have relevant and up-to-date information about available
types of career paths and jobs in order to identify strategies and procedures that will lead to a
full-employment outcome. In the open-ended survey question asking respondents what they
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believe colleges can do to help more students achieve a desired full-employment outcome upon
graduation, the following responses provide evidence of the need to cast a wider net when
looking for post-graduation employment:
I think that colleges could be more open and honest about opportunities, and be more
open minded about the jobs they push. Most of the jobs pushed for my humanities major
focused career exploration as academic related with nothing outside the realm of
academia as a focus.
Most of the jobs I looked at before graduation in animation and art were highly
competitive fields. I have since found (in my master’s degree) that there are a lot of
options in each of these fields that were never mentioned.
It feels like our career centers push an initiative towards prestige and high earning when
it may be more helpful to find something else as you decide on your career journey.
Making the majority of students enter with a major limits career exploration.
Provide more awareness in the last year, tied to a career course.
Traditional jobs will continue to decline and employment will be more precarious. We
need more examples of what can be done and how to be successful in this new future.
Have a 1-2 unit class on career services and find ways to engage more with students who
don’t engage themselves. Make how to find jobs integrated into the curriculum instead of
being optional.
Interview Participant 10, discussed how she believes colleges should help students
recognize how their “value can translate into a career path.” She also discussed her belief that “if
you’re really good at something from babysitting to mowing the lawn,” providing students with
the efficacy to recognize how their value and what they are good at can translate into a
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productive job search going beyond the boundaries of a traditional job search process for college
students. Interview Participant 8, shared how he thought “18, 19, 20 year-olds don’t understand
fully that the jobs that are available to them as recent grads go beyond what is easily found and
accessible.” He also discussed how he believes college recruiting is driven by companies with
business models that require new 22 year-old graduates, and how many students “didn’t fully
realize that there’s tons and tons of opportunities out there” that go beyond the companies
typically recruiting on a college campus. Interview Participant 11, shared how he saw many of
his college friends “close off” from the job search process because, “There are so many
opportunities out there that some people just get lost because they are intimidated by all of it.
You need support to help you through it.” Interview Participant 9, when discussing her thoughts
around how younger college students don’t maximize their job search process, said, “You just
might not know about them because you’re 19.” Among interview participants who graduated
into undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment, 100% indicated having a
better understanding of the job market to better connect their education to employment
opportunities is a need that is being unmet and therefore represents a significant performance
gap.
The influence of motivation propels people to engage in a task and seek a desired
outcome (Mayer, 2011). Career planning efficacy requires students to effectively engage and not
“close off” due to being either overwhelmed or underwhelmed by perceptions about how to
identify and pursue career paths and jobs that are available to them upon graduation. Based on
this study’s findings, there is a need for CCU to provide students with resources and services that
will provide students with knowledge and motivation to cast a wider net as they discover and
identify potential jobs for post graduation employment. Therefore, organizational effectiveness is
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required in order to provide the type of knowledge and motivation students need to have greater
career planning efficacy as a result of their engagement with student resources and services.
Summary of Themes and Influences
By addressing knowledge, motivation, and organization as part of each theme’s collective
influences, I was provided the opportunity to better understand the problem of underemployment
and unemployment among new college graduates. In this study, three themes were identified as
current factors that potentially contribute to or are relevant to achieving the goal of increasing
full-employment outcomes for students seeking full-employment upon graduation. These three
themes embrace both the qualitative survey data and quantitative interview data focusing on the
needs of the primary stakeholders of CCU students. These three themes represent the connection
between employment outcomes and student experiences; the role that professional self-
awareness plays in relationship to employment outcomes; and career planning efficacy based on
available student resources and services. Multiple influences emerged from each of these three
themes, including findings that addressed self-efficacy, goal orientation, and specific types of
knowledge students need in order to achieve their desired employment outcome. Identified
knowledge and motivation needs that are centered around student experiences also address
current organizational performance gaps. This study’s findings about self-awareness and self-
efficacy needs also appear to play a role in the realized or unrealized goals of desired
employment outcomes among students. Tables 26, 27, and 28, identifies the assumed influences
for themes one, two, and three, and whether they were validated as a gap or not.
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Table 26
Determination of Theme One Influences of Findings of Employment Outcomes and Student
Experiences
Assumed KMO Influence Gap Validated, Invalidated, Or Undetermined
Students need to have knowledge about
how to engage in the career planning
process (K)
Gap Validated. Respondents and participants stated
they did not know how to begin the career
development process and recognize how to
identify relevant and interesting career paths.
Students need to have knowledge about
how to identify jobs for their majors
(K, M)
Gap Validated. Respondents and participants stated
they did not consider job opportunities associated
with their major when choosing a major or access
to career planning services for individual majors
and interests.
Students need to begin career planning
early in their college experience (K,
M)
Gap Validated. Respondents and participants who
engaged with career resources as freshman were
more likely to graduate into a desired full-
employment outcome.
Students Need to Understand the
Importance of Enjoying Their Work
(K, M)
Gap Validated. Respondents and participants who
graduated into an undesired employment
outcomes did not consider enjoyment of the work
as a factor when deciding on career fields to
pursue.
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Table 27
Determination of Theme Two Influences: Findings of Professional Self-Awareness and
Employment Outcomes
Assumed KMO Influence Gap Validated, Invalidated, or
Undetermined
Students need to believe in their
capabilities and view themselves as
valuable to an employer (K, M)
Gap Validated. Students who graduated into
undesired outcomes of underemployment and
unemployment did not primarily engage with
career services for increased awareness.
Students need knowledge about their
own professional value (K, M)
Gap Validated. Respondents and participants who
graduated into undesired employment outcomes
strongly disagree that they understand their
professional interests and abilities while no
respondents who were fully employed at
graduation stated the same strong disagreement.
The organization needs to provide
opportunities to discover interests,
abilities, and values (K, M, O)
Gap Validated. Increased capacity for professional
self-awareness requires the organization to
provide students with opportunities to self-
examine, validate, and affirm individual
interests, abilities and goals to aligned career
paths.
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Table 28
Determination of Theme Three Influences of Findings of Career Planning Efficacy Based-On
Student Resources and Services
When examining the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors at play in this
study’s findings, the collective influences identified with each theme have the potential to work
together to equip students with the necessary skills about how to effectively engage in the career
planning process to achieve their desired employment goal. These collective influences also have
the potential to increase awareness about how students’ education and individual value as
potential employees in the post-college job market can serve as a roadmap to find meaningful
employment that may or may not be related to their major area of study. The data suggests
increasing opportunities for students to identify and assign importance to their individual career
Assumed KMO Influence Gap Validated, Invalidated, Or Undetermined
The organization needs to value
change in a complex job market (K,
M, O)
Gap Validated. Students stated that CCU needs
to provide students with more personalized
career planning services to increase career
planning efficacy including positive beliefs
about their professional future in a complex
job market
The organization needs to value
alignment of career education and
services (K, M, O)
Gap Validated. Students reported that career
planning at CCU needs to be more aligned
with academic advising to provide greater
understanding about how individual abilities
and interests relate to employment outcomes
after graduation.
The organization needs to provide
specific resources connecting
students’ education to a changing
world of work (K, M, O)
Gap Validated. There is a need for CCU to
provide students with specific resources that
will connect each student’s educational
experience to potential career paths in a
changing world of work that goes beyond
associated majors and traditional post-college
career paths.
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goals, along with identifying and assigning importance to their interests and abilities, can add a
great deal of self-efficacy to the career planning process early in their college experience. This
early knowledge about what students want in their post-college careers appears to be strongly
connected to students recognizing what they are good at in terms of performative abilities, in
addition to what is interesting to them at a personal level.
Therefore, providing more opportunities for students to acquire the necessary knowledge
and motivation to effectively engage in career planning as soon as possible in their college
experience can play a big role in bridging current performance gaps around the problem of
undesired employment outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new CCU
graduates. Chapter 5 will address how this chapter’s findings are the basis for evidence-based
recommendations for change, in addition to a plan for implementation and evaluation targeted to
result in achieving the organizational goal of increasing full-employment outcomes by 25% by
May 2025.
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Chapter Five: Recommendations, Implementations, and Evaluation
The findings based on this research are for the purpose of making effective changes to
achieve the goal of increasing the number of full-employment outcomes for CCU students upon
graduation and decreasing the number of undesired outcomes of underemployment and
unemployment. In order to achieve this goal, the recommendations presented in this chapter will
reflect SMART goals. The recommendations are specific because collectively they pinpoint the
singular problem of undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new
college graduates at CCU. Through this specificity, the factors of who, what, when, where,
which, and why, around the identified problem are all uniquely addressed through the
recommendations for effective change presented in this chapter. Further, these recommendations
are intended to enhance the professional self-awareness and self-efficacy around the career
discovery, planning, and development process for all CCU students.
The goal of increasing the number of full-employment outcomes and decreasing the
number of undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment is achievable because
enhancing professional self-awareness and self-efficacy can be accomplished through the
recommendations. Further, these recommendations are supported in the findings of this research
and through the triangulation of data through the review of literature. For example, identifying
career paths that go beyond majors and students engaging with career services earlier in their
college experience than their predecessors is supported in the quantitative and qualitative data as
well as by existing literature in the field. These recommendations are also directly associated
with the identified stakeholders of this study, including students as the primary stakeholder in
addition to the secondary stakeholders of faculty and staff. Last, the aspirational
recommendations presented in this chapter represent a significant investment of time and money.
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These recommendations represent bold change and include revising CCU’s required
undergraduate course curriculum, organizational restructuring, and hiring new faculty and staff.
In lieu of pursuing all of these recommendations simultaneously and collectively, it is possible to
phase-in the entire scope of recommendations over time, implementing less costly and time-
consuming recommendations first. It is also recommended these implementation decisions be
based on future discussions with CCU leaders, including the President and Provost of CCU,
along with both primary and secondary stakeholders as identified in this study.
Each theme presented in Chapter Four will be organized as separate sections in this
chapter with recommendations based on the findings of each theme and their collective
influences. As a whole, these recommendations will accurately reflect the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences presented in Chapter Four in each theme in order to
effect positive change at CCU. Figures 6, 7, and 8, represent the recommendations of each
theme’s findings as the foundation for this chapter’s recommendations.
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Figure 6
Theme One Recommendations
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Figure 7
Theme Two Recommendations
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Figure 8
Theme Three Recommendations
The recommendations for each theme will then be organized according to Kotter’s 8 step
change model (Kotter, 2012) to facilitate effective implementation. In addition, Chapter Five will
provide a plan for evaluation according to the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016), in order to determine if the recommended changes are effective in realizing its goal of
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increasing full-employment outcomes and decreasing the number of underemployment and
unemployment outcomes at CCU and make any adjustments over time.
Recommended Solutions to Theme 1: Employment Outcomes and Student Experiences
In order to graduate college with a desired outcome of full-employment, students need to
know how their student experiences directly connect to achieving their individual employment
goals. Student experiences include courses, major area of study, engagement with university-
provided career resources and services, internships, university-provided mentor programs, and
interaction with faculty, staff, and students. Providing students with the necessary knowledge to
achieve their employment goals relies on being able to perform specific skills or tasks in order to
achieve that desired outcome (Krathwohl, 2002).
The recommendations outlined around Theme One are relevant to meeting challenges at
each of these progressive steps from entering college as a freshman to graduating with
employment. As previously presented, the study’s research found 69% of CCU students who
enroll in college do so in order to get a good job upon graduation. This is particularly relevant
because in a study of 8,000 education providers, students, and employers, The McKinsey Center
for Government found three critical steps that contribute to a successful education-to-employee
progression: (a) enrolling in postsecondary education, (b) building job-relevant skills, and (c)
finding a job (Arnold, 2018). Further, according to Mourshed et al. (2012), colleges as
organizational entities play a role in meeting challenges at each of these steps beginning with
students enrolling in college through graduation. Therefore the following recommendations
based on the findings of this study about employment outcomes and student experiences, ground
this study’s recommendations in changes that can collectively contribute to the organizational
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goal of increasing the number of students graduating into full-employment outcomes by 25% by
May 2025.
The CCU Career Education Initiative
Creating a university wide formal initiative focused on connecting the student experience
and their education to the world of work, will provide a roadmap toward achieving the goal of
increasing full-employment outcomes by presenting all stakeholders with a formal plan for
career education at CCU. The Career Education Initiative will specifically address findings
across all of Theme One’s influences, and establish foundational goals and timelines to
maximize employment outcomes based on enhancing the individual student experience around
the career planning process. By providing a framework for career education at CCU that is
applicable to all students in all majors, the Initiative will serve as a mechanism to engage
students as active participants in their own career planning experience. The Initiative will also
serve to promote collaboration for all secondary stakeholders of faculty and staff to operate on a
shared set of principles designed to facilitate the achievement of the organizational goal of
increasing full-employment outcomes for all students seeking full-employment upon graduation,
while decreasing undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment. The Initiative
will consist of three primary actionable activities across a timeline spanning from freshman to
senior year about how to effectively engage in the career planning process:
1. Professional self-discovery
2. Exploration of career paths and jobs
3. Experiential activities designed to connect individual interests, abilities, and goals to
post-graduation employment goals.
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Further, each recommendation made in this chapter across all three themes presented in Chapter
Four, will directly relate to one or more of the Career Education Initiative’s above three areas of
actionable activities. The Initiative provides an opportunity to create a coaltion across CCU to
provide the necessary momentum towards implementing all of the aspirational recommendations
that may preceed changes to the curriculum and organizational structure.
Young people who have a strong sense of agency are more likely to actively engage in
exploration and less likely to avoid processes that can lead to goal-achievement (Schwartz et al.,
2005). Therefore, the Career Education Initiative, as part of students’ college experience from
freshman through senior year, is designed to increase agency while also encouraging students to
accept responsibility for their employment outcomes. At the same time, it requires the
organization of CCU to provide students with the tools needed to overcome barriers and
obstacles that may prevent them from graduating into desired full-employment outcomes.
Career indecision is rooted in the lack of an adequate career planning model (Xu &
Tracey, 2017). Therefore, it is also recommended the CCU Career Education Initiative adopt a
pedagogical systems-based approach to career development and planning that can be used as a
shared guide for aligning students with right fit jobs, while also being adaptable to meet
individual needs, interests, abilities, and goals. Providing students, faculty, and staff, with an in-
common approach to career development and planning across the university as part of the Career
Education Initiative will facilitate connectedness and continuity. For the primary stakeholders of
CCU students, the Initiative will embrace each student’s individual experience at CCU in their
pursuit of identifying and securing rewarding post graduation employment. For the secondary
stakeholders of faculty and staff, this in-common pedagogical systems-based approach will
create clarity and accountability to effectively contribute to the realization of goals.
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Freshman Orientation Career Development Session
It is recommended that all incoming freshman students attend a stand-alone session
during orientation to introduce the CCU Career Education Initiative. This session will be
dedicated to presenting how students can engage in the career discovery, planning, and
development process beginning in their first semester in order to increase awareness about how
they will partner with CCU to achieve their post-graduation employment goals throughout
college. Many students enter college without a major, or with a major that was selected based on
limited self-knowledge (Jaradat & Mustafa, 2017). In addition to providing students with a
shared awareness about how they can effectively engage in the career planning process during
their time at CCU, it is recommended the freshman orientation career development session also
focus on the relationship between majors and career paths in order to open up exploration of
potential career paths for students that may or may not be directly linked to majors. Further, this
session will establish the connection between academic decisions, including major selection and
then selection of electives, to employment outcomes.
Self-determination significantly and positively predicts college and career readiness for
students and is moderated by college and career decision-making self-efficacy (Leggett, 2020).
Therefore, a stand-alone career development session at the start of a student’s college experience
has the potential to increase motivation to better understand the connection between the
classroom and the world of work, as well as gain knowledge about the resources and services
available to help them make decisions to benefit both their academic and employment goals. It is
further recommended that all transfer students engage in a career development session tailored to
them addressing these same principles in order to create greater career planning equity between
students who begin CCU as a freshman, and students who transfer in with advanced standing.
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Launch a Required Career Class
Clark and Estes (2008) describe education as any situation in which people acquire
“conceptual, theoretical, and strategic” knowledge and skills designed to help them deal with
novel and unexpected challenges and problems. Based on the findings of this study, it is
recommended CCU launch a required career class for all students across all majors that builds on
the three actionable activities described at the beginning of this chapter as part of the CCU
Career Education Initiative. Career planning courses are effective in increasing career
exploration and decreasing attrition for undergraduate populations (Fouad et al., 2009). Career
discovery and development courses are effective in both decreasing negative career thoughts and
increasing career decision-making self-efficacy, and it is important to introduce career courses
earlier in students’ undergraduate years (Prescod et al., 2019). Therefore, it is recommended this
course be integrated into the required curriculum in the first semester of the sophomore year. It is
also recommended this course be offered as a credit/no credit course in order for students to fully
focus on themselves and the goals of the course rather than a grade. Relative to students’ need to
understand the importance of enjoying their work, it is important to include a component in this
class to decrease negative career thoughts about work being a lifelong endeavor that is not
intended to be enjoyed.
Social support and conscientiousness play several valuable roles as predictors of career
exploration and decision-making, including bolstering self-efficacy and enabling goal setting and
actions (Lent et al., 2019). Therefore, it is recommended the required career course can benefit
by having guest speakers representing a wide variety of fields speak to the important role that
this study’s finding about enjoying one’s work plays in the career planning process. Last, for
students who transfer in with junior level standing, it is recommended this course be offered
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online with a co-hort of other transfer students in order to create greater career planning equity
between students who took the course as CCU sophomores and those who transferred in with
advanced junior-level standing.
Online Career Portal
As part of this study’s findings of employment outcomes and student experiences, it is
recommended that an online career portal be developed and launched through CCU’s existing
online student site that incorporates the discovery, exploration, and experiential components of
the Career Education Initiative to turn it into a personalized career plan for each student in order
to increase self-efficacy. An increase in self-efficacy can provide a positive impact on students’
motivation to engage in and complete new tasks (Abdous, 2019). Therefore, the recommended
career portal will also include opportunities for authorized faculty and staff, including academic
advising and career planning resources, to contribute to a student’s personalized career plan in
order to create greater collaboration and integration and facilitate desired employment outcome
goals.
The recommended career portal will include specific learning outcomes unique for each
student from freshman orientation, to the new required career course in sophomore year, to
internships, mentor relationships, as well as the identification of specific fields, companies and
organizations, and roles that represent an alignment with each students’ individual interests,
abilities, and goals. Therefore, this final recommendation that is grounded in Theme One’s
findings and associated influences, can positively contribute to increasing self-efficacy and
motivation for all students across all majors to engage in and complete the tasks necessary to
graduate into desired employment outcomes.
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Recommended Solutions to Theme 2: Professional Self-Awareness and Employment
Outcomes
By engaging students in positive emotions about their capacity and efficacy, colleges
have the opportunity to increase the value of both knowledge and motivational influences for its
students as they pursue full-employment outcomes upon graduation. The identification of
multiple viable and relevant career paths going beyond the scope of an undergraduate’s initial
knowledge about the job market up to that point. As the means to facilitate students acquiring the
necessary self-efficacy to achieve mastery of the career planning process and reach their desired
employment goal, professional self-awareness is foundational. In their work on social cognitive
career theory, Lent et al. (1994) suggest people make career choices that are rooted in their
beliefs about self-efficacy in combination with their expectations about perceived outcomes
associated with that career. For example, environmental and contextual criteria such as
socioeconomic status or collegiality of co-workers. While there are differences in these theories,
each addresses the key role that aligning personal factors with environmental factors play in
making effective career planning decisions.
In his seminal work about the career decision-making process, Holland (1997) suggested
people make specific choices about their careers based on the person/environment fit. For
example, Holland posited that people choose career paths where they will be able to use their
skills and abilities as well as express personal attitudes and values in environments with like-
minded people engaging in enjoyable roles. Gottredson (1981) suggested people zero in on
career paths based on specific criteria related to their personality and goals, such as the amount
of prestige associated with a job or the number of barriers people may perceive about getting into
and succeeding in a particular field.
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Based on this study’s findings, increasing opportunities for students to discover and
implement tools that will expand rather than limit their job search process appears to be
connected to aligning individual interests, abilities, values, as well as education with professional
opportunities post-graduation to increase the likelihood of achieving their employment goals
upon graduation. The recommendations outlined in Theme Two address professional self-
awareness as it specifically relates to findings about the need to connect each student as an
individual with right-fit potential career paths.
Earlier Engagement in the Career Planning Process
Full-employment outcomes and earlier engagement in the career planning process are
positively correlated as evidenced in this study’s findings. Creating a sense of awareness about
the individual value each student brings to the career planning process based on personal
interests, abilities, and goals should be a cornerstone of this earlier engagement. By providing a
freshman orientation career development session as presented in Theme One’s
recommendations, in addition to launching a required career class targeted for first semester
sophomores, will represent how CCU can create earlier engagement in the career planning
process as part of academic life for all CCU students. It is also recommended core classes for all
majors provide references at some point in the semester about how key skills being taught and
utilized in these classes may have a relationship to increasing a student’s professional self-
awareness as it relates to the identification of potential career paths. This greater in-classroom
focus on connecting coursework to the world of work has the potential to add particular
emphasis on the value of unique student talents and abilities as performative strengths rather than
using external factors such as job titles or salary as starting points for effective career planning.
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Clarity around students’ professional interests and abilities emerge from the engagement
in course content (Milsom & Coughlin, 2015). Therefore, by increasing the professional self-
awareness of students beginning in the freshman year utilizing the classroom experience, the
greater organizational goal will be to tie this awareness back to the personalized resources
provided in the online career portal as part of CCU’s overall Career Education Initiative for
greater knowledge and motivation. Earlier engagement in the career planning process, including
a strong focus on increasing professional self-awareness, will also be leveraged as an opportunity
to provide students with more purposeful direction as they seek out and identify elective courses,
internships, and mentor programs as they progress through college.
Establish a Talents Discovery Month
By adopting an in-common foundational systems-based approach to the career
development and planning process, it will then be possible to create greater continuity for all
students to increase their professional self-awareness about how individual interests can be
connected to unique talents and performative strengths. It is recommended that the first step in
the systems-based approach will be to focus on increasing professional self-awareness by
depicting talents as playing a key role in increasing both professional self-awareness as well as
career planning efficacy. Using the findings of this study, it is recommended this focus
specifically address the identification of talents rooted in behavioral characteristics as opposed to
aspirational resume bullet points. According to Chen and Zhou (2018), the career decision-
making process should focus on the relationship between humans and information, and humans
and value, and recognize the alignment of these variables can provide awareness into the
identification of desirable career paths for the individual. This study’s findings show that
currently there is a gap between CCU students recognizing individual talents if those talents do
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not immediately translate into perceived resume tangibles deemed marketable by external
audiences. Therefore, it is necessary to separate the concepts of talents and skills in order to
increase professional self-awareness by increasing understanding about the motivational value
individual talents play in career planning efficacy as well as in the workplace. It is recommended
talents be depicted as correlational to behavioral characteristics during Talents Discovery Month,
and would include placing value on behavioral qualities such as being detail-oriented, big picture
focused, curious, empathetic, etc. Depicted as professional commodities that can be leveraged
and rewarded by a career path aligned with these behavioral qualities cast as talents, should play
a key role in Talents Discovery Month.
Cognitive processes that assist in planning goal-producing activities require knowledge
triggered by a self-generated perception of capabilities. Focusing on individual talents as
valuable, can provide the emotional context and tone to incentivize effective action that supports
the fulfillment of self-development goals (Irvine, 2017). By establishing a month dedicated to the
discovery of individual talents, students will gain awareness about their professional value as
well as create greater equity across all majors by casting talents associated with each discipline
as having equal importance in the world of work.
Establish University-Based and School-Based Career Mentorship Programs
People who make career planning decisions based in part on advice sought from those
who are successful in their own careers were more likely to make decisions about their own
careers that led to greater career satisfaction (Blustein et al., 1997). This seminal work on career
development found that people who did not trust their own decision-making capacity often report
job dissatisfaction due to a lack of career decision-making self-efficacy. This study’s findings
indicate a strong need for greater access to career mentors beginning early on in the student
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experience. Further, these findings suggest there is a role for mentors to play around the theme of
professional self-awareness. It is recommended that CCU establish a university-based mentor
program open to students across all majors to connect with professionals who are successful in
diverse industries and fields. In addition, it is recommended that CCU continue to support
existing school-based mentorship programs already in place for students and establish similar
programs for those majors where these programs do not currently exist. Both types of mentor
programs are intended to help students identify and expand the scope of their job search, and
further increase professional self-awareness based on individual interests, abilities, and goals. As
a contextual influence, mentorships impact an individual’s self-efficacy, which in turn creates a
positive effect on goal-directed behaviors, including academic achievement and successful career
decision-making (Docherty et al., 2018). Further, mentoring relationships are particularly
effective for minority and first-generation college students, which the qualitative interviews
identified as an opportunity for increasing equity for career planning efficacy for all CCU
students.
Recommended Solutions to Theme 3: Career Planning Efficacy From University Provided
Resources and Services
College career centers offer and provide students with valuable resources and services to
assist students in a variety of critical decisions including the selection of a major area of study,
learning about how their own abilities translate into different career fields, and facilitate the
securing of internships and jobs (Schaub, 2012). It is also necessary for college career centers to
collaborate with other university departments to address the needs of students including
counseling centers and academic advising. According to Zondag and Brink (2017), in addition to
the importance of career resources and services that colleges provide, faculty and the courses
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they teach are becoming increasingly important in how students are provided with career related
information. Therefore, while college career centers and career counselors continue to play a
growing role as a key go-to source for students about career development and planning, there is
an opportunity to enhance and expand this source to a greater degree in the classroom as well as
through experiential education such as internships and mentorship programs. To maximize career
planning efficacy from university-provided resources and services, career planning efficacy that
is also grounded in the classroom through the required career course and increased in-classroom
connections to the world of work will be critical to increasing the number of students graduating
into full-employment outcomes.
The recommendations outlined in Theme Three address the study’s findings about career
planning efficacy based on student resources and services. These recommendations are intended
to expand CCU’s sources of information about career planning efficacy for all students, create a
greater connection between the classroom and the world of work, increase collaboration between
academic advising and career planning, and provide a connected pedagogical approach to career
planning efficacy that will create greater consensus and direction for all stakeholders to achieve
the organizational goal of increasing the number of desired full-employment outcomes and
decreasing outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new CCU graduates.
Reorganization of Career Services Reporting Structure
According to Clark and Estes (2008), the achievement of organizational goals require an
organizational system that effectively works together through interacting processes fueled by
specialized knowledge, skills, and motivation. In order to create an organizational system that
can effectively provide career planning efficacy for all CCU students, it is recommended CCU
reorganize the current reporting structure of the CCU central career center from Student Affairs
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to the Office of the Provost. Repositioning career services to report under the organizational
leadership of the Provost, will better serve to connect the classroom to the world of work in order
to increase career planning efficacy for students and achieve the organizational goal of
increasing the number of desired full-employment outcomes for graduating students.
The reorganization of CCU’s central career center reporting structure will also provide a
greater opportunity for oversight of the implementation and management of the recommended
new required career course and the adoption of a university-wide in-common systems-based
pedagogical approach to career planning efficacy. Further, it is recommended that each school-
based career office report into this new structure as subunits of the central career center with
dotted line reporting to a designated Vice Dean in the individual schools. The recommended
appointment of the new position of Vice Provost of Career Education will have oversight of all
CCU career related resources and services and provide an opportunity to centralize all university
career resources and services. Further, the visual benefit of this reorganization will be to
recognize the connection between the classroom and the world of work and provide increased
stature to the commitment of providing all CCU students with the highest level of career
planning efficacy available in order to further contribute to the achievement of each student’s
individual employment goals.
In order for career services and institutions of higher learning to continue to provide
effective and efficient career resources and services, colleges and universities must see career
services as administrative units that are valuable to students, alumni, and the entire institution
(Vinson et al., 2014). According to Arnold (2018), all aspects of life, work, and education are
subject to changing external factors, and these changes are occurring on a global scale. Further,
institutions of higher learning, as repositories of classical norms, values, and knowledge, have
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provided building blocks and gateways leading from the past into the future. When questioning
whether or not institutions of higher learning have synchronized with external factors in a way
that effectively address the need for change, one question that needs to be asked focuses on
whether colleges are profoundly and centrally preparing students to find job opportunities
following graduation (Arnold, 2018). Through the centralization of all CCU career resources and
services in the Office of the Provost under the leadership of the new position of Vice Provost of
Career Education, CCU can more effectively address changing external factors including global
changes, to increase career planning efficacy for all of its students leading to the realization of
the goal of increasing full-employment outcomes by 25% for graduates by 2025.
Greater Integration of Academic Advising and Career Services
Creating greater integration between academic advising and career services will
contribute to greater career planning efficacy for students. Career planning and development
activities that allow students to explore the world of work while at the same timed consider the
real-world applications of the academic courses they are taking can engage students in their
academic work as well as motivate them to accomplish their goals (Falco & Steen, 2018). It is
recommended this integration will be enhanced through the primary partnership between school-
based academic advising and career offices, where both are located within the same individual
school within CCU’s decentralized organizational system. The previously discussed
centralization of all CCU career resources and services in the Office of the Provost will serve as
an opportunity to overcome barriers associated with a decentralized organization. This
recommended partnership between academic advising and school-based career services can
facilitate greater integration of academic advising and career services rather than attempting to
partner school-based advising with CCU’s central career center. Because of the recommended
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restructuring and centralization, as subunits of the central career center, school-based career
offices will benefit through greater communication continuity for students around the career
planning process and avoid mixed messaging.
It is recommended through the student career portal, both school-based academic
advising and career services offices can review courses, be aware of a student’s already
identified career interests and fields, and potentially access a final professional self-awareness
deliverable written by the student as a final requirement in the recommended career planning
course for all first semester sophomores. Through this type of integration, it will be possible to
address student needs more holistically in order to better connect their academic work and
education to the career planning process as a vehicle to increase career planning efficacy. It is
also recommended that academic advising and the dotted line reporting structure of school-based
career offices to the individual schools be organized under the same school-based leader in order
to create further opportunities for collaboration and coordination on a day-to-day basis with
greater oversight.
According to Milson and Coughlin (2015), there is an opportunity for academic advisors
to identify students with limited career exploration experience or little self-awareness to
collaborate with career services offices to increase formal opportunities for students to explore
self and career as part of the academic advising process. Because advisors likely understand
course sequencing and major requirements better than career services professionals, and career
services professionals may feel more comfortable than academic advisors to lead career planning
activities, creating a greater connection between these two university functions within the same
school will increase career planning efficacy for students. Further, for those students who may
have selected a major based on external input from friends, family members, or parents,
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academic advisors may be the first type of advisor that students meet with individually, and
could potentially be identified as needing to work with career planning services to increase their
own self-awareness and efficacy.
Establish School-Based Career Offices
Career development activities students participate in while in school have a positive
impact on individuals’ career satisfaction, educational attainment, future earnings, and societal
contribution (Falco & Steen, 2018). In order to create a greater depth of career planning efficacy
and career development activities students participate in while at CCU, it is recommended those
CCU schools that do not currently have school-based career offices, be provided with funding to
establish these offices in order to augment and compliment the services currently provided by the
central CCU career center and not duplicate or provide conflicting career planning messages to
students. Therefore, as previously described, it is recommended that school-based career offices
do operate as a subunit of the central career center with a dotted line reporting structure to each
individual school. It is recommended that the senior leadership of the central career center will
be actively involved in providing the structure and type of services provided at school-based
career offices. By establishing school-based career offices at all CCU schools, it will create
greater equity for those students who major in disciplines where the associated individual school
has less financial resources and send a message that all academic interests are equally valued.
Offering additional school-based career services that are more tailor-made for individual
majors was further examined through the lens of knowledge and motivation. Emotional
processes and knowledge triggered by perceptions of self, others, and situations, including career
planning efficacy, have the potential to provide the necessary emotional context and tone for
energizing action and advancing personal self-determination and the attainment of self-
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development goals (Irvine, 2017). Included in this recommendation is the goal of thinking about
career planning efficacy at a higher level, which will require students to cast a wider net as they
explore and identify potential career paths. Therefore, it is recommended each school-based
career office also manage a school-based mentor program more focused on experiential learning
around specific fields associated with that major in order to enhance and not duplicate the
recommended university-based mentorship program open to students across all majors and
schools. While both programs are designed to increase students’ self-efficacy to identify and
expand the scope of their career planning activities and increase professional self-awareness
based on individual interests, abilities, and goals, the school-based program can provide the
opportunity to be more external than internal focused and connect each student’s education and
interests to the world of work based more on experiential learning than internal discovery.
According to Clark and Estes (2008), knowledge, motivation, and the structure of the
organization itself influence performance at work. The preceding recommended solutions reflect
the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that emerged across themes one, two,
and three, and are summarized in Table 29. In Table 29, each assumed influence is summarized
separately, along with validation status based on this study’s findings, in order to create greater
clarity around the implementation plan presented in the next section of this chapter.
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Table 29
Summary of Assumed Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs and Validation
Assumed Need Validated Not
Validated
Recommendation
Knowledge
Need knowledge about how to
engage in career planning
X CCU Career Education Initiative;
Required career course; Online
career portal
Need knowledge about how to
connect jobs with majors.
X Required career course; Online
career portal
Need career planning knowledge
early in the college experience.
X CCU Career Education Initiative;
Freshman orientation career
session
Need to understand the
importance of enjoying their
work.
X Required career class; Mentorship
programs
Need knowledge about individual
capabilities, abilities, interests,
and values.
X Earlier engagement in the career
planning process: Talents
Discovery Month; Mentorship
programs
Need knowledge about how
different courses connect to
jobs.
Reorganize career services
reporting structure; Establish
school-based career offices in
all schools
Motivation
Need motivation about how to
connect jobs with majors.
X CCU Career Education Initiative;
Required career course;
Mentorship programs
Need motivation to begin career
planning earlier in the college
experience.
X Required career course; Freshman
orientation career session;
Mentorship programs
Need motivation to identify and
find work they enjoy.
X Required career class; earlier
engagement in the career
planning process
Need motivation to discover
interests, abilities, and values.
X CCU Career Education Initiative;
Required career course;
Mentorship programs
Need to see the value of career
planning.
X CCU Career Education Initiative;
Freshman orientation career
session; Required career course;
Greater Integration of academic
advising and career services
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Assumed Need Validated Not
Validated
Recommendation
Motivation
Need motivation to connect their
education with career paths in a
changing world of work.
X Career Education Initiative;
Required career course;
Establish school- based career
offices in all schools;
Reorganization of career
services reporting structure
Organization
Need to provide services and
opportunities to discover
interest, abilities, and values
X Earlier engagement in the career
discovery planning process;
Talents Discovery Month;
Reorganization of career
services reporting structure;
Greater integration of academic
advising and career services;
Establish school-based career
offices in all schools; Required
career course; CCU Career
Education Initiative
Need to value the changing job
market and the associated need
to provide services and
opportunities that reflect a
complex job market.
X Reorganization of career services
reporting structure; Establish
school- based career offices in
all schools; Required career
course; CCU Career Education
Initiative
Need to provide resources that
connects the classroom to the
workplace
X Reorganization of career services
reporting structure; Greater
integration of academic
advising and career services;
Establish school-based career
offices in all schools; Required
career course; CCU Career
Education Initiative
Implementation Plan
The recommendations that align with Themes One, Two, and Three, along with their
associated influences based on the study’s findings need to be organized into a plan for
implementation. Kotter’s 8 step change model (Kotter, 2012), represents a model that CCU can
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utilize to implement these recommendations for change. Table 30 provides a visual overview of
the implementation plan based on Kotter’s change model including action steps, people who are
responsible for the action steps, and a time frame.
Table 30
Implementation Plan Table
Kotter’s
Change
Model
Action Steps People
Responsible
Time Frame
Establishing a
sense of
urgency
Provide one university-wide
event followed by school-
specific events for faculty and
staff to introduce the CCU
Career Education Initiative
including the appointment of a
Vice Provost of Career
Education.
CCU leadership,
including the
President and
Provost of CCU.
August, 2021
(1 week)
Position career education as an
opportunity for creating
positive change and part of
CCU’s strategic mission.
CCU Dean’s, Career
Services
leadership, and
Department
Chair’s.
August, 2021
(3 months)
Creating a guiding
coalition
Appoint and engage a university
wide career education team
with representation from all
CCU schools to communicate
and manage new career
education programs.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
School based
faculty and staff
leaders.
November, 2021
(4 months)
Developing a
strategic
vision and
strategies
for change
Meet with students, faculty, and
staff across all schools and
majors to create greater clarity
about CCU’s new approaches,
services, programs, and goals
around career education for all
students.
Career Education
Team
March, 2022
(3 months)
Make adjustments to the Career
Education Initiative based on
feedback from all stakeholders
(students, faculty, staff).
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team
June, 2022
(2 months)
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Kotter’s
Change
Model
Action Steps People
Responsible
Time Frame
Communicating
the change
vision
Launch the CCU online career
education portal and offer the
first university-wide required
career course for first semester
sophomores.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team, faculty,
staff
August, 2022
(3 months)
Hold multiple beginning of the
academic year events,
including freshman
orientation, Talents Discovery
Month, to communicate the
Career Education Initiative
and new career development
and planning services and
programs.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team, faculty
and staff.
August, 2022
(3 months,
con’t)
Empowering
stakeholders
for broad-
based action
Remove barriers for students to
engage in the career planning
process through greater
personalization and equal
access to career services
including establishing school-
based career offices in schools
where they currently do not
exist.
Career services
staff, academic
advising staff,
faculty teaching
new required
career course.
October, 2022
(6 months)
Launching new mentor
programs focused on
increasing individual capacity
for professional self-
awareness.
Career services
staff, alumni
volunteers
October, 2022
(6 months,
con’t)
Generating short-
term wins
Launch social media campaign
to promote employment
outcome wins for upcoming
graduates.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team, CCU IT
April, 2023
(3 months)
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Kotter’s
Change
Model
Action Steps People
Responsible
Time Frame
Consolidating
gains and
producing more
change
Hold focus groups for students,
faculty, and staff to acquire
necessary knowledge to
improve effectiveness of the
Career Education Initiative
and all associated resources
and programs across all CCU
schools.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team, Career
services leaders,
Department
Chairs
July 2023 - May
2024
(year-round)
Make more change, not less and
reduce unnecessary
interdependencies.
Vice Provost of
Career
Education,
Career Education
Team, Career
services leaders,
Department
Chairs, faculty,
staff
June 2024
(2 months)
Anchoring new
approaches in
the culture
Establish new norms and shared
values around career
education by promoting
CCU’s changes across the
field of higher education.
CCU leadership,
including the
President and
Provost of CCU
August 2024 –
May 2025
(year-round)
Include CCU’s work on career
education in all recruiting
materials and outreach to
further set CCU apart as a
national leader on solving the
problem of underemployment
and unemployment among
new college graduates.
Service learning
department
August 2024 –
May 2025 (year-
round, con’t)
Step 1: Establishing A Sense of Urgency
The first step in Kotter’s 8 step change model is establishing a sense of urgency (Kotter,
2012). During the month of August 2021, the top leadership of CCU will announce the launch of
its Career Education Initiative along with the announcement of a new senior role, Vice Provost
of Career Education and the reorganization of the central career center to the Office of the
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Provost. During the first three months of the new semester, career education will be positioned as
a new opportunity to maximize positive employment outcomes for all students across each CCU
school and major. Based on this study’s findings of employment outcomes and student
experiences, there is a need to address career planning as part of CCU’s strategic mission and
will create a greater sense of urgency and awareness for students, faculty, and staff, around how
to increase desired full-employment outcomes for all students seeking full-employment upon
graduation. The first three months of the academic school year 2021-2022, will serve as the
starting point and catalyst to focus on career education as a priority for the organization and
stakeholders of CCU.
Step 2: Creating a Guiding Coalition
In the second step of Kotter’s 8 step change model, the goal is focused on creating
create a guiding coalition (Kotter, 2012). The Vice Provost of Career Education will appoint and
engage a career education team made up of faculty and staff representing each CCU school with
expertise and intrinsic motivation to be part of positive change around the problem of
underemployment and unemployment for graduating college students. Long term, the team will
work collectively and independently to maximize the Career Education Initiative, including new
programs and services designed to increase students’ knowledge and motivation to effectively
engage in the career planning process. Over a time period of 4 months, from November 2021
through February 2022, the career education team will establish how they will work together as a
cohesive body to provide opportunities for students at all levels with greater understanding about
how to effectively engage in the career planning process, identify jobs for their majors, as well as
engage early in their college experience. The career education team will meet a minimum of
three times during these 4 months and set specific goals for the team and individual team
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members that reflect the values and goals of the greater organization of CCU as well as the
unique characteristics of each CCU school they represent.
Step 3: Developing a Strategic Vision and Strategies for Change
The third step in Kotter’s 8 step change model is developing a strategic vision and
strategies for change (Kotter, 2012). Beginning in March 2022, the career education team will
begin to meet with students, faculty and staff in their individual schools to gather information
and insights about specific needs that have not been addressed in the Career Education Initiative,
and break through any resistance with vision. A key goal of Step 3 is to engage all stakeholders
in playing a role in creating a positive future around increasing the number of students
graduating into full-employment outcomes as well as increasing the equity of full-employment
outcomes across all majors. During this time, the career education team will clarify the direction
of change it seeks to create, in addition to identifying and addressing potential problems prior to
communicating the vision.
Step 4: Communicate the Vision
Step four in Kotter’s 8 step change model is communicating the vision (Kotter, 2012).
Beginning in August 2022, the Vice Provost of Career Education, the career education team,
faculty, and staff will strive to create a shared vision of a positive future where more students
realize their employment goals upon graduation as a motivational tool that can further
incentivize an effective transformation. Aligned with the start of the 2022-2023 academic school
year, a career education portal will be launched through the university’s student site to provide
students with knowledge about how to effectively engage in their own professional future from
freshman orientation through sophomore, junior, and senior years. In addition to the website, the
central career center and existing school-based career offices will hold events based around the
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fundamental tenets of the CCU Career Education Initiative to ensure students are receiving
cohesive messaging about how to maximize and personalize their own career planning process.
The goal of communicating the vision will be to keep the messaging simple and decrease
the opportunity for mixed messaging coming from the central career center and school-based
career offices. Communicating the vision will also focus on listening to make sure that
communication between career education leaders and students are equitable and multi-
directional. This time period will also mark the launch of the first university-wide required career
course for all first semester sophomores as part of required curriculum. The class will tie together
the messaging around the career education initiative and provide students an opportunity to
engage in developing professional self-awareness and career planning efficacy in addition to
clearer understanding about how to personalize career planning to create a strong connection
between their academic and career planning activities.
Step 5: Empowering Stakeholders for Broad-based Action
The fifth step in Kotter’s 8 step change model is to empower a broad base of people to
take action by removing as many barriers as possible to implement changes (Kotter, 2012).
Starting in October 2022, as career education leaders, faculty, and staff, conclude the step of
communicating the vision of change to students, structural barriers preventing all majors to
access the same level of career education services will be removed. From October 2022 through
March 2023, individual schools without career offices will establish career offices in
coordination with CCU’s central career center. Data from the study revealed increasing
personalization in the career planning process by addressing unique student interests, abilities,
goals, and educational pursuits, is a need that currently exists. By providing students with greater
personalization and opportunities to connect their major to career paths that may or may not be
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directly related to their course of study, will remove a significant barrier that prevents students
from effectively engaging in the career planning process. Providing students from all schools
with major-specific resources through school-based career offices will empower students as the
primary stakeholder to take action in achieving a desired full-employment outcome.
Step 6: Generating Short Term Wins
Step six in Kotter’s change model is generating short-term wins (Kotter, 2012). Short
term wins provide reinforcement to the overall change effort and demonstrate to stakeholders
their work is paying off. By identifying these wins, it can also serve to support the expenditures
associated with the change effort to continue the momentum moving into the next phases as the
organization advances toward its long-term goal. In April, 2023, launching a social media
campaign at CCU to promote the employment outcome wins for students who will be graduating
at the end of the spring semester will not only reward the change agents across campus working
on the Career Education Initiative, it will also provide further data around student employment
outcomes that can be used to continue to refine approaches and programs, and also recognize
opportunities for further refinement. Through the central career center, as well as school-based
career offices, employment success stories of upcoming graduates will be captured on video to
be utilized in the campaign. In addition to upcoming graduates, freshman, sophomores, and
juniors, will also be asked to contribute their success stories around increased self-efficacy about
how to engage in the career planning process, internship and mentorship wins, and heightened
levels of professional self-awareness and motivation. In addition, students will discuss how the
recommended changes addressed in this chapter provide a positive impact on their selection of
elective courses, declaring of majors, and understanding how to expand the identification of
potential career paths.
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Step 7: Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
Kotter’s seventh step in the change process is focused on consolidating gains in order to
produce more change. Because major change often takes a long time, particularly in large
organizations like CCU, it is important to avoid complacency, and instead, continue to move
forward building on the change that has been achieved (Kotter, 2012). From June 2023 through
May 2024, the Vice Provost of Education, the career education team, leaders from career
services around the university as well as department chairs, will hold focus groups to continue to
acquire knowledge in order to improve the Career Education Initiative. During this time,
information collected about the effectiveness of the curriculum of the required career course will
be evaluated, the equity between employment outcomes and majors across different CCU
schools will be measured, the collaboration between academic advising and career planning
services will be assessed, and the effectiveness of the student career portal will be quantified by
usage and feedback data. Short quantitative surveys for students as well as faculty and staff will
also be employed to collect quantitative data related to the Career Education Initiative. It is
important to note that focus groups will not simply consist of students, but also the staff who
engage with students through academic advising and career services to gain a better
understanding of their needs to have the right tools to be successful agents of change and faculty
teaching the new required career course. During June and July of 2024, the information collected
during the previous year will be utilized to make more change while reducing unnecessary
interdependencies such as whether or not career services workshops duplicate content from the
required career course, or if university-based and school-based mentorship programs
complement each other or contribute to program redundancy.
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Step 8: Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
Step Eight in Kotter’s change model is about ensuring that changes become part of the
organizational culture in order to prevent regression into past behavior and practices. Anchoring
new approaches in the culture are therefore necessary in order to sustain positive change (Kotter,
2012). Because culture addresses behavioral norms and shared values among a group of people,
it is important the new practices are relevant to CCU’s culture moving forward. Once CCU
becomes recognized as a leader in creating positive employment outcomes for its graduating
students, this recognition will further contribute to anchoring these changes into the culture for
both new students as well as for faculty and staff. It is therefore suggested that to achieve
Kotter’s eighth step in the change model, the Career Education Initiative be incorporated as a
cornerstone of student recruiting and fundraising activities. This will tie together the life-cycle of
the CCU affiliation from student recruitment to alumni donor. Further, faculty and staff
recruiting should also incorporate the innovative work CCU is doing around career education as
part of its hiring messaging as well as address any job related components around programs and
resources that are directly or indirectly connected to career education in faculty and staff training
materials. It is important the secondary stakeholders identified in this study as faculty and staff
also become part of a new organizational culture that will result from the recommended changes.
By May 2025, through the implementation of these eight steps, the goal will be an
organizational culture that is powerful and equitable, because students, faculty, and staff will
have been inclusively brought into all of the new initiatives and programs associated with CCU’s
increased focus on career education to increase desired full-employment outcomes for its
graduates. In addition, the new organizational culture will be reinforced through the actions of
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thousands of stakeholders, and the changes will ideally become part of daily organizational life
and not something that has to be constantly forced.
Evaluation Plan
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) New World Model is the approach that will be used
to evaluate and support the implementation plan to increase the number of desired full-
employment outcomes at CCU among new college graduates. The New World Model consists of
four levels of evaluation across the four levels:
Level 1: Reaction. How effectively are students engaging in the career planning process
to reach a desired full-employment outcome at graduation?
Level 2: Learning. What effective career planning behaviors and tools were learned,
including career planning efficacy, professional self-awareness, and goal identification and
achievement?
Level 3: Transfer. What changes in behavior resulted from the implementation of the
recommendations?
Level 4: Results. What are the measurable results of the recommended changes in terms
of increasing desired full-employment outcomes and reducing undesired outcomes of
underemployment and unemployment among new college graduates?
Based on the problem of unemployment and underemployment among graduating
students, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) model provides a systematic, concise, and
comprehensive approach to evaluation that will be easily understood by all stakeholders because
it can provide for an exact assessment of how all of the recommended changes are producing
results at each level.
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Level 1: Reaction
According to Smidt et al. (2009), reaction measurement presents the participants’ level of
motivation, interests, and attention. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), it is
important to know how both the primary stakeholder of students and the secondary stakeholders
of faculty and staff feel about the changes made at CCU to solve the problem of undesired
outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new graduates. For example, focus
groups targeted at senior level students to assess their response to a systems-based approach to
career planning and development. Another example would be a student evaluation survey for
sophomores who completed the new required career course to determine the reaction to the
curriculum and delivery of the content and the course itself. Career planning efficacy and
professional self-awareness will be key points to be examined in focus groups as well as in
surveys. The survey will be based on a 5 point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree,
3=Neither Agree or Disagree, 4 = Disagree, 5 = Strongly Disagree). This is important because
according to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), if participants enjoy the changes associated
with new initiatives or programs, they will in turn more likely put in the effort to learn. Focus
groups and surveys will also be utilized among faculty and staff, including faculty teaching the
new recommended required career course as well as staff at the central career center and
affiliated school-based career offices. The results will determine positive and negative reactions
and serve as guiding information to continue the implementation plan or make adjustments.
Level 2: Learning
Leadership is the engine that drives change (Kotter, 2012). Kotter (2012) also states that
effective leaders build new systems or transform old ones. To build effective new systems or
transform an old one, leaders need to possess the competency to do both or they will fail. Level
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two will measure the learning and impact of the recommended changes for students as the
primary stakeholder (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
It will be necessary for leadership to measure the learning that has taken place in order to
evaluate the effectiveness of each recommended change as well as how all of the changes work
effectively together. Focus groups and surveys will be used to determine what new career
planning skills students are acquiring as well as levels of knowledge and motivation around
engaging in the career planning process. Relative to achieving the goal of increasing desired full-
employment outcomes by 25% by May 2025, it will be necessary to identify what students at all
college levels and across all majors learned or did not learn from the implementation of
recommended changes. In addition to focus groups and surveys, interviews will also be utilized
at level two in order gain further qualitative knowledge about how students are learning relative
to the goals of the recommended changes.
Level 3: Transfer
The third level of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) model will analyze the
differences in how participant’s career planning behavior has changed after engaging with and
completing the changes. At this level, assessing the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of the
changes will enable leaders to determine if the knowledge, motivation, and skills these changes
seek to encourage and develop are being put to use by the students in order to reach a desired
full-employment outcome. Level three will be utilized approximately six months into the first
academic year the changes are implemented and will be facilitated through interviews and a
survey that will be constructed to measure outcomes such as students’ identification of key
talents and strengths, identification of career paths, internship providers and potential employers,
as well as the identification of perceived levels of career planning efficacy and professional self-
171
awareness. The first time level three is utilized will provide leaders with a baseline measurement
across all college levels and majors in order to determine how the recommended changes
continue to build value over time as well as provide an opportunity to make any adjustments
prior to the beginning of the next academic year. Primarily, the goal of level three will be to
determine if the learned knowledge and acquired career planning skills are being effectively
utilized by students.
Level three will also use a 360-degree feedback tool that will include the secondary
stakeholders of faculty and staff in order to evaluate for example, the effectiveness of academic
advising and career planning working collaboratively together. This level will also include the
assessment of organizational leaders’ observations around student career planning efficacy as
well as effectiveness of faculty and staff around implementation. It is important to recognize that
the measurement criteria should be aligned with the objectives of the recommended changes as
identified by this study. Evaluating the transfer of behavior is key because if behavioral changes
are not evaluated, then there will be no opportunity to determine whether or not the results that
occur actually stem from the implemented changes (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Level 4: Results
The measurements associated with level four targets outcomes that result from learning
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The purpose of the implementation plan is to increase full-
employment outcomes among CCU students by 25% by the year 2025. This final level can be
identified by measuring the success of the recommended changes and determining the success of
the overall change initiatives and programs by addressing the return on investment through
improved quality of student services and resources, and measuring higher numbers of students
172
graduating into full-employment outcomes along with a decrease in undesired underemployment
and unemployment outcomes.
The strategies that will be utilized in level four will be discussed with university leaders
at the appropriate time in order to create clarity around exactly what will be measured, in
addition to communicating these same strategies with stakeholders. Control groups will be used
across each school at the end of each academic year, and then expanded at the end of the 2024-
2025 academic year to include more graduating seniors. In addition, a graduating senior survey
completed by each student as part of the graduation process will collect quantitative employment
outcome data for all graduating students. Relative to level four in the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
(2016) model, it is important to allow enough time to measure and evaluate results, and be aware
that unless a change in employment outcomes can be identified, no positive change will have
taken place. By assessing results each year leading up to May 2025, it will also be possible to
evaluate results on an annual basis to track trends and identify changes in employment outcomes
with each new class. Therefore, the class of 2025 will be the first class to have experienced all of
the recommended changes beginning with freshman orientation through the end of their senior
year.
Further Research
The findings from both the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews from this study
provide several opportunities for additional research about the problem of underemployment and
unemployment among new college graduates. While this study was primarily focused on CCU, it
revealed several implications about future research on the problem of underemployment and
unemployment among new college graduates. Recommendations for addressing these
implications include the following:
173
1. This study should be replicated at other institutions of higher learning in both the private and
public realms and in other geographical locations in the United States.
2. To add value to the body of information around underemployment and unemployment among
graduating students, conducting a study that includes graduate student employment outcomes
across different academic areas would further contribute to potential solutions about increasing
full-employment outcomes for students at all levels of degree pursuits.
3. A study that addresses socio-economic status as a sole focus should be conducted to add
another level of information around differences in current levels of career planning efficacy
among undergraduate college students. For example, a qualitative interview in this study
revealed the economic forces at play that contribute to students being able to afford to take
unpaid internships or spend more time on mentor relationships instead of working to pay for
tuition or living expenses.
4. A study that assesses the perceived top marketable talents of individual respondents upon
graduation from college would add information to the knowledge about the connection between
the accuracy of professional self-awareness and employment outcomes.
5. A comparative study should be undertaken that compares entry salary levels of students who
graduated into full-employment outcomes with entry salary levels of students who graduated into
undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment and later found full-employment to
determine if differences in starting salaries between these groups exist.
6. A study that focuses on career planning and employment outcomes among fine arts majors
would add to the balance of knowledge about career planning efficacy for this population of
college students.
174
7. More research should be conducted about student’s who believe their lack of understanding
about how to connect their education to the world of work around what “lack of understanding”
represented to them. For example, a specific theory about how to engage in career planning
effectively or how to create and develop a time-based career plan leading up to graduation.
8. A study that focuses on the career developmentment needs and the impact of career services
for students planning to enroll in graduate school or pursue professional degrees.
Conclusion
This study’s purpose was to develop recommendations to increase the number of CCU
students graduating into desired full-employment outcomes by increasing understanding about
the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences as they relate to solving the problem of
students graduating into professional outcomes of underemployment and unemployment in order
to increase desired full-employment outcomes. This study was conducted using a mixed methods
approach that included both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The primary
stakeholder identified in this study was CCU students. The secondary stakeholders in this study
were CCU faculty and staff.
The proposed recommendations identified in this paper will change accountability
relationships that are addressed within the organization in order to increase desired full-
employment outcomes for new CCU graduates. According to Dubnick (2003), the concept of
accountability can be approached in three ways: historically, institutionally and sociologically.
The proposed recommendations and plan of action presented in this study addresses all three of
these approaches. Historically, through the collection of current and past professional outcomes
for CCU students, it is possible to better understand and connect the history of how students
engaged with university-provided career services and resources with individual outcomes. This
175
greater understanding will help inform and provide new insight into effecting new policies and
behaviors that result from the implementation of this study’s recommended changes as they
relate to employment outcomes for new graduates over time. This understanding will also
provide an opportunity to further assess the problem of undesired underemployment and
unemployment among new college graduates in the field of higher education as well as
increasing understanding about the identified variables associated with the problem itself.
Through the collection of this study’s data and additional data recommended as further
research, it will be possible to better understand both tangible and intangible expectations
relevant to the organization of CCU as the provider of career services and resources, and students
as the recipients of these services and resources as they relate to the achievement of desired
employment outcomes. Specifically, the lens of institutional commitment is directly connected to
the quality, consistency, and effectiveness of career services and resources across all CCU
schools and majors. Sociological perspectives of accountability focus attention on a type of
social act that is also part of a greater social process and mechanism that for purposes of this
study, address how students engage in the career planning process (Dubnick, 2003). Creating an
in-common university-wide systems-based pedagogical approach to connect the college
classroom and the individual professional value each student brings to the world of work to the
career planning process has the potential to increase both career planning efficacy and
professional self-awareness for all students. By establishing a new Vice Provost level position to
oversee career education at CCU, including a required career discovery and development course
for all undergraduate students and establishing career offices at all CCU schools, there will be
greater institutional oversight towards realizing the goal of increasing desired full-employment
outcomes among all new graduates.
176
Over time, the recommended changes based on this study’s findings will become part of
the CCU culture, where students are more effectively and individually prepared with the
necessary tools for achieving positive employment outcomes in the global job market, while
encouraged and supported in realizing their individual professional value from freshman
orientation through the end of their senior year. This study will also provide both CCU and the
identified stakeholders addressed in this study with an opportunity to better understand the
contributing factors connected to specific professional outcomes for new CCU graduates.
Further, this study will allow the delivery of career services and resources to be equitable for all
students across all CCU schools and majors.
According to Cunningham (2016), there is an expectation to graduate college with a job
relevant to their degree, and that expectation serves as motivation for the majority of
undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S. to earn their degrees. This study’s findings
support that expectation. The challenges that CCU’s de-centralized structure presents around
providing effective career discovery and development for all students across all schools and
majors can be addressed and overcome through the plan of action put forward in this dissertation.
The problem of undesired outcomes of underemployment and unemployment among new
college graduates impacts individual lives and society in significant ways that diminish the
overall quality of life for new graduates, in addition to negatively impacting the economy. CCU
has an opportunity to be a national leader on solving this problem as it re-examines its efficacy
and accountability roles in its stakeholder relationship with students, and the delivery of career
services and resources for a new generation of workers.
The problem of undesired underemployment and unemployment among new college
graduates who have sacrificed, worked hard, and ultimately, met the goals necessary to earn a
177
degree is a problem that can be solved. When more people are recognized and rewarded for the
unique professional value they bring to the world of work, there will be greater professional
equity in the workplace, greater creativity and innovation, and greater appreciation for the
education that ideally represents the underpinnings of a successful career. In solving this
problem, it is the hope this study can lead to a re-examination of the career planning process and
delivery of career education within all institutions of higher learning in order to contribute to a
more equitable world where unrealized dreams become realities. Providing learning
environments where college students are motivated to take a more proactive role in identifying
their own professional interests, abilities, and goals earlier in their academic careers in order
proactively engage in behaviors leading to more desired full-employment outcomes upon
graduation is a win for each student, a win for the educational institution, and a win for society.
178
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Appendix A: Demographic Items
1. What is your age?
a. 20-25
b. 25-30
c. 30-35
d. 36 or older
2. Ethnicity(or Race): Please specify your ethnicity:
a. Asian
b. Black or African American
c. Caucasion or white
d. Hispanics of any race
e. Native American or Alaska Native
f. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
g. Other (please specify)
h. Two or more races
i. Unknown
j. Prefer not to respond
3. Gender: What is your gender?
a. Female
b. Male
c. Non-binary
d. Prefer not to discloser
e. Prefer to self-describe
4. Sexual Orientation
a. Bisexual
b. Gay
c. Lesbian
d. Straight/Heterosexual
e. Queer
f. Questioning
g. Prefer not to disclose
h. Prefere to self-describe
5. Where were you born?
a. Northeast U.S.
b. Northwest U.S.
c. Southeast U.S.
d. Southwest U.S.
e. Midwest U.S.
f. Far West U.S.
g. Far East U.S.
196
h. Prefer not to disclose
i. Outside the U.S.
6. Are you currently employed?
a. Yes
b. No
7. Employment: What is your current emplyment status?
a. Part-time
b. Full-time
c. Multiple part-time jobs
d. Student
e. Self-employed
f. Other (please specify)
8. What is the highest level of education you have attained?
a. Bachelor’s degree
b. Master’s degree
c. Professional degree
d. Doctorate degree
9. From what school at the university did you graduate with an undergraduate degree?
a. College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
b. School of Accounting
c. School of Business
d. Academy of Technology Arts
e. School of Dance
f. School of Education
g. School of Fine Arts
h. School of Gerontology
i. School of Music
j. School of Public Policy
k. School of Social Work
l. School of Dramatic Arts
m. School of Architecture
n. School of Engineering
o. School for Communication and Journalism
p. Other (please specify)
10. Were you involved as a student in any of these activities or organizations?
a. Club or intramural sports
b. Community service
c. Greek-letter organization
d. Honors program
e. Intercollegiate athletics
197
f. Leadership or mentoring program
g. Multicultural organization
h. On-campus employment
i. Religious or spiritual group
j. Research with faculty
k. Residential life (security, desk attendant, resident assistant)
l. Student government
m. Student media (yearbook, newspaper, radio, television)
n. Study abroad
o. Other (please specify)
198
Survey Items
1. Which of the following statements best describes your employment status at graduation?
• Underemployed is defined as a job that does not require a college degree and/or pays less than the national
average for new college graduates in the field.
• Fully-employed is defined as a job that requires a college degree an pays a salary on par with the national
average for new college graduates in the field.
o I was unemployed (not by choice)
o I was underemployed (not by choice)
o I was unemployed (by choice)
o I was underemployed (by choice)
o I was fully-employed (including accepted offers)
o I was self-employed
o None of the above
2. Which of the following statements best describes your current employment status?
o I am unemployed (not by choice)
o I am underemployed (not by choice)
o I am unemployed (by choice)
o I am underemployed (by choice)
o I am fully-employed
o I am self-employed
o I am a student
o None of the above
3. I enrolled in college to get a good job after graduation.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neither agree nor disagree
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
4. While in college, I was provided with the necessary career services, resources, and tools to
find a good job after graduation.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neither agree nor disagree
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
5A. I engaged with the university’s central career services center as an undergraduate student.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
199
o Yes
o No
If yes, the following question will be displayed:
5B. In which college year did you first visit a university career center?
o Freshman
o Sophomore
o Junior
o Senior
6A. I engaged with a career services office associated with my major as a college student.
o Yes
o No
o I was not aware of a career services office associated with my major
If yes, the following question will be displayed:
6B. In which college year did you first engage with a career services office associated with your
major?
o Freshman
o Sophomore
o Junior
o Senior
7A. If you engaged with any university-provided career services, resources, or tools as a student,
please select all motivational reasons for your engagement:
o General career exploration
o Get advice on academic programs (majors/courses) related to a career path
o Get help my resume
o Get help with my interviewing skills
o Get help finding an internship
o To fulfill a class assignment
o To take a personality assessment
o To interview for a job through a recruiting program
o To look for a jon (incuding internships and part-time employment) through online
resources
o To attend a career fair
o To attend an employer/co,panhy information event
o I did not engage with university-provided career services, resources, or tools as a student
o If yes, the following question will be displayed:
200
If yes, to any engagement experience, the following question will be displayed:
7B. How many times did you engage with these services as a college junior and/or senior?
o No engagement
o Once
o 2 or 3 times
o 4 or 5 times
o More than 5 times
8. If you graduated into undesired outcomes of underemployment or unemployment, please
check any factors listed below that you believe contributed to your unemployment of
underemployment. Otherwise, please skip ahead to the next question.
o Lack of understanding about how to connect my education to the world of work.
o Lack of university-provided career resources for my major or interests.
o Lack of my own personal engagement in the career development process.
o Not enough time to study and explore career paths or look for jobs.
o Did not know how to begin the career development process.
o Other (please specify)
9. What factors did you consider when deciding on your major? Please select all that apply:
o Potential Salary of a job associated with major after graduation
o High amount of job opportunities associated with major after graduation
o Enjoyment with subject matter
o A lot of my friends were in the same major
o Prestige or status associated with the job
o Parent/Guardian's expectations/desires
o Coursework offers strong chance of achieving high GPA
o Successfully prepare me for graduation or professional degree programs
o Gut feeling
o Other
10. If applicable to your employment goals whe you received your undergraduate degree, what
factors did you consider when deciding on a field to focus on for your first post-college job?
Please select all that apply.
o Potential salary
o Potential benefits
o Enjoyment of the work
o Opportunity to work with like-minded colleagues
o Friends were going into the same field
o Parent/guardian's expectations/desires for my future
o To benefit society
o Gut feeling
201
o Because it was easy to get a job in the field
o Other
11. How many full-time jobs have you had since graduation?
o None (by choice)
o None (not by choice)
o One
o Two
o Three
o Four
o Five or more
The following questions will focus on your current awareness about your professional
value:
12. I have a good understanding of my professional interests and abilities.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neither agree nor disagree
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
13. If applicable to your current employment status, I would say that I enjoy my work.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neither agree nor disagree
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
o Does not apply to my current employment status
14. I am optimistic about my professional future.
o Strongly agree
o Agree
o Neither agree nor disagree
o Disagree
o Strongly disagree
15. What do you believe colleges can do to help more students who are seeking full-employment
upon graduation to find jobs they love?
o Please enter your response here:
202
Follow-Up Interview. If you are available for a 20-30 minute zoom-based interview to provide
further information about your experiences as a student and your employment goals, please
provide your name and contact information below. Your unique feedback will provide additional
opportunities to add value to the scope of this research. Your thoughts, experiences, and ideas
matter. Pseudonyms will be used in the research and your name will not appear in research
findings and your interview will be confidential.
o Name:
o Email address:
o Phone (optional):
203
Appendix B: Interview Items
Knowledge Based (K)
1. Can you please walk me through the steps you used to find your first job after college
graduation?
2. I would appreciate it if you could please describe your understanding about how to find a
job as a freshman and how that may have evolved over time up to graduation.
3. Can you tell me about your understanding of services your college provided to help
students find a job after graduation?
4. Can you tell me how many jobs you applied to for full time employment after graduation
as a college senior?
Motivation Based (M)
1. What were some of your expectations about your professional outcome at graduation
when you first entered college and why were they important to you?
2. Can you please describe your expectations about your professional outcome at graduation
when you were a senior and why were they important to you?
3. What caused you to change your expectations?
4. Can you please describe your assessment of your knowledge about how to conduct a
successful job search as a student?
5. Can you please describe your understanding about your own interests, talents and
abilities, and values, as a college senior and the relevance you believe they represented in
how you engaged in the career planning process.
6. Please tell me at what point in your college experience did you begin to actively explore
potential careers and why at this point.
204
7. Can you describe how important having a full-time job at graduation was to you as a
freshman, sophomore, junior and senior?
8. Can you describe your definition of a good job?
9. Can you describe other factors that affected how you pursued post-graduation
employment?
10. Describe your level of motivation as a student to find a job you loved vs. any job.
Organization Based (O)
1. Can you describe what career services and/or resources you engaged with while in
college?
2. Can you tell me how and when you become aware of career services provided by your
college?
3. Please tell me what you believe your college needs to offer students to increase full-
employment outcomes at graduation? (This is about identifying the gap)
4. Did your major-based school provide its own career services?
5. Please tell me if any professors throughout your college life discussed how to connect
your education to the world of work? Did your family discuss this with you?
6. Can you describe the level of importance you believe your college places on its students
having a full-employment outcome at graduation?
Abstract (if available)
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Snyder, Kirk
(author)
Core Title
Evaluating the problem of college students graduating into underemployment and unemployment
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)
Degree Conferral Date
2021-08
Publication Date
06/01/2021
Defense Date
05/20/2021
Publisher
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Tags
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