“Vadå, räcker det inte bara med en universitetsexamen för att få ett jobb?” : En kvalitativ studie om nyexaminerades personalvetares strategier för att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden

Sammanfattning

An increasing number of newly graduated academics face challenges when entering the labour market. This situation is also evident within the field of Human Resource (HR) Management, where HR graduates often encounter high demands and strong competition. Consequently, the aim of this study is to explore how recent graduates in human resources experience and navigate the transition into the workforce. The particular focus is on labor market expectations and how these influence thor strategies for securing HR-related employment after graduation. Previous research has largely focused on employers´ expectations rather than the graduates' own strategies and on graduates in other fields, such as geography, and their approaches to entering the labor market. The study employs a qualitative method based on semi-structurered interviews with six recent graduates from Örebro University. The empirical material is analyzed through Goffman’s theories of impression management, idealization and frontstage/backstage, in combination with Bourdieu’s theory of forms of capital. The results indicate that graduates perceive employers expectations regarding prior experience as unrealistic. To address these expectations, they employ various strategies, including leveraging prior work experience both within and outside HR and highlighting personal qualities to present themselves as attractive candidates.