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Introduction
In this chapter, the results of qualitative data analysis are presented. The chapter includes information on the participants selected for this research as case studies to determine specific features of the sample. The analysis of findings is organized according to the research questions set for this study and the themes identified as a result of open coding. The discussion of findings also includes the interpretation of the participants’ narratives and emerging themes in the context of existing literature on the topic.
Sample and Data Collection
Six participants representing collective case studies selected for this research were interviewed face-to-face or via phone. Three participants who were able to provide information on the problem of the education-job mismatch were interviewed face-to-face for about an hour. Each interview session was held in a private place, and the interviewees’ answers were recorded and labeled using indicators such as Participant 1.G, Participant 2.G, and Participant 3.G to guarantee their confidentiality and anonymity.
Three HR managers selected for this study were interviewed separately via phone, and each interview session lasted about an hour. The participants’ answers were recorded and labeled using the indicators Participant 1.M, Participant 2.M, and Participant 3.M. Table 1 provides the descriptive demographic data collected about the participants to determine the unique features of the case studies used as the sample in this research. The mean age of the participants in this study is 30 years, and the majority has obtained a Bachelor’s degree.
Table 1: Demographic Data.
Discussion of Findings
Thematic analysis based on open coding was selected for this research. The narrative material collected with the help of interviews was transcribed, and the transcripts were grouped to address the research questions related to college graduates and the research questions related to HR managers, respectively. Then the transcripts were coded concerning the open coding technique as implemented in NVivo 10 (Miles et al., 2014; Saldaña, 2016).
The participants’ narratives were read several times, and specific patterns found in their answers were labeled with a code. After identifying codes at the first stage of the analysis, the focus was on finding similar patterns or codes in different participants’ narratives (Denzin and Lincoln, 2017; Flick, 2018). The comparison of codes was conducted according to the groups of collective case studies, and thus separately for college graduates and HR managers. Finally, codes were clustered into themes to address the set research questions (Aurini et al., 2016; Hesse-Biber, 2016). Detailed analysis of the emerging themes related to each research question follows this subsection.
Why do graduates often work in fields and industries different from the areas they studied at college?
The open coding procedure applied to the narratives of Participant 1.G, Participant 2.G, and Participant 3.G revealed several codes that were clustered in two themes associated with the first research question. These codes and themes are presented in their variety in Table 2. The detailed discussion of these themes and their interpretation concerning the research question and relevant literature is provided in the following subsections.
Table 2: Codes and Themes Related to Research Question 1.
Availability of Appropriate Job Positions
While answering probing questions, the college graduates noted that they had chosen their specializations and majors in college according to their preferences. Thus Participant 2.G stated that she had chosen anthropology because both her parents were anthropologists working at a local research university, and she always “liked reading books on anthropology, it was like a hobby.” The participants also reported that, after graduation, they faced the problem of finding an appropriate job matching their specialization: “Unfortunately, I found that there are no open positions in my city for historians … only in the sphere of education” (Participant 1.G).
The interviewees claimed that they spent much time searching for jobs online, using networks, and contacting organizations, but they had to move to other cities and regions to find relevant job positions. Participant 3.G stated that she did not try to find a job correlated with her major because she did not plan to work in the field of engineering.
These findings are in line with the results of studies by Cappelli (2015) and Figueiredo et al. (2017), who found that the availability of jobs in the market and the factor of mobility and movement to other regions could influence graduates’ decisions regarding their choice of positions. According to Abel and Deitz (2015) and Liu et al. (2016), the labor markets of small towns with developed industries cannot provide college graduates with opportunities to effectively apply their skills. Therefore, young people have to find jobs without closely adhering to their majors and degrees.
The Salary Issue
The other theme related to the first question that was identified while clustering codes is associated with the aspect of salary. Participant 2.G noted, “When I was studying at college, I did not think about my wage in the future, but when I graduated I found out that all anthropologists who I know have dissatisfying wages.” The other two participants stated that they were not focused on the question of salary while choosing their careers, and they wanted to realize their potential as professionals. After graduating, the respondents noticed that their specializations were not associated with well-paid jobs.
According to Participant 1.G, he can attain a high salary while working as a marketer, but he would not have such an opportunity if he continued developing his career in the area of history. These findings are also supported by Ghignoni and Verashchagina (2014) and Lee (2015), who noted that many college graduates face limited possibilities of finding well-paid jobs for young specialists regardless of their qualifications.
Why do graduates choose not to develop their career in a field related to their major and/or degree?
The response to the second research question was also obtained by coding the narratives of Participant 1.G, Participant 2.G, and Participant 3.G. The participants’ answers revealed that specific codes were clustered in three themes. Table 3 lists the codes and themes that are useful for addressing the second research question. A detailed discussion and interpretation of these themes follow the table.
Table 3: Codes and Themes Related to Research Question 2.
Inappropriate Choice of Major
When answering the probing questions concerning their choice of major and triggers for selecting job positions, the participants claimed that they were too young to select appropriate majors, and they made choices without understanding their real career perspectives. Thus Participant 3.G noted that she experienced difficulties while studying at college because engineering was not an appropriate field for her, but she did not want to upset her parents, who paid for her education.
According to the job-match theory, this woman is now likely to experience problems with realizing her potential because of the lack of satisfaction and confidence associate with her career choice. The interviewees also stated that they were guided by their parents when choosing majors and that they followed “idealistic visions,” did not “analyze the labor market and demand,” and mainly referred to their “study interests.” These ideas are also presented in the studies by Netto et al. (2015) and Boccuzzo et al. (2016), who noted that young people entering educational institutions are often uncertain regarding their future career and do not refer to long-term goals.
Barriers to Finding an Appropriate Job Position
The participants also mentioned several obstacles on their career paths that made them choose not to develop their career in a field related to their major. These barriers included “the lack of available positions of my dream,” “the inability to join the faculty of my college without the Master’s degree in History,” and a lack of experience in the field. According to Participant 1.G, “they were ready to welcome me as a teacher assistant, but I needed to complete more training and receive additional degree … I had no resources for that.”
The barriers mentioned by the participants are rather specific, and they have not been previously discussed in the research literature. Still, these findings are correlated with ideas stated by Lee and Sabharwal (2016) regarding obstacles people can face while seeking jobs in unpopular fields and industries.
Motivation for Choosing the Current Job
In their interviews, the participants also named their specific reasons and motivation for choosing alternative careers. The key reason was the possibility of finding a job only in a field not related to their majors. The other popular reason was the necessity of utilizing their skills and knowledge effectively for an appropriate salary: “I decided to develop as a financial analyst because it is a well-paid job where I can apply my knowledge in finances and economics studied at college as minors” (Participant 3.G).
Also, the participants referred to the problem of overeducation for entry-level positions available in their local labor markets. These results are also in line with the findings by Nunley et al. (2016) and Vinichenko et al. (2016), who noted that graduates often have no opportunities to effectively use their knowledge and potential in the fields they studied at college.
How can HR managers adapt employee orientation, training, and development practices to the situation of mismatching college specializations and positions about their employees?
To address the third research question, the narratives by HR managers (Participant 1.M, Participant 2.M, and Participant 3.M) were reviewed and coded. The results of open coding and thematic analysis are summarised in Table 4 with a focus on several codes that are clustered into themes. A detailed analysis of the findings is provided in the context of the existing literature on the issue.
Table 4: Codes and Themes Related to Research Question 3.
Reasons for Hiring
The participants noted that they usually focus on the education-job mismatch during interviews with candidates, and they choose those applicants who can develop their skills by obtaining a particular position. Sometimes, candidates can demonstrate their knowledge and skills and thus take a position that was prepared for a candidate with other qualifications. Participant 1.M claimed that she got used to hiring individuals having various educational backgrounds, and their company developed a specific orientation and training program for developing the skills required in their organization.
Participant 2.M noted that it is a normal practice to train talented employees to help them join the team if they have demonstrated exceptional skills and competence but lack experience in the field. These ideas are in line with the conclusions reached by Prieto-Pastor and Martin-Perez (2015), who argue for the current focus of HR managers on hiring and developing individuals of diverse knowledge and skills.
Approaches to Training
All the participants mentioned programs and practices that were adapted for new employees. Participant 3.M noted that there are cases where hiring or training an employee without the required education is more cost-efficient for a company. In these situations, managers train such individuals with the help of special online courses, seminars, workshops, and conferences. Participant 2.M stated that she achieved good results in her company through orienting these novices who lacked specific knowledge in the industry.
The interviewed managers used motivational and educational practices, online and offline courses, meetings, seminars, and workshops to help employees in mismatching positions to realize their potential. Srimannarayana (2016) listed these and other techniques while explaining the steps managers need to take while working with such employees. According to Rowland et al. (2017), all these modifications and HR managers’ efforts usually lead to the improvement of skills utilization in a company.
How can employee orientation contribute to addressing and matching individuals’ and companies’ needs?
Table 5 presents the codes that were identified after reviewing HR managers’ narratives with a focus on finding information that was related to the fourth research question. Two relevant themes are also listed in the table below. The interpretation of the themes is presented concerning the results of previous studies in the field.
Table 5: Codes and Themes Related to Research Question 4.
Additional Training
In their interviews, the participants noted that it is impossible to hire individuals without appropriate education if there is no special orientation program for them. According to Participant 2.M, employee orientation directly contributes to matching individuals’ and companies’ needs because it is used to train employees in the skills required for performing certain tasks. Participant 3.M stated that he paid much attention to teaching novices how to perform their daily duties effectively so they could increase their productivity and receive their first bonuses. According to Boxall et al. (2015) and Rowland et al. (2017), if employees do not develop certain skills during their education, they need more training at work during employee orientation.
Skills Utilisation
Participant 1.M and Participant 3.M noted that employee orientation programs contributed to management goals through improving skills utilization because each employee is unique, and it became possible to use his or her potential and capacities at work. Managers assessed novices and proposed positions that were most appropriate for them, and they also motivated candidates to choose other positions to address the education-job match. The employee orientation they were provided was oriented towards demonstrating effective skills utilization and increasing employees’ commitment. These findings are in line with the results of the studies by Grant et al. (2014), Okay-Somerville, Støren, and Arnesen (2016), and Scholarios (2018).
Summary
In this chapter, the results of the study have been presented according to the themes identified through the data analysis procedure. The following thematic categories have been determined and discussed the set research questions: the availability of appropriate job positions, the salary issue, the inappropriate choice of major, barriers to finding an appropriate job position, motivation for choosing the current job, reasons for hiring, approaches to training, additional training, and skills utilization. These themes are in line with the results of previous studies in the field, and they reflect the experiences and opinions of both employees and managers regarding the education-job mismatch.
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