An important development task for university students is to complete their education and join the labour market. Therefore, understanding and exploring students' concerns about getting a job seems to be a noteworthy area in supporting their career development. The present study aims to explore the concerns of university students about employment. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 16 third- and fourth-year Turkish university students (8 females and 8 males) from various departments. The participants responded to questions such as what they thought about finding a job after graduation and how individual and contextual factors affected their concerns. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis in accordance with the Ecological Theory framework and The Systems Theory Framework of career development. Consequently, employment anxiety appeared in the factors that were individual, close-circle, labor market, and systematic. Further, findings showed that participants also had concerns about underemployment as well as unemployment. In light of the findings, implications and recommendations regarding career counseling and career development were discussed.
Selçuk University Faculty of Education Ethics Ethics Committee, Date 22.08.2022, Number: E.343875
Kaynakça
Abdülhamit, E. Ş., & Durak, H. S. (2018). Meslek yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin iş bulma kaygılarına yönelik ölçek geliştirme: Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi örneği [Developing a Scale for Vocational School Students' Job Anxiety: The Case of Abant İzzet Baysal University]. Ekonomik ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 14, 115-127.
Bardakçi, H., Barut, A., Görgün, M. R. & Adıgüzel, S. (2020). Genç yetişkinlerin internet kullanma alışkanlıkları ile gelecek ve iş hayatından beklentilerinin incelenmesi üzerine ampirik bir uygulama [An Empirical Application on Examining Internet Usage Habits and Future and Business Expectations of Young Adults]. Eğitim ve İnsani Bilimler Dergisi: Teori ve Uygulama , 11(21) , 155-169.
Belle, M. A., Antwi, C. O., Ntim, S. Y., Affum-Osei, E. & Ren, J. (2021). Am I gonna get a job? graduating students’ psychological capital, coping styles, and employment anxiety. Journal of Career Development, 089484532110201. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211020124
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2), 77-101.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
Chen, L., & Zeng, S. (2021). The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Employment Anxiety of Graduates During COVID-19: The Moderating Role of Career Planning. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 694785. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694785
Creswell, J. W. (2015). 30 Essential Skills for the Qualitative Researcher (NULL) (First ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L.. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into practice, 39(3), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip3903_2
Demir, B. (2016). Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli ile öğrencilerin iş bulma kaygılarına yönelik ölçek geliştirme: Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi IIBF’de Bir Uygulama [Developing a scale for students' job anxiety with the Structural Equation Model: An Application at Cumhuriyet University IIBF]. [Phd Dissertation]. Cumhuriyet University.
Friedland, D. S., & Price, R. H.. (2003). Underemployment: Consequences for the Health and Well-Being of Workers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 32(1-2), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025638705649
Jang, S. M., & Kyoung, S. Y. (2013). The job-seeking stress and addictive behaviors among college students: focused on the mediating effect of anxiety. Health and Social Welfare Review, 33(4), 518-546. https://doi.org/10.15709/hswr.2013.33.4.518
Lazarus, R. S. (1990). Theory-Based Stress Measurement. Psychological Inquiry, 1(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0101_1
Lim, A. Y., Lee, S.-H., Jeon, Y., Yoo, R., & Jung, H.-Y.. (2018). Job-seeking stress, mental health problems, and the role of perceived social support in university graduates in Korea. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 33(19). https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e149
Lőrinc, M., Ryan, L., D’Angelo, A., & Kaye, N.. (2020). De-individualising the ‘NEET problem’: An ecological systems analysis. European Educational Research Journal, 19(5), 412–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904119880402
Mahmud, M. S., Talukder, M. U., & Rahman, S. M. (2021). Does ‘Fear of COVID-19’trigger future career anxiety? An empirical investigation considering depression from COVID-19 as a mediator. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(1), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020764020935488
McMahon, M., & Patton, W. (2018). Systemic thinking in career development theory: contributions of the Systems Theory Framework. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(2), 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2018.1428941
Mutlu, T., Korkut Owen, F., Özdemir, S. & Ulaş Kılıç, Ö. (2019). Beliren Yetişkinlerin Kariyer Planları, Yaşadıkları Kariyer Kararsızlıkları ve Bununla Baş Etme Stratejileri [Career Plans, Career Indecision and Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision among Emerging Adults]. Kariyer Psikolojik Danışmanlığı Dergisi, 2(1), 1-31.
OECD. (2021a). COVID-19 and Well-being: Life in the Pandemic, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1e1ecb53-en.
OECD (2021b), OECD Employment Outlook 2021: Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis and Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a700c4b-en.
OECD, (2022a). Population with tertiary education. [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.1787/0b8f90e9-en
OECD, (2022b). Unemployment rates by education level [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.1787/6183d527-en
Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi [ÖSYM]. (2022). 2022-YKS Yerleştirme Sonuçlarına İlişkin Sayısal Bilgiler [Statistics on 2022 - YKS Placement Results]. ÖSYM. https://www.osym.gov.tr/TR,23913/2022-yks-yerlestirme-sonuclarina-iliskin-sayisal-bilgiler.html
Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (1999). Career development and systems theory: A new relationship. Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2015). The Systems Theory Framework of career development: 20 years of contribution to theory and practice. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24(3), 141–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416215579944
Pisarik, C. T., Rowell, P. C. & Thompson, L. K. (2017). A phenomenological study of career anxiety among college students. Career Development Quarterly, 65(4), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12112
Prestiadi, D., Arifin, I., & Bhayangkara, A. N. (2020, October). Meta-Analysis of Online Learning Implementation in Learning Effectiveness. In 2020 6th International Conference on Education and Technology (ICET) (pp. 109-114). IEEE.
Robson, K., & Mills, A. J. (2022). Teaching, fast and slow: Student perceptions of emergency remote education. Journal of Marketing Education, 02734753221084585.
Rotherham, A. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2010). “21st-Century” skills. American Educator, 17(1), 17-20.
Shin, J. Y. (2019). “Will I find a job when I graduate?”: Employment anxiety, self-compassion, and life satisfaction among South Korean college students. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 19(2), 239-256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-018-9378-1
Sun, X. & Yang, L. (2021) A narrative case study of Chinese senior high school English teachers’ emotions: An Ecological Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 792400. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.792400
Tao, & Jiang, Z. (2021). an investigation into career development contexts of university Russian language teachers in China (1949-2019) From the Perspective of Ecological Theory. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2021-0010
Tekin - Tayfun, A. N. ve Korkmaz, A. (2016). Üniversite öğrencilerinde işsizlik kaygısı: süleyman demirel üniversitesi öğrencileri üzerinde bir araştırma [The Unemployment Anxiety of University Students: A Research On Süleyman Demirel University Students]. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 8(17), 534-558.
TURKSTAT. (2022, August 15). Ne eğitimde ne istihdamda olan genç nüfusun bitirdiği eğitim düzeyi [The level of education of young population who are neither in education nor in employment]. Labour Force Statistics. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Kategori/GetKategori?p=istihdam-issizlik-ve-ucret-108&dil=1
Williams, R. G. (2016). The role of school counselors in the career and college readiness of foster care youth: An ecological systems theory approach. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 3(2), 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2015.1133335
Yalçıntaş, A., & Akkaya, B. (2019). Türkiye’de Akademik Enflasyon: “Her ile Bir Üniversite Politikası” Sonrasında Türk Yükseköğrenim Sistemi [Academic Inflation in Turkey: The Turkish Higher Education System After the Policy of “An University in Every City”]. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 74(3), 789 - 810. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.551330
Yasar, O. M., & Turgut, M. (2020). Unemployment anxiety of last year college students. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 15(1), 56–64. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v15i1.4588
Yi, G., & McMurtrey, M. E. (2013). The impact of academic inflation on the labour market: If everyone has a PhD, who will be the custodian. International Journal of Electronic Finance, 7(3-4), 250-262.
Zhou, S., Wu, S., Yu, X., Chen, W., & Zheng, W. (2021). Employment stress as a moderator of the relationship between proactive personality and career decision-making self-efficacy. Social Behavior and Personality, 49(10), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.10735
"İşsizlikten değil sevmediğim bir işe girmekten korkuyorum": İstihdam kaygısının anlaşılması üzerine bir araştırma
Üniversite öğrencilerinin önemli bir gelişim görevi eğitimlerini tamamlayıp iş gücü piyasasına katılmalarıdır. Bu bağlamda, öğrencilerin iş bulmaya ilişkin endişelerinin anlaşılması, kariyer gelişimlerini desteklemede önemli görünmektedir. Bu çalışma, üniversite öğrencilerinin iş bulma ve istihdam edilme konusundaki endişelerini araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Katılımcılar üniversitelerin çeşitli bölümlerinde okuyan 3. ve 4. sınıf 16 üniversite öğrencisinden (8 kadın ve 8 erkek) oluşmaktadır. Katılımcılar ile yarı yapılandırılmış odak grup görüşmeleri yapılmıştır. Odak grup görüşmelerinde, katılımcıların mezun olduktan sonra iş bulma konusunda ne düşündükleri ve bireysel ile bağlamsal faktörlerin bu endişelerini nasıl etkilediği gibi sorular yer almıştır. Elde edilen veriler, Ekolojik Kuram ve Kariyer Gelişiminin Sistem Teorisi çerçevesinde tematik analiz kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, katılımcıların istihdam kaygısının bireysel, yakın çevresel, işgücü piyasasına ilişkin ve sistematik faktörler ile çerçevelendiği görülmüştür. Ayrıca, bulgular katılımcıların işsizliğin yanı sıra eksik istihdam konusunda da endişeleri olduğunu göstermiştir. Bulgular ışığında, kariyer danışmanlığı ve kariyer gelişimine ilişkin çıkarımlar ve öneriler sunulmuştur.
Abdülhamit, E. Ş., & Durak, H. S. (2018). Meslek yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin iş bulma kaygılarına yönelik ölçek geliştirme: Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi örneği [Developing a Scale for Vocational School Students' Job Anxiety: The Case of Abant İzzet Baysal University]. Ekonomik ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 14, 115-127.
Bardakçi, H., Barut, A., Görgün, M. R. & Adıgüzel, S. (2020). Genç yetişkinlerin internet kullanma alışkanlıkları ile gelecek ve iş hayatından beklentilerinin incelenmesi üzerine ampirik bir uygulama [An Empirical Application on Examining Internet Usage Habits and Future and Business Expectations of Young Adults]. Eğitim ve İnsani Bilimler Dergisi: Teori ve Uygulama , 11(21) , 155-169.
Belle, M. A., Antwi, C. O., Ntim, S. Y., Affum-Osei, E. & Ren, J. (2021). Am I gonna get a job? graduating students’ psychological capital, coping styles, and employment anxiety. Journal of Career Development, 089484532110201. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211020124
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2), 77-101.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
Chen, L., & Zeng, S. (2021). The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Employment Anxiety of Graduates During COVID-19: The Moderating Role of Career Planning. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 694785. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694785
Creswell, J. W. (2015). 30 Essential Skills for the Qualitative Researcher (NULL) (First ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L.. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into practice, 39(3), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip3903_2
Demir, B. (2016). Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli ile öğrencilerin iş bulma kaygılarına yönelik ölçek geliştirme: Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi IIBF’de Bir Uygulama [Developing a scale for students' job anxiety with the Structural Equation Model: An Application at Cumhuriyet University IIBF]. [Phd Dissertation]. Cumhuriyet University.
Friedland, D. S., & Price, R. H.. (2003). Underemployment: Consequences for the Health and Well-Being of Workers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 32(1-2), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025638705649
Jang, S. M., & Kyoung, S. Y. (2013). The job-seeking stress and addictive behaviors among college students: focused on the mediating effect of anxiety. Health and Social Welfare Review, 33(4), 518-546. https://doi.org/10.15709/hswr.2013.33.4.518
Lazarus, R. S. (1990). Theory-Based Stress Measurement. Psychological Inquiry, 1(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0101_1
Lim, A. Y., Lee, S.-H., Jeon, Y., Yoo, R., & Jung, H.-Y.. (2018). Job-seeking stress, mental health problems, and the role of perceived social support in university graduates in Korea. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 33(19). https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e149
Lőrinc, M., Ryan, L., D’Angelo, A., & Kaye, N.. (2020). De-individualising the ‘NEET problem’: An ecological systems analysis. European Educational Research Journal, 19(5), 412–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904119880402
Mahmud, M. S., Talukder, M. U., & Rahman, S. M. (2021). Does ‘Fear of COVID-19’trigger future career anxiety? An empirical investigation considering depression from COVID-19 as a mediator. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(1), 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020764020935488
McMahon, M., & Patton, W. (2018). Systemic thinking in career development theory: contributions of the Systems Theory Framework. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(2), 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2018.1428941
Mutlu, T., Korkut Owen, F., Özdemir, S. & Ulaş Kılıç, Ö. (2019). Beliren Yetişkinlerin Kariyer Planları, Yaşadıkları Kariyer Kararsızlıkları ve Bununla Baş Etme Stratejileri [Career Plans, Career Indecision and Strategies for Coping with Career Indecision among Emerging Adults]. Kariyer Psikolojik Danışmanlığı Dergisi, 2(1), 1-31.
OECD. (2021a). COVID-19 and Well-being: Life in the Pandemic, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1e1ecb53-en.
OECD (2021b), OECD Employment Outlook 2021: Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis and Recovery, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a700c4b-en.
OECD, (2022a). Population with tertiary education. [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.1787/0b8f90e9-en
OECD, (2022b). Unemployment rates by education level [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.1787/6183d527-en
Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi [ÖSYM]. (2022). 2022-YKS Yerleştirme Sonuçlarına İlişkin Sayısal Bilgiler [Statistics on 2022 - YKS Placement Results]. ÖSYM. https://www.osym.gov.tr/TR,23913/2022-yks-yerlestirme-sonuclarina-iliskin-sayisal-bilgiler.html
Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (1999). Career development and systems theory: A new relationship. Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Patton, W., & McMahon, M. (2015). The Systems Theory Framework of career development: 20 years of contribution to theory and practice. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24(3), 141–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416215579944
Pisarik, C. T., Rowell, P. C. & Thompson, L. K. (2017). A phenomenological study of career anxiety among college students. Career Development Quarterly, 65(4), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12112
Prestiadi, D., Arifin, I., & Bhayangkara, A. N. (2020, October). Meta-Analysis of Online Learning Implementation in Learning Effectiveness. In 2020 6th International Conference on Education and Technology (ICET) (pp. 109-114). IEEE.
Robson, K., & Mills, A. J. (2022). Teaching, fast and slow: Student perceptions of emergency remote education. Journal of Marketing Education, 02734753221084585.
Rotherham, A. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2010). “21st-Century” skills. American Educator, 17(1), 17-20.
Shin, J. Y. (2019). “Will I find a job when I graduate?”: Employment anxiety, self-compassion, and life satisfaction among South Korean college students. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 19(2), 239-256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-018-9378-1
Sun, X. & Yang, L. (2021) A narrative case study of Chinese senior high school English teachers’ emotions: An Ecological Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 792400. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.792400
Tao, & Jiang, Z. (2021). an investigation into career development contexts of university Russian language teachers in China (1949-2019) From the Perspective of Ecological Theory. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2021-0010
Tekin - Tayfun, A. N. ve Korkmaz, A. (2016). Üniversite öğrencilerinde işsizlik kaygısı: süleyman demirel üniversitesi öğrencileri üzerinde bir araştırma [The Unemployment Anxiety of University Students: A Research On Süleyman Demirel University Students]. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 8(17), 534-558.
TURKSTAT. (2022, August 15). Ne eğitimde ne istihdamda olan genç nüfusun bitirdiği eğitim düzeyi [The level of education of young population who are neither in education nor in employment]. Labour Force Statistics. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Kategori/GetKategori?p=istihdam-issizlik-ve-ucret-108&dil=1
Williams, R. G. (2016). The role of school counselors in the career and college readiness of foster care youth: An ecological systems theory approach. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 3(2), 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2015.1133335
Yalçıntaş, A., & Akkaya, B. (2019). Türkiye’de Akademik Enflasyon: “Her ile Bir Üniversite Politikası” Sonrasında Türk Yükseköğrenim Sistemi [Academic Inflation in Turkey: The Turkish Higher Education System After the Policy of “An University in Every City”]. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 74(3), 789 - 810. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.551330
Yasar, O. M., & Turgut, M. (2020). Unemployment anxiety of last year college students. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 15(1), 56–64. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v15i1.4588
Yi, G., & McMurtrey, M. E. (2013). The impact of academic inflation on the labour market: If everyone has a PhD, who will be the custodian. International Journal of Electronic Finance, 7(3-4), 250-262.
Zhou, S., Wu, S., Yu, X., Chen, W., & Zheng, W. (2021). Employment stress as a moderator of the relationship between proactive personality and career decision-making self-efficacy. Social Behavior and Personality, 49(10), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.10735
Bozgeyikli, H., Görgülü, Z., & Boğazlıyan, E. E. (2024). “Not joblessness but a job I dislike scares me”: Exploring Employment Anxiety. Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.38151/akef.2024.127