The Effect of Soft Skills on the Successful Employment of Future Engineers: Self-Evaluation Results

The research focuses on “integrating” technological universities’ graduates in the current labor market. In pedagogical practice, it is widely known that university graduates with welldeveloped “soft” skills feel more confident about their future, and they can more easily cope with job search. In order to identify the effect of “soft” skills on the readiness of future engineers to job search, a survey was conducted among 106 students, including programmers, business analysts, IT designers, materials scientists, and nanotechnologists.The authors used the statistical methods to identify the relationship between students’ self-evaluation of “soft” skills and their readiness for job-seeking. We have found that 71.7% of all respondents who determined a high level of proficiency in “soft” skills, only 29.6% are confident that job search should not cause difficulties, 28.8% can see a clear connection between their studies and future profession, and 37% believe that they have motivation for professional fulfillment.The results of the survey based on self-evaluation showed that in spite of having a high score in evaluating their “soft” skills, the respondents express extreme uncertainty that they will be competitive enough outside the university and that will be prepared to apply the skills which are crucial for successful employment.

How to Optimize the Job Search Process: Development and Validation of the Job Search Quality Scale

Job search quality is important for unemployed individuals pursuing reemployment. To comprehensively measure job search quality, we develop and test a 20-item Job Search Quality Scale (JSQS), using four samples of unemployed individuals (pilot sample, N=218; exploration sample, N=3372; confirmation sample, N=3372; and replication sample, N=434). Results show a four-dimensional structure, composed of (a) goal establishment and planning, (b) preparation and alignment, (c) emotion regulation and persistence, and (d) learning and improvement. Substantial evidence was found for its reliability, convergent and discriminant validity. Building job search quality’s nomological net, conscientiousness, learning goal orientation, self-efficacy, employment commitment, autonomous job search motivation, and social support emerged as positive correlates. Supporting its criterion-related validity, the JSQS predicted key job search and employment outcomes. Moreover, usefulness analyses supported its incremental validity beyond extant job search measures. Our findings have important implications for studying and measuring job search quality in future research and career counseling practice.

Reducing search barriers for job seekers

Programs focused on reducing job search barriers often improve job seekers’ employment outcomes. These programs can help job seekers increase their search effort, identify where and how to look for jobs, surmount geographic and financial obstacles to finding a job, and communicate qualifications to employers.

Formation of university graduates employment culture

Introduction. Successful employment of university graduates is necessary for the productive solution of socio-economic problems of modern society. It is a particularly urgent task in the context of the global economic crisis and the significant changes of labor and employment area caused by it. Many students are not able to get a job, which means a significant lack of qualified specialists with higher education, who are strategic resources for the progressive development of society. This article aims to develop and give scientific justification for the extracurricular program of the Formation of University Graduates Employment Culture based on a modular approach. Materials and methods. The study involved 564 senior students of Russian universities (bachelor’s degree, master’s degree). Online survey was conducted to identify problem areas and prospects for employment. The parameters and characteristics of the formation of student’s employment culture are diagnosed using a set of valid diagnostic techniques. The reliability of the data obtained was checked using the Pearson’s chi-squared (χ2) test. Results. The author’s program for the formation of university graduates' employment culture was developed in the course of the study. The essence of the program is the development of students’ skills of job search, self-presentation, self-promotion, self-image, CV writing, effective communication, teamwork, creative problem solving, forecasting the trajectory of employment after graduation. A significant increase in the formation of student’s employment culture level was recorded as a result of the program implementation in the experimental group (χ2emp = 26.554) compared with the students of the control group who did not show positive dynamics in the level of the measured personal characteristics (χ2emp = 0.334) during the experimental work. Discussion and conclusion. The study has resulted that the effectiveness of the formation of university graduates' employment culture increases with the use of modular structuring for extracurricular programs (communicative, facilitation, socio-legal, administrative, psychological and pedagogical, project, information and interactive modules).

Increasing Migrants' Work Self-efficacy and Job Search Self-efficacy Perceptions by Developing Career Adaptability

Today's unstable labor market increasingly requires flexibility and adaptability to cope with the threat of unemployment. It can cause distress in people and have a more significant negative impact on fragile workers, such as migrants. This study aimed to test whether a Career Counseling intervention designed for Migrants (CCfM) can develop Career Adaptability and, therefore, both Work Self-efficacy (WSe) and Job Search Self-efficacy (JSSe) perceptions. It was conducted in Italy and involved a sample of 233 migrants, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire available in three languages (Italian, French, and English). Data analysis showed that an improvement was demonstrated in all the variables considered, namely career adaptability (including concern, control, confidence, and curiosity), WSe, and JSSe, even though the CCfM was not directly designed to increase the last one. In addition, the development of career adaptability explained the increase in migrants' WSe and JSSe, and the initial level of career adaptability was found to explain the increase in WSe due to the initial positive level of curiosity.