Understanding the experience of college graduates during their first year of employment

✍ Scribed by Janet L. Polach

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 121 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1044-8004
• DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.1084

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A company's college recruitment practices, as well as its socialization processes for graduates once they
have joined the organization, can be improved when there is understanding of college graduates' experience
during the first year of employment. This study recorded the experiences of eight college graduates who were
employed by a medical device manufacturer in the Midwest. Nine themes common to all participants are identified
and grouped into three categories: work environment, friendship, and performance. Related research on college
graduates and first‐job experiences, Generations X and Y, job expectations, and new‐hire
socialization is also reviewed. Recommendations are offered for consideration by the organization that employs
the study's participants to improve college graduates' experience. Further research implications are
also discussed.