Hire Me: A Phenomenological Study on Job Search and Rejection of Unemployed College Graduates

Authors

  • John Francis Alano
  • JC Adam Palma

Keywords:

unemployment, college graduates, job searching, rejection

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Unemployment in the Philippines is still increasing. One reason is the status of college graduates whose job application was not accepted. While existing studies clearly established unemployment among college graduates, lived experiences of these diploma holders had not been closely looked into. The research aims to describe and understand the experiences of college graduates in finding a job and being rejected by different companies to obtain how their experiences contribute to the prevailing problem in unemployment in this country.

METHODS

Qualitative phenomenology method was employed in the study. Eight male college graduates who were not hired and are still unemployed served as the participants. Purposive sampling was used since the researchers have friends and relatives who experienced the phenomenon. The researchers were guided by interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA's). It includes reading, re-reading of the transcripts of interviews, coding, developing of themes and finding comparisons and/or connection between the themes that emerged.

RESULTS

The participants experienced the following challenge in searching for jobs: financial problem, struggles on job interviews, communication skills and errors in answering during the interview. Regarding rejection, the participants said they felt the following: disappointment, discouragement, shyness, loss of self-confidence and fear of telling their families that they were not hired. However, they tried to stay positive by continuing to search for other companies where they can apply, ask friends and other people for possible recommendations and seek the understanding and support of their families.

DISCUSSIONS

Searching for a job in spite of having a college diploma is not easy for the participants. They had good favorable and unfavorable experiences in this process. Furthermore, although unemployment evoked negative emotions, most unemployed college graduates have been positively transformed by the experiences of being rejected by the company. Therefore, listening to the lived experiences of unemployed college graduates can motivate not just them, but other students that in the future will experience looking for a job.

Published

2019-01-18