Facilitators and inhibitors of international postgraduate students’ university-to-work transition

Abstract

Few studies have addressed the university-to-work transition experience of international postgraduate students. This paper contributed to the literature as it proposed a three-stage university-to-work transition framework including stages of finishing a degree, looking for a job, and working in a job. A qualitative research design with in-depth interviews was used to explore the university-to-work transition experience of eight international postgraduate students who were working full time in Australia. The international postgraduate students faced considerable stress during the first two stages. They used an array of job search strategies including networking, internships, and career workshops at university, and secured employment through networking and recommendation rather than by formal methods because they did not have permanent work visas. International postgraduate students were excited and relieved when they found a job, but faced stress when they transitioned into the workplace, and were inhibited by a lack of proper induction and their inadequate business communication skills, but were assisted through mentoring.