Planning for success: graduates' career planning and its effect on graduate outcomes

This report presents findings from the planning for success survey, which examined student outcomes and career planning strategies. The report looks to: (1) understand career planning strategies and how they affect student outcomes; and (2) identify factors associated with positive graduate outcomes. The study examined a cohort of UK domiciled students who completed their full-time undergraduate study in 2011/12 and were aged 18-21 at the outset of their study. The cohort consisted of 7,500 students drawn from 27 institutions. The study combined data from the six month Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey with data from a follow-up survey conducted two years later. It employed multivariate analysis techniques to understand the relative importance of different behaviours, characteristics and factors in determining graduate outcomes. [The study] considered in turn: what led graduates to a positive outcome, that is employment or further study rather than unemployment; what led graduates with a positive outcome to employment, and what to further study; what led the employed to professional or managerial employment as opposed to non-professional employment; and what led those in professional or managerial employment to full-time as opposed to part-time roles.

The three factors which were most important in guiding graduates to a positive outcome, that is employment or further study rather than unemployment, were: (1) undertaking paid work while at university or in the six months immediately after; (2) focusing job searches exclusively on graduate level jobs and making most applications while still studying; and (3) having a career plan upon leaving university. A technical annex providing detail on the survey methodology, weighting and data analysis of the survey is also available.

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