Summary: | An exploratory study was conducted to discover significant events and feelings attached to those events during the experience of unemployment for university graduates under 25 years of age. Twelve university graduates of mixed sex, under the age of 25 were interviewed. The phenomenological/critical incident methodology adapted by Amundson and Borgen (1984) was utilized. The experience was found to be comprised of two segments: the initial holiday period, and the downward trend. Idiosyncratically occurring positive and negative critical incidents were identified. Job search activities were found to be most closely aligned with middle class professionals rather than less educated youth findings. The subjects were found to channel their energy into new areas of interest and activity, particularly further education in spite of feelings of disillusionment. These results may aid counsellors in understanding the experience of unemployed university graduates, and lead to more effective therapeutic interventions for this population. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
|