What's next? Career narratives of women university graduates in times of precarity

• Published date: 01 July 2022
• Author: Maria Simosi,Maria Daskalaki,Denise M. Rousseau
• Date: 01 July 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12482

RESEARCH ARTICLE

What’s next? Career narratives of women university graduates in

times of precarity

Maria Simosi

1

| Maria Daskalaki

2

| Denise M. Rousseau

3

1

Royal Holloway, University of London, UK,

School of Business & Management, UK

2

Business School, University of Southampton,

Southampton, UK

3

US, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon

University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Correspondence

Maria Simosi, Royal Holloway, University of

London, UK, School of Business &

Management, Egham Hill, TW20 0EX.

Email: maria.simosi@rhul.ac.uk

Abstract

Building on emerging research on women’s careers and precarious employment,

we conducted a longitudinal qualitative study of 16 young, educated women over

two years in the Greek post-crisis economy. Using the career construction theory,

we trace their career trajectories and the subjective meanings attached to their

career transitions. We find evidence of five career narratives, reflecting the trajec-

tories followed and meanings attributed in pursuit of stable employment. In each

narrative we observe situational constraints and coping responses as the women

respond to threats to their professional identities. Each trajectory is more cyclical

than linear, comprised of activities reflecting the goals pursued at the time. We

observe the dysfunctional effects of persistent old career identities along with

resilient adjustment and pursuit of new identities. Results advance our under-

standing of career decisions in the context of economic crisis. They also under-

score the need to contextualize the study of career narratives over time as they

change in accordance with shifting personal goals and opportunities.

KEYWORDS

career construction theory, careers, identity, precarity, qualitative research

INTRODUCTION

The global recession starting in 2008 disrupted employ-

ment opportunities and posed extraordinary challenges

for workers. It also compromised gender equality by

undermining the integration of women in the workforce

(INE-GSEE, 2016; Vassilopoulou et al., 2018). Although

careers traditionally are conceptualized as predictable

sequences of work experiences and advancement

(Sullivan & Baruch, 2009), the job instability created by

the global financial crisis altered these sequences, intro-

ducing periods of transition and disruption. Unstable

economic conditions lead to career setbacks and down-

ward career transitions where long periods of unemploy-

ment alternate with assorted part-time, causal or fixed-

term jobs. Although past research highlights the psycho-

logical reactions to job loss (e.g., McKee-Ryan

et al., 2005; Gabriel et al., 2013), as well as the resilience

workers can display during unemployment (Aamaas

et al., 2012), little is known about how new workforce

entrants deal with crisis conditions and limited career

prospects. The few extant studies on the career behavior

of young professionals (e.g., Simosi et al., 2015;Van

Hoye et al., 2015) are cross-sectional, unable to account

for change in career experiences.

New university graduates in crisis economies are at a

vulnerable career stage. Unlike older job seekers, they

lack established reputations to aid their job search. With

limited work-related networks, these graduates often rely

on family friends and acquaintances to find jobs. In con-

trast to stable economies where networking aids job seek-

ing (Van Hoye et al., 2009), the utility of networking can

be quite limited in crisis economies due to the lack of

available jobs. Often lacking personal savings, the finan-

cial strain young job seekers experience is tied to family

income. At the same time, they often have no dependents,

allowing longer unemployment periods with family finan-

cial support. In the context of an unstable economy, new

entrants are challenged to make sense of their place in a

changing environment, make career decisions, and build

a cohesive self.

The present study contributes to career scholarship by

examining the narratives and career strategies used over

time by young female graduates facing crisis conditions.

Our central questions are: (1) How do young female

graduates make sense of their career experiences in the

DOI: 10.1111/emre.12482

222 © 2021 European Academy of Management. European Management Review. 2022;19:222–235.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/emre