Investigating stakeholder perception of student work experience Dr Amy Irwin, Dr Emily Nordmann, Karrell Simms University of Aberdeen

Background A degree alone is no longer enough, but what should we be advising students to enhance their employability? Is all work experience of equal value? Types of experience: Extra-curricular Co-curricular Internships Volunteering Part-time work Placement year What matters most? The type of experience? How long it lasts? How competitive it was? Whether its paid or unpaid?

Previous research Location Extracurricular activities usually conducted off-campus, external to degree. Co-curricular often on campus and linked to University in some way. Extracurricular considered to enhance employability and reported to be part of recruitment and selection strategy (Clark, Marsden, Whyatt, Thompson & Walker, 2015). Less is known abut value of co-curricular activities. Type Internships linked to reduced unemployment rates. Thought to give students competitive edge, and indicative of motivation and effort (Silva et al., 2016). Perception of volunteering is more variable, considered important for Psychology graduates, less important for other areas (such as Engineering) (Barton, Bates & O’Donovan, 2017). Lack of direct comparison of value of different types of experience. Duration Longer placements linked to enhanced employability, but exact duration not usually stated. Some suggestion that multiple short-term placements might be good strategy, to enhance multiple competencies (Silva et al., 2016), though some questions over what ‘short-term’ means.

Study Aim Investigate student, employer and academic perception of THREE main aspects of work experience: Duration (six months versus two years) Type (internship versus volunteering) Location (extracurricular versus co-curricular) Compare student, employer and academic perception of additional employability relevant aspects: Degree topic Degree classification Graduate attributes Examine stakeholder perception of importance of employability via open-ended questions

Method Mixed methods online questionnaire (175 participants: 62 students, 57 employers, 56 academics) Experimental vignette (CV excerpts) utilised a 3 (students, academics, employers) x 2 (6 months, 2 years duration of experience) x 2 (internships, volunteering) x 2 (co-curricular, extracurricular activities) design. TWO job roles: Research assistant & Admin assistant EIGHT vignettes (same for each role) H1: Work experience of 2 years duration would be viewed more positively than work experience of 6 months duration. H2: Work experience that was extracurricular (off-campus and within an external organisation) would be perceived more positively than co-curricular experience (on-campus activity within a University based group or facility). H3: Internship based experience would be viewed more positively than volunteer positions.

Method QUESTIONNAIRE VERSION 1 Example 1: Work experience of 2 years duration, an internship, extracurricular   EDUCATION 2014-2018 University of Aberdeen MA Honours Psychology & Business Management (2:1 predicted). WORK EXPERIENCE 2015-2017 (2 years): Market Research Assistant (internship). Hunter Adams marketing agency. Example 2: Work experience of 6 months duration, voluntary, co-curricular VOLUNTARY WORK Oct 2016 – April 2017 (6 months), Volunteer Bookends administrator. Aberdeen University Students Association. QUESTIONNAIRE VERSION 2 Example 1: Work experience of 6 months duration, voluntary, extracurricular Oct 2016 – April 2017 (6 months), Volunteer Market Research Assistant. Hunter Adams marketing agency. Example 2: Work experience of 2 years duration, internship, co-curricular 2015-2017 (2 years): Bookends administrator (internship). Aberdeen University Students Association.

Results Admin assistant Analysis: Four-way mixed ANOVA with group (student, employer, academic) as between-subjects factor and location (co- curricular, extra-curricular), type (internship, voluntary) and duration (six months, two years) as within-subjects’ factors. Significant finding: Significant main effect of location was found (F (1,159) = 40.31, p <. 001, ηG2 = .03). Extra-curricular experience (M = 3.61, SD = 0.84) rated significantly more positively than co-curricular experience (M = 3.33, SD = 0.86). Figure: Raincloud plot showing raw data, density, boxplots and mean with 95% CI for location for the admin position.

Results Research assistant Analysis: Four-way mixed ANOVA with group (student, employer, academic) as between-subjects factor and location (co- curricular, extra-curricular), type (internship, voluntary) and duration (six months, two years) as within-subjects’ factors. Significant finding: Significant main effect of location was found (F (2,160) = 98.05, p <. 001, ηG2 = .06) Extra-curricular experience (M = 3.55, SD = 0.91) rated significantly more positively than co-curricular experience (M = 3.15, SD = 0.85). Figure: Raincloud plot showing raw data, density, boxplots and mean with 95% CI for location for the research position.

Results Research assistant Analysis: Four-way mixed ANOVA with group (student, employer, academic) as between-subjects factor and location (co- curricular, extra-curricular), type (internship, voluntary) and duration (six months, two years) as within-subjects’ factors. Significant finding: Significant main effect of type was found (F (2,160) = 18.38, p <. 001, ηG2 = .03) Internships (M = 3.50, SD = 0.94) rated significantly more positively than voluntary work experience (M = 3.20, SD = 0.85). Figure: Raincloud plot showing raw data, density, boxplots and mean with 95% CI for location for the research position.

Additional points Qualitative data All three groups reported that the relevancy of work experience was a key aspect: ‘Either the specific or very relevant experience. A willingness to embrace the needs of the employer’ Employers reported that assessment of work experience was an integral aspect of selection: ‘It can be used to gauge whether a candidate is a suitable match for a position’ Employers also reported that they looked for evidence of previous jobs as evidence that candidates were able to retain employment.

Practical implications: Advice for students Students have to juggle multiple commitments, and certain opportunities may vary across career area and topic. But in general…. Extra-curricular experience may be viewed more favourably than co-curricular experience. Internships may be considered more positively than volunteer roles. A key focus should be relevancy, with experience selected according to student career plans. Employers look for evidence of work experience in applications, so something is always going to be better than nothing.

Thank you