Does A Recession Affect Millennials’ Career Expectations?

In recent years, scholars have shown an increased interest in understanding how Millennials’ perceptions of entitlement impact both their work and academic lives (e.g., Ng, Schweitzer, & Lyons, 2010). However, there is minimal research on the impact that a recession has on Millennials as they transition from university to the labour market. The purpose of the current project was to gain a better understanding of the impact that the current recession in Alberta has on new graduates’ career expectations. We used a mixed methods design that incorporated both focus group data and questionnaire results from 62 third- and fourth-year business students in Alberta. Interestingly, participants’ awareness of the recession had no impact on career expectations. Results demonstrated that immediate career expectations were driven by perceptions of entitlement, while future career expectations were affected by gender. Specifically, men had significantly higher future career expectations than women, even after controlling for entitlement and recession awareness. These findings can be used to assist universities in helping new graduates set realistic expectations when entering the workforce during a recession. At the same time, businesses can use the current results to tailor their recruiting techniques to target the specific needs and desires of graduating Millennials.