This project explores the career paths to date of seven graduates of the University of Waterloo’s Mechanical Engineering program, and examines the influences that led them to choose their university program. I particularly considered the participants’ status as members of underrepresented or overrepresented groups, using the contexts of the history of the profession of Mechanical Engineering and prior research on underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. I used semi-structured interviews and an intersectionality framework to investigate aspects of identity, interests, and career influences. I found three key themes among the participants: human influences, including information sources, role models, and mentors; influences of educational and outreach activities; and personal interests and aptitudes. I use the uncovered themes to recommend a combination of future studies and outreach programs.

This project explores the career paths to date of seven graduates of the University of Waterloo’s Mechanical Engineering program, and examines the influences that led them to choose their university program. I particularly considered the participants’ status as members of underrepresented or overrepresented groups, using the contexts of the history of the profession of Mechanical Engineering and prior research on underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. I used semi-structured interviews and an intersectionality framework to investigate aspects of identity, interests, and career influences. I found three key themes among the participants: human influences, including information sources, role models, and mentors; influences of educational and outreach activities; and personal interests and aptitudes. I use the uncovered themes to recommend a combination of future studies and outreach programs.

The aim of this thesis is to contribute knowledge to how professional conversations such as career guidance and coaching contribute to adults’ learning in their career development. Unemployment is a topic that has recently gained much attention in the political debate as well as in society. Career guidance and coaching have largely been used as a means for supporting the unemployed in their career development. This thesis takes the adult job seekers’ perspective for increasing our knowledge of the learning-process taking place in professional conversations. The study draws on theories of learning, recognition, career development, dialogue and relationships. The thesis focuses on the following research questions:How do participants experience professional conversations? What learning conditions emerge from the participants’ experiences? How does learning take place and what meaning does this have for the participants in their career development? The study was conducted in two municipal labor market projects. The empirical data is based on 22 qualitative interviews with 16 long-term unemployed, 16 initial interviews and six follow-up interviews one-and-a-half year after the first interview. The interviews were conducted as reflective conversations, about participants past experiences of professional conversations in order to benefit participants’ own stories. The results show that: Learning in professional conversations is influenced by the tensions between participants’ self-image, societal demands on the outcome of conversations and how the conversations are organized. The participants’ previous experiences of different forms of employment measures seem to affect their experiences of the professional conversations. Participants’ previous experiences of professional conversations affect the participants’ learning in different ways. How the professionals have treated the participants affects the participants’ confidence or skepticism towards the professional helper. It opens or closes for the relationship and work alliance between them. The participants’ emotional experiences in their encounter with professionals appear to be an important driving force in the learning process. Small nuances such as how the professional attitude is perceived are crucial to the learning process. The dissertation shows that emotional and relational aspects, largely, influence participants’ learning process in professional conversation. Three conditions for learning were identified: Pre-existing conditions, organizational conditions, and conversation related conditions. Four learning processes have also been identified: The positive, the turning, the adaptive and the negative. These learning processes seem to affect the continuing career process in different ways.

Bristen på arbetskraft inom tech-branschen skapar en konkurrens bland tech- rekryterare om tech-talanger. Tech-rekrytering skiljer sig ofta från mer traditionella rekryteringsprodecurer. Istället för ett arbetssätt där den sökande själv skickar in ansökan behöver tech-rekryterare använda uppsökande metoder. Kunskapsintresset i denna uppsats är att studera rekrytering och särskilt relationen mellan rekryterare och talang utifrån ett lärandeperspektiv. Studien kompletterar tidigare studier eftersom den empiriskt studerar både rekryterares och talangers upplevelser av rekryteringsprocesser. Genom att använda ett situerat perspektiv på lärande, samt teorier om socialisering, identitetsdilemman, kommunikativa dilemman och karriärsprocesser, har studien fokuserat på lärande-, socialisation- och karriärsprocesser vid tech-rekrytering. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och har använt en tvärsnittsdesign, där åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med yrkesverksamma tech-rekryterare och tech-talanger från sju organisationer. Resultatet visar att tech-rekryterarna och tech-talangerna har förflyttat sig i karriären för att få bättre villkor till lärande. I tech-rekryterarnas karriär visade sig deras första arbete inom tech-rekrytering bidragit med grundläggande kunskaper för yrket. Det första arbetet framstår även vara centralt för att stanna kvar inom rekryteringsyrket eftersom det bland annat väckt ett intresse och förståelse hos rekryterarna för teknik och rekrytering. Resultatet visade att tech-talangerna från början i deras karriär haft en kompetensutvecklingsstrategi som varit att arbeta på bolag där de får utföra kvalitativa arbetsuppgifter och med seniora kollegor. Resultatet visade att såväl tech-rekryterarna som tech-talangerna fortsatt sin karriärsresa och upplevt bättre villkor till lärande i takt med sina förflyttningar i karriären. En central del i resultatet visade även att rekryterarna och talangerna upplever olika dilemman kopplade till rekryteringsprocessen och i relationen till varandra, vilka är: kontaktdilemman, snabbhets- och maktdilemman och bedömningsdilemman. / The lack of labor in the tech industry contributes to a struggle among tech-recruiters for tech-talent. Tech recruitment often differs from more traditional recruitment procedures. Instead of a way of working where the applicant submits an application, tech-recruiters need to use outreach methods. The interest in knowledge in this thesis is to study recruitment and especially the relationship between recruiters and talent from a learning perspective. The study complements previous studies because it empirically studies both tech-recruiters and tech-talents experiences of recruitment processes. Using a situated perspective on learning, as well as theories of socialization, identity dilemmas, communicative dilemmas and career processes, the study have focused on learning, socialization and career processes in tech recruitment. The study has a qualitative approach and has used a cross-sectional design, where eight semi-structured interviews have been conducted with professional tech-recruiters and tech-talents from seven organizations. The findings show that tech-recruiters and tech-talents have moved in their careers to get better conditions for learning. In the career of tech-recruiters, their first job in tech-recruitment proved to have contributed with basic knowledge of the profession. Their first job also seems to be central to staying in the recruitment profession because it has aroused an interest and understanding among the recruiters for technology and recruitment. The findings showed that the tech-talents from the beginning of their careers had a skills development strategy that has been to work at companies where they can perform qualitative tasks and with senior colleagues. The findings showed that both tech-recruiters and the tech-talents continued their career journey and experienced better conditions for learning in step with their career shifts. A central part of the findings also showed that recruiters and talents experience different dilemmas linked to the recruitment process and the relationship to each other, which are: the contact dilemma, the speed and power dilemma and the assessment dilemma.