Job search by the graduates of Moscow universities: Motivation and claims

The article presents the results of the sociological research conducted in the framework of the Federal project “Personnel Potential”, which aimed at assessing the factors and conditions of employment of the graduates of Moscow universities. The relevance of this study is determined by the fact that every year, after graduation from higher educational institutions, the labor market has too much of the supply of highly skilled labor usually without work experience. The study of motivation that determines the search and choice of jobs by contemporary graduates, of their claims to the content and payment of their work, of their readiness for professional mobility can help to take necessary measures to reduce this problem. The article is based on the data of the research focused on girls who study or have recently graduated from Moscow universities. The results of the survey show that the choice of place of work is determined by a set of subjective and objective factors: future wages, career opportunities, prospects for professional and personal growth, and stability of the company. The authors identified three groups of factors that play a major, secondary and minor role in the girls’ choice of place to work. Salary is the leading motive of employment: the claims for high payment are typical for students and young professionals in the fields of natural sciences, information-mathematical and technical sciences, to a lesser extent - for representatives of humanities, culture and art. The empirical data proved the hypothesis that students of all educational profiles are ready to achieve financial well-being through labor migration.