'I have to be very good in what I do'. Marginalisation and discrimination in the career-entry phase Experiences and coping strategies among university graduates with a migrant background in Austria

• Published in: Journal of ethnic and migration studies Vol. 42; no. 15; pp. 2468 - 2490
• Main Authors: Verwiebe, Roland, Seewann, Lena, Wolf, Margarita, Hacioglu, Melek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 07.12.2016; Carfax Publishing Company, Abingdon Science Park; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: academics with migration background; Arbeitnehmer; Ausländer; Austria; Avoidance behavior; Background; Berufseinmündung; Career entry; College graduates; Coping; Coping strategies; Discrimination; Diskriminierung; Einwanderer; Employment discrimination; Hochschulabsolvent; Interkulturelle Kompetenz; Interviews; Konfliktmanagement; Labor market; marginalisation; Marginalisierung; Marginality; Migrants; Migration; Migrationshintergrund; Prevention; Religion; Resilienz; Resistance; Respondents; Social exclusion; Stereotyp; Stereotypes; University graduates; Vorurteil; Zweite Generation; Österreich; Austria
• ISSN: 1469-9451; 1369-183X; 1469-9451
• DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2016.1169160

In this article, we discuss labour market entries as experienced by Austrian university graduates with a migrant background. On the basis of 21 problem-centred interviews, we investigated (a) what kind of discrimination and marginalisation the respondents had experienced in the labour market post-graduation, and (b) how they had dealt with their situation. To analyse the interviews, we used a combination of thematic charting and coding methods. The empirical results indicate that migrant backgrounds often lead to both a disavowal of those graduates' abilities and a rise of conflicts along religious, ethnical or stereotypical ascriptions. The coping strategies employed by migrant background graduates ranged from preventive strategies - such as an emphasis on performance and the avoidance of problematic situations - to responsive strategies, through active resistance or various kinds of resignation.