Graduate employability has attracted considerable attention, unsurprisingly so: The transition associated with graduation presents a series of strong events, that is likely to produce change in employability. We focus on perceived employability (i.e., the individual's appraisal of available employment opportunities). Change in perceived employability in the transition after graduation is sometimes hinted at, yet seldom tested: Positive change is expected, based on the idea that employability-enhancement in university broadens employment opportunities. While this may be true on average, there could be heterogeneity. In response, we tested heterogeneous change in perceived employability among university graduates using a longitudinal three-wave design and among three cohorts of graduates (N₂₀₁₆ = 581; N₂₀₁₇ = 547; N₂₀₂₀ = 339). The pattern of results is as follows. First, perceived employability on average increased after graduation, and in the same way in the three cohorts. Second, change is heterogeneous along three change profiles: one profile perceives themselves as highly employable at the start and becomes slightly more employable (49.6 %), a second profile starts at medium levels and also becomes more employable (38.1 %), and a third profile starts at lower levels and remains stable (12.3 %), with a widening gap with the other profiles over time. Third, profiles were similar across cohorts: Our findings are not sample-specific and thus robust. Fourth, the profiles are connected to labor market outcomes (employment status, job satisfaction, education-job fit). These findings are novel to the employability field in terms of unravelling heterogeneous dynamics, and its replication attests to the robustness of the findings.

毕业生的就业能力引起了相当大的关注，这并不奇怪：与毕业相关的转变呈现出一系列强烈的事件，这可能会导致就业能力的变化。我们关注感知的就业能力（即个人对可用就业机会的评价）。毕业后过渡时期就业能力感知的变化有时会被暗示，但很少被检验：基于大学就业能力增强拓宽就业机会的理念，预计会出现积极的变化。虽然平均而言这可能是正确的，但可能存在异质性。作为回应，我们使用纵向三波设计和三组毕业生测试了大学毕业生感知就业能力的异质变化（N ₂₀₁₆ = 581；_{2017 年}N  = 547；_2020年N = 339）。结果的模式如下。首先，毕业后，感知的就业能力平均有所提高，在三个群体中也是如此。其次，变化在三种变化概况中是异质的：一种概况认为自己一开始就具有高度的就业能力，并变得更加就业（49.6％），第二种概况从中等水平开始，也变得更加就业（38.1％），第三种概况配置文件开始时水平较低，并保持稳定（12.3%），随着时间的推移，与其他配置文件的差距不断扩大。第三，各队列的情况相似：我们的研究结果不针对特定样本，因此是可靠的。第四，这些概况与劳动力市场结果（就业状况、工作满意度、教育与工作契合度）相关。