Journal of East China Normal University(Educationa ›› 2025, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (5): 96-114.doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2025.05.008

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Can Junior and Regular College Graduates' Interest-Major Congruence Promote Job Matching? An Empirical Study Based on the Three Dimensional Job Matching of Major, Education and Ability

Qinxue Feng1, Changjun Yue2   

  1. 1. Institute of Education, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
    2. Institute of Economics of Education /Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Online:2025-05-01 Published:2025-04-21

Abstract:

With the changes in structure of population, economy, and labor market in the stage of high-quality development, structural employment contradictions have become the main contradiction in the employment field. Based on the data from the 2021 Chinese College Graduates Employment Survey, this study examines the impact of junior and regular college graduates’ interest–major congruence on job matching, analyzes the mediating role of academic performance, value-added ability, and emphasis on major-job matching, and conducts heterogeneity analysis by education level and major. It found that interest-major congruence can promote major matching and education matching of junior and regular college graduates in formal employment, and improve their abilities to meet or even exceed job requirements. Academic performance plays a partial mediating effect in the impact of interest-major congruence on major matching and ability matching. Value-added ability plays a partial mediating effect in the impact on education matching and ability matching. The emphasis on major-job matching plays a partial mediating effect in the impact on major matching, education matching and ability matching. Interest-major congruence can help improve the efficacy of major matching and education matching of graduates in humanities and social sciences majors, and promote ability matching of junior college graduates. This study provides new insights from the perspective of matching major, interest, and vocation to improve the job matching of college graduates and alleviate structural employment contradictions. It also has important practical significance for guiding students in filling out college entrance examination preferences and choosing majors.

Key words: interest–major congruence, job matching, college graduates, major selection