The Hidden Graduate Career Stories - Hacking Social Capital - The 1 Hour Project

Widening participation (WP) students – those from under-represented, low-income or first generation backgrounds – often remain “hidden talent” in the UK graduate labour market. Despite mass higher education, class-based disparities persist in graduate outcomes, with elite jobs and leadership roles dominated by those of higher socio-economic status. This practice-based doctoral research explores how storytelling can empower such hidden graduate talent and improve social mobility. Using the author’s own trajectory as a first generation university graduate and career practitioner as a springboard, the study develops a qualitative, practice-led approach combining the literature review, personal narrative, student interventions, graduate interviews and successful experiments. Key literature on social and cultural capital (Bourdieu), class and “doxa” in recruitment, impostor syndrome and confidence barrier, and asset-based recruitment models is critically reviewed to contextualise the challenges faced by working-class graduates. Methodologically, the project involved a storytelling-based intervention with current students and video-interviews with successful professionals from widening participation (WP) backgrounds. The findings reveal that structured storytelling exercises can significantly boost students’ confidence and narrative competence, helping them articulate diverse skills and “convert” their experiences into forms of capital valued by employers. Interviewees’ career stories highlighted the importance of turning points (such as mentorship, internships and personal resilience) in overcoming class barriers. Discussion of the findings indicates that storytelling is a powerful tool to bridge the cultural gap between WP graduates and the professional workplace, challenging traditional recruitment practices that often favour familiar “elite” narratives. The thesis proposes a practical toolkit for WP students at UK universities, the 1 Hour project. In conclusion, the research demonstrates that empowering students to reframe their personal journeys as strengths can improve their employability and challenge existing recruitment doxa, thereby supporting social mobility. It calls on higher education providers and employers to recognize and harness the rich, untapped narratives of hidden talent as a means to level the playing field in the graduate labour market.