https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490617723116 Business and Professional Communication Quarterly 1–26 © 2017 by the Association for Business Communication Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/2329490617723116 journals.sagepub.com/home/bcq Article Job-Searching Expectations, Expectancy Violations, and Communication Strategies of Recent College Graduates Stephanie A. Smith 1 Abstract Expectancy violations theory, a communicative framework, is applied in this study to understand how recent college graduates form, evaluate, and respond to violated job-searching expectations. In-depth interviews of college seniors (N = 20) who were currently job searching helped answer the three research questions posed. Using a thematic analysis, the findings indicate that young job seekers evaluate some negative information positively because it reduces their uncertainty and that expectations and responses to expectancy violations change over time and are not stagnant, as the theory originally predicted. Other contributions, limitations, and teaching implications are discussed. Keywords career development, job-search communication, organizational communication Expectations play an important role in the job-searching process. Research has indi- cated that recent college graduates have specific career-related expectations such as schedule flexibility, opportunities for rapid advancement, and the need for a meaning- ful work experience (Brack & Kelly, 2012; Deloitte, 2016; Ng, Schweitzer, & Lyons, 2010). Burgoon’s (1978) expectancy violations theory (EVT) of communication explains how people react to expectation violations in communication encounters, making it an ideal fit for examining how recent college graduates communicatively respond to expectancy violations throughout the job search. 1 Virginia Tech, USA Corresponding Author: Stephanie A. Smith, Virginia Tech, 181 Turner Street NW, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Email: stephasmith1@gmail.com 723116BCQ XX X 10.1177/2329490617723116Business and Professional Communication QuarterlySmith research-article 2017