From School to Work: Improving Graduates’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

Lu Xin,Mengyi Li,Wenxia Zhou,Fangcheng Tang

doi:10.3390/su12030804

Abstract

As boundaryless careers become mainstream, individuals need to enhance career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) during career transitions to secure better employment outcomes and sustainable career development, especially when moving from a school to a work environment. Drawing on social cognitive career theory, this study empirically proposed a moderated mediation model to examine whether proactive personality (measured at Time 1), career success criteria clarity (CSCC, measured at Time 2), and family socioeconomic status (including family income, parents’ educational level, and parents’ occupational level; measured at Time 1) would contribute to CDSE (measured at Time 2). Results based on a two-wave survey of 235 college students showed that: (1) proactive personality positively predicted CDSE; (2) CSCC positively predicted CDSE; (3) CSCC partly mediated the relation between proactive personality and CDSE; (4) the positive effect of CSCC on CDSE was stronger among students with a lower family socioeconomic status. Individuals with strong proactive personalities were more likely to develop salience in career success criteria and in turn became more confident in making career decisions. Therefore, vocational educators in higher education could help to improve students’ CDSE by promoting training programs for proactive thinking, providing successful role models, and encouraging family involvement, especially for students with a lower family socioeconomic status.

Highlights

A combination of socioeconomic factors, including an unpredictable business environment, complex labor markets, and rapid rates of career transactions, has spawned the notion of sustainable careers which permit individuals to maintain their desired level of employment and personal pursuits across their lifespan [1,2]
career success criteria clarity (CSCC) was positively related to career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE) (r = 0.48, p < 0.001)
Within five dimensions of family socioeconomic status, only family income had a positive relationship with CDSE (r = 0.17, p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

A combination of socioeconomic factors, including an unpredictable business environment, complex labor markets, and rapid rates of career transactions, has spawned the notion of sustainable careers which permit individuals to maintain their desired level of employment and personal pursuits across their lifespan [1,2]. Making career decisions is significant to sustainable employment outcomes and difficult for employees, especially university graduates [5]. Self-efficacy expectations are among the most important causal factors of career indecision, referring to one’s beliefs concerning his or her capability to successfully complete tasks [7]. Taylor and Betz [8] further developed the concept of career decision-making self-efficacy (CDSE), especially indicating the confidence that one can perform well in a career decision-making process. Previous research has demonstrated that CDSE served as a crucial indicator for personal pursuits and employability factors such as job satisfaction [9,10,11], intrinsic satisfaction [10,12], career choice commitment [13], and career exploration [14], ensuring the development of sustainable careers

Methods

Results

Conclusion