What influences college students’ career information seeking on the internet? A test of the comprehensive model of information seeking

Abstract

ABSTRACTIssues with unemployment, underemployment, and inadequate preparation have raised concerns about what colleges are doing to ready students for post-graduate careers, but little discussion exists regarding students’ roles in the process. Students play active roles in the anticipatory socialization process, so this study examines the factors that influence college students to seek career information from the Internet, using the comprehensive model of information seeking (CMIS) as a framework. Results demonstrated a good fit to the model, with Internet experience exerting the strongest influence on participants’ Internet self-efficacy, perceptions of information source quality, and, in turn, perceptions of information source usefulness and information seeking intentions. However, several proposed paths were not significant, suggesting the need for replication studies and further research. Results provide theoretical support for the CMIS as a viable framework beyond health information seeking and identify multiple practical applications and opportunities for future research on career information seeking.