School-to-work transition: Mentor career support and student career planning, job search intentions, and self-defeating job search behavior

Strengthening the meaning in life among college students: the role of self-acceptance and social support - evidence from a network analysis

Meaning in life, which has two possible sources: self-acceptance and social support, is essential to the mental health and development of college students. The current study aims to further clarify the symptom-level relations between meaning in life, self-acceptance, and social support, finding possible ways to improve meaning in the life of college students. Thousand three hundred and forty-eight Chinese college students completed the online questionnaire, including Self-acceptance Questionnaire, Social Support Rating Scale, and Meaning in Life Questionnaire and the data from 1,263 participants was used. Cross-sectional network analysis was used to examine the relation between self-acceptance and social support. We also explored the relation between dimensions of self-acceptance and social support and meaning in life using the flow network. The results show symptom "SlA" (self-acceptance) is the bridge symptom linking self-acceptance and social support. In the flow diagrams, "SlA" is directly and positively associated with the presence of meaning. Objective Support shares the strongest positive association with the search for meaning. The symptom "SIA" may be an important targeting symptom when trying to improve the meaning in life of college students. Additionally, social support is essential for college students to develop meaning in life.

Pathways from school to work: A sequence analysis of non-engaged youth

INTRODUCTION

Research on heterogeneous pathways in school-to-work transitions (SWT), particularly longitudinal research, has been limited, as have empirical studies examining effective interventions for facilitating multiple SWT pathways among non-engaged youth (NEY), who are generally at risk of being not in education, employment, or training (NEET).

METHODS

To develop a typology of SWT pathways, we conducted sequence analysis with longitudinal data from a sample of 630 NEY aged 14-29 (M = 19.78; 63.65% males) in Hong Kong during a 22-month period beginning in September 2020. We also performed multinomial logistic regressions to assess the impact of career and life development (CLD) interventions on SWT outcomes.

RESULTS

Our analysis yielded a fivefold typology of SWT pathways: the Employment/Entrepreneurship cluster (31.27%), the Vocational Education and Training cluster (13.49%), the Generic Education cluster (16.83%), the Serious Leisure Development cluster (15.24%), and the long-term NEET cluster (23.17%). NEY in the intervention group receiving CLD services, inspired by the expanded notion of work (ENOW) and youth development and intervention framework (YDIF), demonstrated significantly higher likelihoods of being in the Employment/Entrepreneurship (OR = 34.5, 95% CI [10.53, 105.08]), Generic Education (OR = 3.74, 95% CI [1.81, 7.74]), Vocational Education and Training (OR = 1.55, 95% CI [1.05, 6.26]), and Serious Leisure Development (OR = 1.77, 95% CI [1.04, 4.46]) clusters than the long-term NEET cluster.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the dynamic, heterogeneous nature of NEY's CLD journeys, including that CLD interventions based on ENOW-YDIF have had a beneficial effect on NEY's multiple SWT pathways.

Measuring mentoring in employability-oriented higher education programs: scale development and validation

To keep up with technological advances and macro-economic trends, higher education has increasingly focused on developing students' employability competences through mentoring programs. However, measuring the effectiveness of such mentoring programs has remained difficult, because many mentoring measurements are not validated or grounded in theory. Furthermore, existing questionnaires have mostly focused on one or two types of support, ignoring the wide variety of support types offered by a mentor. Therefore, the current study's aim was to develop and validate a new questionnaire measuring various types of mentoring support. Based on a systematic literature review, a 35-item questionnaire was developed and data were collected from mentoring programs at four higher education institutions. Data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (n = 225), confirmatory factor analysis (n = 208), and cross-validation (n = 101). The results support a 6-factor model (21 items) that is statistically valid and reliable for use in universities (of applied sciences). The model includes the following factors, referring to types of support and their features: trust and availability, emotional support, networking support, autonomy support, similarity, and empathy. This questionnaire makes an original contribution insofar as (1) it is based on a sound, theoretical framework, and (2) it was demonstrated to be valid and reliable across different sub-populations in higher education. The questionnaire provides educational practitioners with a sound and valid tool to evaluate the quality of their mentoring program. It can also be used to assess what types of support could be offered to a greater extent.

The bidirectional associations of rumination with values-based action and depression among young adults in the school-to-work transition

BACKGROUND

School-to-work transition is crucial for young adults, requiring them to maintain their values-based action, even though this task is likely to cause rumination associated with depression. In the HExAGoN model, individuals with rumination tend to engage in abstract-analytic thought (AAT) but not in concrete-experiential thought (CET). Although this inflexible style of thought is assumed to decrease values-based action and increase depression, no empirical research has examined these relationships in young adults during their transition period. Therefore, this study examined the bidirectional relationships between AAT, CET, depression, and values-based action in young adults.

METHODS

A one-year five-wave longitudinal survey was conducted on 756 third-year university students who engaged in job searches in Japan. Cross-lagged panel model and random-intercept cross-lagged panel model were used to estimate the bidirectional relationships at the between-person and within-person levels, respectively.

RESULTS

AAT and CET had bidirectional associations with depression and values-based action at the between-person level. Furthermore, CET decreased depression and marginally improved values-based action at the within-person level.

LIMITATIONS

The study comprised only university students in Japan and had a high attrition rate.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that CET can reduce depression and improve values-based action in young adults undergoing the transition. It may also expand the understanding of the treatment and prevention of depression in young adults.

It takes more than agency: Linking support from teaching staff, career engagement, and movement capital among university students

Introduction

Career self-management behaviours are key to overcoming the challenges of entry into the labour market. Combining the Conservation of Resources and Career Self-management theories, this study delves into the concept of Career Engagement among Italian University students by examining its relationship with Support from teaching Staff and Movement Capital. We hypothesised a mediation model in which Support from Teaching Staff predicts Career Engagement which, in turn, fosters Movement Capital. As the pandemic led to the adoption of online learning solutions, we also explored whether and how the interaction between teachers and students during online classes moderates the said mediation relationship.

Methods and results

We collected data from 276 Italian University students through an online questionnaire. Results supported the mediation hypothesis, corroborating the mediating role of Career Engagement. We also observed that this relationship is stronger at medium and higher levels of online interaction between teachers and students.

Discussion

Findings contribute to existing evidence about the role of Career Engagement in facilitating career resources' acquisition and extend the understanding of its contextual antecedents in Higher Education contexts. Results also align with the importance attributed to interaction in online learning environments. This work suggests ways to encourage career behaviours in Higher Education and equip prospective labour market entrants with career resources.

Do I decide my career? Linking career stress, career exploration, and future work self to career planning or indecision

Career planning and career decision are important tasks for college students. The process may be affected by career stress, career exploration, and future work self, with some students facing career indecision. Combining both construction career and proactive motivation model, this study investigated the relationships between career stress, career exploration, future work self, career planning and career indecision among 1,012 Chinese college students using the Structure equation model (SEM) to test the proposed mediation model. Results show that career stress negatively predicts career planning, while career exploration positively predicts career planning. The mediating role of future work self has on career stress and career exploration's effects on both career planning and career indecision was verified. Moreover, the study also found future work self's positive effects on both career planning and career indecision in Chinese college students. Finally, the study's theoretical and practical significance and implications are discussed.

A Multi-Group Study of Psychological Capital and Job Search Behaviours Among University Graduates With and Without Work Placement Learning Experience

We build upon the social cognitive career theory model of career self-management (SCCT-CSM) to test the effects of psychological capital constructs (hope, self-efficacy, optimism and resilience) on preparatory and active job search behaviours, mediated by job search goals in a multi-group study of university graduates who undertook work placement learning before graduation and those who did not. Using a two-wave data from 473 university fresh graduates in the one-year national youth service corps ( N = 209 who undertook work placement learning before graduation) and ( N = 264 who did not undertake work placement learning) in Nigeria, we test an SCCT-CSM-driven model employing structural equation modelling for the multi-group study. The findings revealed positive effects of self-efficacy and optimism on the preparatory and active job search behaviours across both samples but higher effects in the graduates who undertook work placement learning before graduation. Job search goals mediated the effects of self-efficacy and optimism on their preparatory and active job search behaviours in both samples. The serial mediation results show that self-efficacy and optimism indirectly affect the active job search behaviours via job search goals and preparatory job search behaviours. The implications of these results are discussed.

Maintaining job crafting over time: joint effect of autonomy and career support from family and friends

Purpose

The study focuses on intraindividual trajectory of job crafting change over time. Integrating the self-regulation and demands-resources perspectives, this study examines how career support from family and friends interacts with job autonomy to influence the change pattern of job crafting.

Design/methodology/approach

Four waves of self-report survey data were collected in a semester from 324 university professors and instructors in China. Latent growth curve modeling was used to examine intraindividual change of job crafting and conducted latent interaction analysis to test the joint effect of autonomy and career support from family and friends on job crafting change.

Findings

There was a general declining trend in job crafting over the course of a semester. Career support from family and friends moderated the association between job autonomy and job crafting maintenance. Specifically, when career support was low, job autonomy was negatively associated with job crafting maintenance.

Research limitations/implications

The study showed that job crafting maintenance over time is distinct from the typical between-person conceptualization. Further, job crafting maintenance was predicted from a self-regulatory perspective. However, the unique context of college faculty from China may limit generalization of the findings.

Practical implications

Managers should recognize the challenges in maintaining job crafting over time. In addition to providing autonomy at work, organizations may benefit from establishing channels for employees to receive career support from non-work domains.

Originality/value

The authors adopt a self-regulation perspective to understand intraindividual change in job crafting over time and situate the current investigation in the cyclical nature of university faculty’s job.

Work and School Pathways Into the Transition to Adulthood: Adolescent Family, Individual, and Industry Precursors

Many young adults in countries with advanced economies make linear career transitions from school to work. However, there is a great variability in youth's postsecondary education and early work experiences and more work is needed to identify the career trajectories of modern youth. Using longitudinal data on 1747 young adults from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1997, the current study identifies work and school pathways commonly seen in the transition to adulthood and investigates multiple levels of adolescent precursors. Using latent class analysis, we identified four work and school pathways centered on educational attainment. Whereas parental education and future educational expectations in adolescence significantly shaped the career pathways, local labor market conditions played a limited role in predicting these pathways.

Career Planning and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Students’ Career-Related Worry: Direct and Mediated Pathways

The current study seeks to shed light on social-cognitive resources that mitigate master students’ experience of dysfunctional career-related worry before graduation. Based on the career self-management model (CSM; Lent & Brown, 2013 ), we investigate concurrent and time-lagged direct and mediated relationships between career planning, career-related self-efficacy, and career-related worry among a sample of 482 students shortly before graduation. Using data collected at three time points, a negative relationship was found between career planning (T1) and career-related worry (T3) via career-related self-efficacy (T2). Our findings shed light on the role of career planning and career-related self-efficacy as malleable social-cognitive resources that diminish dysfunctional thinking before graduation in sequential order. These findings imply that career planning and career-related self-efficacy are relevant predictors of affective states and can be incorporated into the CSM.

Moving Toward Decent Work: Application of the Psychology of Working Theory to the School-to-Work Transition

This conceptual contribution aims to adapt and apply Psychology of Working Theory to the specificities of the school-to-work transition (STWT) process. The STWT is thus conceptualized as a first attempt to access decent work under the influence of specific predictors, mediators, and moderators and leading to particular outcomes. Based on recent literature, we consider that (1) socioeconomic constraints and belonging to marginalized groups are contextual predictors of a successful transition; (2) psychosocial resources, including self-efficacy and adaptability, and vocational and work role identity, are mediators of the relation between contextual factors and a successful transition; (3) moderator factors include the education system, labor market conditions, social support, and critical consciousness; and (4) decent and meaningful work are the optimal outcomes of the STWT process.

The Structural Relationship among Career-Related Mentoring, Ambiguity Tolerance, and Job Search Effort and Behavior of Korean College Students

Although a substantial body of mentoring research has been conducted on students attending four-year colleges, the interplay of career-related mentoring, ambiguity tolerance, and job search effort and behavior has not been seriously investigated. Therefore, we examined the relationship between career-related mentoring and ambiguity tolerance, as well as job search effort and behavior, for the purpose of understanding how to better assist undergraduate college students achieve preliminary job search success. Data were collected via pencil surveys administered to 300 undergraduate students selected by purposive sampling from four colleges in Seoul, Korea. Correlation analysis and covariance structure analysis were conducted to examine the relationships between variables. A Sobel test was also conducted to check the mediation effect of the model. Results were consistent with our hypotheses and showed that there was a significant, indirect, positive effect of career-related mentoring on job search effort and behavior, mediated through ambiguity tolerance. Our study contributes to career-related mentoring and job search research by providing empirical evidence supporting the results. It has implications for universities, mentoring program design, and career guidance professionals.

I See My Future!: Linking Mentoring, Future Work Selves, Achievement Orientation to Job Search Behaviors

Mentoring is related to young adults’ career planning. The present study attempts to examine whether the perception of future work selves could be a critical mediating mechanism underlying the relationship between the reception of mentoring functions and job search behaviors. Moreover, we also investigated the moderating role of achievement orientation on this relationship. We tested our hypotheses with a time-lagged research design. Results indicated that psychosocial mentoring was related to future work selves, and future work selves were associated with job search behaviors. Future work selves mediated the relationship between psychosocial mentoring and job search behaviors. Moreover, achievement orientation moderated the direct and indirect effects of psychosocial function on job search behaviors. Specifically, the aforementioned relationships were stronger when achievement orientation was high compared to when achievement orientation was low. Important theoretical and practical implications for mentoring and career research are discussed in the current study.

Male student nurses need more support: Understanding the determinants and consequences of career adaptability in nursing college students

BACKGROUND

To better understand nursing students' high attrition rates, especially for male student nurses, it is important to understand their academic satisfaction and compare it based on gender.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationships between proactive personality, core self- evaluations, types of support (emotional/instrumental/informational support), career adaptability, and academic satisfaction in nursing college students using the career construction theory.

DESIGN

This study uses a cross-sectional design.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

1062 students recruited from one health vocational college in northwest China completed questionnaires measuring proactive personality, core self-evaluations, emotional/instrumental/informational support, career adaptability, and academic satisfaction. Data was analyzed by structural equation modeling, and mediation and moderation analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Proactive personality (Beta = 0.24, p < 0.001), core self-evaluations (Beta = 0.31, p < 0.001) and informational support (Beta = 0.21, p < 0.001) were positively correlated with career adaptability, and career adaptability was positively (Beta = 0.43, p < 0.001) associated with academic satisfaction. Career adaptability mediates the relationships between proactive personality, core self-evaluations, informational support and academic satisfaction. For male student nurses, emotional support (Beta = 0.31, p < 0.01) has a positive association with career adaptability.

CONCLUSIONS

In nursing students, personal features (e.g., proactive personality, core self-evaluations) and supporting materials (e.g., informational support) have a positive association with career adaptability, and career adaptability has a mediating role in the relationships. Male student nurses need extra emotional support to promote their academic satisfaction. Targeted interventions may improve nursing college students' academic satisfaction.

An Application of the Social Cognitive Career Theory Model of Career Self-Management to College Athletes' Career Planning for Life After Sport

Drawing on Lent and Brown (2013) recently developed Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) model of Career Self-Management (CSM), we aimed to determine the key predictors and underlying theoretical mechanisms of college athletes' career planning processes for life after sport. Ten variables were operationalized (i.e., career planning for life after sport, career decision self-efficacy, career goals, perceived career planning support from coaches, perceived career planning barriers, conscientiousness, openness, extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness) to assess the hypothesized CSM model. A survey design was utilized on a sample of 538 NCAA Division I college athletes in the United States to test the model. The measurement and hypothesized models were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for all measures. Several significant direct, indirect, and moderating relationships of the cognitive, contextual, and personality variables on career planning were observed. The CSM model was found to be a useful theoretical framework that explained 62.7% of the variance on career planning. The model, along with the validated measures that support it, can help both researchers and practitioners to leverage facilitating (i.e., self-efficacy, career goals, conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion) and impeding (i.e., career barriers) factors of the career planning processes in their work.

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

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.

Early career values and individual factors of objective career success

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the early career values and individual factors of objective career success among graduates from a top-tier French business school.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a quantitative analysis of 629 graduates classified in three job markets according to income: the traditional business market, the alternative market and the high-potential business market. The graduation dates span a period of 12 years before the 2008 Recession.

Findings

The findings suggest that membership of each job market is associated with distinct early career values (when choosing/leaving the first job). Moreover, the authors confirm that the presence of a mentor, international experience, job-hopping and gender, all affect objective career success.

Practical implications

The paper discusses implications for business career development and higher business education.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in the identification of the individual factors of objective career success among French business graduates and the links between objective career success and early career values.

Mentoring and Job Search Behaviors: A Moderated Mediation Model of Job Search Self-Efficacy

Limited research exists around how to effectively enhance the job search behaviors and self-efficacy of job seekers during the job search process. In the current study, we investigated whether mentoring functions (i.e., career and psychosocial functions) are related to job search behaviors through job search self-efficacy. Moreover, we tested the interactive effects of career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring on job search self-efficacy and job search behaviors. Two-wave panel data were collected from 164 college students in China to test our hypotheses. The results indicated that psychosocial mentoring was related to job search behaviors both directly and indirectly through job search self-efficacy. In addition, our results revealed that the interactive effects of career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring on job search self-efficacy and on job search behaviors through job search self-efficacy were stronger when career and psychosocial mentoring were high. The implications of the study’s findings and directions for future research are offered.

Fostering Academic Major Satisfaction, Career Curiosity, and Job Search Behaviors Among Electrical/Electronic Technology Education Undergraduates

This study investigates the effect of practical skills-based career training intervention in electrical/electronic works on graduating students’ academic major satisfaction, career curiosity, and self-defeating job search behaviors (SDJSBs). We employed the quasi-experimental design, with a three-wave longitudinal survey. The participants were 101 electrical/electronic technology education undergraduates from two publicly owned universities in Nigeria. Our intervention procedures were guided by the tenets of social cognitive career theory and the theory of planned behavior. The findings revealed significant positive increase in the students’ satisfaction with their academic major, and career curiosity, as well as significant decrease in SDJSBs (viz., procrastination, impulsiveness, and failure to network). We also found mediating effects of learning self-efficacy and perseverance of effort on academic major satisfaction, career curiosity, and SDJSBs.

Interactive Support Effects on Career Agency and Occupational Engagement Among Young Adults

The PIC model by Gati and Asher describes three career decision making stages: pre-screening, in-depth exploration, and choice of career options. We consider the role that three different forms of support (general career support by parents, emotional/instrumental support, and informational support) may play for young adults in each of these three decision-making stages. The authors further propose that different forms of support may predict career agency and occupational engagement, which are important career decision precedents. In addition, we consider the role of personality traits and perceptions (decision-making window) on these two outcomes. Using an online survey sample ( N = 281), we found that general career support was important for career agency and occupational engagement. However, it was the combination of higher general career support with either emotional/instrumental support or informational support that was found to lead to both greater career agency and higher occupational engagement. Personality also played a role: Greater proactivity also led to greater occupational engagement, even when there was little urgency for participants to make decisions (window of decision-making was wide open and not restricted). In practical terms, the findings suggest that the learning required in each of the three PIC processes (pre-screening, in-depth exploration, choice of career options) may benefit when the learner has access to the three support measures.