Purpose
Virtually all contemporary scientific papers studying careers emphasize its changing nature. Indeed, careers have been changing during recent decades, for example becoming more complex and ...unpredictable. Furthermore, hallmarks of the new career – such as individual agency – are clearly increasing in importance in today’s labor market. This led the authors to ask the question of whether these changes are actually visible in the topics that career scholars research. In other words, the purpose of this paper is to discover the trending topics in careers.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this goal, the authors analyzed all published papers from four core career journals (i.e. Career Development International, Career Development Quarterly, Journal of Career Assessment, and Journal of Career Development) between 2012 and 2016. Using a five-step procedure involving three researchers, the authors formulated the 16 most trending topics.
Findings
Some traditional career topics are still quite popular today (e.g. career success as the #1 trending topic), whereas other topics have emerged during recent years (e.g. employability as the #3 trending topic). In addition, some topics that are closely related to career research – such as unemployment and job search – surprisingly turned out not to be a trending topic.
Originality/value
In reviewing all published papers in CDI, CDQ, JCA, and JCD between 2012 and 2016, the authors provide a unique overview of currently trending topics, and the authors compare this to the overall discourse on careers. In addition, the authors formulate key questions for future research.
Purpose: This study explores how career training with mentoring (CTM) programs work in Nigerian higher education (HE) institutions to foster students' career development and employability of ...graduates. It also explores how Nigerian HE curriculum can be adequately used to facilitate CTM as well as possible constraints to effective implementation of CTM programs in Nigerian HE institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on interviews with well-qualified and experienced experts from six Nigerian public universities (each from the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria), and 20 industries also within the same 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria that were selected for this study using a purposeful sampling technique. The study interviewed 33 experts comprising 21 senior academics at Nigerian universities and 12 industry executives to reveal substantial information about CTM programs in Nigerian HE institutions. Findings: Drawing on the three key themes that emerged during the thematic analysis and linked to social cognitive career theory, it is clear that participants are convinced that CTM can enhance clarity about students' career ambitions, career interests, personal development plans and employability. Findings show that there are some career-related programs or activities that Nigerian HE students are presented with, but the programs have not been effective as to offer graduates quality career guidance and employability skills that employers demand. Acknowledging these, participants recommend establishing CTM centres in all Nigerian HE institutions to provide students with the opportunity to receive quality career advice, coaching and mentoring services while schooling. Practical implications: The findings of this study shed light on varying resources required to cope with the demands of labour market in terms of supply of competent workforce that can contribute to Nigeria's economic growth and development. The findings are highly relevant for Nigeria and other developing countries' policy and research initiatives that aim to promote social inclusion and equity and improve better working conditions for all. The findings also have implications for career development and employability of HE graduates in developing world context. Originality/value: Understanding the role that CTM programs can play in facilitating career development and graduate employability can arguably be of importance within the developing world context. This study, therefore, provides significant suggestions on how to build sustained HEIs and labour market partnership to foster career development and employability of HE graduates through establishing CTM centres in every Nigerian HE institutions.
The accelerating digitization and automation of work, known as the 4th industrial revolution, will have an enormous impact on individuals’ career experiences. Yet, the academic literature in ...vocational psychology and career research has been remarkably silent on this trend so far. This article summarizes some of the most important issues of the 4th industrial revolution as they pertain to career development. The author then critically reviews how current models and frameworks of career development are suitable for addressing these emerging issues. Opportunities for future career development research and practice are outlined.
Combining a strong theoretical underpinning with a wide range of case studies and practical examples, this authoritative textbook provides a deep understanding of career systems, on both an ...individual and an organizational level.Taking a global approach,Managing Careers and Employabilitylooks at recent labour market developments and explores contemporary topics such as entrepreneurial careers, career ecosystems and the dark side of careers. A wide range of learning features including reflective questions, key terms and exercises, empower you to reflect on and manage your own career.Online resources include a Tutor's Guide, containing teaching notes for each chapter, as well as PowerPoint slides that can be adapted and edited to suit specific teaching needs.Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying career management and related courses.Yehuda Baruchis Professor of Management at Southampton Business School, the University of Southampton.
Using the career adaptability framework of Savickas and Porfeli (2012), we examined the relationship of career adaptability to interest and competence flexibility and career decision‐making ...difficulties. Participants were 535 male and 795 female Chinese senior secondary students in Hong Kong. Findings from hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that competence flexibility was associated with fewer career decision‐making difficulties and higher levels of career adaptability. Conversely, interest flexibility was associated with more decision‐making difficulties and lower levels of career adaptability. Path analyses revealed that career adaptability partially mediated the relationship of competence and interest flexibility with decision‐making difficulties. The mediating effects were significant for lack of information and inconsistent information (Gati et al., 1996), but not for readiness. Overall, findings supported the career adaptability framework. Research and practice implications are discussed, especially in relation to the career development needs of students in Chinese communities.
We tested the social-cognitive model of career self-management (Lent & Brown, 2013) using a longitudinal design. Participants were 420 college students who completed measures of career exploration ...and decision-making self-efficacy, outcome expectations, social support, goals, and actions, along with trait conscientiousness, at 2 time points roughly 4 months apart, near the beginning and middle of an academic year. They also reported their level of career decidedness and decisional anxiety at both of these time points as well as near the end of the academic year (about 3 months after the 2nd assessment). The model provided good overall fit to the data and accounted for substantial portions of the variance in engagement in exploratory actions and in the 2 decisional outcomes (decidedness and decisional anxiety) over time. The findings also supported the hypothesized bidirectional paths of the decisional outcomes to self-efficacy and outcome expectations. We consider implications of the findings for the social-cognitive model as well as for future research and practice.
Public Significance Statement
We tested a theoretical model of career decision-making in college students. The findings suggest that particular elements of the model, such as confidence in career decision-making skills, predict favorable change in students' decisional status and anxiety over time.
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The beginning years of the 21st century have witnessed the confluence of a host of environmental factors that have dramatically altered employment relationships and upended long‐standing approaches ...to career management for workers in the United States and around the world. The authors critically examine these environmental changes, focusing on the implications for career choice and decision making. On the basis of these findings, they address how individuals, working with career counselors and professionals, can enhance their contemporary careers in response to the challenges and uncertainties brought on by rapid environmental change.
This paper focusses on how careers advice provided to Australian secondary school students varies according to students' socio-economic background. National data for students in Years 11 and 12 from ...five cohorts of the Longitudinal
Surveys of Australian Youth initiated between 1998 and 2015 are analysed. Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds are found to be more likely to access multiple forms of careers information, particularly information relating to
university entrance, compared to students from low-SES backgrounds. Conversely, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to receive information on pathways to non-professional vocations. This socioeconomic divide
has become more pronounced over time. Importantly, access to nonprofessional careers information appears to have declined over time, while there is evidence to suggest this form of advice is more highly valued by students of low-
socioeconomic background relative to those of high-socioeconomic background. Author abstract
The current study sought to examine the factor structure of a recently developed measure of primary learning experiences that, according to the social cognitive model of career self-management (CSM; ...Lent & Brown, 2013), inform self-efficacy and outcome expectations within the process of career exploration and decision-making. The measure was also used to test hypotheses derived from the CSM model. Participants were 450 college students who completed domain-specific measures of the learning experiences, social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goals, level of career decidedness, and three personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism). Results largely confirmed the hypothesized factor structure of the learning experiences measure and suggested that, consistent with theory, these experiences help to mediate relations of personality and social support to self-efficacy and outcome expectations as well as to goals and career decidedness. Implications for the CSM model, and for further research and practice, are discussed.
•Assessed new verbal persuasion items in a measure of career learning experiences•Confirmed the factor structure of the learning experiences measure•Used the measure in a test of the social cognitive model of career self-management•Included personality traits and contextual factors in the model test•The self-management model fit the data well, with some modifications.
The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of factors contributing to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning and career orientation, examining the complex ...paths and relationships among social, motivational, and instructional factors underlying these outcomes for middle school youth. Social cognitive career theory provided the foundation for the research because of its emphasis on explaining mechanisms which influence both career orientations and academic performance. Key constructs investigated were youth STEM interest, self-efficacy, and career outcome expectancy (consequences of particular actions). The study also investigated the effects of prior knowledge, use of problem-solving learning strategies, and the support and influence of informal educators, family members, and peers. A structural equation model was developed, and structural equation modeling procedures were used to test proposed relationships between these constructs. Results showed that educators, peers, and family-influenced youth STEM interest, which in turn predicted their STEM self-efficacy and career outcome expectancy. STEM career orientation was fostered by youth-expected outcomes for such careers. Results suggest that students' pathways to STEM careers and learning can be largely explained by these constructs, and underscore the importance of youth STEM interest.
