Factors related to a college student's career optimism and their perception of career services

A student's expectation for a positive outcome for their future career development is referred to as career optimism. Career Services, a common university department, utilizes the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to understand how students form career interests and make educational and vocational choices. Then Career Services can assist students in finding a career that matches their interests. We hypothesize that students' perception of the assistance provided by the Career Services department when the SCCT is applied, impacts the student's career optimism. In addition, we hypothesize, and results support, that different factors, such as a student's chosen major, impact student perception of Career Services and career optimism.     

Hanging tough: post-PhD researchers dealing with career uncertainty

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of career uncertainty on post-PhD researchers’ experiences. Drawing on an identity-trajectory approach and a qualitative design, we analysed experiences of post-PhDs from the UK and Switzerland. Our findings show that in the course of their work experiences, career uncertainty takes two different forms: intellectual uncertainty and occupational uncertainty. On a daily basis, both forms strongly impact the participants’ work and personal lives and can limit their ability to plan for the future, restrict their developing research expertise and networks and induce tension in trying to reconcile work and personal lives. While often struggling with a blurred institutional status, participants ‘hang tough’ despite their uncertain situation, notably by clinging to the academic researcher identity. Contributing to the previous work on the increasing casualisation of post-PhD positions and the resulting challenges, our study offers new insights into how different aspects of career uncertainty influence post-PhDs’ work and identity.     

试论个性化的就业指导

本文通过对职业指导“特性-因素”理论的借鉴与解读,结合实践阐述大学生就业指导应该：充分尊重学生个性,为其独特的职业发展需求提供帮助;启发学生认识自身潜能,根据自己的人生指标进行职业设计：鼓励学生热情追求职业理想,启发他们培养实现职业理想的理性思考和实力,在职业的选择与发展中成为自我认知、自我实现及自觉有用的人。     

An international discussion about cross-cultural career assessment

Career assessments are a common resource used by career practitioners internationally to help inform individuals’ career decision-making. Research on the topic of cross-cultural career assessment has been mostly limited to the applicability of an established inventory to a different culture. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the existing research on cross-cultural assessment, and to indicate a need for collaboration among career development associations with respect to the value and use of career assessments, using current ethical standards as a springboard for determining common ground and perhaps a joint statement about the value of career assessments.     

Game-based career learning support for youth: effects of playing the Youth@Work game on career adaptability

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions that youth has to take but many young people find this a hard issue to engage with. Current career counselling practice does not appear very compelling or motivating to young people. Professional games could provide a more engaging and motivating way of acquiring professional awareness and competence for career decision making and learning. We present the design and effects of playing a game that aims to increase career awareness and adaptabilities in youth (13–19 years). In a Randomized Controlled Trial, 93 high school students from Iceland and Romania were asked to carry out career-oriented activities, with half playing an interactive game and the other half performing a paper-and-pencil version of the same activities. The students were compared on career adaptability, career learning and career awareness scores before and after these interventions. Main results show that engaging players in these career-oriented activities has short term effects on outcome scores for career adaptabilities and for perceptions of career learning competences. Students who played the game report significantly faster growth on career adaptabilities that deal with “concern”, “control” and “confidence”. It can therefore be concluded that introducing game-based learning in career decision support for youth is a promising endeavour.     

A typology of career barriers

While most studies have focused primarily on the correlates of career barriers, research examining specific career barrier typology experienced among college students remains limited. Employing cluster analysis, this study explored the career barrier typology of 318 college students using the Korean college students’ Career Barrier Inventory (KCBI). The variables used in this study included ‘personality’ (hardiness, trait anxiety, locus of control, resilience, and optimism) and ‘career maturity attitude’. Two major conclusions were drawn. Firstly, cluster analysis of the KCBI identified four groups of participants; (a) a salient external career barrier group, (b) a well adjusted group, (c) a salient internal career barrier group, and (d) the worst career barrier group. Secondly, the results suggest discrepant differences of personality variables and career attitude maturity among the clustered groups. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.     

Creating a distinctive business career outcome programme

This article describes how a small private business school, accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, reengineered its career services programme to become a premier programme in the United States. Drawing on theory of involvement, the research gives business schools a strategy to improve business career placement through capital support, student engagement, corporate engagement, alumni engagement, faculty engagement and continuous improvement initiatives. Further, two major outcome categories (i.e. supportive outcomes and end outcomes) are identified and various measures are discussed. Supportive outcomes indicate growth in the number of on-campus business recruiting career events, high internship evaluations by internship supervisors and significant increase in students’ satisfaction with career services. End outcomes provide strong evidence for placement rate success with a 98% career placement rate for the past four years, significant increase on mean starting salaries of graduates across the years following the implementation of the strategic changes, improved quality of positions attained by graduates, and professional success of alumni in their positions. The impact of strategic changes on school ranking, enrolment and donor support are also discussed. The research proposes a model of student career success and identifies various elements influencing the success of such programmes.     

浅论职业指导与推动高质量就业的关系

职业指导是推动实现高质量就业的重要手段.随着职业指导内涵的不断演变,高校职业指导的不可替代性日趋凸显,主要体现在：职业指导对大学生就业观、职业认知的指导作用;对人才培养过程的影响作用;对大学生职业定位的指导作用等.为了充分发挥职业指导在高校更高质量就业工作中的重要作用,高校应注重专兼职相结合的职业指导队伍建设,将职业指导纳入大学人才培养的全过程,将专门化的职业指导活动与日常职业指导有机结合,同时不断加强机制建设.     

Experienced teachers dealing with issues in education: a career perspective

This article reports on a qualitative study on the issues experienced teachers may encounter in everyday teaching practice. Some issues may possibly originate at the beginning of a career and continue to be a struggle during their career. Data were collected among 20 mid- and late career teachers from eight secondary schools. The results showed that at the current moment in their career, respondents of this study particularly recognised three issues: teacher–parent interaction, teaching versus other tasks and private life versus work. Teachers seldom talk about their issues, but more often than not they try to find a solution themselves or put up with the situation.     

论学校职业指导的错位与纠正

时至今日,学校、政府、社会成为承担职业指导工作的主要三方,面对不同的服务对象,他们的任务各有侧重。但是学校职业指导并没有充分发挥它的优势和作用。笔者结合毕业生就业问题的深层原因,提出学校职业指导应定位于学生职业观、主体意识和择业能力的培养。     

职业观三元理论探析

职业观三元理论即职业观的情景亚理论、职业观的经验亚理论和职业观的成分亚理论。探析职业观三元理论的目的是试图详细说明人类职业应该如何定位，并说明在这些不同的世界中是如何运作并产生职业选择行为的。     

Career counseling centers in higher education: A study of cross-cultural applications from the United States to Korea

Interest in career development and career counseling is growing in Korea. Nevertheless, neither the research nor the literature adequately address the question as to what applications can be cross-culturally transferred from career counseling centers in the United States to Korea. This study qualitatively examines the practice of career counseling in seven university career counseling centers in the United States in a search for concepts and methods that may be cross-culturally applied to Korean universities. Nine categories of data emerged in our qualitative analysis of information gathered: (a) types of systems; (b) staff; (c) services provided; (d) career assessments; (e) alumni networks; (f) workshops and outreach; (g) publicity; (h) information technology; and (i) facilities. Applications and ideas for the Korean context, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

大学生职业生涯阻碍因素之比较研究

采用开放式问卷对118名大学生进行调查,结果显示:(1)大学生职业生涯阻碍存在着显著的性别差异。男生更注意来自个人内在主观方面的阻碍,女生所知觉到的阻碍则更多的来自于外在,尤其是社会人际因素对女生造成的心理负担比男生更大。(2)与国外大学生相比,我国大学生十分重视人际关系、家庭经济和自信心水平对自身职业生涯发展的影响。     

不确定性与职业指导的现实因应

不确定性既是当代人类社会生活的本真状态,也是当代大学生的一种认知体验。不确定性既影响着职业指导研究,同时也对职业指导实践提出了挑战。高职院校职业指导只有不断变革与发展,才能有效应对各种不确定性的影响,帮助职校学生妥善处理好人与职业的关系。     

大学生择业的社会生态模型:环境的力量

西方职业学家从个人利益最大化的角度提出了以兴趣和能力、就业机会为核心的特质论和决策模型,以及以供需关系、社会声望为主导的经济学、社会学模型,然而这些建立在西方社会经济背景之上的模型很难解释当今大学生的择业行为,如择业常常牺牲专业、欠发达地区人才需求强劲但无人问津、民营企业缺乏吸引力等。为此,本论文结合我国区域社会经济发展极不平衡的实际,以及市场经济条件下大学生需求的特点,突出择业过程中嵌套职业岗位的组织和地区环境的社会生态对个人的价值回报,提出并论证了大学生择业的社会生态模型。     

2002年河北师范大学毕业生生涯规划的调查研究

采用分层整体取样,应用高校毕业生生涯规划调查问卷,调查了河北师范大学2002年300名毕业生,应用SPSS10.0软件对数据进行了分析研究。调查显示只有45．6％的学生认为所学专业是个人兴趣,73.1％的学生已经确定职业方向,87％的人将“待遇好”作为首要的择业标准,85．9％的人很少或从来没有接受过学校关于生涯规划的辅导。     

高校图书馆员职业生涯管理的瓶颈及对策

当今高校图书馆员职业生涯中存在着诸如＂围城现象＂、＂职业高原现象＂、＂职业倦怠现象＂等诸多问题,而职业生涯管理是组织和个人解决职业生涯问题的最有效途径。通过对高校图书馆员职业生涯管理发展的瓶颈进行客观系统的分析,可以找出解决这些问题的对策,从而实现高校图书馆和馆员的和谐发展,有助于高校图书馆组织目标和馆员个人职业生涯目标的实现。     

2001年华东师范大学毕业生就业状况的调查分析

为了解毕业生就业现状，增强职业指导的针对性，本对华东师范大学2001年毕业生的就业状况进行了调查，调查内容涉及毕业生的就业过程、就业意向、就业指导、学校教育等，并对调查结果进行了研究分析，以期对高校职业指导工作有所启发。     

Gendered transitions,career identities and possible selves: the case of engineering graduates

This article, drawing upon the Paired Peers project, a longitudinal qualitative study (n = 90), examines how seven UK engineering graduates, four women and three men, construct their career identities during the transitionary period from university to work. It explores how gender and the occupational cultures that reside within the sector, and the wider sociocultural context, affect women’s careers identities, choices and trajectories. The longitudinal design, characteristics of the cohort and the theoretical framework of possible selves contribute to the originality of this empirical research. In this paper, we show how female graduates gradually adapted their occupational aspirations and career identities to fit with socio-cultural expectations and how they struggled to construct viable ‘engineering’ selves in the vital career identity development phase of their first years of employment when most female STEM graduates change careers.