Search

Networking helps people explore careers and find jobs. To date, the scientific literature has described few evidence‐based techniques for boosting networking self‐efficacy in university students. Here, two studies assessed the effectiveness of informational interviewing as a theory‐based technique for improving networking self‐efficacy. Study 1 (n = 90) used a pre–post, quasi‐experimental design and found participants who conducted a virtual informational interview with business professionals reported higher networking self‐efficacy at posttest than participants in a comparison condition. Study 2 (n = 72) used a single‐group design with three measurement occasions and found self‐reported learning during an in‐person informational interview moderated the relationship between participants' pre‐ and posttest networking self‐efficacy. Results suggest that informational interviewing can be an effective technique for increasing networking self‐efficacy among university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated how people's beliefs regarding their vocational abilities (i.e., career decision self-efficacy) are associated with their perceived academic control, self-liking, and self-competence. It also assessed the relevance of these 4 types of self-beliefs for personal job optimism among 268 Croatian college students. Results indicated that participants' career decision self-efficacy and perceptions of their chances of finding jobs nationwide were significant predictors of personal job optimism. Furthermore, the influences of self-competence and perceived academic control on personal job optimism were mediated by career decision self-efficacy. These results extend previous research and may be informative for vocational guidance interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African American adolescents' career development has gained increased attention in light of various barriers affecting their educational and career development goals. The author examined relationships among career decision self-efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self-concept of 104 African American high school students enrolled in Upward Bound programs. Participants responded to measures of career decision self-efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self-concept. Results indicated that career decision self-efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with ethnic identity and academic self-concept. In addition, academic self-concept was found to be a stronger predictor of career decision self-efficacy than was ethnic identity. The results of this study may assist counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents to understand career decision self-efficacy as it relates to ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and demographic variables. This research supports the need for continued career-related interventions within the schools designed to focus on factors related to ethnic minorities to help foster their career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study was designed to determine the effect of perceived supports and barriers on self-efficacy beliefs and other social-cognitive variables related to second-year science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students' career development. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) states that career interest is influenced by four cognitive-person variables: self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, interests, and goals. Other variables, such as social supports and barriers, also play an important role. Purpose This study explores the influence of gender and STEM major on perceived supports and barriers. It also analyzes the effects of perceived supports and barriers on the SCCT cognitive-person variables. Method Participants were 811 sophomore students in STEM programs at the University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests analyzed the difference in the perceived supports and barriers by gender and students' major. Multiple-group structural equation modeling was implemented to predict the relationship between perceived supports and barriers and SCCT cognitive-person variables. Results The engineering students perceived more teaching staff barriers and fewer teaching staff supports than other students. Male software and hardware engineering students perceived more barriers than other male engineering students. The fit of the model revealed an important effect of perceived teaching staff supports on the four cognitive-person variables. Conclusions To determine the influences on the cognitive-person variables, it is necessary to analyze the perceived supports and barriers. Peers and family are the most important perceived supports, while teaching staff and financial difficulties are the greatest perceived barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to examine if and how career-decision readiness relates to the origin of college major choice among Taiwanese college students. A total of 375 junior and senior college students (147 women, 228 men) responded to measures of college major choice, academic commitment, career self-efficacy, and career-decision readiness. Results indicated that students' academic commitment to a college major tend to increase when they choose their majors based on personal and career preferences. In sequence, high levels of academic commitment lead to high levels of career self-efficacy, and increased self-efficacy augments the extent of career-decision readiness that students manifest near the end of their college education. These findings have practical implications insofar as many Asian students choose a college major because of parents and other authority figures, and these findings demonstrate that a full understanding of career-decision readiness may require incorporating the origin of college major choice and its academic effects into future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose With a growing need for developing future physician scientists, identifying characteristics of medical students who are likely to benefit from research training programs is important. This study assessed if specific learning styles of medical students, participating in federally funded short-term research training programs, were associated with research self-efficacy, a potential predictor of research career success. Method Seventy-five first-year medical students from 28 medical schools, selected to participate in two competitive NIH-supported summer programs for research training in aging, completed rating scales to evaluate learning styles at baseline, and research self-efficacy before and after training. We examined associations of individual learning styles (visual-verbal, sequential-global, sensing-intuitive, and active-reflective) with students' gender, ranking of medical school, and research self-efficacy. Results Research self-efficacy improved significantly following the training programs. Students with a verbal learning style reported significantly greater research self-efficacy at baseline, while visual, sequential, and intuitive learners demonstrated significantly greater increases in research self-efficacy from baseline to posttraining. No significant relationships were found between learning styles and students' gender or ranking of their medical school. Conclusions Assessments of learning styles may provide useful information to guide future training endeavors aimed at developing the next generation of physician-scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselor educators maintain a responsibility for providing site supervisors with professional development opportunities (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. ). The goal of this study was to evaluate a model for providing preparation to site supervisors. Significant differences were observed from pretest to posttest on the Supervisory Self-Efficacy Scale (Johnson & Stewart, ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effect of emotional intelligence (EI) on career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) in an East Asian context, as well as the moderating roles of gender and country. Data were collected from undergraduate students from China ( N = 149) and South Korea ( N = 218). The results showed that all 4 factors of EI were positively related to CDMSE. Moreover, while the effects of 3 EI factors on CDMSE were found to be greater among the Chinese students than the South Korean students, no gender differences were detected. By introducing cultural influences, the findings provide important implications for career counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the mediation effect of career decision self-efficacy in relation to work values and career decision status. The authors surveyed 308 college students about their own intrinsic (e.g., helping others) and extrinsic (e.g., high income) work values and those of significant others, career decision self-efficacy, and career decision status. The results indicated that the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of significant others were related to the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of the self and that intrinsic work values were more adaptive than extrinsic work values in career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effectiveness of group-based career counseling using the Career Interest Profile (CIP). The study used an experimental design involving 2 groups of Italian university students: an experimental group (42 participants) who received narrative career counseling and a control group (47 participants) who did not. Results indicated more specific life and occupational goals after the intervention among members of the experimental group in addition to a decrease in career decision-making difficulties and an increase in career decision-making self-efficacy, thus suggesting the value of group-based career counseling on the basis of the principles embodied in the CIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between evaluations of academic support services and student athletes' career decision-making self-efficacy. One hundred and fifty-eight NCAA athletes (68% male) from 11 Division I teams completed measures of satisfaction with their academic support services, career decision-making self-efficacy, general self-efficacy, and locus of control. Results indicated that evaluations of academic support services were positively related to levels of career decision-making self-efficacy. In addition, this relationship was moderated such that student athletes with lower levels of general self-efficacy and internal locus of control benefited more from positive experiences with academic support services. Limitations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a study with 191 college students, canonical correlation analysis explored career search self-efficacy and psychological distress (career search set) in relation to psychological resources and regulatory focus (career transition set), producing 2 significant canonical correlations. The 1st correlation dimension showed that decreased career search self-efficacy and increased psychological distress had a moderate relationship with decreased psychological resources and minimal relationship with low promotion focus and high prevention focus. The 2nd dimension illustrated that the increase in anxiety and personal exploration efficacy were associated with increased readiness for the career transition and elevated prevention focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]