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This paper evaluates 'brand me' presentations as a method for developing employability-related self-confidence (ERSC). Measurements of ERSC were taken at three points in time from a sample of 105 full-time business and law students at a UK university. These were analysed alongside student feedback, assessment artefacts, and semi-structured interviews with students and lecturers. Findings indicate that ERSC increases over time, skills are learnt, and new behaviours are developed. We contribute to sustainable graduate employability literature by empirically demonstrating theoretically proposed links between career management learning and ERSC. Furthermore, we show that self-confidence may be a situated behaviour, rather than a fixed trait, which generates practical suggestions for career management teaching. We join the teaching excellence debate by demonstrating a method to measure learning gain in higher education. We also add to research methods knowledge by adapting an evaluation framework from the Human Resource Development field for use in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalisation, organisational restructuring and new technology have been connected with a shift to ‘protean’ and ‘boundaryless’ career attitudes with workers, including new graduates, increasingly required to be self-reliant in successfully navigating their careers. This study explores protean and boundaryless career attitudes among Business undergraduates and the influence of demographic, background and employment characteristics on these attitudes. Data were collected for Business undergraduates at a UK (N = 88) and Australian university (N = 284). Results indicate the students score more highly, on average, in the self-direction and boundaryless mindset dimensions. Relatively lower mean scores for physical mobility and values-driven suggest a ‘one high, one low’ pattern among the two items that constitute protean and boundaryless career attitudes. Employment status and Business degree specialisation were found to significantly predict career attitudes. Findings develop our understanding of whether emerging professionals are equipped to effectively self-manage their careers and implications for educators and professional practitioners are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To examine nurse employees' and employers' views about responsibilities for managing nurses' careers. Background Career management policies are associated with cost savings, in terms of workforce recruitment and retention and an increase in job and career satisfaction. In nursing, responsibility for career management remains relatively unexplored. Design A multicenter, cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Methods Data were collected from 871 nurse employees and employers in the British National Health Service. The study was conducted in 2008, a period when policy reforms aimed at modernizing the healthcare workforce in England. In the current discussions in Europe and the USA about the future of nursing, these data reveal insights not previously reported. Exploratory analyses were undertaken using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The analysis indicated a temporal dimension to career management responsibilities. Short-term responsibilities for securing funding and time for development lay more with employers. Medium-term responsibilities for assessing nurses' strengths and weakness, determining job-related knowledge and skills and identifying education and training needs appeared to be shared. Long-term responsibilities for developing individual careers and future development plans lay primarily with employees. Conclusion New ways of managing nurses' career development that lead to greater independence for employees and greater flexibility for employers, while retaining a high-calibre and competent workforce, are needed. Ultimately, career management responsibilities should not tilt to either side but rather be shared to benefit both parties. Clarifying employers' and employees' responsibilities for career management may help both parties to develop a common understanding of each other's role and to meet their obligations in a constructive dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to examine the general and discipline-specific support needed by academics new to the profession. The article takes a social process approach to the examination of the experiences of new academics. The approach taken is, therefore, qualitative in nature and centres around a series of semi-structured interviews, carried out with new academics and senior managers in two research-intensive business schools in the UK. The research suggests that there are four crucial dimensions to successful career support for new academics: managing expectations, career management, mentoring and professional development. Whilst it is important to offer good practice in each of these dimensions, the article argues that it is the relationship between them which determines the quality of career support offered. The article offers a number of original insights into this issue, and contributes to both the literature on career support for new academics and to practice with a conceptual model which may have applicability across a number of different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sonnenfeld's career systems typology is recognized as a prominent model in career theory and is widely cited in the career literature. However, this theoretical model has never been tested empirically, thus raising a concern for both theorists and practitioners. This paper reports the results of an empirical study conducted to test the model by surveying 194 British firms. The findings support the strength of one dimension, Supply flow, in terms of reliability and validity, but less so for the other dimension, assignment flow. Comparisons showed that some, though not all of the characteristics from the typology existed in practice. Implications for practice and for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]