Purpose: Women remain dramatically underrepresented in the engineering profession and far fewer women than men persist in the field. This study aims to identify individual and contextual factors that distinguish women who persist in engineering careers in the US. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research was conducted based on…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the contrast between stable and dynamic labour markets in academe in light of career theories that were originally developed for business environments. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual design, offering the eco-system as a framework. Findings: It evaluates their relevance and applicability to dynamic and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the concept of career success has been subject to reification, and identify potential implications for individuals, organizations, and societies. Design/methodology/approach: The current paper offers an in-depth analysis of the different contextual forces contributing to the…

Purpose: Aligning social identity and career identity has become increasingly complex due to growth in the pursuit of meaningful careers that offer very long-term personal satisfaction and stability. This paper aims to explore the complex cognitive and affective thought process involved in the conscious planning of voluntary career change.…

Purpose: Drawing on career and self-initiated expatriation/repatriation literatures, this paper aims to examine the career experiences of Chinese self-initiated repatriates after their return to China. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted an exploratory, qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese individuals who…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore individual approaches to career and employability through the career stories of a group of mid-level to senior managers in career transition. Career patterns are identified and then compared with traditional, boundaryless and protean models of career. The study aims to consider the extent to which…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine factors that predict industry-level career change among MBA graduates. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzed longitudinal data from the Management Education Research Institute (MERI)'s Global MBA Graduate Survey Dataset and MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey Datasets, using principal component…

Purpose: This paper aims to understand women's careers better in order to help organizations make changes to increase female retention. Two specific questions are addressed: Are women adopting a protean career orientation by becoming career self-agents?; and Are women's career decisions guided by the kaleidoscope values of challenge, balance, and…

Purpose: The paper seeks to explore the career attitudes, motivations and behaviours of young people in initial vocational education and training (IVET) in Europe. Design/methodology/approach: This exploratory web-based survey was conducted during the European year for mobility. Drawing on existing research on the motivators of international…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the under-researched subject of the role of mentoring relationships within and outside of organizational boundaries as individuals make the career transition from being a corporate employee to becoming an entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach: Using structured interviews, the authors collected…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the influence of a range of factors on the career choice of management students in India. The importance of different individuals in the family and at work in making career choices among these students is also to be explored. In addition, the study seeks to address the relationship of the cultural values of…

Purpose: The transition from higher education to employment is a major life change for many college seniors (currently, the Generation Y cohort). The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of Generation Y and to present new insights regarding Gen Y's retail career expectations, perceptions of retail careers, future psychological…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the development of a protean career orientation. In doing so, the paper also aims to assess how work experience, parents and peer networks co-influence the development of a protean career orientation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses semi-structured interviews with young adults and…

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationship of mentoring provided with career success and organizational commitment in the general managerial population. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were 194 native British who were employed in a variety of jobs, professions and industries in the United Kingdom. Findings: Mentoring…

Purpose: Although outplacement consulting and career transition services have become a standard management practice and are almost universally provided when terminating executives, these services have not been carefully evaluated and their benefits are not clearly understood. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of individual…