We examined the influence of two types of psychological mobility, i.e. boundaryless mindset and organizational mobility preference, on career success. We hypothesized that this relationship would be partially mediated by physical mobility. In addition, we expected the direction of the influence to depend on the type of psychological mobility. We…

Despite the ubiquitous presence of the term "career patterns" in the discourse about careers, the existing empirical evidence on (managerial) career patterns is rather limited. From this literature review of 33 published empirical studies of managerial and similar professional career patterns found in electronic bibliographic databases, it is…

Many college students hold ambitious goals for upward social mobility via post-college careers. However, in the current economic recession such optimistic expectations are not a given. The present study examines how college students' current social status and beliefs in causal factors for socioeconomic status (SES) attainment lead to diverging…

The current study examines the relationship between external job mobility and salary for employees in different career stages. Based on career stage and career timetable theories, we predict that external job mobility would generate the greatest salary benefits for early-career employees whereas external job mobility would generate fewer salary…

The "new" career, most notably the boundaryless career, is associated with high career mobility, which is in turn associated with employability and career success of individuals. The current study examined how frequency, form (organisational, horizontal or vertical) and impact (objective career success) of career transitions have changed…

In this paper we explore the linkages among various types of person-organization (PO) fit and their effects on employee attitudinal outcomes. We propose and test a conceptual model which links various types of fits--objective fit, perceived fit and subjective fit--in a hierarchical order of cognitive information processing and relate them to…

We use a sample of working adults (N = 638) to explore the effects of past objective career success (mobility, promotions, and salary change) on current subjective success (human capital assessments by one's managers, core self evaluations, satisfaction with one's career) by gender, across an economic cycle (2004-2011), controlling for career…

The current study examines the relationship between an individual's history of changing jobs and future turnover (the so-called "hobo syndrome"). Relying on self-consistency theory, it was hypothesized that the relationship between job mobility history and turnover is moderated by job complexity. Using a sample of 393 employees from two…

Using 20years of employment and job mobility data from a representative German sample (N = 1259), we employ optimal matching analysis (OMA) to identify six career patterns which deviate from the traditional career path of long-term, full-time employment in one organization. Then, in further analyses, we examine which socio-demographic predictors…

This study attempts to clarify conceptual and operational inconsistencies in the literature around "Ghiselli's hobo syndrome." I propose that defining characteristics of hobo syndrome should include both the exhibition of frequent job movement behavior and positive attitudes about such behavior. This definition effectively differentiates…

Works councillors are elected representatives of employees in German companies. It is their job to protect and bargain the interests of the employees with the company. We investigated the impact of 558 works councillors' individual political skill on their career success, where career ascendancy is based on success in upward elections and not on…

Recent research supports the existence of a typology of part-time employees with demographic and behavioral differences. This research suggests that part-timers should not be viewed as one homogenous group and that certain part-time employee groups have fixed external role attachments, while others have more flexible attachments. Applying the…

Previous research has established a general relation between networking and career outcomes, as postulated by theories on protean careers and career self management. We suggest that specific facets of networking behavior differentially affect specific career mobility outcomes over time. In a 2-year prospective study, we examined the impact of six…

In their quantitative review of the literature, Healy, Lehman, and McDaniel [Healy, M. C., Lehman, M., & McDaniel, M. A. (1995). Age and voluntary turnover: A quantitative review. "Personnel Psychology, 48", 335-345] concluded that age is only weakly related to voluntary turnover (average r = -0.08). However, with the significant changes in…

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in…