Researchers from Portugal have shown how different career strategies influence career development for university graduates

Abstract

Purpose

The researchers wanted to compare a “traditional career attitude” (TCA), which stresses upward mobility at one company, with a “boundary-less career attitude” (BCA), which focuses on career mobility

Design/methodology/approach

To test their hypotheses, the authors looked for recent master’s graduates from a large Portuguese university who had been working more than one year. They were students of business studies, human resources management, healthcare management, accounting, marketing and strategy. The graduates received questionnaires to fill in. A total of 131 completed them successfully, with 63% being female respondents.

Findings

The results showed a TCA had a positive effect on internal employability (IE), but no negative impact on external employability (EE). Meanwhile, the results also confirmed the negative impact on IE of a BCA, whereas there was no significant positive effect on EE.

Originality/value

The authors felt their study made a number of important contributions both to the academic community, and to increasing the employability of graduates.

Citation

(2020), "Researchers from Portugal have shown how different career strategies influence career development for university graduates", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 41-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-05-2020-0110