Career exploration: exploratory behavior, stress level and career certainty in students

Abstract

Placements, both summers and finals, form a very important part of the postgraduate curriculum since they are perceived to be the most important factor determining the success of students. Results from exploratory research revealed that there are significant differences in career certainty, level of focus attained, and stress experienced in the lead up to the placements between first and second-year post-graduate students from top Business schools in India. It is believed that enhanced self-exploration effort should lead to increase in decisional stress while achievement of career certainty should lead to decrease in stress. This paper investigates the above stated hypothesis by estimating levels of career certainty, self-exploration effort, focus and decisional stress experienced through analysis of 172 responses across top business schools of the country. These factors are also to an extent influenced by other variables such as gender, and undergraduate domain of study. Based on the secondary research, standardised scales for each factor were identified: Self-exploration, Focus and Decisional Stress scales from Career Exploration Survey developed by Stephen A. Stumpf, Stephen M. Colarelli and Karen Hartman of New York University, and Career Certainty Scale adapted by Kathryn M. Pesh.