Exploring career decision-making styles across three European countries

Abstract

Career decisions are amongst the most important we make. Unsurprisingly, much published research exists on this particular aspect of career behaviour. However, the overwhelming majority of studies have been carried out on young people making initial career decisions. This paper extends our understanding by examining how mid-career adults in three European countries (Denmark, France and Italy) actually make career decisions. Characteristic patterns of behaviour recur when individuals approach points of transition or of crisis; each of these transitioning styles is illustrated by an iconic case. Emergent findings support the growing body of evidence that challenges the dominant policy and practice orthodoxy, which places rationality at the centre of the process, by recognising the importance of emotion and context.

Keywords:

• career
• decision-making
• transition
• affect
• cognition
• context
• emotion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Professor Jenny Bimrose is Deputy Director of the Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick. With over 30 years of experience teaching, researching and managing in higher education, ongoing research interests include: the decision-making styles and career trajectories of individuals across Europe; the implications for career guidance of older women's career development; the role of career adaptability for mid-career changers (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/people/jbimrose/).

Rachel is the Associate Dean of School and also holds a personal chair in career guidance. She is a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. A principal fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2013.Current national research focuses on how people transfer skills and knowledge from one domain to another. As an Associate Fellow of the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, Rachel has led the French team researching labour market transitions across Europe (http://www.uel.ac.uk/psychology/staff/rachelmulvey/).