Career resources include four dimensions: human capital, environmental resources, motivational resources, and career management behaviors. Together, these resources contribute to career preparedness, which is essential for successful career development and long-term career success.
Many graduates leave their first job because they feel underprepared for the transition into the workforce. Since early career experiences have lasting effects, understanding how career preparedness develops is both scientifically and societally important. This project aims to identify which career resources Dutch students and young employees possess, which they perceive as most important, and how these resources contribute to subjective career success.
While previous research has demonstrated the importance of career resources during the period immediately before and after graduation, little is known about their long-term development throughout higher education. This project addresses this gap by investigating the development of occupational expertise, career clarity, and career confidence over time. It also examines the applicability of the Career Resources Questionnaire (CRQ; Hirschi et al., 2018) in the Dutch context and evaluates the predictive value of individual career resources for later career success.
The research includes both university (WO) and vocational (MBO) students, providing a broader understanding of student needs. It consists of three studies. The first examines the development of career resources among WO students and the role of social support. The second investigates the perceived importance of different career resources among WO and MBO students and compares these groups. The third examines how career resources in the final year of higher education predict subjective career success after graduation. Together, these studies aim to answer the question: How can young people be empowered at the start of their careers?