Abstract
This study focuses on developing a model of self (S), action (A) and outcome (O). It examines the relationship between self-esteem, job-search intensity and career decision-making self-efficacy among undergraduate students. The instruments used were the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Job-Search Intensity Scale and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale. Participants were recruited using a cluster sampling procedure. Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire. Overall reliability analyses using Cronbach’s alpha for the content validation of the questionnaire for three constructs. The questionnaire is reliable and valid to measure self-esteem, job-search intensity and career decision-making self-efficacy. Data collected from 678 undergraduate students were tested with confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 18.0 to obtain three best-fit measurement models from the three latent variables. Subsequently, the structural equation modelling was applied to test the hypotheses. The results showed a strong relationship between self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy, a positive relationship between job-search intensity and career decision-making self-efficacy, a positive relationship between self-esteem and job-search intensity and a model of self, action and outcome. Implications of the findings for social work practice such as guidance counsellor, research, theory, policy and education were also discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Mazwin Nik Anis. (2006). Too much job-hopping bad for career. Available at: star-jobs.com/news/story.asp?file=/2006/3/15/starjobs/13663628&sec=starjobs
NCIHE, Higher Education in the Learning Society (The Dearing report), London, 1997, paragraph 4.22, http://bei.leeds.ac.uk/Partners/NCIHE/. Accessed 10 Feb 2009.
Zuraidah, O. (2008). The ideal graduate. Careers & employment for Malaysian fresh graduates 2008. Ampang: BIZ Connexion Sdn Bhd.
Lazaroo, S. (2008). Carve your niche at Naza. Graduan. Careers & employment for Malaysian fresh graduates 2008. Ampang: BIZ Connexion Sdn Bhd.
Ranjit, S. M. (2009). Make yourself employable. How graduates can hit the ground running. Kuala Lumpur: TQM Consultants Sdn Bhd.
Crocker, J. (2004). Self-esteem in adulthood. In International encyclopaedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 13822–13826). Oxford: Elsevier.
Kanfer, R., Wanberg, C. R., & Kantrowitz, T. M. (2001). Job search and employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 837–855.
Swanson, J. L., & D’Achiardi, C. (2005). Beyond interest, needs/values, and abilities: Assessing other important career constructs over the life span. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling. Putting theory and research to work. Honoken, NJ: Wiley.
Salmero-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2007). Self-esteem during university studies predicts career characteristics 10 years later. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 70, 464–477.
Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 1–44.
Schaufeli, W. B., Martinez, I. M., Marques Pinto, A., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). Burnout and engagement in university students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 464–481.
Betz, N. E. (2004). Contributions of self-efficacy theory to career counselling: A personal perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 62, 340–353.
Saks, A. M. (2005). Job search success: A review and integration of predictors, behaviors, and outcomes. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling. Putting theory and research to work. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Aharon, T., Efrat, V., & Limor, O. (2004). Predictors of job search intensity among college graduates. Journal of Career Assessment, 12(3), 332–344.
Crossley, C. D., & Stanton, J. M. (2005). Negative affect and job search: Further examination of the reverse causation hypothesis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26, 255–268.
Brown, D. J., Cober, R. T., Kane, K., Levy, P. E., & Shalhoop, J. (2006). Proactive personality and the successful job search: A field investigation with college graduates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(3), 717–726.
Cote, S., Saks, A. M., & Zikic, J. (2006). Trait affect and job search outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 68, 233–252.
Feinstein-Messinger, G. (2007). The nexus among career decision self-efficacy, parental relationship factors, and career indecision among college students from different ethnic and racial groups. Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York.
Ennis, K. E. (2006). The relationships among hope, family functioning, career barriers, career decision-making self-efficacy, and involvement in a school-to-work program. Ph.D. dissertation, New Mexico State University, USA.
Montgomery, J. K. (2006). The prediction of career decision-making self-efficacy from Black and White racial identity attitudes. Ph.D. dissertation, Louisiana Tech University.
Crespin, C. A. (2006). Contributors to college women’s career decision-making self-efficacy: Support, barriers, and coping. Ph.D. dissertation, Fordham University, USA.
Foster, D. B. (2005). Students and their careers: A study of career decision-making self-efficacy and vocationalism in undergraduate students. Ph.D. dissertation, Queens University Belfast, UK.
Rowland, K. D. (2004). Career decision-making skills of high school students in the Bahamas. Journal of Career Development, 31(1), 1–13.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modelling (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modelling with AMOS. Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Hair, J. F., Jr., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Tziner, A., Vered, E., & Ophir, L. (2004). Predictors of job-search intensity among college graduates. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(3), 332–344.
Saks, A. M., & Ashforth, B. E. (2000). Change in job-search behaviours and employments outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 277–287.
Tracer Study Report. (2007). Graduate tracer studies report higher education institutions in 2006. Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.
UNESCO Report. (2007, March). Report of meeting on “A multi-stakeholder approach to address graduate unemployment”, 16–17 Nov 2006, Bangkok. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001529/152959e.pdf
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the participating students for their co-operations. We would also like to express our gratitude to Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka for supporting these research activities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this paper
Cite this paper
Norida, A., Tajudin, N.M., Kalthom, H., Jano, Z., Sharif, M., Shahrulanuar, M. (2014). Model of Self-Esteem, Job-Search Intensity and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy for Undergraduate Students. In: Kasim, A., Wan Omar, W., Abdul Razak, N., Wahidah Musa, N., Ab. Halim, R., Mohamed, S. (eds) Proceedings of the International Conference on Science, Technology and Social Sciences (ICSTSS) 2012. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-077-3_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-077-3_31
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-076-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-077-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)