Skip to main content

Boundaryless and Protean Career Orientation: A Multitude of Pathways to Graduate Employability

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Graduate Employability in Context

Abstract

The neo-liberalisation of UK Higher Education (HE) seeks to establish an intellectual capital base (Giroux 2014). Discourse focuses heavily on the economic role of graduates and increased participation in HE (Tomlinson 2012). The political, economic and national ambitions and considerations as perceived from a macro-level Government mentality viewpoint are well documented (Holmes 2013; Baruch and Leeming 2001). In line with a paucity of existing literature in this area, it is less clear how the micro-level target population, the students; perceive their career orientation towards and following their graduation. We discuss these themes with the purpose of exploring the undergraduate student perception of graduate employability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andresen, M., Al Ariss, A. A., & Walther, M. (2012). Self-initiated expatriation: Individual, organizational, and national perspectives. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, M. B., & Rousseau, D. M. (1996). The boundaryless career : A new employment principle for a new organizational era. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, M. B., Hall, D. T., & Lawrence, B. S. (1989). Handbook of career theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ashleigh, M., Ojiako, U., Chipulu, M., & Wang, J. K. (2012). Critical learning themes in project management education: Implication for blended learning. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), 153–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y. (2001). Employability: A substitute for loyalty? Human Resource Development International, 4(4), 543–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y. (2004). Managing careers: Theory and practice. Harlow: FT-Prentice Hall/Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y. (2006). Career development in organizations and beyond: Balancing traditional and contemporary viewpoints. Human Resource Management Review, 16(2), 125–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y. (2014). The development and validation of a measure for protean career orientation. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(19), 2702–2723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y. (2015). Organizational and labor markets as career ecosystem. In A. de Vos & B. I. J. M. Van der Heijden (Eds.), Handbook of research on sustainable careers (pp. 365–380). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Bozionelos, N. (2011). Career issues. APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol 2: Selecting and developing members for the organization. APA handbooks in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Hind, P. (1999). Perpetual motion in organizations: Effective management and the impact of the new psychological contracts on ‘Survivor Syndrome’. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(2), 295–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Leeming, A. (2001). The added value of MBA studies – graduates’ perceptions. Personnel Review, 30(5), 589–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Peiperl, M. (2000). The impact of an MBA on graduate careers. Human Resource Management Journal, 10(2), 69–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., Bell, M. P., & Gray, D. (2005). Generalist and specialist graduate business degrees: Tangible and intangible value. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(1), 51–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., Szucs, N., & Gunz, H. (2015). Career studies in search of theory: The rise and rise of concepts. Career Development International, 20(1), 3–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (2009). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belkin, L. (2008). Why dad’s resume lists car pool. New York: New York Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, J. P., & Hall, D. T. (2006). The interplay of boundaryless and protean careers: Combinations and implications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(1), 4–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, J. P., Hall, D. T., & Frautschy DeMuth, R. L. (2006). Protean and boundaryless careers: An empirical exploration. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(1), 30–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brisoe, J. P., & Finkelstein, L. M. (2009). The ‘new career’ and organizational commitment: Do boundaryless and protean attitudes make a difference? Career Development International, 14(3), 242–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. (2009). Transitions from education to work: New perspectives from Europe and beyond. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. & Youngson, P. L. (2016). Undergraduate work placements: An analysis of the effects on career progression. Studies in Higher Education, 41(9), 1563–1578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Employee tenure in 2014. Available: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Cekada, T. L. (2012). Training a multigenerational workforce: Understanding key needs & learning styles. Professional Safety, 57(3), 40–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, M. & Zukas, M. (2016). Understanding successful sandwich placements: A Bourdieusian approach. Studies in Higher Education, 41(7), 1281–1295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cocchiara, F., Kwesiga, E., Bell, M., & Baruch, Y. (2010). Influences on perceived career success: Findings from US graduate business degree alumni. Career Development International, 15(1), 39–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, N., & Briner, R. B. (2005). Understanding psychological contracts at work. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Côté, J., & Bynner, J. M. (2008). Changes in the transition to adulthood in the UK and Canada: The role of structure and agency in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(3), 251–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, I. & Wang, Z. (2016). The impact of placements on the academic performance of UK and international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(4), 712–733.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuyper, N. D., & Witte, H. D. (2011). The management paradox: Self-rated employability and organizational commitment and performance. Personnel Review, 40(2), 152–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuyper, N. D., Bernhard-Oettel, C., Bernston, E., Witte, H. D., & Alarco, B. (2008). Employability and employees’ well-being: Mediation by job insecurity. Applied Psychology: International Review, 57(3), 488–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeFillippi, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1994). The boundaryless career: A competency-based perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15(4), 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Direnzo, M. S., & Greenhaus, J. H. (2011). Job search and voluntary turnover in a boundaryless world: A control theory perspective. Academy of Management Review, 36(3), 567–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Direnzo, M. S., Greenhaus, J. H., & Weer, C. H. (2015). Relationship between protean career orientation and work–life balance: A resource perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(4), 538–560.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driver, M. J. (1982). Career issues in human resource management. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M. (2014). The impact of placements on students’ self-efficacy. Higher Education Skills and Work-Based Learning, 4(3), 228–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esson, J., Ertl, H. & Holmes, L. M. (2013). Are degrees worth higher fees? Perceptions of the financial benefits of entering higher education. SKOPE, Oxford, 117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, C., Gbadamosi, G., & Richardson, M. (2014). Flexibility, compromise and opportunity: Students’ perceptions of balancing part-time work with a full-time business degree. The International Journal of Management Education, 12(2), 80–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farber, H. S. (2010). Job loss and the decline in job security in the United States. In K. Abraham, J. Spletzer, & M. Harper (Eds.), Labor in the new economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research reading. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 65(1), 14–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Futuretrack (2012). Futuretrack stage 4 summary. Higher Education Careers Services Unit, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner, R. (2014). Three quarters of students won’t be able to pay off their debt. The Independent. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/tuition-fees-three-quarters-of-students-wont-be-able-to-pay-off-their-debt-9866446.html. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Gasteiger, R. M. (2007). Self-directed career management: The protean approach to career success - Empirical study of German executives and professionals. In Conference Proceedings From Prague 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. A. (2014). Neoliberalism’s war on higher education. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gubler, M. (2011). Protean and boundaryless career orientations – An empirical study of IT professionals in Europe, Thesis. Loughborough University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gubler, M., Arnold, J., & Coombs, C. (2014). Reassessing the protean career concept: Empirical findings, conceptual components, and measurement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(S1), S23–S40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, T., Hays, R., Woolley, T., Kelly, G., & Jacobs, H. (2014). Workplace immersion in the final year of an undergraduate medicine course: The views of final year students and recent graduates. Medical Teacher, 36(6), 518–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D. T. (1976). Career in organizations. Pacific Palisades: Goodyear.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D. T. (1996). Protean careers of the 21st century. The Academy of Management Executive, 10(4), 8–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D. T. (2004). The protean career: A quarter-century journey. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herriot, P., & Pemberton, C. (1995). New deals. Chichester: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann, A., Hirschi, A., & Baruch, Y. (2015). The protean career orientation as predictor of career outcomes: Evaluation of incremental validity and mediation effects. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 88(June 2015), 205–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higher Education Funding Council (2014). Data and statistics. Available: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/data. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, L. M. (2013). Competing perspectives on graduate employability: Possession, position or process? Studies in Higher Education, 38(4), 538–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, L. M. (2015). Becoming a graduate: The warranting of an emergent identity. Education + Training, 57(2), 219–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra, H. (2003). Working identity: Unconventional strategies for reinventing your career. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inkson, K. (2002). Thinking creatively about careers: The use of metaphor. In M. Peiperl, M. Arthur, & N. Anand (Eds.), Career creativity: Explorations in the remaking of work (pp. 15–34). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inkson, K., Gunz, H., Ganesh, S., & Roper, J. (2012). Boundaryless careers: Bringing back boundaries. Organization Studies, 33(3), 323–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. (2013). Business graduate employability – Where are we going wrong? Higher Education Research and Development, 32(5), 776–790.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. (2014). Business graduate performance in oral communication skills and strategies for improvement. The International Journal of Management Education, 12(1), 22–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. (2015). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), 350–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Job Satisfaction Survey (2014). Job satisfaction survey Infographic, Robert Half UK. Available: http://www.roberthalf.co.uk/job-satisfaction-infographic. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2007). Towards a definition on mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 112–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilber, J., Barclay, A., & Ohmer, D. (2014). Seven tips for managing generation Y. Journal of Management, 15(4), 81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotter, J. P. (1973). The psychological contract: Managing the joining-up process. California Management Review, 15(3), 91–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C. I. S. G., Felps, W., & Baruch, Y. (2014). Toward a taxonomy of career studies through bibliometric visualization. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 85(3), 339–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, H., Price, C., Munden, K., Mandl, H., & Solley, C. (1962). Men, management, and mental health. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, R. (2011). The effect of placement experience upon final-year results for surveying degree programmes. Studies in Higher Education, 36(8), 939–952.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. (2016). Should students have to borrow? Autonomy, wellbeing and student debt. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 50(3), 351–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • McArdle, S., Waters, L., Briscoe, J. P., & Hall, D. T. (2007). Employability during unemployment: Adaptability, career identity and human and social capital. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 71(2), 247–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. C., & Form, W. H. (1951). Industrial sociology. Oxford: Harpers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, A. R. (2014). You have to be well spoken’: Students’ views on employability within the graduate labour market. Journal of Education and Work, 27(2), 179–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson, N., & Johns, G. (1985). The absence culture and psychological contract—Who’s in control of absence? Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 397–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ojiako, U., Chipulu, M., Ashleigh, M., & Williams, T. (2014). Project management learning: Key dimensions and saliency from student experiences. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), 1445–1458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oxford Advanced Learners English Dictionary (2015). Careers. Available: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/career. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Paisey, C., & Paisey, N. J. (2010). Developing skills via work placements in accounting: Student and employer views. Accounting Forum, 34(2), 89–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peiperl, M., & Baruch, Y. (1997). Back to square zero: The post-corporate career. Organizational Dynamics, 25(4), 7–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pringle, J., & Mallon, M. (2003). Challenges for the boundaryless career odyssey. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(5), 839–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, K. (1968). The entry into employment: An approach towards a general theory. The Sociological Review, 16(2), 165–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues, R., Guest, D. & Budjanovcanin, A. (2016). Bounded or boundaryless? An empirical investigation of career boundaries and boundary crossing. Work, Employment & Society, 30(4), 669–686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, J. E. (1979). Tournament mobility: Career patterns in a corporation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 220–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothwell, A., & Arnold, J. (2007). Self-perceived employability: Development and validation of a scale. Personnel Review, 36(1), 23–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: Understanding written and unwritten agreements. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H. (1975). How career anchors hold executives to their career paths. Personnel, 52(3), 11–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H. (1980). Organizational psychology (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheepway, L., Lincoln, M., & McAllister, S. (2014). Impact of placement type on the development of clinical competency in speech-language pathology students. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 49(2), 189–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., Berrington, A., & Falkingham, J. (2014). Gender, turning points, and boomerangs: Returning home in young adulthood in Great Britain. Demography, 51(1), 257–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, S. E., & Arthur, M. B. (2006). The evolution of the boundaryless career concept: Examining physical and psychological mobility. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 69(1), 19–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, S. E., & Baruch, Y. (2009). Advances in career theory and research: A critical review and agenda for future exploration. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1542–1571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Summer Budget (2015). Summer budget 2015: Key announcements GOV.UK. Available: http://www.gov.uk/government/news/summer-budget-2015-key-announcements. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Super, D. E. (1957). The psychology of careers. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton Trust (2015). Sutton Trust response to maintenance grant cuts set out in today’s Budget. Available: http://www.suttontrust.com/newsarchive/Sutton-trust-response-to-maintenance-grants-cuts-set-out-in-todays-budget. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Tams, S. & Arthur, M. B. (2011, July 11–13). Career communities: Examining learning through the culture-as-practice lens. In 7th International Critical Management Studies Conference, Naples.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A. R., & Hooley, T. (2014). Evaluating the impact of career management skills module and internship programme within a university business school. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 42(5), 487–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tholen, G. (2014). The changing nature of the graduate labour market: Media, policy and political discourse in the UK. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tholen, G., Brown, P., Power, S., & Allouch, A. (2013). The role of networks and connections in educational elites’ labour market entrance. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 34, 142–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurow, L. C. (1972). Education and economic equality. The Public Interest, 28(summer), 66–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, M. (2012). Graduate employability: A review of conceptual and empirical themes. Higher Education Policy, 25(4), 407–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, M. (2013). Education, work and identity: Themes and perspectives. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson, M. (2014). Exploring the impacts of policy changes on student approaches and attitudes to learning in contemporary higher education: Implications for student learning engagement. In Higher Education Academy Conference Proceedings.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Heijde, C. M., & Van der Heijden, B. I. J. M. (2006). A competence-based and multidimensional operationalization and measurement of employability. Human Resource Management, 45, 449–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Heijden, B. I. J. M., Gorgievski, M. J. & Lange, A. H. (2016). Learning at the workplace and sustainable employability: A multi-source model moderated by age. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25(1), 13–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whyte, W. H. (1956). The organizational man. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilensky, H. L. (1964). The professionalization of everyone? American Journal of Sociology, 70(2), 137–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, T. (2012). A review of business-university collaboration. Available: http://www.wilsonreview.co.uk/review/. Last accessed 24 Aug 2015.

  • Wilton, N. (2012). The impact of work placements on skills development and labour market outcomes for business and management graduates. Studies in Higher Education, 37(5), 603–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilton, N. (2014). Employability is in the eye of the beholder. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 4(3), 242–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. M., Coff, R., & Moliterno, T. P. (2014). Strategic human capital crossing the great divide. Journal of Management, 40(2), 353–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yorke, M. (2011). Work-engaged learning: Towards a paradigm shift in assessment. Quality in Higher Education, 17(1), 117–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Donald, W., Baruch, Y., Ashleigh, M. (2017). Boundaryless and Protean Career Orientation: A Multitude of Pathways to Graduate Employability. In: Tomlinson, M., Holmes, L. (eds) Graduate Employability in Context. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57168-7_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57168-7_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57167-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57168-7

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics