New new, new old: Understanding individual and contextual influences on graduates' career choices

Abstract

Young graduates are the talent of the future and they will become an important group in organizations in the next decennial. Individuals’ career preferences and work values have shifted over time and, as a result, claims in literature posit that the traditional career will slowly fade away in order to make way for the modern career. In addition, strong contextual forces such as globalization, technology, organizational restructuring, and the growth of services have altered the way we look at careers and challenge what older generations have hitherto taken for granted. Research presented at this symposium will add substantially to the existing literature on what new cohorts of graduates expect from their future career and employer. Authored by scholars from eleven European countries, the papers included in this symposium integrate individual and contextual factors influencing graduates' career intentions across contexts.