The construct of career success: Measurement issues and an empirical example

The aim of the present paper is twofold. We first give an overview of the multi-faceted construct of career success with its “objective” (real attainments) and “subjective” (perceived attainments) components and with the different methodologies measuring them (“subjectivist” vs. “objectivist” approaches). We also discuss the relationship between the different components of career success as revealed in the literature. Our second aim is to show that the interrelationship between the different facets of career success varies with the employment context. We analyze subjective and objective career success measures collected from professionals working either in the private sector, in the public sector, or that are self-employed. Our findings show that objective success and subjective success are more closely related in the private and self-employment sectors than in the public sector. Moreover, the interrelationship between objective and subjective success varies with the specific subjective success measure chosen. It is stronger for an “other-referent” subjective success measure than for a “self-referent” subjective success measure. Conclusions regarding the measurement of career success as well as regarding the relevance of subjective success for studying occupational careers are drawn.Der Beitrag verfolgt zwei Zielsetzungen. Wir geben zuerst einen Überblick über das facettenreiche Konstrukt des Berufserfolgs mit seiner „objektiven“ (tatsächliche Errungenschaften) und seiner „subjektiven“ (wahrgenommene Errungenschaften) Konnotation sowie mit verschiedenen Möglichkeiten der Messung („subjektivistische“ vs. „objektivistische“ Ansätze). Außerdem diskutieren wir den empirischen Zusammenhang zwischen den verschiedenen Komponenten. Unser zweites Ziel ist es, zu zeigen, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen subjektivem und objektivem Berufserfolg kontextspezifisch variiert. Wir analysieren Daten einer großen Stichprobe von Akademikern, die in der Privatwirtschaft, im öffentlichen Dienst oder selbständig/freiberuflich arbeiten. Es zeigt sich, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen subjektivem und objektivem Berufserfolg im öffentlichen Dienst kleiner ist als bei den beiden anderen Beschäftigungsformen. Außerdem variiert der Zusammenhang je nach Art der Messung von subjektivem Erfolg. Objektiver Erfolg und subjektiver Erfolg als Vergleichsurteil korrelieren stärker als objektiver Erfolg und subjektiver Erfolg als Zufriedenheitsurteil. Folgerungen für die Messung von Berufserfolg und für die Bedeutung subjektiven Erfolgs in der Berufslaufbahn werden abgeleitet

Protean and boundaryless career attitudes: Relationships with subjective and objective career success

The protean and boundaryless career attitudes have gained special attention during the past years. Aprotean career attitude implies that aperson strives towards adevelopmental progression and self-fulfillment; aboundaryless career attitude is characterized by ahigh physical and/or psychological mobility. The aim of the present paper is twofold: First, we want to empirically investigate the relationship between protean and boundaryless career attitudes and subjective (i.e., career satisfaction and success in comparison with colleagues) and objective (i.e., promotions and salary) career success. Second, we want to integrate research on protean and boundaryless career attitudes with research on predictors of career success. We analyze the career attitudes-career success relationship with asample of 116 professionals. Our findings suggest that components of the protean career attitude are rather more related with subjective career success and that components of the boundaryless career attitude are more related with objective career success. Conclusions regarding the relevance of career attitudes for career success are drawn