Career aspirations, one of the most useful predictors of eventual occupational choices (Hirschi, 2010), profoundly influence individuals’ career development (Kunchai et al., 2021), engagement (Bohdziewicz, 2016), and career satisfaction (Coetzee et al., 2010). Yet in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD), career aspirations have not been studied adequately. It is worth noting that the fulfillment of career aspirations not only depends on young people's talents but also on organizational support (Mann et al., 2020). According to the Deloitte 2021 survey with 8,273 Gen Zers (born between 1995 and 2009) from 45 countries, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 15% of this cohort had to radically change their career aspirations (e.g., left their jobs or started new careers) (Deloitte, 2021). With young people staying in education longer than ever and the labor market changing unprecedentedly, they need help to make sense of the workplace (Mann et al., 2020). The uncertainty presents new challenges to organizational leaders and human resource development (HRD) professionals.
Problem First, the construct of career aspirations has not been studied adequately in the HRD field, although it has been investigated in career psychology (Kunchai et al., 2021), youth studies (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020), economics (Fournier et al., 2020), and management (Hartman & Barber, 2020). HRD competencies in career development should continue to play a crucial role during the uncertainty: only those organizations that can help employees rapidly and effectively adjust to changes have continued to thrive (Hughes & Niu, 2021). Second, professionals from the above-mentioned disciplines have come up with their definitions of career aspirations, which has caused some confusion. I hope to clarify the confusion through this evidence-based research. Lastly, previous career aspirations research focused primarily on the western context. By including studies in non-western contexts, I hope to provide a more diversified perspective.
Purpose The goal of this research is two-folded: (a) to provide evidence-based insights into career aspirations and an update on current scholarship; and (b) to develop a future research agenda for scholars interested in this field. Three questions guided this inquiry. 1. How are career aspirations conceptualized in empirical studies? 2. How are career aspirations studied empirically? 3. What do current empirical studies reveal about career aspirations? Answers to these questions will shed light on strategies for designing interventions to help employees achieve career aspirations as they attempt to adjust to pandemics.
Method I adopted the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology for a structured analysis (Motyka, 2018). The search process consisted of three stages: preliminary search, initial screening, and advanced screening. Using per-determined eligibility criteria and different keywords at each stage, I screened and reduced the search results from 1174 (first stage), to 121 (second stage), to 77 (final stage). To prepare the literature for analysis, I first grouped 77 studies by their focus. I then categorized each article using Garrard’s (2016) matrix method. After that, I performed a thematic analysis to identify major themes across the 77 empirical studies.
Preliminary Findings Scholars have defined career aspirations from different perspectives, such as career goals (Metz et al., 2009), educational ambitions (Wang & Staver, 2001), leadership development (Strauss et al.,2012), desires (Farmer, 1985), and motivation (Silvia, 2001). Few theories were used to guide the 77 studies, including social cognitive career theory (Pham et al., 2020), expectancy-value theory (Lauermann et al., 2017), career anchors (Bohdziewicz, 2016), image theory (Thompson & Dahling, 2010), and the theory of circumscription and compromise (Junk & Armstrong, 2010). Methodologically, quantitative approaches dominated the career aspirations studies, with survey as the most widely adopted data collection tool. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analyses were the most cited data analysis methods. Career aspirations are influenced by both contextual factors, including socioeconomic status (Gutman & Schoon, 2012), social culture (Guan et al., 2015), parental expectations (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020), and personal factors, including gender (Yoshikawa et al., 2018), occupational self-efficacy (Kunchai et al., 2021), vocational self-concept (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020), and academic performance (Gutman & Schoon, 2012).
Implications I recommend four evidence-based strategies for HRD practitioners: providing socialization opportunities for increased occupational self-efficacy (Kunchai et al., 2021), initiating career counseling programs (Al-Bahrani et al., 2020), developing mentoring programs for career development (Hughes & Niu, 2021), and customizing training programs to support employees struggling with uncertainty (Deloitte, 2021). For research, I call for more application of current theories to guide career aspirations research and more theory-building efforts towards developing context-based career theories. Additionally, more qualitative studies are needed to provide a nuanced understanding.
Keywords: career aspirations, career development, human resource development
