Career exploration and decision-making learning experiences: A test of the career self-management model

The current study sought to examine the factor structure of a recently developed measure of primary learning experiences that, according to the social cognitive model of career self-management (CSM; Lent & Brown, 2013), inform self-efficacy and outcome expectations within the process of career exploration and decision-making. The measure was also used to test hypotheses derived from the CSM model. Participants were 450 college students who completed domain-specific measures of the learning experiences, social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goals, level of career decidedness, and three personality traits (conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism). Results largely confirmed the hypothesized factor structure of the learning experiences measure and suggested that, consistent with theory, these experiences help to mediate relations of personality and social support to self-efficacy and outcome expectations as well as to goals and career decidedness. Implications for the CSM model, and for further research and practice, are discussed. •Assessed new verbal persuasion items in a measure of career learning experiences•Confirmed the factor structure of the learning experiences measure•Used the measure in a test of the social cognitive model of career self-management•Included personality traits and contextual factors in the model test•The self-management model fit the data well, with some modifications.