Adam M. Kanar

This study explored how university students in North America acquired the ability to express their career-related competencies in the context of a pre-professional career education program. We examined the intersection of happenstance learning theory (HLT) and experiential learning theory (ELT) to facilitate significant experiences that inspired students and helped them connect with a profession. Through qualitative interviews with 19 students, we discovered three key insights. First, catalyzing experiences improved competency articulation, as planned experiences provided opportunities for pivotal educational moments and unexpected events that inspired and motivated students. Second, catalyzing experiences sparked action and transformative insights, enhancing students’ career readiness and ability to act on future opportunities. Third, transformation through catalytic experiences occurred through reflection, consolidating the significance of experiences and their personal career narratives. We discuss the practical implications of our findings for program leaders, including creating planned career-related experiences and guiding students toward effective competency articulation.

Primarily using a variable-centered approach, job search research explores the connections between antecedents, processes, and outcomes. A person-centered approach, however, categorizes individuals based on personal and contextual elements. This study used CSM as a theoretical framework to identify job seeker profiles by exploring configurations of job search self-efficacy, conscientiousness, financial need, social pressure, and job search quality and intensity. We examined how these profiles correspond with sociodemographic variables and job search outcomes such as rumination, interviews, and job offers. In a sample of 300 job seekers, four profiles emerged: casual job search contemplator, financially burdened job seeker, financially secure job seeker, and multifaceted job search strategist. The contemplator profile correlated with the fewest interviews, while the financially burdened job seeker had the most. These findings suggest career counselors need to recognize distinctive job seeker patterns requiring tailored counseling approaches, underscoring the potential of the person-centered approach for further job search research.