Neuroticism and career outcomes: An empirical study in a preventive perspective

Career outcomes (career decision-making self-efficacy, career decision, employability) in previous studies have emerged relating to personality traits, particularly to neuroticism, but rarely were they simultaneously analyzed confronting different groups of participants in the same study to compare results. In the present paper, the association between career outcomes and the Big Five personality factors were investigated among 219 Italian high school students and 234 Italian university students. The participants filled out the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSES), the Career Decision-making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ), and the Self Perceived Employability Scale (SPES) for students. The results of the present study showed that, in particular, neuroticism consistently explained a significantly larger percentage of variance in all career outcomes variables. The results of the present study contribute to the in-depth exploration of career outcomes (career decision-making self-efficacy, career decision, employability), broadening knowledge of its associations with personality traits and particularly with neuroticism in young people. In a preventive perspective on the basis of the relation between neuroticism and career outcomes, it could be possible to individuate young people at risk of high neuroticism with early intervention with specific trainings for promoting career outcomes.