Goal-Setting In The Career Management Process: An Identity Theory Perspective

A common and important feature within models of career management is the career goal, yet relatively little is known about the factors influencing career goals and when and how career goal setting occurs. Drawing from Ashforth’s (2001) model of role transitions, we propose and test a model wherein mentoring experiences of early career professionals relate to short- and long-term career goals through professional identification. Using a mixed-methods design, we find that psychosocial mentoring, but not career mentoring, is positively related to professional identification. For short-term goals, professional identification positively relates to extrinsic goals, intrinsic goals, and goals that are high quality (i.e., specific, difficult, to which one is committed). For long-term goals, professional identification is related to extrinsic and intrinsic goals. In the long- term goal model, psychosocial mentoring is directly related to goal quality. Implications for future research on identification, career goals, and how mentors can facilitate career goals are discussed.