Perfectionism in students and positive career planning attitudes

In today’s uncertain job market, university students who show positive attitudes in their career planning have an advantage. Yet, we know little what personality characteristics are associated with individual differences in career planning attitudes. The present study examined 177 university students to investigate whether perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed) predicted students’ positive career planning attitudes (career adaptability, career optimism, and perceived knowledge of the job market). Results from multiple regressions showed that perfectionism explained 8-12% variance in career planning attitudes with (a) self-oriented perfectionism positively predicting career adaptability and career optimism, (b) other-oriented perfectionism positively predicting perceived knowledge, and (c) socially prescribed perfectionism negatively predicting career adaptability. The findings suggest that perfectionism is a personality characteristic that may both underpin and undermine students’ positive attitudes towards career planning.