CAREER DEVELOPMENT EXPECTATIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Authors: Ilieva Snezhana , Vitanova Valeria 
Published: March 2020

The main purpose of the research is to explore the career orientations - functional/technical competence, general managerial competence, security/stability, entrepreneurial creativity (Schein, 1978; 1990) and career development expectations of young people. The sample consists of 160 respondents divided in two age groups – up to 25 years old and between 26-35 years old. All of them have full-time or part-time job positions in organization where information technologies are applied. The respondents are on different stages in their career according the typologies of career development (Savickas, 1995; Schein, 1990). First age group till 25 years old represents the generation “Z” which is just starting their first job and this is the beginning of their career path. Individuals in their mid-twenties are within a stage of exploration and narrow their work preferences. Several career expectations could be unrealistic but individuals within this age seek opportunities to explore careers through work experience and try a variety of job activities in a number of organizations. The second age group (26-35 years old) represents “Y” generation. They are in their establishment career stage where their expectations and preferences are stabilized and realistic. These individuals are highly motivated to succeed and strive for challenge, creativity, achievement and development of their own personal potential. The representatives of those two generations are active workforce at the current moment and their career expectations and orientations should be considered in HRM strategies and practices.The main results of the study show that young people expect in their career to have autonomy and independence, to work with new technologies and to be involved in challenging, innovative and long-term projects. The results from descriptive statistics indicate the expectations of young people to work with new technologies, to strive to promotion and hierarchical career development and to take part in trainings and skills development programs and long-term projеcts. The T-test analysis was made to establish the differences between the age groups. There were not found any differences between the two age groups. The respondents have an orientation more to hierarchical career than to horizontal career and prefer to engage in long-term work projects as well as to develop themselves working in innovative and challenging projects and job tasks. They also tend to invest in improvement of their skills including professional competences, new and diverse soft skills.The main conclusion of the research is that young people strive to combine hierarchical promotion or vertical career with horizontal career. There are no differences between two age groups in their career expectations. Results from regression analysis indicate the existing influence of managerial competence and entrepreneurial creativity on the career expectations. Career profile of the young people combines autonomy/independence, managerial competency and entrepreneurial creativity. The autonomy is a leading career anchor and confirms the assumption that the new generations strive to be more independent and to have self-control in their jobs. This creates career expectation which gives opportunity for personal control, flexibility and aims to go beyond organizational restrictions, rules and procedures. The opportunities for hierarchical career growth are desirable but only if they allow engagement in innovative projects that satisfy the entrepreneurial orientation of the young people. They are ready to develop diverse skills, to be engaged in different challenging innovative projects and to participate in variety of career and personal development programs such as talent management and coaching.