uncertainty (Briscoe, Henagan, Burton & Murphy, 2012), apparent in many developed countries post-GFC. Associated with the dominant discourse of the ‘death of career’ and the evolution of new deals in employment (Adamson, Doherty & Viney, 1998), in the past two decades these new careers have been variously conceptualised and labelled as ‘boundaryless’ (Arthur, 1994), ‘protean’ (Hall,1996), ‘free-form’ (Leach & Chakiris, 1998), ‘post-corporate’ (Pepeirl & Baruch, 1997), and ‘multi-directional’ (Baruch, 2004). Whilst distinctive in emphasis, these conceptualisations offer variations on a theme whereby the new career is contrasted with the ‘traditional’ career associated with structured and status-oriented career progression and have dominated the recent literature on career attitudes (see Clarke, 2009). These new career types necessitate the adoption and development of commensurate orientations by workers. For instance, a protean career orientation is concerned with self-invention, autonomy and self-direction (Hall, 2002). It is characterised by a ‘values driven’ approach (Briscoe & Hall, 2006) where internal principles and attitudes motivate and guide career decisions, rather than extrinsic factors such as pay. The degree to which an individual internalises such an approach to career management reflects the extent to which they possess a protean career orientation (see Segers et al., 2008) and, consequently, how adept they are likely to be at navigating the new context of careers. The notion of the boundaryless career is associated with both ‘physical mobility’ (Sullivan & Arthur, 2006), across organisations, occupations, and geography, and a ‘boundaryless mindset’, described by Briscoe, Hall & DeMuth (2006) as individual capacity for “initiating and pursuing work-related relationships across organizational boundaries” (p. 31). This dimension focuses on the degree to which individuals can manage psychological boundaries such as work/life balance and advance their perceived marketability.
This explores the career attitudes among undergraduate students in the UK and Australia. Pringle and Mallon (2003) suggest that new career forms are most applicable to professional and managerial occupations and, therefore, have particular resonance for graduates who are most likely to enter such professions. Moreover, given contemporary patterns of youth unemployment and underemployment (GCA, 2012; Purcell et al., 2013) in many developed economies and an increasingly competitive and volatile graduate labour market, the adoption of the flexible mindset associated with new career forms would seem critical for recent and future graduates. Deepening our understanding of career attitudes among contemporary undergraduates will inform both employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in developing appropriate strategies to ensure emerging professionals are equipped with the attributes necessary for career success. Specifically, this paper: (i) explores the adoption of protean and boundaryless attitudes to career management; (ii) examines the relationships among protean and boundaryless attitudes to career management; and (iii) identifies variations in career attitudes by demographic, background and/or employment characteristics. The research objectives are addressed by exploring career attitudes among Business undergraduates, in the UK and Australia. The paper is structured to first provide a background review of literature relating to career management attitudes and the influential role of individual characteristics. Second, the study’s methodology is outlined, followed by a summary of results, based on descriptive and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Findings and the implications for education and human resource practitioners are discussed and, finally, the limitations and directions for future research set out. Background