Skills for Students - Improve Self-Efficacy to Reduce Career Anxiety
- Guest Blog Written by Kaye Maranan
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- - 7 min read
Note: This blog was originally written by Kaye Maranan as a reflective essay back in 2023. It’s been updated here for an expanded audience.
About Kaye: Kaye is a fourth year double major in Computer Science and Psychology at the University of Alberta. Currently an intern at Buoyancy Works, Kaye focuses on front-end development and user experience, working to refine software and enhance user satisfaction. Prior to working with Buoyancy, Kaye wrote this paper to explore ways for students to enhance job-hunting and career management skills- with a focus on managing wellbeing and finding ways to make the process more effective.
Introduction
Career anxiety is not a unique phenomenon, as even freshman students worry about their future careers early in their education (Beiter et al. 2015 qtd in. Deer et al. 2017). As a third-year undergraduate student myself, the looming concern of post-graduation constantly lingers. Pursuing a career involves uncertainty and apprehension, especially with the overwhelming pressure to make good use of the degree earned over four years. On paper, my computing science degree should open up many job opportunities. However, the competition between students, internships, personal projects, and more makes the future even more overwhelming. Because of that, I seek to explore the ways in which all students can better prepare and inform themselves for life after graduation.
Despite schools’ increased career-related resources for students in response to the evolving demands of the job market (Carnevale & Hanson 2015), I argue that those resources should be supplemented by developing a healthy job-related mindset that is well-informed and confident in tackling present and future challenges. During a period of transition between academics and the professional environment, developing one’s self-efficacy has never been more relevant. Self-efficacy, the belief that one holds in their ability to accomplish tasks and achieve goals, is an important factor in managing career anxiety and can be enhanced through developing one’s personal abilities (Müceldili 2023).
With self-efficacy as an essential component in dealing with such issues, I seek to examine and answer the question: “How do skills that improve self-efficacy increase students’ confidence in overcoming career-related challenges?” In this discussion, the specific skills include career planning, a growth mindset, career adaptability, and social support. For each, I will also discuss personal practical applications of those skills that increased my confidence in career-related outcomes. Although this topic is extremely relevant to those about to graduate, any other students that intend to enter the workforce in general would also benefit from learning about these skills.
In This Article:

Career Planning
Firstly, career planning lays out the strategies and markers that indicate success for career-related goals (Kleine et al. 2023). Without clear-cut signs of progression and outcomes, students may remain fixated and anxious about what the future holds for them. Kleine et al. propose that “clear career goals may provide students with a sense of direction and purpose regarding their career development.” Furthermore, the research is based on the career self-management theory (CSM, Lent & Brown 2023 qtd in. Kleine et al. 2023), where past learning or performance in tasks affects career outcomes by influencing self-efficacy. In summary, career planning is about breaking down massive career goals into actionable steps.
Within the school system, students are introduced to the concept of career planning from an early age. However, I never took it seriously until high school, where picking relevant electives helped me make more informed decisions about the possible stream I wanted to pursue throughout university. Experimenting with coding and applying to university was straightforward, but now, I need to take my education and apply my knowledge to the workplace. Truthfully, with such a large selection of tech-related careers, I have lacked a concrete course of action. Upon reflection, I believe that utilizing proper career planning by breaking down tasks such as applying for jobs into smaller ones, such as creating a LinkedIn, updating my resume, scouting job-hunting sites, makes my goals much simpler and allows for a sense of control. After utilizing career planning, the results ultimately rely on my mindset and approach in facing the challenges I encounter throughout my professional and academic journey.
Growth Mindset and Career Adaptability
Additionally, the natural continuation of career planning is held within career adaptability and the growth mindset. The growth mindset, in a nutshell, is about how one approaches challenges and setbacks (Kondratowicz & Godlewska-Werner 2023). The ability to take those experiences and use them to further your goals, where challenges are just another opportunity to improve. In this sense, hard work and dedication are rewarded as one’s skills and abilities are cultivated over time and effort. In the same vein, career adaptability builds upon career planning through four main skills: concern over one’s future, control over career-related decisions, curiosity about future abilities and knowledge, and confidence in solving and achieving personal goals (Boo et al. 2021). With a combination of all four, students with high career adaptability usually are able to face career challenges head-on.
Along with the growth mindset, career adaptability requires not only determination and perseverance but a willingness to explore one’s options and plan accordingly. For me, the field of computing science I want isn’t taught at this university. In other words, I would have to study and learn such things on my own time. Self-teaching, especially after the challenges of online learning, is my own responsibility and obstacle. In the end, I know that it benefits me in twofold: I am able to learn the content I’m interested in, along with improving my autodidactic skills simultaneously.
On top of that, career adaptability’s approach to exploring career decisions and needed abilities promotes confidence that students will inevitably learn more and more about their chosen career path. Personally, even simply experiencing a large variety of courses throughout my degree has made me feel more confident in topics that I’m interested in, like data science, and others that I am not, such as algorithms. However, the most important part of career adaptability and the growth mindset lies in the opportunities around oneself to apply their gathered knowledge and to develop such skills in the appropriate environment, which can be attained through social support.
Social Support
Lastly, social support is another major contributor to improving one’s self-efficacy. The main idea of social support is based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), which is a three-pronged approach that occurs in one’s life: a career/educational choice is made, developed, and finally, the academic and/or career success is obtained (Lent et al. 1994, cited in Kautish et al. 2021). One’s external environmental context is important in shaping success within the SCCT model. Through my research, I chose to focus on the social support aspect twofold: in the familial and professional environments.
As research has shown, a supportive familial environment is crucial when struggling with career decisions (Jiang 2021). Through one’s family, students are likely to mirror what they learn from their family into their own lives. Family cohesion can affect students through communication and support; with low support, students may experience a decline in well-being and reduce their focus and confidence in career-related decisions. Furthermore, students with families that are greatly adaptable to challenges are more likely to internalize those skills and be able to apply them within a career-related context. For those that may not be in the position to receive such support, it’s important to find others that provide support and belief in your capabilities through friends and classmates instead. Without the support of my friends and family pushing me to apply and exert myself, I don’t think I would have applied for my mini-internship as a website developer nor applied to a coding club I was interested in. My parents often speak of taking risks even if I don’t think I’ll succeed, along with supporting me unconditionally. Having these expectations and emotional support behind me enforces my hard work and keeps me accountable to do the best that I can to ensure my success.
In the professional lens, reaching out to professionals within the field or even getting the opportunity to work in those environments provides valuable hands-on training. With such experience, gathering insight into a chosen career path can help make informed career decisions, reinforce self-efficacy, and motivate you to pursue career goals with greater determination (Kautish et al. 2021). Luckily, through the resources available at the university, such as the Student Innovation Center, I’ve been able to talk with industry professionals that have given me great advice. In addition, my experiences have developed my confidence and conviction that becoming a developer is a career path that suits me the most. It’s an extremely daunting task, but ultimately much more comforting knowing there are bountiful resources and interpersonal support behind me.

Conclusion
Overall, career planning, growth mindset and career adaptability, and social support are just a sample of skills that can be developed to improve one’s self-efficacy. Through each section in this reflective essay, I’ve examined each of these skills within the literature and seen their effectiveness in my life when I am confronted with career-related challenges. Firstly, career planning is useful in providing a meaningful direction by breaking a complex task into manageable and actionable steps. This creates a sense of control over uncertainty and anxiety. Furthermore, the growth mindset promotes adapting to career challenges as an opportunity to grow. Taking the time and effort to explore potential career paths when the future seems uncertain is a surefire way of eliminating the ambiguous and daunting nature of confronting career anxiety. Lastly, having social support throughout this journey of discovering, exploring, and pursuing one’s career path increases students’ confidence since they are able to ask for help when needed, seek advice about potential careers, and have those who are invested in their future success.
When combining these skills together, students are able to increase their personal abilities and confidence in their self-efficacy, which are absolutely essential in assisting students when confronted with career anxiety and challenges. No doubt, learning ways to improve one’s self-efficacy are an important facet for any students’ profession and even academic success.
References
Boo S, Wang C, Kim M. 2021 May. Career adaptability, future time perspective, and career anxiety among undergraduate students: A cross-national comparison. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education. 29:100328. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2021.100328.
Carnevale AP, Hanson A. 2015 Jan. Learn & Earn: Career Pathways for Youth in the 21st Century. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies. 4(1):76–89.
Deer LK, Gohn K, Kanaya T. 2018. Anxiety and self-efficacy as Sequential Mediators in US College Students’ Career Preparation. Education + Training. 60(2):185–197. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/et-07-2017-0096
Jiang C. 2022 May 27. The effect of family cohesion and adaptability on career choice self-efficacy of graduates: The mediating effect of State Anxiety. 72:979-988. doi:https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-210508.
Kautish P, Walia S, Kour P. 2021 Nov. The Moderating Influence of Social Support on Career Anxiety and Career commitment: An Empirical Investigation from India. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 38(8):782–801. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2021.1977765.
Kleine A-K, Schmitt A, Keller AC. 2022 Apr 10. Career Planning and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Students’ Career-Related Worry: Direct and Mediated Pathways. Journal of Career Development. 50(1):185-199. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453221078950.
Kondratowicz B, Godlewska-Werner D. 2022 Oct 5. Growth mindset and life and job satisfaction: the mediatory role of stress and self-efficacy. Health Psychology Report. 11(2):98–107. doi:https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr/152158.
Lent RW, Brown SD, Hackett G. 1994 Aug. Toward a Unifying Social Cognitive Theory of Career and Academic Interest, Choice, and Performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 45(1):79–122. doi:https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027.
Müceldili B, Tatar B, Erdil O. 2023 Aug 2. Career Anxiety as a Barrier to Life Satisfaction among Undergraduate students: the Role of Meaning in Life and self-efficacy. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-023-09617-8.