RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL AND EMPLOYMENT AREA SELECTION ABILITY OF COLLEGE GRADUATES: EVIDENCES FROM CHINA

Abstract

In general, college students prefer to work in the areas with developed economy and favourable policies. Their ability to select employment areas is greatly affected by a unique internal quality: psychological capital. This paper attempts to disclose the relationship between the psychological capital of college graduates and their employment area selection ability. To this end, a questionnaire survey was performed among college graduates in north-eastern China, and the results were subjected to correlation analysis. During the analysis, the psychological capital was examined from four dimensions, namely, self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience. The results show that college graduates prefer first-tier cities or provincial capitals; the self-efficacy and resilience are the top two determinants of employment area selection ability, and are greatly affected by gender, family origin, student cadres and academic record; the psychological capital of college graduates has a significant positive impact on their ability to select employment areas, laying a strong basis for predicting the selection of employment areas. The research greatly promotes the analysis of employability of college students.