Open Access

ARTICLE

Proactive personality and employment preparation: The mediating role of self-efficacy and career exploration behavior

Yunsheng Ruan^*, Li Chen, Zibin Cao, Lina Xu, Chao Han, Qianlu Sun

School of Economics and Management, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, 466001, China

* Corresponding Author: Yunsheng Ruan. Email:

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2025, 35(3), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.068970

Received 16 November 2024; Accepted 16 May 2025; Issue published 31 July 2025

Abstract

This study investigated proactive personality effects on employment preparation and the mediating roles of self-efficacy and career exploration behaviors in this relationship. The study sample comprised 445 university students (68.3% female; aged 20 to 24) from a university in central China. The participants completed measures to assess proactive personality, employment preparation, self-efficacy, and career exploration behaviors. Structural equation modeling analysis results indicated that proactive personality predicted higher employment preparation; Self-efficacy and career exploration behaviors partially mediated this relationship. Specifically, career exploration behaviors had a stronger mediating effect than self-efficacy on the total effect (34.71% vs. 28.89%). The findings suggest proactive personality is key to employment preparation through self-belief and willingness to explore the job market. Higher education career counseling and mental health education programs should provide targeted training to promote career exploration by the student's personal attributes for best match employment preparation.

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Keywords

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