Relationship between Personality and Learning Goal Orientation Preceding the First Employment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the relation between personality traits and the level of aspiration to acquire new skills and improve one’s competence in the midst of first employment. Although with mixed results, previous studies indicated that personality attributes influence goal orientation, both in the school and work settings. However, there have not been any studies that have specifically analysed this relation in the context preceding the first employment. The results of this research, on a sample of last-semester business administration students of an esteemed mid-European university, indicate that prior to the first employment, two personality traits—openness to new ideas and disposition to negative emotions—influence the level of motivation to acquire knowledge and novel modes of action. Insight into the antecedents of an individual’s orientation towards increasing and developing competencies prior to the first employment is an important topic for organizations who have the imperative to develop more sustainable knowledge management practices in an early stage of organizational socialization.