This is a first initiative to apply career exploration research to understand and assess a career intervention in Hong Kong. In responding to educational and social changes, a one-semester academic career course was designed to foster the participants’ career exploration in a public university in Hong Kong. Data were drawn from about 380 students enrolled voluntarily across three successive semesters in either the career course or another academic course unrelated to career development. The career course served as an intervention to enhance exploration for enrolled students, with students from an unrelated academic course in the same semester included as a comparison group. Pre- and post-assessments were conducted to assess the career course’s impact in terms of career decision making, career adaptability, and relational support. The reflection and discussion here focus on the course’s effectiveness and cultural appropriateness as a career intervention tool and its strategic value in higher education in Hong Kong and beyond.

Career exploration is widely believed to produce positive career development outcomes among college and university students. Some research has supported this belief, but there is little information about exactly which outcomes it affects and whether any benefits of career exploration can be observed beyond individualistic western cultures. We report findings from cross-sectional ( N =271) and longitudinal ( N =101) data provided by university students in Hong Kong. The amount of career exploration was associated with career decision self-efficacy and amount of information, but not with self-clarity or career decidedness. All the outcome variables except decidedness increased significantly over time. Career support, especially from teachers, was also associated with the outcome variables. The results and their practical implications are discussed in light of Hong Kong culture and the characteristics of its student population, as well as career development theory.

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Perceived employability has been found to be related to the career development and well-being of both working adults and university students. In a first initiative to examine perceived employability among nonlocal Chinese university students, we collected data from a sample of 246 graduating students who had come from Mainland China to study in Hong Kong. After controlling for demographic variables and migration intentions, we found that perceived employability was explained by career exploration, relational support, acculturative hassles, and the assimilation strategy of acculturation. Career exploration was also found to mediate the relationship between the assimilation strategy of acculturation and perceived employability. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory building and career guidance practices regarding the perceived employability and career guidance of nonlocal and international Chinese students.

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