Journal of Applied Psychology

© 2019 American Psychological Association 2020, Vol. 105, No. 1, 40 –57

0021-9010/20/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000424

Goal-Setting in the Career Management Process: An Identity

Theory Perspective

Lindsey M. Greco Maria L. Kraimer

Oklahoma State University University of Iowa

A common and important feature within models of career management is the career goal, yet relatively
little is known about the factors influencing career goals and when and how career goal setting occurs.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Drawing from Ashforth’s (2001) model of role transitions we propose and test a model wherein
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

mentoring experiences of early career professionals relate to short- and long-term career goals through
professional identification. Using survey data collected at three points in time from 312 early career
professionals, we find that psychosocial mentoring, but not career mentoring, positively relates to
professional identification. For short-term goal outcomes, professional identification positively relates to
extrinsic goals, intrinsic goals, and goals that are high quality (i.e., specific, difficult, to which one is
committed). For long-term goal outcomes, professional identification positively relates to extrinsic and
intrinsic goals, but not to goal quality. Instead, in the long-term goal model, psychosocial mentoring is
directly related to goal quality. The theoretical and practical implications of this study for professional
identification, career goals, and how mentors can facilitate career goals are discussed.

Keywords: careers, goal-setting, mentoring, professional identification

Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000424.supp

Employees are more actively involved in and responsible for the facilitates the development and implementation of a career strat-
management of their careers now than they have been in the past. egy, which produces progress toward stated goals. In London’s
According to the boundaryless and protean careers perspectives, (1983) theory of career motivation, career insight is defined as the
the responsibility for charting and navigating one’s career is placed clarity of an individual’s career goals, and setting and trying to
firmly in the hands of the individual as opposed to his or her accomplish career goals is part of career motivation. Finally,
employing organization (e.g., Arthur & Rousseau, 1996; Eby, Gould’s (1979) model of career planning suggests that planning
Butts, & Lockwood, 2003). Individual career planning and man- career goals leads to enactment and attainment of career goals.
agement processes are outlined in various career management However, as Greenhaus, Callanan, and Godshalk (2010) note
models including the widely cited frameworks of Greenhaus “although many writers on career management discuss the virtues
(1987); London (1983), and Gould (1979). A common and impor- of goal setting, there is little research in the area of career goals”
tant feature within each model is the career goal, defined as any (p. 54). That is, within the various career management models and
desired career outcome, such as promotion, salary increase, or skill related research, most work begins with the assumption individuals
acquisition which individuals wish to attain (Greenhaus, 1987; already have career goals—the literature then focuses on career
Seibert, Kraimer, Holtom, & Pierotti, 2013). Specifically, in strategies to achieve said goals. In the few studies that have
Greenhaus’s (1987) model of career management, goal setting examined individual or personal career goals, they are positioned
as antecedents of work attitudes such as job satisfaction and
well-being (e.g., Brunstein, 1993; Brunstein, Schultheiss, & Gräss-
This article was published Online First June 6, 2019. mann, 1998; Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Roberson, 1989, 1990), or
Lindsey M. Greco, Department of Management, Spears School of Busi- career goals are addressed in a tangential fashion (e.g., assessing
ness, Oklahoma State University; Maria L. Kraimer, Department of Man- distance from career goals, goal importance, goal progress; Abele
agement and Organizations, Tippie College of Business, University of & Spurk, 2009; Dik, Sargent, & Steger, 2008; Maier & Brunstein,
Iowa. 2001; Noe, 1996; Noe, Noe, & Bachhuber, 1990). Overall, re-
Maria L. Kraimer is now at the School of Management and Labor search and theory have not addressed factors influencing the
Relations at Rutgers University. creation of career goals and when and how career goal setting
This article was presented at the 2018 Academy of Management Annual
occurs (Seo, Barrett, & Bartunek, 2004).
Meeting. We thank Scott Seibert, Ernest O’Boyle, and Eean Crawford for
It is important to understand the factors that influence career
their helpful comments on an early version of this article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lindsey goals for three main reasons. First, in the era of the boundaryless
M. Greco, Department of Management, Spears School of Business, Okla- or protean careers, employees cannot count on organizationally
homa State University, 229 Business Building, Stillwater, OK 74078. imposed career goals to manage their careers, so understanding
E-mail: [email protected] factors that influence goal setting and the content of career goals

40
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 41

can provide insight into themes within this new career manage- quality of career goals, for why mentoring positively relates to
ment process. In particular, understanding the content of career protégée career outcomes.
goals offers a unique lens into how individuals conceptualize their
future work selves (e.g., Markus, 1983; Markus & Nurius, 1986) An Identity Theory Perspective of Career Goals
and subsequently manage their careers. Second, because career
management models assume that career goals, like other work From the perspective of boundaryless (e.g., Arthur & Rousseau,
goals, will direct an individual’s attention, time, and energy, career 1996) and protean (e.g., Mirvis & Hall, 1996) careers, employees,
goals provide a crucial organizing standard that guide career- rather than the organization, are responsible for charting their own
related decisions by motivating or limiting choices about how to career trajectories. However, the possible trajectories for individ-
achieve desired career outcomes (King, 2004). For example, goals uals’ careers are practically unlimited, with no single template
can determine an employee’s search for feedback and information setting the standard for a particular career path. In place of an
seeking as different types of goals change the kind of information organization providing some type of structure for career advance-
in the environment that the individual perceives and attends to ment, workers, instead, may rely on identification with career-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

(Ashford & Cummings, 1983). Therefore, understanding the cre- related groups to help define and create career goals within the
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

ation and content of career goals can provide important informa- career management process. Identification with a relevant group
tion for those early in their careers in establishing a career trajec- can replace institutionalized career structures and provide a com-
tory. Third, goals and goal attainment are important characteristics pass for an individual beyond the walls of an employing organi-
in theories of job-related attitudes; goals are expected to positively zation (Fugate, Kinicki, & Ashforth, 2004).
relate to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organi- One theoretical perspective that is particularly relevant to un-
zational identification to the extent that the job promotes the derstanding how professionals develop career goals is Ashforth’s
attainment of valued goals (Allen & Meyer, 1997; Ashforth & (2001) model of role transitions and related identification process.
Mael, 1989; Locke, 1976; Mael & Ashforth, 1992). Thus, infor- Ashforth’s (2001) model incorporates ideas from both social iden-
mation about the formation and content of individual goals can be tification theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and identity theory
(Stryker & Serpe, 1994). Based on identity theory, he defines role
valuable in managing job-related affect. In sum, without knowing
identities as socially constructed definitions of who a role occupant
the factors that may influence an individual’s career goals, our
is; such role identities have the purpose of anchoring self-
understanding of the outcomes of those goals on the career man-
conceptions in social domains. Drawing from social identification
agement process is incomplete.
theory, Ashforth (2001) then defines role identification as a spe-
The present study uses an identity theory lens to examine the
cific form of social identification which occurs if and when an
creation of personal, career related goals in early career pro-
individual comes to define him/herself in terms of the role identity.
fessionals. Based on self-verification theory and Ashforth’s
The higher the level of role identification, the more likely that one
(2001) model of role transitions (reviewed below), we examine
will internalize the role identity as a partial definition of self, and
a mediated model in which mentoring experiences relate to
the more likely one will be to faithfully enact that identity (Ash-
different types of career goals, through professional identifica-
forth, 2001). Both of these identity processes are relevant to goal
tion. Based on the findings from a qualitative pilot study, we setting because enacting the role identity can be done by partici-
examine career goals in terms of goal content, either intrinsic or pating in behavior that “reflects a meld of institutionalized expec-
extrinsic, and goal quality, the extent to which one’s goal is tations and idiosyncratic refinements” (Ashforth, 2001; p. 222).
difficult and specific and one is committed to it. We test the One way to enact an identity, then, is to set personal goals that are
mediated model using a sample of graduate students preparing informed by and consistent with others in the referent group.
for professional careers. In the current study, we examine the role of mentors from the
This study contributes to the literature on identity formation and referent group (i.e., the profession) and identification with that
career management by examining the development of professional group (i.e., professional identification) to career goal-setting
identification and career goals during the role transition process. among early career professionals. Professional identification refers
Understanding how identification relates to the career goals early to the extent that a professional employee experiences a perceived
career professionals set for themselves can be used as a basis for oneness or bond with his or her profession (Hekman, Bigley,
understanding career aspirations and trajectories for professional Steensma, & Hereford, 2009a). Professional workers, such as
workers. This study also contributes to goal setting theory by nurses, doctors, lawyers, and academics, are an ideal population to
examining the content and characteristics of goals in the career study because they are defined less by where they work and more
context. Career goal setting is often done absent formal goal by what they do (Pratt, Rockmann, & Kaufmann, 2006). The
setting mechanisms, and this context has received sparse attention career goals of professionals tend to be based on personal expec-
in the both goal setting and careers literatures. We expand this tations and examination of what is of fundamental import in one’s
research by assessing both the content and quality of personal life, such as professional norms and values, rather than organiza-
career goals. A final contribution of the study is to the mentoring tionally assigned initiatives (Seo et al., 2004). Further, Cantor and
and developmental relationships literature. Responding to calls to Zirkel (1990) stated that individuals devote considerable energy to
explicitly define when and why mentoring is associated with the creation of meaningful goals mostly during transitional stages
particular facets of socialization (Allen, Eby, Chao, & Bauer, of life. For professionals, graduate school is a key transitional
2017), we recognize that career mentoring is similar to serial stage into professional life because it provides systematic training
tactics and psychosocial mentoring is similar to investiture tactics. and socialization into that role (Austin & McDaniels, 2006; Baker
We also identify a possible explanation, specific content and & Pifer, 2011; Howskins & Ewens, 1999; Price, 2009). This
 42 GRECO AND KRAIMER

presents a unique application of Ashforth’s (2001) model of role the social or interpersonal aspects of the socialization process
transitions as it relates to professional identification and career (Jones, 1986) and thus are most relevant to the role of mentors.
goal setting as the first stage of the career management process. Below we explain how serial socialization relates to Ashforth’s
In Ashforth’s (2001) model of role transitions, he expands on (2001) motive for control while investiture socialization relates to
the importance of transitional phases in goal setting by describing Ashforth’s (2001) motive for belonging.
the transition process as the assimilation of professional goals and First, the serial (vs. disjunctive) tactic involves learning the new
individual goals. During this transitional stage, mentors are likely job from a role model such as a mentor, supervisor, or more
to play a key role in the development of professional identification experienced peer (vs. having no prior role incumbents to learn
and possible career goals. This is because receipt of mentoring from). Serial modes of socialization provide newcomers with
may help newcomers satisfy two key psychological motives. Spe- built-in guidelines to organize and make sense of their organiza-
cifically, Ashforth (2001) proposes that role entry arouses psycho- tional situation (Van Maanen, 1978). As such, the serial tactic
logical motives, including the need for control and the need for corresponds to Ashforth’s (2001) motive for control for new role
belonging, which a newcomer will seek to fulfill in the context of entrants in that serial socialization by mentors helps early career
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

the role. The need for control is defined as a need to “master and professionals master and exercise influence over their new roles.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

to exercise influence over subjectively important domains” (Ash- Second, the investiture (vs. divestiture) tactic is the degree to
forth, 2001, p. 67) and is associated with behaviors such as which newcomers receive positive (vs. negative) social support
information seeking, feedback seeking, proactive behavior, and from experienced members. Positive support affirms a newcomer’s
self-management. The need for belonging is the desire for attach- identity, capabilities, and attributes and results in more concrete
ment with others or a sense of belonging with a larger group and role orientations (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979) and perceptions of
leads members to assume they share certain goals, values, and fit (e.g., Cable & Parsons, 2001). This socialization tactic corre-
commitment to the collective.1 According to Ashforth (2001), the sponds to Ashforth’s (2001) motive for belonging in that investi-
more that those two motives are met, the more likely a newcomer ture socialization by mentors provides positive social support,
is to internalize the role, and the greater the identification with the friendship, and opportunities to build significant interpersonal
role. In turn, identification leads the newcomer to faithfully enact relationships in their new roles. In sum, through serial and inves-
the role identity, which results, in the current model, in establish- titure tactics, experienced members of the profession (i.e., men-
ing identity related goals. We test these core propositions from tors) may facilitate early career professionals’ adjustment by giv-
Ashforth’s (2001) role transitions theory by testing a model in ing the newcomers needed advice and instructing them in how to
which career and psychosocial mentoring are hypothesized to be do their new jobs and by making them feel like they belong in the
positively related to professional identification, which, in turn is profession (Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz, & Lima, 2004; Ashforth &
related to the content (extrinsic and intrinsic) and quality (goal
Saks, 1996; Ostroff & Kozlowski, 1992).
difficulty, specificity, and commitment) of personal career goals
Relatedly, Kram (1985) outlined two primary mentor functions
among graduate school students (see Figure 1).
provided by developmental relationships— career development
support and psychosocial support— both of which can contribute
Mentoring and Professional Identification to an individual’s growth and advancement (Kram, 1988). Both
career and psychosocial mentoring have been positively associated
Mentoring has a variety of different connotations, sometimes
with important career outcomes such as promotions (Dreher &
referring to dyadic relationships, or the “classic” mentor relation-
Ash, 1990; Wayne, Liden, Kraimer, & Graf, 1999), income (Dre-
ship between senior (mentor) and junior (protégé) colleagues (e.g.,
her & Ash, 1990), intrinsic job satisfaction (Chao et al., 1992), and
Chao, Walz, & Gardner, 1992; Mitchell, Eby, & Ragins, 2015),
career commitment (Allen et al., 2004). We propose that both
and at other times referring to a web of developmental work
career and psychosocial mentoring received in developmental re-
relationships including informal mentors, role models, and coaches
lationships will relate to graduate students’ professional identifi-
(e.g., Kram, 1988; Kram & Isabella, 1985). In the current study,
cation.
we allow for multiple mentors, thus, our definition of mentoring is
consistent with the broader web of developmental relationships, Career mentoring. Career development support, or career
which Kram (1988) describes as “the range of possible adult mentoring, enhances protégé advancement in an organization or in
working relationships that can provide developmental functions their career and includes functions such as sponsorship, exposure
for career development” (p. 4). It has long been recognized that and visibility, coaching, protection, and providing challenging
organizational insiders, or mentors, are an important aspect of the assignments. This type of mentoring is representative of a serial
newcomer socialization process (e.g., Austin, 2002; Bauer & socialization tactic wherein mentors, acting as experienced mem-
Green, 1998; Ellis, Nifadkar, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2017; Humberd bers of the profession, provide newcomers with clear guidelines
& Rouse, 2016). Socialization dynamics include multiple pro- and structure that helps them to organize and make sense of their
cesses that define how individuals learn the social knowledge and
skills necessary to assume a particular role such as orientation, 1
Ashforth (2001) notes that the need for control is conceptually similar
training, apprenticeship programs, mentoring, and general on-the- to the need for autonomy (McClelland, 1985) and the need for belonging
job learning (Van Maanen, 1978; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). is similar to the need for affiliation (McClelland, 1985). However, Mc-
Van Maanen and Schein (1979) argue that organizations imple- Clelland’s needs are most often characterized as individual differences—
individuals have consistently high or low desires for each—whereas Ash-
ment a variety of bipoloar tactics to integrate new employees. We forth’s (2001) psychological motives for control and belonging are variable
specifically integrate the two tactics of serial and investiture so- and role specific, therefore warranting different terminology to distinguish
cialization into our discussion of mentoring because they concern the motives from the individual differences.
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 43
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
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Figure 1. Partially mediated model of mentoring to short-term career goals through professional identification.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01.

new role (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). In addition, Kram (1985) Psychosocial mentoring. Psychosocial mentoring addresses
described helping the protégé develop a sense of professional interpersonal aspects of the relationship between mentor and pro-
competence and achieving long-term career goals as a primary tégé and includes functions such as serving as a role model and
career mentor function. providing counseling, friendship, and advice (Kram, 1985). Psy-
Identity in a new role is often tied to concerns about competence chosocial mentoring is consistent with investiture socialization
(Kram, 1985). Ashforth (2001) proposes that one of the psycho- tactics wherein experienced organizational members act as role
logical needs that newcomers seek to satisfy when entering a new models for new recruits and provide positive social support (Van
role is a need for control. As mentioned previously, the need for Maanen & Schein, 1979). Whereas career mentoring is expected to
control is defined as a need for agency and mastery in one’s role fulfill motives for control, psychosocial mentoring is expected to
and includes concepts related to competence, autonomy, self- fulfill motives for belonging. The motive for belonging is defined
determination, and power. The premise of this motive is that when broadly as a desire for attachment with others in a new role as well
one has control over one’s role, this creates a sense of involvement as the desire to be a part of a community that shares common
and responsibility and allows one to more fully internalize the new interests (Ashforth, 2001; Bowlby, 1988; Brewer, 1993). This
role identity. Ashforth (2001) notes that this motive answers the motive answers the question of “who”—who shares this identity
question of “how”— how do I enact the new role? with me?
Efforts to clarify one’s identity in terms of how to perform When transitioning into a new role, the belonging motive is tied
competently are facilitated by career mentoring. Newcomers to a to positive value judgments about one’s self relative to a target
role fulfill the need for control by obtaining information and social group. Drawing from sociometer theory (Leary & Baumeis-
feedback about role requisite knowledge, expectations, and values ter, 2000), Ashforth (2001) proposes that social inclusion and a
from more experienced members. In the process of mastering the sense of belonging enhance self-esteem, leading to identity con-
role (i.e., feeling control), the newcomer learns and develops skills struction consistent with the referent group (e.g., Vignoles, Rega-
and knowledge on how to behave in role-appropriate ways. Career lia, Manzi, Golledge, & Scabini, 2006). This corresponds with
mentoring exemplifies control in that an experienced colleague, social identity theory wherein perceived group membership arises
through coaching, is providing information, feedback, and support out of a social comparison process where individuals differentiate
to help the newcomer better understand the values, expectations, between in-group members similar to the self and out-group mem-
and appropriate behaviors of the graduate program and profession bers who are different from the self as a way to enhance self-
more broadly. Through exposure to challenging assignments, ca-
esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1985). Psychosocial mentoring is ex-
reer mentoring provides a newcomer with experiences that help
pected to positively relate to professional identification because
him or her develop professional knowledge and skills (i.e., in-
psychosocial mentoring fosters attachment, or belonging, with
crease professional competencies). Satisfying this control motive
senior colleagues in the profession, which develops the newcom-
is also consistent with themes from social identification theory as
er’s self-concept (Kram, 1985). Psychosocial mentoring can build
a mentor can help a newcomer shape him or herself in ways
self-esteem and interpersonal belonging in several ways. Through
consistent with in-group classification (Tajfel, 1978). A sense of
serving as a role model, the mentor sets a desirable example that
control over a role identity engendered by coaching from a mentor
the newcomer identifies with as representative of the profession.
enables one to own the identity and to more fully adopt it as an
Accompanied with acceptance and confirmation from the mentor,
authentic expression of the self. As such, fulfilling this motive
the newcomer sees an idealized self in the mentor that allows one
answers the question of “how” the newcomer can engage with the
to have a positive appraisal of one’s own value and viability as a
new role and experience the power and success of one’s mentors
member of the group to which one aspires to belong. The more
as one’s own.
psychosocial mentoring one receives (i.e., acceptance and confir-
Hypothesis 1: Career mentoring positively predicts profes- mation, friendship, and counseling), the more likely that individual
sional identification. will understand and feel similar to others in the profession, which
 44 GRECO AND KRAIMER

increases feelings of self-esteem and in-group belonging. As such, goal can range from being self-determined with little to no external
fulfilling the belonging motive answers the question of “who” the pressure, to completely controlled by external pressures. Further,
newcomer shares an identity with and represents a positive eval- intrinsic or extrinsic goal content is not necessarily related to a
uation of the future self (Leary & Baumeister, 2000). Therefore, particular goal motive (self-determined vs. controlled). For exam-
higher levels of psychosocial mentoring will relate to higher levels ple, it is possible that early career academics may set an extrinsic
of professional identification. goal to get a job at a prestigious university because they personally
value the resources and opportunities associated with prestigious
Hypothesis 2: Psychosocial mentoring positively predicts pro- universities (self-determined motive) or because they feel pressure
fessional identification. from graduate advisors to pursue a research career at a prestigious
university (controlled motive). Consistent with previous work
Professional Identification and Career Goals (e.g., Seibert et al., 2013), we focus only on the content of the goal
itself, rather than the potential motivation behind the goal, treating
For goal outcome variables, we focus on goal content (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic career goals as distinct, theoretically orthog-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

extrinsic and intrinsic) and goal quality based on the findings from onal constructs.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

the pilot study (available as an online supplemental materials) and Goal content-extrinsic. The content of extrinsic goals in-
as a reflection of social identification theory and the broader goal cludes status and financial outcomes, those that primarily entail
setting literature. We also further differentiate between short- and social recognition or approval of others or material rewards
long-term goals based on goal setting theory. Latham and Seijts (Kasser & Ryan, 1996; Seibert et al., 2013). The high public status
(1999) along with Bandura and Schunk (1981) argue that a key of the professions is unquestioned in nearly all data on occupa-
motivational component in goal setting relies on setting both tional prestige (Abbott, 1981, 2014; Featherman & Hauser, 1976;
short-term (i.e., proximal) and long-term (i.e., distal) goals. Short- Nakao & Treas, 1994). The main argument is that wealth and
term goals, sometimes referred to as subgoals, allow individuals to status are universally and highly valued in any society, so powerful
reframe complex long-term goals into smaller, more attainable occupations are highly regarded by all individuals (Treiman,
steps that increase the chance for feedback and strategy adjustment 2013). Studies have found that business and law students identified
in pursuit of long-term goals (Latham & Seijts, 1999; Seijts &
with their chosen profession because the profession represented
Latham, 2001). Research shows that when learning and motiva-
the ability to have the salary and lifestyle associated with higher
tion, as opposed to just motivation, are required for goal attain-
earnings (Schleef, 2000). Other studies have shown that students
ment, then both short- and long-term goals are necessary for goal
entering business and law professions identified with their chosen
attainment (Bandura & Simon, 1977; Morgan, 1985; Stock &
occupation, not because they had high perceived self-aptitude, but
Cervone, 1990). Although we believe that both short- and long-
because the profession represented the ability to have the prestige
term goals are important outcomes of the mentoring process, there
(Azizzadeh et al., 2003; Schleef, 2000) and social status (Gran-
is no theoretical rationale supporting differential relationships be-
field, 1992) associated with the profession. Thus, external markers
tween professional identification and short- versus long-term
such as income and status are a crucial basis for authenticating
goals. Therefore, although we test the proposed model separately
professional membership.
for short- and long-term goals, we develop our hypotheses refer-
ring simply to “goals.” Self-verification theory can explain why those who identify
Goal content can be broadly categorized into extrinsic/intrinsic more with the profession are more likely to set goals with extrinsic
categories (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Extrinsic goals are defined as the content. According to self-verification theory, people desire veri-
extent to which the individual’s career goals include “extrinsically fication of their core self-views (Swann, 1983; Swann & Read,
motivating attributes such as visible success, status and influence 1981). Motivated by desires for consistency and stability, individ-
within the organization or society, and high financial rewards” uals strive to maintain consistent self-views and chronically rein-
(Seibert et al., 2013, p. 171). Extrinsic goals have an outward force them through a variety of social processes. Specifically,
orientation (Williams, Hedberg, Cox, & Deci, 2000) that reveal a individuals prefer others to see them as they see themselves
concern with external signs of self-worth and interpersonal com- (Swann, Stein-Seroussi, & Giesler, 1992) and seek out interactions
parison with others (Kasser & Ryan, 1996). Intrinsic goals are with others that reinforce their self-concept. The extent to which
defined as goals that include intrinsically motivating features such people see professional identity as a significant part of their
as “continually gaining new skills and knowledge, having inter- self-conception is reflected by how much they identify with the
esting and challenging work, and having the opportunity to do group (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). If early career professionals have
work that impacts society” (Seibert et al., 2013, p. 171). Intrinsic high levels of identification with the profession, they regard this
goals are consistent with actualizing and growth tendencies and are profession-based self-view as an indispensable part of their self.
expected to satisfy basic and inherent psychological needs for To verify their self-view as professional group members, early
relatedness, competence, and growth (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Such career professionals may set extrinsic goals consistent with char-
goals are expected to be inherently satisfying or valuable to an acteristics of the profession, such as extrinsic signs of status and
individual and are not reliant on the contingent evaluation of others wealth. External goals represent “identity cues” that are highly
(Kasser & Ryan, 1996). identifiable signs and symbols of the profession (e.g., Pratt &
Importantly, Deci and Ryan (2000) note that the content (ex- Rafaeli, 1997). By setting goals that represent acquisition of signs
trinsic vs. intrinsic) of goals is distinct from the motives for goals, and symbols of who they are as professional members, extrinsic
which are related to the reasons why people are pursuing the goals allow early career professionals to verify their own sense of
particular goal. The authors argue that motivations for pursuing a self.
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 45

Hypothesis 3: Professional identification positively predicts are prototypical of professional communities, thus those goals are
extrinsic goals. likely to be difficult to attain. Difficult goals are also those which
may be most visible to others (e.g., publications in high status
Goal content-intrinsic. Individuals with intrinsic career goals journal) and, as such, have the potential to act as identity cues
seek opportunities to learn and grow, they aspire to gain knowl- which can communicate the identity to others and support self-
edge through challenging work. Kasser and Ryan (1996) conclude verification processes. Finally, goal commitment is created be-
that a defining characteristic of intrinsic goals is that they are cause social identification theory suggests that if one identifies
inherently valuable or satisfying, rather than being dependent on with the profession then he or she will be more committed to
the contingent evaluations of others. actions that maintain belonging to the group and verify identity as
Many professions have stated purposes that align with intrinsic a group member. As a result, high levels of professional identifi-
ideals. For example, medical schools emphasize the importance of cation should lead to commitment to goals shaped by the profes-
helping those in need, business schools emphasize the goal of sion.
improving workers’ lives and the economy, and education schools
emphasize the goal of improving society. These ideals are widely Hypothesis 5: Professional identification positively predicts
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

endorsed by society and likely play some role for professionals in goal quality.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

entering their chosen programs. Studies of law students indicate

that some students enter law school for altruistic reasons, such as Both career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring are expected
wanting to help people and improve society through social justice to be positively related to extrinsic and intrinsic goal content and
(Granfield, 1992; Schleef, 2000). Further, most professional fields goal quality through professional identification. Professional iden-
offer intellectually stimulating work based on years of advanced tification is a key mediating variable between mentoring and
education, suggesting that professionals find some degree of chal- career goals because it reflects the degree to which the professional
lenging work personally fulfilling. Even if professional students do role is subjectively important to role occupants (Ashforth, 2001)
not have intrinsic motivations prior to entering the profession, to and reflects views that a primary mentor function is to help the
the extent that they internalize professional standards and norms protégé develop a sense of professional competence and achieve
through identification with the role, they will develop intrinsic career goals (Kram, 1985). Mentoring experiences provide the
goals that reflect professional standards of conduct as part of the foundation for professional expectations (e.g., goals; Noe et al.,
self-verification process. Through adopting the perspective that 1990), but the extent to which those expectations are translated
altruistic and intrinsic goals are important for professionals, early into personal goals depends on whether professional standards are
career professionals are able to see themselves as others see them internalized through professional identification. In other words, the
(Swann, 1983). High levels of professional identification will then more one internalizes mentoring ideals through professional iden-
positively relate to individual intrinsic goals because the profes- tification, the more likely he or she is to have intrinsic and extrinsic
sional role presents an opportunity to do meaningful and challeng- goals (consistent with professional standards) and goals of high
ing work that also has the potential to have a positive impact on quality. Goals are the future enactment of professional identities
others. (Ashforth, 2001) developed from mentoring experiences (Tenen-
baum, Crosby, & Gliner, 2001).
Hypothesis 4: Professional identification positively predicts
Hypothesis 6: The relationship between (a) career mentoring
intrinsic goals.
and (b) psychosocial mentoring and goal outcomes (i.e., in-
Goal quality. Goal quality is represented by goals that align trinsic goals, extrinsic goals, goal quality) is mediated by
with the primary tenets of goal setting theory, that is, career goals professional identification.
that are difficult, specific, and to which individuals are committed.
Specific and difficult goals and goal commitment are the primary Method
features of effective goals within goal setting theory; such goals
are better at directing energy and attention necessary for goal Sample and Procedure
attainment (Locke & Latham, 1990, 2002). Early career profes-
sionals who identify with the profession are likely to set high Survey data was collected from graduate students in profes-
quality goals as part of the self-verification process which, at its sional programs in the United States as recorded in the University
core, is based on uncertainty reduction. Individuals like to feel that of Iowa’s IRB# 201507760: Career Goals and Professional Iden-
their social world is “knowable and controllable” (Swann, 1983, p. tification: Goal Setting in the Role Transition Process. Schools
34) and are motivated to see to it that neither their self-conceptions were contacted based on their conference division in order to target
nor the appraisals of others in relation to their self change in any universities with large and diverse graduate programs; universities
drastic way. When early career professionals identify with the from the Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC were included in our
profession, they are likely to have a clear idea of what constitutes initial contact efforts. Links to the online survey were distributed
success for professional members and are likely to model their through e-mail. There were three surveys in total, each separated
career goals after clear indications of success as a way to verify by approximately 4 weeks. The purpose of collecting data over
their status as a professional member. High quality goals are clear three surveys was to reduce systematic errors related to common
and specific and thus reduce uncertainty associated with variation method variance (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff,
in self-concepts related to the professional identity. 2003). Invitations to complete the first online survey were distrib-
In terms of goal difficulty, individuals high in professional uted in two ways. First, we identified graduate program coordina-
identification should set goals that reflect the high standards that tors from university websites and emailed asking them to forward
 46 GRECO AND KRAIMER

the link to the first online survey to their graduate students. In total, was Caucasian (75.2%), and the remaining respondents identified
we e-mailed 388 graduate coordinators. Second, when e-mail as Asian (16.2%), African American (2.9%), Indian (2.4%), and
addresses for students were available on university websites, we other (3.3%). About one quarter (24.6%) of respondents were
e-mailed the students directly with a link to the first online survey; international students. Approximately half of the respondents were
we directly e-mailed 3,635 students. married or living with a committed partner (57%) and the majority
Survey 1 contained measures for career and psychosocial men- did not have children (88.9%).
toring, potential control variables, and demographics. Survey 2,
sent 4 weeks later, contained measures of professional identifica-
tion, open-ended questions for short-term goals and scale items for Measures
short-term goal content (i.e., extrinsic and intrinsic) and goal All measures were self-reported and items were measured on a
quality (i.e., specific, difficult, commitment). Short-term goals 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
were defined as “occupational goals that you hope to achieve soon (strongly agree) unless otherwise noted.
after graduation.” Survey 3, sent another 4 weeks later, contained Mentoring. Both career mentoring and psychosocial mentor-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

open-ended questions for long-term goals and scale items for ing scales were from the shortened version of Dreher and Ash
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

long-term goal content (i.e., extrinsic and status) and goal quality (1990) reported in Kraimer, Seibert, Wayne, Liden, and Bravo
(i.e., specific, difficult, commitment). Long-term goals were de- (2011) and contained four items each. Responses range from 1 (not
fined as “occupational goals that you hope to achieve one day in at all) to 5 (to a very large extent). Example items for career
your career.” mentoring ask to what extent faculty advisor(s) have “given or
In total, 704 graduate students responded to Survey 1; however, recommended you for challenging assignments that present oppor-
a significant number only filled out part of the survey. After tunities to learn new skills” and “given or recommended you for
eliminating respondents who did not provide an e-mail address assignments that helped you meet new colleagues.” Items were
(which was necessary to send the follow-up surveys) and those averaged to create a single scale score (␣ ⫽ .90). Examples of
with missing data on a majority of study variables, the final sample psychosocial support include items such as the extent to which
size was 480 respondents to Survey 1. Because graduate coordi- advisor(s) have “conveyed empathy for the concerns and feelings
nators forwarded the survey link to an unknown number of grad- you have discussed with him/her” and “encouraged you to talk
uate students, it is not possible to calculate a response rate. Invi- openly about anxiety, fears, or concerns you have that may detract
tations to complete the second and third surveys were distributed from your work.” Items were averaged to create a single scale
directly to the 480 graduate students who responded to Survey 1. score (␣ ⫽ .89).
In total, 343 students responded to Survey 2 (71.4% response rate Professional identification. Professional identification was
of Survey 1 respondents) and 331 students responded to Survey 3 measured using five items from Hekman et al. (2009). Example
(68.9% response rate of Survey 1 respondents). After removing items are “In general, when someone praises my profession, it
participants with missing data on focal variables, the final sample feels like a personal compliment” and “My field’s successes are
size was 312 for testing the model using short-term goals (short- my successes.” Items were averaged to create a single scale score
term goal [STG] model) and 243 for testing the model using (␣ ⫽ .74).
long-term goals (long-term goal [LTG] model). Goal content. The extrinsic content of goals was assessed
Respondents were enrolled in programs from 28 different uni- with eight items: five scale items from Seibert et al. (2013) edited
versities. Approximately one quarter (23.6%) of respondents were to fit the academic context (e.g., replacing “company” with
enrolled in Master’s programs (e.g., MA, MS, MLS), while the “field”) and three additional items. Example items from Seibert et
remaining three quarters (76.4%) of respondents were enrolled in al. (2013) are “It is important to me to achieve financial success in
PhD programs or equivalent (e.g., PhD, Ed.S, MD/PhD). The my career” and “It is important for me to be seen by others as a
respondents represented a large variety of program fields: The 17 success in my career.” The three additional items were: “A high
fields were subsequently categorized into “hard” and “social” income is one of my career goals”; “One’s success in this career
sciences. Hard sciences included about half of respondents can be judged by the amount of money one makes”; and “Rank and
(53.2%) from the following fields: engineering/computer science, status are important to me in my career.”
health/medicine, biological and physical sciences, agricultural or Intrinsic goals were measured with seven items: five scale items
animal sciences, architecture, mathematics, chemistry, and astron- from Seibert et al. (2013) and two additional items. Example items
omy. Social sciences (46.8%) included respondents from the fol- from Seibert et al. (2013) are “I want to have a positive impact on
lowing fields: arts/humanities, business, communication, educa- other people or social problems through my work” and “It is
tion, government, law/public policy/criminal justice, psychology/ important for me to continue to learn and grow over the course of
social science, and library science. Programs ranged from 1 to 8 my career.” The two additional items were “I want to do work that
years, the mean program length was 4.45 years. Respondents had is important and meaningful” and “I want to have a positive impact
been enrolled in their programs from .23 to 8 years and the mean on organizations and society through my work.” Extrinsic and
time in the program was 2.08 years.2 A majority of respondents intrinsic goals were measured twice, once with respect to short-
(86.7%) were on track to finish on time. Students had a variety of
financial support including teaching assistantships (49.5%), re-
2
search assistantships (53.8%), and/or grants (19.8%). As a robustness check for potential outliers in the sample, we also ran
our analyses removing six respondents who had been in their programs 6
The age of respondents ranged from 21 to 63 years, with a mean or more years and indicated they were not on track to finish on time. The
age of 28.14 years; 54.6% of respondents were female; 6.4% analyses with this reduced sample did not substantively change results of
indicated they were of Hispanic origin. A majority of the sample the hypothesis testing, thus, we retained all respondents in the analyses.
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 47

term goals in Survey 2 and once for long-term goals in Survey 3. ␥specificity ⫽ .79, p ⫽ .00; ␥commitment ⫽ .94, p ⫽ .00). The fit of
Instructions on the respective surveys asked respondents to think the second-order model exhibited significantly better fit than a
about their short- or long-term goals and asked them to rate the single-factor model (⌬␹2 ⫽ 10.84, ⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .05). Credé and
extent they agreed with the items with reference to their goals. Harms (2015) recommend providing the average variance ex-
Items were averaged to create a single scale score for short-term tracted (AVE) which summarizes the ability of the higher-order
extrinsic (␣ ⫽ .82), short-term intrinsic (␣ ⫽ .78), long-term factor to account for variance in the lower-order factors; the AVE
extrinsic (␣ ⫽ .81), and long-term intrinsic (␣ ⫽ .84) goals. for the STG model was .75, which surpasses the recommended
Goal quality. On Survey 2, respondents were asked to gen- value of .50 (Credé & Harms, 2015; Johnson, Rosen, Chang,
erate short-term goals. These goals were explained as goals that Djurdevic, & Taing, 2012; Johnson, Rosen, & Djurdjevic, 2011).
one hoped to achieve soon after graduation, such as getting a The LTG model demonstrated good fit (␹2 ⫽ 126.62; RMSEA ⫽
particular type of job or getting a job at a particular university/ .09; CFI ⫽ .91; SRMR ⫽ .06) with each first order factor signif-
institution. On Survey 3, respondents were asked to generate icantly loading onto the goal quality variable (␥difficulty ⫽ .45, p ⫽
long-term goals. These goals were explained as occupational goals .00; ␥specificity ⫽ .79, p ⫽ .00; ␥commitment ⫽ .96, p ⫽ .00). The fit
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

that one hopes to achieve someday in his or her career, or goals of the second-order model exhibited significantly better fit than a
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

representing more distant occupational aspirations. We asked re- single-factor model (⌬␹2 ⫽ 19.20, ⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .05) and the AVE
spondents to list two short-term goals (Survey 2) and two long- for the second-order factor model was .58. Although some of the
term goals (Survey 3), as this was the average of the open-ended fit indices are slightly below recommended cut-off points for
request for self-reported goals from the Pilot Study (included as an “acceptable fit,” the model comparisons, AVE scores, and corre-
online supplement). Across the respondents, a total of 626 short- lations among the dimensions (r ranges from .38 to .58 for short-
term goals and 519 long-term goals were reported. term goals and from .36 to .76 for long-term goals) suggest the
After each open-ended goal, respondents replied to statements dimensions can be represented by a single overall construct, goal
related to goal difficulty, goal specificity, and goal commitment. quality. Both short-term (␣ ⫽ .80) and long-term (␣ ⫽ .77) goal
Goal difficulty was measured with two items from Steers (1976). quality demonstrated adequate levels of reliability.
The items were “This goal will require a great deal of effort from Control variables. We included two relevant control vari-
me to complete” and “This goal is quite difficult to attain.” Goal ables following recommended guidelines (Aguinis & Vanden-
specificity was measured with two questions from Steers (1976); berg, 2014; Becker, 2005; Bernerth & Aguinis, 2016). First, we
the two items were “This goal is very clear and specific” and “I included whether expectations about the profession were met as
have a clear sense of how to achieve this career goal.” Goal a control variable based on Ashforth’s (2001) model of identi-
commitment was measured using two items from Hollenbeck, fication. Ashforth (2001) positions “met expectations” as a
Klein, O’Leary, and Wright (1989): “I am strongly committed to precursor to identity-related processes and subsequent identifi-
pursuing this goal” and “It would take a lot to make me abandon cation; the rationale is that newcomers have certain expecta-
this goal.” tions about new roles, and when these expectations do not
Before creating scale scores for goal quality, two raters inde- match reality, they can experience reality shock which affects
pendently coded all self-reported short- and long-term goal state- subsequent identification processes (Ashforth, 2001; Major,
ments in terms of professional relevance (1 ⫽ relevant; 0 ⫽ not Kozlowski, Chao, & Gardner, 1995). We measured met expec-
relevant). The two raters had a moderate level of agreement based tations with two items measured on Survey 1: “To what extent
on guidelines from Altman (1999) and adapted from Landis and have your expectations about the profession been met” and “All
Koch (1977), Cohen’s ␬ ⫽ .58; any disagreements were resolved in all, have your expectations with regard to the profession been
through discussion. The purpose of this coding was to remove any met” (␣ ⫽ .89, Arnold & Feldman, 1982; Lee & Mowday,
goals that were not professionally relevant when creating the goal 1987). Second, we controlled for the length of time the student
quality score. Of the short-term goals, 38 were deemed not rele- had been in their graduate program because both career goals
vant (e.g., “To get a great job in Seattle, Washington”); of the and mentoring experiences are likely to differ significantly
long-term goals, 20 were deemed not relevant (e.g., “I want to own between the beginning and end of a graduate student’s tenure
and operate my own airplane by age 40”). The dummy code for the (e.g., Humberd & Rouse, 2016). We considered other control
relevancy of the goal (1 or 0) was then multiplied by the average variables such as the program field (hard vs. social science),
of the goal difficulty, specificity, and commitment items for each age, gender, and whether the respondent was an international
goal and all 0 values were subsequently marked as missing data in student, but these variables did not affect the results in a
the analysis. In this way, the score for goal quality excludes goals meaningful way. Therefore, we include these variables in the
that were not professionally relevant. correlation table but not in further analyses.
The relationship between the higher order goal quality construct
and the three first-order dimensions was assessed with a second-
Results
order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A model was specified
in which first-order factors for difficulty, specificity, and commit- The means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations among con-
ment was predicted by a higher-order goal quality construct; trol and study variables are shown in Table 1. Both career mentoring
because each first-order factor related to two distinct goals, errors (r ⫽ .20) and psychosocial mentoring (r ⫽ .30) are positively related
were correlated between items assessing the same goal. The STG to professional identification. In turn, professional identification is
model demonstrated moderately good fit (␹2 ⫽ 190.56; RMSEA ⫽ positively related to all short-term (rextrinsic ⫽ .30; rintrinsic ⫽ .24;
.10; CFI ⫽ .86; SRMR ⫽ .07) and each factor loaded onto the rquality ⫽ .20) and long-term goal (rextrinsic ⫽ .27; rintrinsic ⫽ .26;
hypothesized goal quality variable (␥difficulty ⫽ .86, p ⫽ .00; rquality ⫽ .21) variables.
 48 GRECO AND KRAIMER

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Study Variables

Variable M SD 公AVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

1. Gender .45 .50 — —

2. Age 28.14 5.81 — .06 —
3. International
ⴱⴱ
student .25 .43 — .24 ⫺.02 —
4. Program field .47 .50 — ⫺.01 .16ⴱⴱ .00 —
5. Met expectations 3.81 .86 .89 .08 ⫺.02 .09 .01 .88
6. Time in program
(in years) 2.05 1.69 — ⫺.06 .28ⴱⴱ ⫺.02 .01 ⫺.22ⴱⴱ —
7. Career
mentoring 3.13 1.09 .74 .08 ⫺.05 .09 ⫺.01 .22ⴱⴱ ⫺.03 .90
8. Psychosocial
ⴱⴱ
⫺.05 ⫺.02 ⫺.09 .49ⴱⴱ .89
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mentoring 3.09 1.16 .75 .07 .10 .35

9. Professional
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identification 3.57 .72 .63 ⫺.22ⴱⴱ ⫺.06 .03 ⫺.02 .21ⴱⴱ ⫺.12ⴱ .20ⴱⴱ .30ⴱⴱ .74
10. STG content-
extrinsic 3.43 .67 .80 ⫺.04 ⫺.07 .15ⴱ ⫺.03 .06 ⫺.07 .13ⴱ .10 .30ⴱⴱ .82
11. STG content-
intrinsic 4.63 .37 .77 ⫺.16ⴱⴱ .02 ⫺.15ⴱ ⫺.09 .07 ⫺.04 .08 .12ⴱ .24ⴱⴱ .14ⴱ .78
12. STG quality 3.89 .85 .56 ⫺.06 .04 ⫺.01 .12ⴱ .22ⴱⴱ .01 .05 .08 .20ⴱⴱ .21ⴱⴱ .16ⴱⴱ .80
13. LTG content-
extrinsic 3.42 .64 .79 ⫺.01 ⫺.12 .23ⴱⴱ ⫺.01 .08 ⫺.04 .15ⴱ .14ⴱ .27ⴱⴱ .82ⴱⴱ .11 .10 .81
14. LTG content-
intrinsic 4.63 .43 .80 ⫺.11 .03 ⫺.20ⴱⴱ .00 ⫺.01 .04 .11 .06 .26ⴱⴱ .19ⴱⴱ .62ⴱⴱ .19ⴱⴱ .14ⴱ .84
15. LTG quality 3.88 .78 .57 ⫺.01 ⫺.03 .08 .12 .14ⴱ ⫺.09 .17ⴱⴱ .10 .21ⴱⴱ .27ⴱⴱ .19ⴱⴱ .40ⴱⴱ .22ⴱⴱ .30ⴱⴱ .77

Note. N ranges from 312 (STG model), 243 (LTG model); STG ⫽ short-term goal; LTG ⫽ long-term goal; AVE ⫽ average variance extracted; values
in italics are alpha reliabilities. Gender is coded 0 ⫽ female, 1 ⫽ male; international student is coded 0 ⫽ no, 1 ⫽ yes; program field is coded 0 ⫽ hard
sciences, 1 ⫽ soft sciences. Variables 1– 4 were potential control variables and are not included in model estimation.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis SRMR ⫽ .05). A test of alternative models showed that the
hypothesized model had better fit than a five-factor model where
We first conducted a CFA, using Mplus 7.2, to assess the extent
career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring were modeled as a
to which scale items captured intended constructs. When con-
single “mentoring” variable (⌬␹2 ⫽ 509.79, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .01), a
structs had more than six items as indicators we created parcels.
five-factor model where extrinsic and intrinsic goal content vari-
Given the large number of items relative to sample size in the
ables were combined into a single goal content variable (⌬␹2 ⫽
current study, parcels enabled us to maintain a better sample
353.76, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .01), or a four-factor model where all goal
size-to-parameter ratio and decreased the likelihood of identifica-
variables were combined into a single factor (⌬␹2 ⫽ 406.49,
tion problems in the CFA (Williams & O’Boyle, 2008). Parcels
⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .01).
were created using the item-to-construct balance approach pre-
For the LTG model, the hypothesized six-factor model demon-
sented in Little, Cunningham, Shahar, and Widaman (2002) with
strated good fit (␹2 ⫽ 363.06; RMSEA ⫽ .06; CFI ⫽ .94;
the exception of the parcels for the goal quality variable. Goal
quality is multidimensional and comprised of distinct subscales SRMR ⫽ .06). A test of alternative models showed that the
(i.e., difficulty, specificity, commitment), so items from each sub- hypothesized model had better fit than a five-factor model where
scale were grouped into conceptually relevant parcels; this maxi- career mentoring and psychosocial mentoring were modeled as a
mizes the internal consistency of each parcel for multidimensional single “mentoring” variable (⌬␹2 ⫽ 436.58, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .01), a
latent variables (Williams & O’Boyle, 2008). five-factor model where extrinsic and intrinsic goal content vari-
For the hypothesized models, we performed two separate CFAs, ables were combined into a single goal content variable (⌬␹2 ⫽
one using short-term goals (the STG model), and the other using 251.87, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .01), or a four-factor model where all goal
long-term goals (the LTG model). Each item or parcel was fit to its variables were combined into a single factor (⌬␹2 ⫽ 316.44,
relative factor. In the CFA for both models, a total of six constructs ⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .01).
were included in each analysis: career mentoring (four items), We also computed the AVE estimates for the 10 scales (Fornell
psychosocial mentoring (four items), professional identification & Larcker, 1981); the AVE estimate is the average amount of
(five items), short-/long-term goal content-extrinsic (three parcels variation that a latent construct is able to explain in the observed
each), short-/long-term goal content-intrinsic (three parcels each), variable to which it is theoretically related (Farrell, 2010). For the
short-/long-term goal quality (three parcels each). All factor load- control variable, AVE was .80 for met expectations. For the model
ings on the specified factors were significant, which indicates that variables, AVE values were .55 for career mentoring, .56 for
the items and parcels were acceptable indicators for the designated psychosocial mentoring, .39 for professional identification, .64 for
latent variables. STG content– extrinsic, .59 for STG content–intrinsic, .31 for STG
For the STG model, the hypothesized six-factor model demon- quality, .62 for LTG content– extrinsic, .65 for LTG content–
strated good fit (␹2 ⫽ 374.15; RMSEA ⫽ .05; CFI ⫽ .94; intrinsic, and .32 for LTG quality. A purpose of calculating the
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 49

AVE is to establish discriminant validity in latent variables. Dis- (⌬␹2 ⫽ 4.81, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .05). We report and interpret findings
criminant validity is supported when the AVE of each construct is from the partially mediated model (Model 5 in Table 2).
greater than its shared variance (i.e., square of the correlation) with The results of the STG model are presented in Figure 1. Hypothesis
any other construct (Fornell & Larcker, 1981) or, alternatively, the 1 predicted a positive relationship between career mentoring and
square root of the AVE (公AVE) is greater than the raw correla- professional identification, which was not supported (␤ ⫽ .09, p ⫽
tion; these values are presented in Table 1. For all but one of the .27). Hypothesis 2 predicted a positive relationship between psycho-
bivariate relationships the 公AVE is greater than the correlation. social mentoring and professional identification, which was supported
The correlation between STG content-extrinsic and LTG content- (␤ ⫽ .26, p ⬍ .01). Together, career and psychosocial mentoring
extrinsic is higher than the 公AVE value; however, hypothesis explained 17% of the variance (R2 ⫽ .17, p ⬍ .01) in professional
testing is done separately for STG and LTG models, so there is no identification. Hypotheses 3 and 4 predicted a positive relationship
need to demonstrate discriminant validity between these variables. between professional identification and both STG content-extrinsic
and STG content-intrinsic, respectively. Both hypotheses were sup-
Hypothesis Testing ported (␤Extrinsic ⫽ .27, p ⬍ .01; ␤Intrinsic ⫽ .30, p ⬍ .01). Finally,
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Hypothesis 5 predicted that professional identification would be pos-

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After assessing model fit of the measurement model, we tested

itively related to STG quality, which was also supported (␤ ⫽ .40,
the theoretical model using structural equation modeling (SEM;
p ⬍ .01).
Mplus 7.2) with maximum-likelihood estimation. Any missing
Hypothesis 6 predicted that professional identification would
data was coded as such in the data file; this analysis assumes that
data are missing completely at random, uses pairwise deletion mediate the relationship between mentoring and career goals. The
(Muthen & Muthen, 2007), and computes standard errors for indirect effects of the career and psychosocial mentoring on the
parameter estimates based on the observed information matrix goal outcomes through professional identification are listed in
(Kenward & Molenberghs, 1998). We evaluate the model fit and Table 3. None of the indirect effects from career mentoring to goal
hypotheses independently for both STG and LTG models. outcome variables were significant, thus, Hypothesis 6a was not
Short-term goal model. The hypothesized mediated model supported. In contrast, the indirect effects of psychosocial mentor-
using short-term goals fit the data well (␹2 ⫽ 512.94; RMSEA ⫽ ing on STG content-extrinsic (.07), STG content-intrinsic (.08),
.05; CFI ⫽ .93; SRMR ⫽ .06). The fit of the hypothesized STG and STG quality (.10) were all significant (p ⬍ .05), providing
model was then compared with four alternative models as reported support for Hypothesis 6b. Lastly, in the partially mediated model,
in Table 2. The model comparisons were between the hypothesized psychosocial mentoring (␤ ⫽ .17, p ⬍ .05) had a positive, direct
model and three partially mediated models that included direct relation to STG quality. Variance explained for each of the goal
paths from the independent variables to the goal outcomes; each outcomes was: STG content-extrinsic (R2 ⫽ .07, p ⬍ .05), STG
detailed in Table 2. In models including paths from career men- content-intrinsic (R2 ⫽ .09, p ⬍ .05), and STG quality (R2 ⫽ .24,
toring to goal outcomes (⌬␹2 ⫽ 3.19, ⌬df ⫽ 3, ns), psychosocial p ⬍ .01).
mentoring to goal outcomes (⌬␹2 ⫽ 5.98, ⌬df ⫽ 3, ns), or both Long-term goal model. The hypothesized mediated model
mentoring to all outcomes (⌬␹2 ⫽ 7.42, ⌬df ⫽ 6, ns) there was no using long-term goals fit the data well (␹2 ⫽ 460.24; RMSEA ⫽
significant difference in model fit. However, examination of the .05; CFI ⫽ .93; SRMR ⫽ .07). The fit of the hypothesized LTG
individual paths showed a significant direct relationship between model was again compared to alternative path models as reported
psychosocial mentoring and the goal quality variable. Conse- in Table 2. In models including direct paths from career mentoring
quently, we tested a final parsimonious model that included a path to goal outcomes (⌬␹2 ⫽ 9.35, ⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .05) and psychosocial
from psychosocial mentoring to goal quality. Including this path mentoring to goal outcomes (⌬␹2 ⫽ 10.96, ⌬df ⫽ 3, p ⬍ .05) there
did significantly improve model fit from the hypothesized model was significant improvement in model fit. Including paths from

Table 2
Structural Model Fit for Short- and Long-Term Goal Outcomes

Model ␹2 df RMSEA [90% CI] CFI SRMR ⌬␹2

Short-term goal model

1. Fully mediated (hypothesized) 512.94 263 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06
2. Partially mediated (career mentoring to all outcomes) 509.75 260 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 3.19
3. Partially mediated (psychosocial mentoring to all outcomes) 506.96 260 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 5.98
4. Partially mediated (both mentoring to all outcomes) 505.52 257 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 7.42
5. Partially mediated (psychosocial mentoring to goal quality) 508.13 262 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 4.81ⴱ
Long-term goal model
1. Fully mediated (hypothesized) 460.24 263 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .07
2. Partially mediated (career mentoring to all outcomes) 450.89 260 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 9.35ⴱ
3. Partially mediated (psychosocial mentoring to all outcomes) 449.28 260 .05 [.04, .06] .94 .06 10.96ⴱ
4. Partially mediated (both mentoring to all outcomes) 446.61 257 .05 [.04, .06] .93 .06 13.63ⴱ
5. Partially mediated (psychosocial mentoring to goal quality) 449.39 262 .05 [.04, .06] .94 .06 10.85ⴱⴱ
Note. All models are compared to fully mediated model. RMSEA ⫽ root-mean-square error of approximation; CI ⫽ confidence interval; CFI ⫽
comparative fit index; SRMR ⫽ standardized root-mean-square residual.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01.
 50 GRECO AND KRAIMER

Table 3
Direct and Indirect Effects From Mentoring Variables to Short- and Long-Term Goal Outcomes

Standardized
IV Path path estimate 95% CI

Short-term goal model

Career mentoring Professional Identification ➜ STG Content-Extrinsic .02 [⫺.02, .06]
Professional Identification ➜ STG Content-Intrinsic .03 [⫺.02, .07]
Professional Identification ➜ STG Quality .03 [⫺.02; .10]
Psychosocial mentoring Professional Identification ➜ STG Content-Extrinsic .07ⴱ [.02, .12]
Professional Identification ➜ STG Content-Intrinsic .08ⴱ [.02, .14]
Professional Identification ➜ STG Quality .10ⴱ [.03, .18]
LTG Quality .17ⴱ [.02; .32]
Long-term goal model
Career mentoring Professional Identification ➜ LTG Content-Extrinsic .02 [⫺.02, .06]
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Professional Identification ➜ LTG Content-Intrinsic .02 [⫺.02, .05]

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Professional Identification ➜ LTG Quality .01 [⫺.02, .05]

Psychosocial mentoring Professional Identification ➜ LTG Content-Extrinsic .06ⴱ [.01, .12]
Professional Identification ➜ LTG Content-Intrinsic .06ⴱ [.01, .12]
Professional Identification ➜ LTG Quality .05 [⫺.01, .12]
LTG Quality .31ⴱ [.13, .48]
Note. CI ⫽ confidence interval; STG ⫽ short-term goal; LTG ⫽ long-term goal; direct paths are bolded.
ⴱ
p ⬍ .05.

both types of mentoring to goal outcomes also significantly im- quality. Lastly, in the partially mediated model psychosocial men-
proved model fit from the hypothesized model (⌬␹2 ⫽ 13.63, toring (␤ ⫽ .31, p ⬍ .01) had a positive, direct relation to LTG
⌬df ⫽ 6, p ⬍ .05). Examination of the individual paths suggested quality. Variance explained for each of the goal outcomes was:
that the improvement in fit was attributable to the direct relation- LTG content-extrinsic (R2 ⫽ .05, p ⫽ .12), LTG content-intrinsic
ship between psychosocial mentoring and the goal quality variable (R2 ⫽ .05, p ⫽ .12), and STG quality (R2 ⫽ .18, p ⬍ .01).
in particular. Thus, we ran a more parsimonious fifth model, where In summary, the methodological differences between the STG and
psychosocial mentoring had a direct path only to LTG quality. This LTG models were the inclusion of short-term versus long-term goals
model had a significant improvement in model fit over the hypoth- as outcomes and sample size (n ⫽ 312 vs. n ⫽ 243), respectively. We
esized model (⌬␹2 ⫽ 10.85, ⌬df ⫽ 1, p ⬍ .01). Therefore, we base found that a partially mediated model with a direct path from psy-
our interpretation for the LTG model on Model 5 (see Figure 2). chosocial mentoring to goal quality fit the data best for both STG and
Hypothesis 1 predicted a positive relationship between career men- LTG models. There was consistency across both models; the primary
toring and professional identification, which was not supported (␤ ⫽ difference in findings was that psychosocial mentoring had direct and
.07, p ⫽ .42) and Hypothesis 2 predicted a positive relationship indirect effects with goal quality in the STG model whereas it was
between psychosocial mentoring and professional identification, directly, but not indirectly, related to goal quality in the LTG model.
which was supported (␤ ⫽ .28, p ⬍ .01). Together, career and
psychosocial mentoring explained 19% of the variance (R2 ⫽ .19, p ⬍ Supplementary Analysis
.01) in professional identification. Hypothesis 3 and 4 predicted a Although the hypothesized model proposed independent and
positive relationship between professional identification and both direct effects for career and psychosocial mentoring, we performed
LTG content-extrinsic and LTG content-intrinsic, respectively. Both several supplementary analyses to probe potential interactive or
hypotheses were supported (␤Extrinsic ⫽ .23, p ⬍ .01; ␤Intrinsic ⫽ .22, compensatory effects of mentoring on professional identification.3
p ⬍ .01). Finally, Hypothesis 5 predicted that professional identifi- First, it is unlikely that either career or psychosocial mentoring
cation would be positively related to LTG quality, which was not functions occur completely independently of one another. The
supported by the data (␤ ⫽ .19, p ⫽ .05). effect of one mentoring function could be dependent on another,
The retained partially mediated model included a direct path suggesting the presence of a mentoring “profile” including both
from psychosocial mentoring to LTG quality. This direct path, mentoring functions. To test this premise, we modeled interactive
along with the indirect effects of all independent variables on the effects of career and psychosocial mentoring on professional iden-
goal outcomes through professional identification are listed in tification, but the interaction term was not significant in the STG
Table 3. The indirect effects test whether professional identifica- (␤ ⫽ ⫺.03, p ⫽ .69) or LTG (␤ ⫽ ⫺.02, p ⫽ .67) models. This
tion mediates the relationship between mentoring and the LTG suggests that there is not a particular mentoring profile that pre-
outcomes per Hypothesis 6. The indirect effects from career men- dicts professional identification beyond the independent direct
toring to all goal outcome variables were not significant. Thus, effects.
Hypothesis 6a was not supported. In contrast, the indirect effects Second, because it is possible that mentoring functions have
of psychosocial mentoring on LTG content-extrinsic (.06, p ⬍ .05) compensatory or complementary effects, we tested the effects of
and LTG content-intrinsic (.06, p ⬍ .05) through professional the mentoring functions independently, running two separate anal-
identification were significant. However, the indirect effect from
psychosocial mentoring to LTG quality (.05) was not. Thus, Hy-
3
pothesis 6b was supported with respect to LTG content, but not We thank two anonymous reviewers for these suggestions.
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 51
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Figure 2. Partially mediated model of mentoring to long-term career goals through professional identification.
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ⴱ
p ⬍ .05. ⴱⴱ p ⬍ .01.

yses with each including only one type of mentoring. When ing early career professionals develop their professional compe-
psychosocial mentoring is excluded from the path model, there is tence and shape themselves in ways consistent with in-group
a positive relationship between career mentoring and professional classification (Tajfel, 1978). In contrast, psychosocial mentoring,
identification in both the STG (␤ ⫽ .21, p ⬍ .01) and LTG (␤ ⫽ which is based on interpersonal functions such as providing friend-
.20, p ⬍ .01) models. The indirect effects of career mentoring on ship and counseling (Kram, 1985), was expected to relate to
the goal outcomes through professional identification are also professional identification because social support from a mentor
significant in the STG (␤Extrinsic ⫽ .06, p ⬍ .05; ␤Intrinsic ⫽ .06, can increase feelings of in-group belonging (Ashforth, 2001;
p ⬍ .05; ␤Quality ⫽ .10, p ⬍ .01) and LTG (␤Extrinsic ⫽ .05, p ⬍ Turner, 1985). Considering that the identification process, at its
.05; ␤Intrinsic ⫽ .05, p ⬍ .05; ␤Quality ⫽ .07, p ⬍ .01) models. This core, draws from inclusion in “in-groups,” our findings suggest
is a change from the full hypothesized model where the path from that early career professionals are more likely to consider them-
career mentoring to professional identification was near zero and selves to be part of the professional in-group when they have
nonsignificant and the indirect effects were also nonsignificant. faculty mentors who engage with them on a personal level and
When career mentoring is excluded from the path model, there is engender a sense of belonging, rather than mentors who focus on
a positive relationship between psychosocial mentoring and pro- their career-related success and fulfill motives related to control.
fessional identification in both STG (␤ ⫽ .29, p ⬍ .01) and LTG However, supplementary analysis showed that, when tested
(␤ ⫽ .32, p ⬍ .01) models. The indirect effects of psychosocial independently, career mentoring positively related to professional
mentoring on the goal outcomes through professional identifica- identification, suggesting possible compensatory effects of career
tion were also significant in the STG (␤Extrinsic ⫽ .08, p ⬍ .01; mentoring when psychosocial mentoring is absent. Although each
␤Intrinsic ⫽ .09, p ⬍ .01; ␤Quality ⫽ .05, p ⬍ .05) and LTG form of mentoring is not contingent on the other dimension, as
(␤Extrinsic ⫽ .07, p ⬍ .05; ␤Intrinsic ⫽ .07, p ⬍ .05; ␤Quality ⫽ .11, demonstrated by an insignificant interaction effect, the indepen-
p ⬍ .01) models. Taken together, career mentoring has a compen- dent effects of each type of mentoring are notable. Psychosocial
satory effect when psychosocial mentoring is not present, while mentoring positively related to professional identification regard-
psychosocial mentoring subsumes both mentoring functions in the less of the presence of career mentoring in the model, whereas
prediction of professional identification.
career mentoring was only positively related to professional iden-
tification in the absence of psychosocial mentoring, suggesting that
Discussion career mentoring can compensate or “stand in” for a lack of
Career goals are advantageous because they enable a person to psychosocial mentoring support in relating to professional identi-
direct his or her efforts in a relatively focused manner with a clear fication. To some extent, this speaks to the overlap of mentoring
plan of action. Despite the many models of career management functions; it is likely that psychosocial mentoring contains career-
referencing goal-related concepts (i.e., Gould, 1979; Greenhaus, related elements. For example, having dinner at a professional
1987; London, 1983), there has been little empirical research that conference with a mentor and coauthors may satisfy both psycho-
examines factors that predict the types of career goals individuals social and career functions. While a protégé may consider this
set for themselves. Drawing from Ashforth’s (2001) model of role dinner to be ‘friendly’ and representative of psychosocial support,
transitions, we specifically examined how mentoring experiences the interaction likely confers career related benefits, which could
and professional identification related to the content and quality of explain the lack of significance for career mentoring as an inde-
early career professionals’ career goals. pendent predictor in the full model.
We found that psychosocial mentoring, but not career mentor- In the STG model, professional identification positively related
ing, was positively related to professional identification in the to all three goal outcome variables. Thus, for early career profes-
hypothesized model. Career mentoring, which includes functions sionals contemplating their immediate, short-term goals upon
such as sponsorship, coaching, exposure, and visibility, was ex- graduation, higher levels of professional identification were posi-
pected to fulfill the control motive (Ashforth, 2001) through help- tively associated with goals containing extrinsic content (i.e., fo-
 52 GRECO AND KRAIMER

cused on obtaining rewards and positive evaluations from others), and to role-relevant outcomes, such as improved performance.
with goals containing intrinsic content (i.e., seeking opportunities However, an important mediating step, especially for profession-
to learn and grow and to do challenging, interesting, and impactful als, is the creation of group-relevant (e.g., organization, profes-
work), and with setting goals of higher quality (i.e., personal goals sion) goals as a precursor to performance. As such, an important
which are difficult, specific, and to which one is committed). We contribution of the current study is demonstrating that identity
also found that psychosocial mentoring was indirectly related to all process and identification are related to goals aligned with stan-
STG goal outcomes through professional identification. Taken dards from one’s referent group. This finding is consistent with the
together, the sense of interpersonal belonging that develops from self-verification process in SIT in which goal-directed behavior is
psychosocial mentoring experiences enhances early professionals’ driven to match the identity standard (Stryker & Burke, 2000).
identification with the profession, which is then positively related This study contributes to goal setting theory by examining the
to goal content and setting high quality goals. content and characteristics of goals in the career context. Setting
For the LTG model, professional identification positively re- goals for one’s career is often done absent formal goal setting
lated to goals with extrinsic and intrinsic content, but not to goal mechanisms—yet this context has received sparse attention in both
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quality. Instead, psychosocial mentoring had a positive direct the goal setting and careers literature (Greenhaus, 1987; Greenhaus
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effect on LTG quality. Across both STG and LTG models, the et al., 2010). Currently, the career context for goal setting largely
effect of the psychosocial mentoring on goals with extrinsic and addresses the content of individual career goals through assessing
intrinsic content through professional identification was consis- distance from career goals, goal importance, goal progress (e.g.,
tent. However, differences across models arose in regard to the Maier & Brunstein, 2001; Noe, 1996). We expanded on this
relationship of psychosocial mentoring to goal quality. For short- research by including goal quality, a concept integral to goal
term goals, psychosocial mentoring was directly and indirectly, setting theory, as an outcome. We find that both mentoring func-
through professional identification, related to goal quality. For tions and professional identification are related to the creation of
long-term goals, the effect of psychosocial mentoring on goal career goals which are specific, difficult, and to which one is
quality was direct and not mediated by professional identification. committed, the primary criteria for effective goals (Locke &
A potential theoretical explanation may be that the role-modeling Latham, 1990). We also extend the goal-setting research by ex-
function of psychosocial mentoring provides early career profes- amining short-term and long-term goals separately. That psycho-
sionals with a clear long-term vision of one’s future self, which is social mentoring differentially related to short-term and long-term
more important to developing specific and challenging long-term goal quality suggests future research should consider different
goals than is professional identification. However, we recommend processes to explain how individuals develop quality short-term
some caution in making comparisons between the STG and LTG versus long-term goals. This is especially important considering
models because common method variance may explain the stron- that setting short-term (i.e., proximal) goals can affect success in
ger findings for the STG model as professional identification and reaching long-term (i.e., distal) goals (Latham & Seijts, 1999).
short-term goals were measured on the same survey (Podsakoff et Our last contribution is to organizational socialization theory
al., 2003). and the mentoring literature. As Allen et al. (2017) note, while
mentoring is often associated with socialization, “the process by
which this occurs is less understood” (p. 331). Combining two
Theoretical Implications
socialization tactics (Jones, 1986; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979)
This study contributes to the limited work assessing the impor- with Ashforth’s (2001) model of role transitions, we proposed that
tance of identity development in role transition processes (Ash- career mentoring is representative of serial socialization tactics
forth, 2001) by examining the role of mentoring in developing through satisfying needs for control while psychosocial mentoring
professional identification in a sample of graduate students tran- is representative of investiture socialization tactics through satis-
sitioning into the professional field. We found that psychosocial fying needs for belonging. Investiture tactics (i.e., psychosocial
mentoring, which we proposed fulfills the belonging motive, pos- mentoring) were consistently and positively related to professional
itively related to professional identification, whereas, career men- identification and subsequent career goals. The direct and indirect
toring, which we proposed fulfills the control motive was not relationship from psychosocial mentoring to goal quality may help
(unless psychosocial mentoring was excluded from the model). It explain why mentoring relates to career success (e.g., Allen et al.,
is possible that one reason for the lack of support between career 2004). Although previous work in the early career professional
mentoring and professional identification is our study context. context has shown that psychosocial mentoring is not related to the
Ashforth’s (2001) original model was conceptualized at the orga- number of future publications for graduate students, as a measure
nizational rather than the professional level and professionals have of success (Green & Bauer, 1995; Paglis, Green, & Bauer, 2006),
multiple targets to which they can relate. Control motives associ- it is possible that higher quality goals may target higher quality
ated with mentors may relate to identity processes at the organi- publications, which may better capture career success.
zational (university) level but not at the professional level. That is,
career mentoring may affect whether students feel they belong in
Practical Implications
their particular program within the university, not whether they
belong in the profession itself. This study has practical implications for professional workers,
We also contribute to social identity theory (Stryker & Burke, graduate students, and mentors. First, socialization into the pro-
2000) by including goal constructs as outcomes of identification fession is a process that begins within graduate school, and the
processes. Ashforth (2001) proposes that identity motives lead to extent that an individual develops a relationship with the profes-
role identification which, in turn, leads to enacting a role identity sion is in some ways determined by mentors (Feldman, 1976).
 MENTORING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CAREER GOALS 53

Early career professionals should recognize that their career goals, Limitations and Future Research
or lack thereof, may be more shaped by psychosocial (i.e., inves-
titure) rather than career mentoring (i.e., serial) experiences. In One strength of this study is the wide breadth of graduate
cases where mentoring and socialization practices are lacking, students sampled. Students included in the sample were pursuing
both Master’s degrees and PhDs and represented a wide variety of
such as when an assigned advisor is not providing adequate psy-
fields in both the “hard” and “social” sciences. The wide coverage
chosocial support, early career professionals may find it in their
of graduate students is a strength because the findings are more
best interest to proactively search for such support elsewhere.
directly generalizable to professionals from many fields including
Also, related to the supplementary analysis showing compensatory
business, engineering, computer science, and medicine. However,
effects for career mentoring, early career professionals who lack
one limitation of the study is the potential for differences between
psychosocial support can still expect career mentoring support to
students including whether students were enrolled part-time or
relate to professional identification and related career goals.
full-time. For example, part-time students may be less involved in
Second, professional identification is positively related to both
the profession compared to similar full-time students. Because we
short- and long-term extrinsic and intrinsic goals. When early
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

did not measure for the enrollment status of respondents, we were

career professionals internalize the goals and objectives of the
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unable to control for this as a potential confounding effect. A

profession, a way to solidify their standing in the profession is to
second limitation is the reliance on self-report data from these
obtain a position in which they are highly paid but also able to
graduate students. Same source bias can be problematic because
learn continuously and do meaningful work. This is consistent with
respondents, in an effort to appear consistent, may answer survey
several studies of law and business students which have found that
questions in a way that leads to inflated relationships between
students not only identified with their chosen occupation because
study variables (i.e., CMV; Podsakoff et al., 2003). We attempted
the profession represented the ability to have the “salary, prestige,
to minimize this effect by dividing the surveys across three time
and lifestyle of the upper middle class” (Schleef, 2000, p. 156), but
periods. Further, based on the individual and affective nature of
also because it represented the ability to make a difference in the mentoring experiences, identification, and career goals, we believe
world and do work that is inherently meaningful (Schleef, 2000). that each individual respondent represents the most informed
Thus, professional workers should recognize the importance and source of information for the current study variables.
legitimacy in pursuit of both internal and external career goals. Another limitation in the study is the potential for reverse
Second, for graduate students and advisors it appears that pos- causality between mentoring and professional identification. Indi-
itive psychosocial mentoring experiences such as role modeling, viduals with higher levels of professional identification may seek
acceptance, counseling, and friendship are more important for out help from mentors and thus, receive more mentoring. How-
creating a sense of professional identity than is career mentoring. ever, we believe that, in the context of professional socialization,
Accordingly, advisors should recognize the importance of provid- this relationship is less likely than the hypothesized one because
ing friendship and other related behaviors for their protégés. Cau- newcomers’ identification with the profession is theorized to de-
tion should be taken, however, when emphasizing the importance velop partly as a result of interacting with established members of
of one type of mentoring over the other. Meta-analytic findings the profession, such as mentors (Ashforth, 2001). In addition,
reveal that psychosocial mentoring is more strongly related to mentoring is not directed only at newcomers with strong profes-
subjective measures of career success (i.e., career satisfaction, job sional identification. More senior professionals may provide some
satisfaction) whereas career mentoring is more strongly related to degree of career and psychosocial mentoring to newcomers who
objective measures of career success (i.e., compensation, pro- do not identify with the profession out of a sense of professional
motion; Allen et al., 2004). Therefore, even though career responsibility to guide and assist newcomers, collegial norms for
mentoring, in the presence of psychosocial mentoring, was not mentoring, or because the organization rewards mentoring of new-
related to professional identification or goals within the current comers.
study, graduate students should still seek out mentor(s) who Results from this study provide several avenues for future
fulfill both career and psychosocial mentoring roles as both research. The current study presented the first test of Ashforth’s
relate to career success. (2001) widely cited but rarely tested model of role transitions in
Professionals and professional associations should recognize organizations. However, because we did not measure the motives
that many graduate students pursue altruistic goals in addition to explicitly, one promising avenue for future research would be to
furthering extrinsic career goals. Being motivated to pursue a directly measure whether psychosocial mentoring helps fulfill be-
professional career in some part “for the money” does not imply longing motives, and career mentoring fulfills control motives as
that all professional workers are materialistic and selfish; many we proposed based on the model. Doing so would require first
also have nonmaterialistic and generous goals. However, profes- developing and validating scales to measure the motives, but such
sional associations and universities could offer financial support an effort would provide a stronger test of the underlying theory.
and emphasize the status of professionals who pursue lower sala- Future research can also address whether other variables besides
ried jobs for more altruistic goals. For example, law associations career and psychosocial mentoring fulfill these motives. For ex-
could provide grants for lawyers who become public defenders, or ample, we proposed a relationship between serial socialization and
professional associations could encourage donation of time/re- the need for control and investiture socialization and the motive for
sources for professional workers to provide services for individu- belonging. Other socialization tactics such as collective socializa-
als or organizations that may not usually be able to afford them. In tion through peer support may also relate to professional identifi-
this way, professional associations may encourage goals that fur- cation. Last, future research could assess the same model in
ther altruistic outcomes. regards to role transitions in organizations, rather than professions.
 54 GRECO AND KRAIMER

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