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The current review sought to bring light to the issue of an underexplored career phenomenon – career indecision. Career indecision is a significant developmental stage in one’s career life and has been a prominent topic in vocational psychology research in the past decades. However, it has received scant scholarly attention in the human resource development (HRD) field. Besides, the career indecision literature, in general, is lacking theoretical refinement and analytical review. The present study aims to stimulate HRD scholars’ interests by providing an introductory context for understanding the richness and potentialities of researching career indecision in the HRD area.

To address the gap, the author conducted an integrative review (Torraco, 2005, 2016) of 60 peer-reviewed articles and synthesized the existing knowledge of career indecision. More importantly, antecedent and outcome factors associated with career indecision were identified and analyzed.

A nomological network about career indecision was provided. Besides, the results of the integrative review revealed several omissions in the career indecision literature. Building upon that, implications for HRD research and practice are presented and discussed.

As an initial attempt to synthesize career indecision literature, this study sought to stimulate HRD professionals’ interest in examining this underexplored career phenomenon.

Career indecision plays a major role in the way students perceive their future career prospects and how they approach these prospects. In addition, career indecision influences career‐related thoughts and decisions, and plays a role in the way students formulate career goals. A convenience sample from honours students in Accounting Sciences, Financial Management, Economics and Marketing was drawn and their levels of career indecision were measured using self‐administered questionnaires. The study demonstrates that differences exist between students whose employment status differs, and those who were studying for different degrees. Consequently, this study has vital implications for groups (such as career counsellors and educational institutions) involved in the career decision‐making processes of university students.

Research has been conducted to investigate the factors that influence career indecision. This study attempted to synthesize empirical research on career indecision to (1) find the common determinants over the last two decades and (2) find the factors/areas that need to be addressed for future research on career indecision.

This study used the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Following the predetermined inclusion criteria, 118 articles from the Scopus database were included for review.

From this research, the authors found four main determinants for career indecision, namely (1) career-related decision-making difficulties, (2) adolescent differences, (3) individual and situational career decision-making profiles (CDMPs) and (4) level of individual readiness for career choice, which have been researched in the last two decades. Additionally, eight factors/areas were found to be addressed in future research on career indecision which include those four common determinants, the other three determinants, namely (1) individual differences, (2) contextual/environmental factors, (3) social factors, and one outcome, subjective well-being.

The study had limitations in conducting this research, and the findings of the study provide some theoretical and future research implications.

The seven determinants and the only outcome provide some implications for practitioners and policymakers.

The study found seven determinants and one outcome of career indecision derived from empirical studies conducted during 2000–2021.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of personality traits and interpersonal relationships with vocational indecision and the mediating role that identity construction plays in the development of those relationships.

Data are collected from 202 college students in Hong Kong at four points in time over a five‐month period.

Personality traits (e.g. locus of control and positive affectivity) and interpersonal relationships (e.g. with parents and peers) are related to the intensity of college students' search for their overall identity, positive anticipation of the work role, and level of identification with the student role. These role identification processes, in turn, are related to lower levels of vocational indecision. The results here support the idea that identity variables do serve as mediators of those relationships.

A more complete identity approach to studying vocational indecision that focuses on both vocational and non‐vocational identities is warranted. Cultural differences in vocational indecision are in need of more research attention, too.

In addition to the common practice of assessing the development of students' vocational interests, another way to prepare individuals for the start of their careers is to assess the development of multiple role identities.

This paper extends the vocational indecision literature by examining how the search for identity, the degree of positive anticipation of the work role, and the development of identification with the student role may mediate the effects of personal dispositions and interpersonal relationships on vocational indecision.

The purpose of this study is to examine how student agency influences career decision-making for doctoral students in biological sciences. The authors address the following questions: How do biological science graduate students navigate career indecision? And how does agency relate to their experiences with career indecision?

The authors analyzed interview data collected from 84 PhD biology graduate students. Researchers used a grounded theory approach. After open codes were developed and data were coded, code reports were generated, which were used to determine themes.

More than half of the sample had not committed to a career path, and undecided students were bifurcated into two categories: Uncommitted and Uncertain. Uncommitted graduate students demonstrated agency in their approach and were focused on exploration and development. Uncertain students demonstrated less agency, were more fearful and perceived less control and clarity about their options and strategies to pursue career goals.

Findings suggest some forms of indecision can be productive and offer institutional leaders guidance for increasing the efficacy of career development and exploration programming.

Research on doctoral student career decision-making is often quantitative and rarely explores the role of agency. This qualitative study focuses on the relationship between student agency and career indecision, which is an understudied aspect of career development.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationships of parental attachment and psychological separation to the career development process of secondary school adolescents.

An ex post facto survey research design was adopted. The sample comprised 242 (males=121, females=121) senior secondary school II students randomly selected. Parental attachment, psychological separation, and career development scales were administered on the students. The data collected were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis treating parental attachment and psychological separation as predictors and career development as a criterion variable. Parental attachment and psychological separation (mother scales) separately and significantly predicted career information‐seeking behaviour of participants. However, combined attachment and separation (father scale) could not significantly predict any of the career development variables.

The study utilised cross‐sectional and self‐report measures.

The cultural environment and type of family in which the study was carried out should be considered. Counsellors in Nigeria should assess views of students' parents and peers on career development.

Most previous studies have linked familial factors like parental educational, financial and modelling opportunities with career development. This study reported the relationship of parental attachment and psychological separation with the career development process. Results from this study may enlighten career counsellors, parents and students on the need to assess the relationship between the students and their parents when dealing with their career development problems.

Examines the conditions under which career goal setting contributes to effective career management. Views career management as a process by which individuals can make informed decisions regarding their work lives. Highlights the role of the career goal in the career management process, and identifies the useful features of the goal‐setting process. Reviews the concepts of career indecision and career decidedness, and specifies four subtypes – developmental indecision, chronic indecision, hypervigilant decidedness, and vigilant decidedness. Discusses the implications for organizations and their employees.

The research explores indecision of strategic leaders in a complex case organization. This research offers new insights into the drivers of indecision of upper echelons decision-makers and explores the perceived consequences of the decision-makers' indecision.

Following a review of literature on upper echelons theory and strategic decision-making, indecision and the antecedents and consequences of indecision, the research follows a qualitative exploratory design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 upper echelons decision-makers with responsibility across 19 Sub-Saharan African countries in a case company. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The findings reveal that specific organizational, interpersonal and personal factors work together to drive strategic leader indecision in a complex organization. Strategic leader indecision brings about several negative organizational consequences and demotivates team members.

The findings are based on a single-case exploratory design but represent geographical diversity.

The research cautions organizations to deal with the drivers of strategic leader indecision to help avoid potential negative consequences of stifled organizational performance and team demotivation.

The study offers previously unknown insights into strategic leader indecision. This study builds on current literature on the antecedents and consequences of indecision and has a new research setting of strategic leader indecision in a complex organization.

Based on the assumption that employees want more personal control over their career development, organizations are currently pursuing the implementation of career development programmes at an unprecedented rate. In reality, however, employees appear reluctant to assume increased responsibility for their careers. Explores general satisfaction with a career development programme currently in operation. Determines what underlying factors both internal to employees and within their work environment tend to facilitate or impede the tendency to become proactive in shaping career opportunities. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 72 salaried personnel randomly selected from an international organization. Some support was provided for the role of both individual and situational characteristics in predicting uptake of the career development programme. Particular importance was attributed to the lack of organizational support for the process. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for the successful implementation of career development programmes are made.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a systematic review of the literature that explores under‐employment among recent graduates. Literature from a range of disciplines is reviewed in an attempt to further a theoretical understanding. In doing this, the secondary aim is to identify avenues for future research.

The paper adopts a systematic literature review methodology to answer the question “What is graduate underemployment?”

The review highlights significant issues around the conceptualisation and measurement of graduate under‐employment. It argues that individual volition and meaning making are important issues that to date remain under‐researched in relation to graduate under‐employment. The paper argues that the most appropriate basis for developing a theoretical understanding of graduate under‐employment is to draw upon relevant theoretical frameworks from career studies – specifically those on the objective‐subjective duality of career, career indecision, and career success. This approach provides a greater focus on the dynamics of the individual's experiences.

This review has implications for a range of stakeholders including students, graduates, teachers and careers advisers, parents, universities, employers, HR professionals and policy makers.

In the context of policy debates surrounding the purpose and value of higher education, this review brings together the highly fragmented perspectives on a phenomenon that encapsulates many of the issues being debated.