THE INDIVIDUAL’S PERCEPTION OF CAREER SUCCESS: SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENTS

Abstract

A theoretical and empirical analysis of the individual’s perceptions of career success is presented, and social and psychological components of the perceptions are highlighted in the article. The aim of the article is to analyze the individual’s perceptions of career success and to distinguish social and psychological components and objective and subjective characteristics of career success. The method of an associative experiment is used in the research, in particular, the method of voluntary associations, which is focused on the identification of associations that have been formed in previous experience of the specialist and the questionnaire “Who Am I” (M. Kuhn, T. McPartland in T. Rumiantseva’s modification and processing), for studying symbolic characteristics in two categories: objective (personal features and perception of oneself as a professional) and subjective (social orientation and social expectations and orientation towards the society). 82 respondents, aged 27 to 36, who had already achieved some success at the career level (having status and recognition, obtaining a position, and growing professionally) took part in the experiment. The results of the research prove that the respondents’ perception of the notion of “success” is determined by the priorities of social competence, and the system of values of the society to which a person belongs puts a certain mark on her or his typical features. The formation of perceptions as a process caused by previous experience which determines a positive attitude towards themselves and the importance of generally accepted rules and norms, as well as the reflection of their professional position, is identified. The vast majority (78%) of respondents characterized themselves as a subject of activity in the social dimension. The self-characteristics associated with groups denote the importance of the individual status in society and the interiorization of the individual position in the social system. Conclusions. It is stated that the conception of career success is based on the positioning of oneself on socially valuable values and an understanding of the key personal values. The significance of the perception of career success in the process of setting professional and life goals, and evaluating the success of the implementation of a personal strategy is clarified. The components of the concept of career success, which is an aggregate of values of person’s social and personal space are revealed. It was found that the perception of career success is manifested in the immutable interconnection of a person and society, with the specifics of dominant social needs.