Objective - Job search is a continuous and developing process which is considered to be an essential part of the work-life of people due to its frequency and extensiveness. Previous literature on job search focusses on how hard job seekers search for a job but only have vague knowledge about the strategies that they use during the search. This study aims to identify the influence of career adaptability on employed graduate students in predicting their direct behaviors in the form of job search strategies used in the job search process. The study also aims to examine the impact of the job search strategies on the number of jobs offers received.

Methodology/Technique - With a total of 388 samples, PLS-SEM is used to examine the relationship of the variables.

Findings - Consistent with previous literature wherein job seekers primarily employ focused strategy when they have a career plan in mind, the results reveal that concern is positively and significantly related to focused strategy, as well as curiosity. Further analysis of the data reveals that exploratory strategy is positively and significantly affected by curiosity and confidence.

Novelty – This implies that the more curious and confident graduate students are, the more exploratory they search. Furthermore, the results are consistent with previous studies wherein haphazard strategy was associated with fewer job offers while focused strategy was proven to have a positive effect on the number of job offers.

Type of Paper - Empirical.

Keywords: Job Search; Career Adaptability; Graduate Students; Job Search Strategies; Employment.

JEL Classification: A23, A29.

URI: http://gatrenterprise.com/GATRJournals/JMMR/vol5.1_4.html

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2020.5.1(4)

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