The Role of Irrational Career Beliefs in Career Readiness among University Students: A Conceptual Framework

Career readiness has become an increasingly important objective in higher education as universities seek to prepare graduates for successful transition into the workforce. Despite the growing emphasis on career development initiatives, many university students continue to experience difficulties in career exploration, planning, and decision-making. These challenges are often associated with underlying psychological barriers. One of the psychological barriers is irrational career beliefs, which consist of rigid, unrealistic, and maladaptive beliefs about career success, failure, and decision-making. These beliefs may lead to career anxiety, indecision, and avoidance behaviours that hinder students’ ability to engage effectively in career development processes. Drawing on existing theoretical and empirical literature, this conceptual paper examines the role of irrational career beliefs in influencing career readiness among university students. Specifically, the paper discusses how irrational career beliefs may negatively shape students’ career-related cognition, emotions, and behaviours, thereby affecting their preparedness to make informed career decisions. By synthesising current perspectives in career development and counselling literature, this paper proposes a conceptual argument linking irrational career beliefs to lower levels of career readiness. The discussion highlights the importance of addressing maladaptive career beliefs within career counselling and educational interventions aimed at strengthening students’ psychological readiness for career development. Finally, the paper offers implications for career counselling practice and recommends future empirical research to further examine the relationship between irrational career beliefs and career readiness among university students.

irrational career beliefs; career readiness; career development; university students; career counselling

1. Abdul Rashid, N. A. A., & Mahfar, M. (2025). Needs Assessment Study on Career Readiness among Undergraduate Students. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Akar, N., Yörük, T., & Tosun, Ö. (2024). Predicting women’s career decisiveness in the ICT sector: A serial multiple mediation model among MIS students. PloS one, 19(12), e0316154. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316154 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Alkal, A. (2025). Relationships among resilience, career adaptability and career decision self-efficacy in university students: a two-wave longitudinal mediation study. BMC psychology, 13(1), 1146. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03456-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Ari, A. E., & Eşkisu, M. (2025). Career decision-making difficulties in adolescents: the role of parental perfectionism, irrational career beliefs and intolerance of uncertainty. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 53(2), 303-321. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2025.2463464 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control (Vol. 604). Freeman. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Bazine, N., Chénard-Poirier, L. A., Battistelli, A., & Lagabrielle, M.-C. (2023). Who is successful in career development? A person-centered approach to the study of career orientation profiles. Career Development International, 28(6-7), 772-792. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-11-2022-0301 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bernard, M. E., & Pires, D. (2006). Emotional resilience in children and adolescence: Implications for rational-emotive behavior therapy. In Rational emotive behavioral approaches to childhood disorders: Theory, practice and research (pp. 156-174). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26375-6_5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Betz, N. E., & Hackett, G. (2006). Career Self-Efficacy Theory : Back to the Future. 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072705281347 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Bullock‐Yowell, E., Peterson, G. W., Reardon, R. C., Leierer, S. J., & Reed, C. A. (2011). Relationships among career and life stress, negative career thoughts, and career decision state: A cognitive information processing perspective. The Career Development Quarterly, 59(4), 302-314. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2011.tb00071.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Chatterjee, S., Afshan, N., & Chhetri, P. (2023). Career decisiveness: the role of motivational factors and career planning attitudes. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 15(4), 1095-1110. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2022-0107 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Creed, P. A., Patton, W., & Bartrum, D. (2004). Internal and external barriers, cognitive style, and the career development variables of focus and indecision. Journal of career Development, 30, 277-294. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOCD.0000025116.17855.ea [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Dahal, R. K., Ghimire, B., Sharma, D. R., Karki, D., & Joshi, S. P. (2025). Bridging the gap: How career development learning mediates higher education and employability outcomes in Nepal. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 23(1), 643. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.23(1).2025.48 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. David, D., Cardoș, R., Cândea, D., Oltean, H., & Ştefan, S. (2019). REBT and depressive disorders. In REBT with diverse client problems and populations (pp. 23-44). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02723-0_2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. David, D. O., DiGiuseppe, R., Dobrean, A., Păsărelu, C. R., & Balazsi, R. (2019). The measurement of irrationality and rationality. In Advances in REBT: Theory, practice, research, measurement, prevention and promotion (pp. 79-100). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93118-0_4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Dorn, F. J. (2014). Career counseling: A social psychological perspective. In Career Counseling (pp. 193-224). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Ekwueme, H. U., Ede, M. O., Eze, E. C., Mezieobi, D. I., Aroh, P. N., Oneli, J. O., Nweke, P. O., & Enyi, C. (2023). Impact of occupational health coaching on irrational career beliefs and workplace deviant behaviors among school employees: Implications for Educational administrative policy. Medicine, 102(22), e33685. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000033685 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Ellis, A. (1975). The biological basis of human irrationality. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Ellis, A. (1997). Rational emotive behavior therapy. Which psychotherapy, 51-67. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Gustina, A., Liu, J. S., Indartono, S., Endarwati, M. L., & Darmawati, A. (2024). Connecting the dots: How parent support shapes career readiness through psychological capital. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 2540. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Hyland, P., Fox, R., Treacy, G., Maguire, P., Boduszek, D., & Vallières, F. (2017). Assessing the factorial validity of the attitudes and belief scale 2-abbreviated version: a call for the development a gold standard method of measuring rational and irrational beliefs. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 35(2), 111-124. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Ifeanyieze, F. O., Ede, M. O., Ejiofor, T. E., Ekenta, L. U., Onah, O., Okechukwu, F. C., Isiwu, E. C., Ogbonna, E., Azunku, F., & Nwankwo, C. U. (2021). Irrational career beliefs in agricultural education students, demographics, impacts, and rational career education intervention. Medicine, 100(22), e26168. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000026168 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Jackson, D., & Tomlinson, M. (2022). The relative importance of work experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(4), 1119-1135. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1901663 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Jamali, Y., Araqi, V., & Kalantarkousheh, S. M. (2015). Function of dysfunctional career thoughts, procrastination and career indecision among Allameh Tabatab'i University Students. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 4(1), pp. 57-65. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Kelly, K. R., & Shin, Y.-J. (2009). Relation of neuroticism and negative career thoughts and feelings to lack of information. Journal of career assessment, 17(2), 201-213. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072708329029. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Khalili, G., Zahrakar, K., & Kasaee, A. (2019). The Effectiveness of Training Based on Rational-Emotional-Behavioral Therapy on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy. International Clinical Neuroscience Journal, 6(2), 69. https://doi.org/10.15171/icnj.2019.14 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Khan, I. M., Edwards, E., Ianicelli, B. M., Ahmed, W., Hardey, M., & Eremionkhale, G. (2025). University-industry collaboration for academic success and employability: a connectivist perspective. Studies in higher education, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2025.2545606 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Kulcsár, V., Dobrean, A., & Gati, I. (2020). Challenges and difficulties in career decision making: Their causes, and their effects on the process and the decision. Journal of vocational behavior, 116, 103346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103346 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Kutlu, A., & Bedel, A. (2021). Effect of career days on high school students’ irrational beliefs about career choice and on decision making skills about career. Participatory Educational Research, 8(4), 454-467. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Liu, Z. (2025). Navigating complexity: a soft skills perspective on China’s Higher Vocational Education and Training (HVET) students’ post-college transitions. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2025.2527304 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Ministry of Higher Education. (2026). Rancangan Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia 2026–2035. Putrajaya, Malaysia: Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. (2025). Malaysia education blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher education). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Mogoaşe, C., ŞTEFAN, S., & David, D. (2013). How do we measure rational and irrational beliefs? The development of rational and irrational beliefs scale (RAIBS)-A new theory-driven measure. Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Moore, M., & Thaller, J. (2023). Career readiness: preparing social work students for entry into the workforce. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1280581. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1280581 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (1999). Rational emotive behaviour therapy: Advances in theory and practice. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Ogbuanya, T. C., Eseadi, C., Orji, C. T., Anyanwu, J. I., Ede, M. O., & Bakare, J. (2018). Effect of rational emotive behavior therapy on negative career thoughts of students in technical colleges in Nigeria. Psychological reports, 121(2), 356-374. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117724449 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Ogbuanya, T. C., Eseadi, C., Orji, C. T., Anyanwu, J. I., Joachim, O. C., & Otu, M. S. (2018). The effect of rational emotive behavior therapy on irrational career beliefs of students of electrical electronics and other engineering trades in technical colleges in Nigeria. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 36, 201-219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-017-0282-2 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Omar, M. K., Muhamad, W. M. W., Ismail, N., Zakaria, A., & Kadir, K. M. (2023). Employability skills and career development self-efficacy as indicators for workforce success. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 15(3), 118-130. https://doi.org/10.30880/jtet.2023.15.03.011 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Osunde, Y. O. (2025). Role of Career Service in Enhancing Students Employability in the 21st Century. Kontagora international journal of educational research, 2(1), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14792316 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Pignault, A., Rastoder, M., & Houssemand, C. (2023). The relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and career decision-making difficulties: Psychological flourishing as a mediator. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 13(9), 1553-1568. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13090113 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Rachmawati, D., Sahid, S., Mahmud, M. I., & Buang, N. A. (2024). Enhancing student career readiness: A two-decade systematic. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 13(3), 1301-1310. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v13i3.26485 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Sampson Jr, J. P., Peterson, G. W., Lenz, J. G., Reardon, R. C., & Saunders, D. E. (1998). The design and use of a measure of dysfunctional career thoughts among adults, college students, and high school students: The Career Thoughts Inventory. Journal of career assessment, 6(2), 115-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/106907279800600201. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work, 1(1), 42-70. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Siddique, S., Ahsan, A., Azizi, N., & Haass, O. (2022). Students’ workplace readiness: Assessment and skill-building for graduate employability. Sustainability, 14(3), 1749. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031749 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Succi, C., & Canovi, M. (2020). Soft skills to enhance graduate employability: comparing students and employers’ perceptions. Studies in higher education, 45(9), 1834-1847. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1585420 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Talib, J. A., Padli, J., Mohamad, Z., Saputra, J., & Ab Raji, N. A. (2023). Investigating the Relationship Between Career Self-Efficacy, Career Maturity, and Career Readiness Among Students in Technical and Vocational Education. In Handbook of Research on Dissecting and Dismantling Occupational Stress in Modern Organizations (pp. 291-303). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-6543-1.ch021 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Tomlinson, M., McCafferty, H., Port, A., Maguire, N., Zabelski, A. E., Butnaru, A., Charles, M., & Kirby, S. (2022). Developing graduate employability for a challenging labour market: the validation of the graduate capital scale. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(3), 1193-1209. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-04-2021-0151 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Turner, M. J. (2023). Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT). In Applying cognitive behavioural therapeutic approaches in sport (pp. 74-94). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003162513-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Vandana, Haricharan, P., Kumar, V., & Oberoi, S. S. (2025). Factors contributing to career anxiety among management students: the role of education in the driving change. Asian Education and Development Studies, 14(5), 1036-1051. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEDS-11-2024-0281 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Wong, G. S., & Abdullah, N. S. (2025). Job Readiness Level to Address 4.0 Skills: An Empirical Study on TVET Students in Electrical and Electronics Field. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 17(1), 62-76. https://doi.org/10.30880/jtet.2025.17.01.005 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Wong, R., & Saraih, U. N. (2024). The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability on Graduate Employability among Students in the Malaysian Technical University Networks (MTUN). Journal of Communication in Scientific Inquiry (JCSI), 6(2), 29-42. https://doi.org/10.58915/jcsi.v6i2.1121 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Wood, A. G., Turner, M. J., Barker, J. B., & Higgins, S. J. (2017). Investigating the effects of irrational and rational self-statements on motor-skill and hazard-perception performance. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 6(4), 384. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000095 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. Xiong, Y., Yu, J., & Wu, H. (2026). The relationship between psychological resilience and employability among higher vocational college students: the chain mediating effects of perceived social support and career decision-making self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1707655. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1707655 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. Xu, M., Lu, H., Fu, J., Zhu, H., & Zhao, Y. (2025). The relationship between basic psychological needs satisfaction and career adaptability among university students: The roles of grit and career decision-making self-efficacy. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020167 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

54. Zewude, G. T., Bezie, A. E., Woreta, G. T., Tareke, T. G., Oo, T. Z., Hassen, A., Tareke, M., Orsovics, Y., & Józsa, K. (2025). A parallel mediation model of career adaptability, career self-efficacy, and future career choice among university students: the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction and mindfulness. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15(4), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15040047 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

55. Zhang, J. (2025). Establishing the relationship between soft skills and work readiness among vocational students in China. Environment and Social Psychology, 10(8). https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v10i8.3709 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

56. Zhang, Q., Salleh Amat, M. O., & Mansor, A. Z. (2025). Predicting Career Adaptability among Higher Vocational College Students: The Roles of Proactive Personality, Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, and Social Support. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 24(9), 426-446. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.9.21 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

57. Zhou, H., Huang, L., Fu, Z., Li, L., Huang, Z., Zhang, J., Tang, M., Wang, X., Sui, W., & Zhuang, Y. (2025). Factors associated with career decision-making difficulties among undergraduate nursing students: a latent profile analysis. Frontiers in Medicine, 12, 1644508. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1644508 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study