Three meta-analyses synthesizing 160+ studies confirm that specific psychological skills predict employment success, income, and job performance across cultures and contexts.

What Works

Career adaptability isn't vague resilience—it's four measurable capabilities:

• Concern: Planning for career transitions and thinking ahead
• Control: Taking ownership of decisions and believing you can influence outcomes
• Curiosity: Actively exploring new roles, industries, and skills
• Confidence: Believing in your ability to solve problems and learn what you need

The Evidence

Rudolph, Lavigne, and Zacher (2017) analyzed 90 studies and found career adaptability predicted employability, income, job performance, and life satisfaction—even controlling for personality traits.

A second analysis of 76 studies with 40,000 participants confirmed that confidence in problem-solving ability strongly predicted employability and career success.

A third meta-analysis of 18 studies found strong correlations (0.36-0.44) between adaptability and career decision-making confidence, which directly predicts employment outcomes.

Why This Matters

These studies examined adaptability during the 2010s and 2020s—periods of technological acceleration and economic disruption. The consistency across research methods and populations suggests that while external instability isn't controllable, internal capabilities are both learnable and reliably beneficial.

Employment advantage statistics (like McKinsey's 24% figure) quantify what this academic research demonstrates: specific skills predict success in uncertain environments.

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Sources:

Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., & Zacher, H. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17-34. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879116300604

Rudolph, C. W., Lavigne, K. N., Katz, I. M., & Zacher, H. (2017). Linking dimensions of career adaptability to adaptation results: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 102, 151-173. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879117300593

Stead, G. B., LaVeck, L. M., & Hurtado Rúa, S. M. (2022). Career adaptability and career decision self-efficacy: Meta-analysis. Journal of Career Assessment, 30(3), 455-482. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/08898453211012477

Dondi, M., Klier, J., Panier, F., & Schubert, J. (2021). Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work