How Situational Cues and Mindset Dynamics Shape Personality Effects on Career Outcomes

The substantial literature on dispositional antecedents of career success (e.g., extraversion and conscientiousness) implies that being low in career-facilitating traits may hamper people’s careers. We develop a cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) theory about the role of situational cues, personality, and mindsets regarding the plasticity of one’s attributes in determining when this will occur and how the related dysfunctional dynamics may be mitigated. We draw on trait activation theory to describe how the interaction of situational cues, personality, and mindsets may trigger an array of cognitive-affective units (CAUs) within a CAPS that influence subjective and objective career outcomes. The contributions of this paper are to offer the largely between-person careers literature a within-person account of when and why people experience subjective and objective career success as a function of their personality, situational cues, prevailing mindset, and career context. A theoretical account of the relatively stronger prediction by personality of subjective than objective career outcomes is thereby provided. The scope to extend TAT by considering the cognitive and affective dynamics whereby personality traits and situational cues have their effects is illustrated. The conditions under which mindsets are likely to shape career outcomes are outlined. Finally, implications for mindsets, personality, and career theory, research, and practice are discussed.