Searching for Authenticity

Edited by:
S. Gayle Baugh, University of West Florida
Sherry E. Sullivan, Bowling Green State University

A volume in the series: Research in Careers. Editor(s): S. Gayle Baugh, University of West Florida.

Published 2015

Volume 2 of the Research in Careers series focuses on the search for authenticity in one’s career. Although there has been growing interest in the topic within the popular press, relatively little academic research has been completed on authenticity and careers. Researchers are still refining the concept of authenticity and are just beginning to investigate how it influences the enactment of careers in today’s turbulent career landscape. This volume offers the first organized effort on the topic.

This volume contains seven chapters which examine the search for authenticity derived from the Kaleidoscope Career Model (Mainiero & Sullivan, 2006). Chapters 1 and 2 present a review of the literature and an in-depth analysis of the construct of authenticity. Chapter 1 offers a new lens to view career authenticity based on two dimensions of self-awareness and adaptability. Chapter 2 uses two case studies to define how individuals are authentic in their career. Chapters 3 and 4 examine the authenticity of individuals in different career stages, with Chapter 3 examining recent college graduates and Chapter 4 examining mid to late stage careerists. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 focus on the interplay between social interactions and career authenticity. Chapter 5 offers a process model that traces how, through negotiation, a person’s identities shape and are shaped by relationships with others, leading to the enactment of an authentic career. Chapter 6 explores how individuals remain authentic in their career while negotiating the conflicting expectations of multiple interest groups. Chapter 7 examines the complex relationships among career authenticity, political behaviors, and strain.

CONTENTS
Introduction to the Research in Careers Series. Introduction to the Volume. Exploring Authenticity in Careers: Implications for Research and Practice, Douglas T. Hall and Jina Mao. Career Authenticity: On Being True to Oneself at Work, Hannes Leroy, Marijke Verbruggen, Anneleen Forrier, and Luc Sels. Exploring Issues of Underemployment and Authenticity in Early Career, John Blenkinsopp, Tracy Scurry, and Amanda Hay. Toward Authenticity or Defeat: The Jolting Effect of Layoff, Suzanne C. de Janasz and Amy L. Kenworthy. Enacting Authentic Careers: An Identity Salience and Social Network Approach, Wendy Marcinkus Murphy and Elizabeth Hamilton Volpe. Authenticity and Career Reputations: The Development of a Conceptual Model and Recommendations for Future Research, Sherry E. Sullivan and S. Gayle Baugh. Selling Your Soul to the Devil: Political Behavior, the Pursuit (or Discard) of Authenticity, and Career Success, Yongmei Liu, Pamela L. Perrewé, and Mar Magnusen. About the Editors. About the Contributors.