Career decision-making is arguably at its most complex within professions where work is precarious and career calling is strong. This article reports from a study that examined the career decision-making of creative industries workers, for whom career decisions can impact psychological well-being and identity just as much as they impact individuals’ work and career. The respondents were 693 creative industries workers who used a largely open-ended survey to create in-depth reflections on formative moments and career decision-making. Analysis involved the theoretical model of self-authorship, which provides a way of understanding how people employ their sense of self to make meaning of their experiences. The self-authorship process emerged as a complex, non-linear and consistent feature of career decision-making. Theoretical contributions include a non-linear view of self-authorship that exposes the authorship of visible and covert multiple selves prompted by both proactive and reactive identity work.
AbesESJonesSR (2004) Meaning-making capacity and the dynamics of lesbian college students’ multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development45(6): 612–632.
2.
AckerJ (2007) Inequality regimes: Gender, class, and race in organizations. In: SpadeJZValentineCG (eds) The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 345–355.
3.
AdamsM (2003) The reflexive self and culture: A critique. British Journal of Sociology54(2): 221–238.
4.
AlvessonM (1998) Gender relations and identity at work: A case of masculinities and femininities in an advertising agency. Human Relations51(8): 969–1005.
5.
AshforthBEHarrisonSHCorleyKG (2008) Identification in organizations: An examination of four fundamental questions. Journal of Management34(3): 325–374.
6.
BanksMHesmondhalghD (2009) Looking for work in creative industries policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy15(4): 415–430.
7.
BanksMMilestoneK (2011) Individualization, gender and cultural work. Gender, Work & Organization18(1): 73–89.
8.
Baxter MagoldaMB (ed.) (1999) Creating Contexts for Learning and Self-authorship: Constructive-developmental Pedagogy. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
9.
Baxter MagoldaMB (ed.) (2001) Making Their Own Way: Narratives for Transforming Higher Education to Promote Self-authorship. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
10.
Baxter MagoldaMB (2004) Learning partnerships model: A framework for promoting self-authorship. In: Baxter MagoldaMBKingPM (eds) Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-authorship. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 37–61.
11.
Baxter MagoldaMB (2008) Three elements of self-authorship. Journal of College Student Development49(4): 269–284.
12.
Baxter MagoldaMB (ed.) (2009) Authoring Your Life: Developing an Internal Voice to Navigate Life’s Challenges. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
13.
BeechN (2011) Liminality and the practices of identity reconstruction. Human Relations64(2): 285–302.
14.
BeechNGilmoreCHibbertPYbemaS (2016) Identity-in-the-work and musicians’ struggles: The production of self-questioning identity work. Work, Employment & Society30(3): 506–522.
15.
BennettDBridgstockR (2015) The urgent need for career preview: Student expectations and graduate realities in music and dance. International Journal of Music Education33(3): 263–277.
16.
BennettDCoffeyJFitzgeraldSet al. (2014) Beyond the creative: Understanding the intersection of specialist and embedded work for creatives in metropolitan Perth. In: HearnGBridgstockRGoldsmithBRodgersJ (eds) Creative Work Beyond the Creative Industries: Innovation, Employment, and Education. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 158–174.
17.
BetzNE (1994) Basic issues and concepts in career counseling for women. In: WalshWBOsipowSH (eds) Career Counseling for Women. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1–42.
18.
BlairH (2001) You’re only as good as your last job: The labour process and labour market in the British film industry. Work, Employment and Society15(1): 149–169.
19.
BroadbridgeAHearnJ (2008) Gender and management: New direction in research and continuing patterns in practice. British Journal of Management19(1): 38–49.
20.
BurkeRJMcKeenCA (1996) Do women at the top make a difference? Gender proportions and the experiences of managerial and professional women. Human Relations49(8): 1093–1104.
21.
CabreraEF (2007) Opting out and opting in: Understanding the complexities of women’s career transitions. Career Development International12(3): 218–237.
22.
CavesRE (ed.) (2000) Creative Industries. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
ChatmanJAJehnKA (1994) Assessing the relationship between industry characteristics and organizational culture: How different can you be?Academy of Management Journal37(3): 522–553.
25.
CoffeyJS (2012) Youth Career Choices: A Comparison of Industry and Ballet. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Curtin University, Western Australia, Australia.
26.
ComunianRFaggianAJewellS (2011) Winning and losing in the creative industries: An analysis of creative graduate’s career opportunities across creative disciplines. Cultural Trends20(3–4): 291–308.
27.
ConroySAO’Leary-KellyAM (2014) Letting go and moving on: Work-related identity loss and recovery. Academy of Management Review39(1): 67–87.
28.
CostasJFlemingP (2009) Beyond dis-identification: A discursive approach to self-alienation in contemporary organizations. Human Relations62(3): 353–378.
29.
CreamerEGLaughlinA (2005) Self-authorship and women’s career decision-making. Journal of College Student Development46(1): 13–27.
30.
CunninghamSHiggsP (2010) What’s your other job? A census analysis of arts employment in Australia. Melbourne: Australia Council for the Arts.
31.
DaskalakiM (2010) Building ‘bonds’ and ‘bridges’: Linking tie evolution and network identity in the creative industries. Organization Studies31(12): 1649–1666.
32.
de VriesJWebbCEvelineJ (2006) Mentoring for gender equality and organizational change. Employee Relations28(6): 573–587.
33.
DoddF (2012) Women leaders in the creative industries: A baseline study. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship4(2): 153–178.
34.
DuffyRDDikBJ (2013) Research on calling: What have we learned and where are we going?Journal of Vocational Behavior83(3): 428–436.
35.
DuystersGde ManAP (2003) Transitory alliances: An instrument for surviving turbulent industries?R&D Management33(1): 49–58.
36.
EikhofDR (2014) Transorganisational work and production in the creative industries. In: BiltonCCummingsS (eds) Handbook of Management and Creativity. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 275–297.
37.
EikhofDRWarhurstC (2013) The promised land? Why social inequalities are systemic in the creative industries. Employee Relations35(5): 495–508.
38.
EvansOSteptoeA (2002) The contribution of gender-role orientation, work factors and home stressors to psychological well-being and sickness absence in male- and female-dominated occupational groups. Social Science & Medicine54(4): 481–492.
39.
Federation of Dutch Creative Industries (2013) Cross-over works: Innoveren met de creatieve industrie. Amsterdam: Federation of Dutch Creative Industries.
40.
FouadNASinghRCappaertKet al. (2016) Comparison of women engineers who persist in or depart from engineering. Journal of Vocational Behavior92: 79–93.
41.
FugateMKinickiAJAshforthBE (2004) Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior65(1): 14–38.
42.
GillR (2002) Cool, creative and egalitarian? Exploring gender in project-based new media work in Europe. Information, Communication and Society5(1): 70–89.
43.
HarrisonBJepsenDM (2015) The career impact of winning an external work-related award. Journal of Vocational Behavior89: 21–31.
44.
HaukkaS (2010) Education-to-work transitions of aspiring creatives. Cultural Trends20(1): 41–64.
45.
HennekamS (2017) Dealing with multiple incompatible work-related identities: The case of artists. Personnel Review46(5): 970–987.
46.
HennekamSBennettD (2016) Involuntary career transition and identity within the artist population. Personnel Review45(6): 1114–1131.
47.
HennekamSBennettD (2017) Sexual harassment in the creative industries: Tolerance, culture and the need for change. Gender, Work & Organization24(4): 417–434.
48.
HesmondhalghDBakerS (2008) Creative work and emotional labour in the television industry. Theory, Culture & Society25(7–8): 97–118.
49.
HiggsP (2013) Creative industries statistical analysis for Western Australia. Brisbane: CCI.
50.
HodgeDCBaxter MagoldaMBHaynesCA (2009) Engaged learning: Enabling self-authorship and effective practice. Liberal Education95(4): 16–23.
51.
HoyerPSteyaertC (2015) Narrative identity construction in times of career change: Taking note of unconscious desires. Human Relations68(12): 1837–1863.
52.
IbarraH (2003) Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing your Career. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
53.
IbarraHBarbulescuR (2010) Identity as narrative: Prevalence, effectiveness, and consequences of narrative identity work in macro work role transitions. Academy of Management Review35(1): 135–154.
54.
JonesDPringleJK (2015) Unmanageable inequalities: Sexism in the film industry. The Sociological Review63(S1): 37–49.
55.
KeganR (ed.) (1994) In Over our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
56.
LeskinenEARabeloVCCortinaLM (2015) Gender stereotyping and harassment: A catch-22 for women in the workplace. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law21(2): 192–204.
57.
LeslieDCatungalJP (2012) Social justice and the creative city: Class, gender and racial inequalities. Geography Compass6(3): 111–122.
58.
LuonilaMJohanssonT (2016) Reasons for networking in institutionalized music productions: Case studies of an opera house and a music festival. International Journal of Arts Management18(3): 50–66.
59.
McKeenCABurkeRJ (1994) An exploration study of gender proportions on the experiences of managerial and professional women. International Journal of Organizational Analysis2(3): 280–294.
60.
McLeodCO’DonohoeSTownleyB (2009) The elephant in the room? Class and creative careers in British advertising agencies. Human Relations62(7): 1011–1039.
61.
McLeodCO’DonohoeSTownleyB (2011) Pot noodles, placements and peer regard: Creative career trajectories and communities of practice in the British advertising industry. British Journal of Management22(1): 114–131.
62.
McPhersonGE (2009) The role of parents in children’s musical development. Psychology of Music37(1): 91–110.
63.
McRaeS (2003) Constraints and choices in mothers’ employment careers: A consideration of Hakim’s Preference Theory. British Journal of Sociology54(3): 317–338.
64.
MaitlisS (2009) Who am I now? Sensemaking and identity in posttraumatic growth. In: RobertsLMDuttonJE (eds) Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation. New York: Routledge, 47–76.
65.
MalliaKL (2009) Rare birds: Why so few women become ad agency creative directors. Advertising and Society Review10(3): 1–13.
66.
ManningSSydowJ (2007) Transforming creative potential in project networks: How TV movies are produced under network-based control. Critical Sociology33(1/2): 19–42.
67.
MaxwellJA (2010) Using numbers in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry16(6): 475–482.
68.
MietznerDKamprathM (2013) A competence portfolio for professionals in the creative industries. Creativity and Innovation Management22(3): 280–294.
69.
MietznerDKamprathMWagnerD (2010) Zukunftsperspektiven und Kompetenzentwicklungen in der Medienbranche: Eine Szenarioanalyse, Gesellschaft von Freunden der Hochschule für Film u. Fernsehen ‘Konrad Wolf’.
70.
MilićevićVIlićBSofronijeviéA (2013) Business aspects of creative industries from a global perspective. Management Journal for Theory and Practice Management66: 5–13.
71.
NyströmS (2009) The dynamics of professional identity formation: Graduates’ transitions from higher education to working life. Vocations and Learning2(1): 1–18.
72.
O’BrienKMFriedmanSMTiptonLCLinnSG (2000) Attachment, separation, and women’s vocational development: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology47(3): 301–315.
73.
PizzolatoJE (2003) Developing self-authorship: Exploring the experiences of high-risk college students. Journal of College Student Development44(6): 797–812.
74.
PizzolatoJE (2005) Creating crossroads for self-authorship: Investigating the provocative moment. Journal of College Student Development46(6): 624–641.
75.
RandleKLeungWFKurianJ (2007) Creating difference. Creative Industries Research and Consultancy Unit, University of Hertfordshire.
76.
RivasC (2012) Coding and analysing qualitative data. In: SealeC (ed.) Researching Society and Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 366–392.
77.
SeibertSEKraimerMLHeslinPA (2016) Developing career resilience and adaptability. Organizational Dynamics3(45): 245–257.
78.
ShadeLRJacobsonJ (2015) Hungry for the job: Unpaid internships and the creative industries. The Sociological Review63(S1): 188–205.
79.
SheehanKB (2001) E-mail survey response rates: A review. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication6(2): 0.
80.
Skillset (2010) Women in the Creative Media Industries. London: Skillset.
81.
SmithCMcKinlayA (2009) Creative labour: Content, contract and control. In: McKinlayASmithC (eds) Creative Labour: Working in the Creative Industries. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 29–50.
82.
SpurkDKauffeldSBarthauerLHeinemannNSR (2015) Fostering networking behavior, career planning and optimism, and subjective career success: An intervention study. Journal of Vocational Behavior87: 134–144.
83.
Statistics Netherlands (2014) Topsectoren groeien tweemaal zo snel als de hele economie. Heerlen: CBS.
84.
StraussACorbinJ (eds) (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park: SAGE.
85.
TaylorSLittletonK (2006) Biographies in talk: A narrative-discursive research approach. Qualitative Sociology Review2(1): 22–38.
86.
ThankiAJeffreysS (2007) Who are the fairest? Ethnic segmentation in London’s media production. Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation1(1): 108–118.
87.
ThrosbyD (2008) Creative Australia: The arts and culture in Australian work and leisure. Canberra: Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
88.
ThrosbyDZednikA (2011) Multiple job-holding and artistic careers: Some empirical evidence. Cultural Trends20(1): 9–24.
89.
TorresV (2003) Factors influencing ethnic identity development of Latino college students in the first two years of college. Journal of College Student Development44(4): 532–547.
90.
TorresV (2010) Investigating Latino ethnic identity within the self-authorship framework. In: Baxter MagoldaBMCreamerEGMeszarosPS (eds) Development and Assessment of Self-authorship: Exploring the Concept Across Cultures. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 67–84.
91.
TorresVBaxter MagoldaMB (2004) Reconstructing Latino identity: The influence of cognitive development on the ethnic identity process of Latino students. Journal of College Student Development45(3): 333–347.
von RimschaMBSiegertG (2011) Orientations of entertainment media workers: Entertainment media workers – disrespect and neglect. Media, Culture & Society33(7): 1009–1026.
94.
WaltersS (2005) Making the best of a bad job? Female part-timers’ orientations and attitudes to work. Gender, Work and Organization12(3): 193–216.
95.
WindelsKLeeW (2012) The construction of gender and creativity in advertising creative departments. Gender in Management: An International Journal27(8): 502–519.
96.
WindelsKMalliaL (2015) How being female impacts learning and career growth in advertising creative departments. Employee Relations37(1): 122–140.
97.
WindelsKLeeWYehY (2010) Does the creative boys’ club begin in the classroom?Journal of Advertising Education14(2): 15–24.
98.
WreyfordN (2015) Birds of a feather: Informal recruitment practices and gendered outcomes for screenwriting work in the UK film industry. The Sociological Review63(S1): 84–96.
99.
YoderJD (2002) Context matters: Understanding tokenism processes and their impact on women’s work. Psychology of Women Quarterly26(1): 1–8.
