Career Success and Interplay with Personality and Interpersonal Relatsionships

Article
Wu, P., Foo, M., & Turban, D. B. (2008). The role of personality in relationship closeness, developer assistance, and career success. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73(3), 440-448. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.08.005


Wu, Foo and Turban in this study examined the importance relationship closeness In professional development relationship (mentor/mentee) and the effect of the Big Five personality factors (conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, openness and agreeableness), using adaptive principles of social networking and career theory. A series of 8 hypothesis validated that global manifestations of the five traits proved more effective in building successful relationships (Wu, Foo, and Turban , 2008), building on past research showing that developer assistance (or professional development) relationships facilitated career success. Practical benefits of this study are the implications that further mentoring research can provide understanding of the positive effects of interpersonal closeness and personality factors in the professional area.

Strong points of this research are a strong ground on a highly tested theory (The Big 5 Personality, aka the Pentagonic Factor Model of Personality) along with an effective use of statistical factor analysis, CFI (comparative fit index) . Weak points as addressee in the article, was self reported measures, and a limited response rate of 51%.