Prof. Renate Ortlieb (University of Graz) will present the paper “How young refugees make career choices: The combined influence of contextual factors and support from other people”, co-authored with Elena Ressi. Below, you will find the abstract of the manuscript and a short biography of Prof. Ortlieb.
This study examines how young refugees make career choices in a Western host country.
We adopt social cognitive career theory to unpack how contextual factors and other people’s influencing activities affect young refugees’ career-related learning experiences, career goals, and, ultimately, their career choices.
Based on qualitative visual and interview data, collected at two points in time from refugees who are in multi-year apprenticeships, we identified three patterns of career choices. Each of these career choice patterns, which we have termed “Accept what I get,” “Take what brings me ahead,” and “Do what I like,” is characterized by a specific configuration of contextual factors, other people’s influencing activities, learning experiences, and career actions.
We propose a model of career choice that specifies influencing factors and emphasizes their combined impact on young refugees’ career choices.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Renate Ortlieb has been Full Professor of Human Resource Management and Head of the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Graz since 2009.
She studied business administration at Technische Universität Berlin (Diplom-Kauffrau, 1995) and earned her doctorate (2002) and habilitation (2009) at the Freie Universität Berlin. She has worked at the Universities of Constance, Essen, Flensburg, and at Freie Universität Berlin.
Renate Ortlieb has held visiting positions at various institutions, including the University of Brighton (UK), Hasselt University (Belgium), the University of Waterloo (Canada), and the Stockholm School of Economics. From 2013 to 2015, she served as Chair of the Scientific Commission Human Resource Management (WK PERS) within the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB). She has received several awards, including the Käthe Leichter Award for Women’s Studies, Gender Research, and Equality in the World of Work, as well as the Seraphine Puchleitner Recognition Award.
Current research interests of Renate Ortlieb include the labor market integration of refugees, the interplay between HR strategies and labor migration, and gender and diversity in organizations. She serves as co-editor of the German Journal of Human Resource Management, is a member of several editorial boards, and has published in journals such as Academy of Management Discoveries, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Organization, Organization Studies, and Work, Employment and Society.
The seminar will be held in English.
Major information: Daniela Bolzani (daniela.bolzani@unibo.it).