Person – Job Fit in Students’ Perspective and Its Consequences for Career Aspirations

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between students’ dedication (S_DED) and their perception of person-job fit (P_J Fit) and investigate how it correlates with students’ career aspirations (CAREER_ASP). Additionally, the relationship between perceived P_J Fit and students’ work experience (WORK_EXP) and social support (S_SUPPORT) have been analyzed. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study was conducted among tourism and/or hospitality students of two universities that agreed to participate in the study. They are located in cities of Poland and Croatia which are very attractive tourist destinations. The questionnaires were administered in each institution and the auditorium survey technique was applied to gather the data. Findings: The findings of this study revealed that there is a positive and significant correlation between students’ dedication and their perception of person-job fit. It was also indicated that there is a positive and significant correlation between students’ work experience, students’ social support and perceived P_J Fit. Finally, it was proved that the more students perceive their skills and abilities as matching the requirements of their future work, the more they believe they can pursue a career in this field. Practical Implications: It is recommended that the educators pay more attention to the person-job fit of students when recruiting them for T&H courses at higher education institutions. Moreover, it is important to offer a variety of activities to increase students’ dedication to the studies undertaken. Specifically, for curriculums to be suitable and to generate enthusiasm among students, they should be customized to meet the requirements of the labor market and modern teaching techniques should be applied to actively engage students in the learning process, making it challenging. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to focus on identifying factors relating to students’ perception of their P_J Fit by linking it with their career aspirations in a single research model.