How online community experience influences college graduates’ proactive career behaviors

Proactive career behaviors are critical for college students. The purpose of this study was to explore whether online community experience is positively associated with graduate students’ career awareness and proactive career behaviors. Participants were 316 college graduates in the Guangdong area of China who had experience in using the university’s online community. Analysis of responses to our survey indicated that online community experience had a positive association with career awareness, which, in turn, had a positive association with proactive career behaviors. In addition, career awareness mediated the relationship between online community experience and proactive career behavior. In sum, online community experience had a positive impact on graduates’ career awareness and proactive career behaviors. Educators can make good use of virtual communities to enhance students’ career awareness and, thus, promote proactive career behaviors among students.