A Qualitative Meta-Summary of Person-Environmental Interactions Regarding Public Sector Career Choice Preparation

In South Korea, a sustained ‘civil service exam boom’ has led many university students and young adults to prefer public-sector careers. To create well informed directions for career education and support tailored to these students, this study employed a qualitative meta-summary approach to develop an in-depth understanding of how personal and environmental factors interact throughout civil-service career choice and examination preparation. Thirteen Korean qualitative studies on civil service examinees were analyzed using qualitative meta-summary methods. Findings were further interpreted through the lens of the Career Self-Management (CSM) model within Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to provide an expanded account of person–environment dynamics. A total of 139 meaning units were extracted and organized into 39 descriptive themes, 15 integrative themes, and 7 core themes: (1) confusion and drifting amid disrupted career exploration, (2) choosing public service anchored in fairness and stability, (3) establishing performance goals and action plans, (4) learning setbacks and sharp declines in self-efficacy as preparation becomes prolonged, (5) fear of résumé discontinuity and career reappraisal following failure, (6) re-attempting the exam and strengthening self-management, and (7) efforts to maintain self-efficacy and sustain goals. In the domain of public-sector career choice, the descriptive themes showing the highest frequency effect sizes were ‘a fair exam that does not require GPA or conventional credentials’ (38.46%) and ‘a job that guarantees stability and work–life balance’ (46.15%). In the domain of exam preparation, the most frequent themes were ‘receiving family support and encouragement during preparation’ (56.84%) and ‘anxiety about an uncertain time-to-pass and existential fear associated with résumé gaps’ (61.53%). Regarding exam failure, ‘collapse and frustration of an exam-centered identity following rejection’ (30.76%) emerged most prominently, while in re-attempts, ‘deciding to finish quickly due to the perceived waste of one’s youth already invested’ (30.76%) showed the highest frequency. Based on these results, practical implications are proposed for career counseling and support programs for civil service examinees, along with the study’s contributions and limitations.