Personality and Career Choice: A Narrative Review Based on the Big Five Framework

Abstract Career choice is a multidimensional developmental process shaped by the interaction of dispositional characteristics, cognitive appraisals, and socio-cultural conditions. Within psychological research, personality has received sustained attention for its influence on vocational interests, decision-making styles, and career-related outcomes. This narrative review examines the personality–career choice relationship through the Big Five Personality Framework: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Drawing on major theoretical perspectives and empirical findings, the review employs Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) to conceptualize personality as a distal personal influence whose effects are transmitted through Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE) and outcome expectations. Particular emphasis is placed on cultural and contextual moderators, especially within non-Western and Indian settings. The review concludes that personality contributes to career development through indirect, cognitively mediated, and context-dependent pathways rather than fixed or deterministic mechanisms, and it discusses implications for personality-informed career guidance and future research directions.