The Relationship Between Person-Organization Fit and Career Success

Abstract

Recently, person-organization fit has been shown to relate to a number of positive workrelated outcomes. However, the relationship between fit and career success has not yet been directly examined. The present study provides the first investigation of this relationship. Graduates from industrial relations programs in two large universities were surveyed to assess their preferences for particular organizational environments, the level of career success they had attained, and the nature of the organizational environments in which they worked. Results indicated that person-organization fit was a significant predictor of both extrinsic measures of success (salary, job level attained, and number of promotions received), and intrinsic measures of success Gob and life satisfaction). Implications of the results for individuals and organizations are discussed.