Impact of Self-Efficacy and Time Management Skills on Career Readiness of Final Year Students

Abstract

With of the growing rivalry in the job market, career readiness has become a major concern in higher education. This study examines how time management skills and self-efficacy affect final-year undergraduate students' readiness for the career. While time management skills include organizing, setting priorities, and efficiently using time for academic and professional development activities, self-efficacy represents people's confidence in their capacity to do job-related tasks. A causal-comparative survey design was used. Final-year undergraduate students from both public and private universities made up the group. Using stratified random sampling, a sample of 400 students was selected from the education, science, and social science departments. Standardized questionnaires of efficacy were adopted from (Najwa Husniyatin Nadhiroh, 2025). Career Readiness was adopted from (Sheerad Sahid, 2024), and Time Management Skills is an instrument developed by (Britton & Tesser, 1991) The instrument was validated through expert opinion to establish content validity, and construct validity was confirmed through exploratory factor analysis, while reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The data was analyzed using multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, and descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that career readiness is significantly positively predicted by self-efficacy and time management skills. In order to improve students' readiness for career transitions, the study emphasizes the significance of cultivating psychological confidence and efficient time management skills. Institutions of higher learning are advised to incorporate career development programs that emphasize time management instruction and the improvement of self-efficacy.