Making sense of di ff erent perspectives on career transitions: A review and agenda for future research

Although scholars across numerous disciplines have studied specific types of career transitions, there has been no examination of the career transitions literature as a general phenomenon since Louis' seminal article was published four decades ago. Much has changed in the career landscape in the last forty years, including the number and types of career transitions being made by individuals. Using an inductive approach, the five major theoretical perspectives of career stage, decision-making, adjustment, relational, and identity emerged from our analysis of 242 publications. In this paper, we summarize research on each of these major perspectives on career transitions, recognizing emerging trends and research gaps. Based upon an analysis across these perspectives, we recommend seven major avenues for future research on career transitions.