Examining the Use of Planned Happenstance With Students of Korean Cultural Backgrounds in the United States

Students of Korean cultural backgrounds seek to enter the U.S. workforce, yet they face various career development challenges. One challenge is building relationships and engaging in career networking, a crucial career development skill. Also, work values are often explored in practice, but little information exists about how work values influence networking behavior for students with Korean cultural background. This study examined the relation of intrinsic and extrinsic work values and career networking and how planned happenstance mediates these concepts. This study found that planned happenstance mediates intrinsic work and networking, but it does not mediate the relation between extrinsic work value and networking. This study suggests that applying planned happenstance theory to students of Korean cultural backgrounds may help students to expand their professional networks. Also, career intervention programs can be developed with planned happenstance theory and based on assessment of work values