Ol'ga A. Zolotina, Mariya A. Serpukhova The Relationship between the Individual Characteristics of Management Students and Their Preferred Professional Roles

DOI: 10.38050/2078-3809-2026-18-3-218-238

Abstract

As candidates increasingly demand personalized professional development and companies move toward skills-based selection, identifying the key factors that determine an individual's aptitude for specific areas of economic activity is an up-to-date research question. The aim of this study is to develop a comprehensive profile of management students in terms of personality traits, motivation, and the development of soft skills, as well as to assess the relationship between these individual student characteristics and the professional roles they are interested in. The novelty of this study lies in testing and interpretation of a comprehensive assessment of the characteristics of economics students, which are important for refining their career choices. This work continues the authors' ongoing research on the professional trajectories and demanded competencies of graduates in economics and management. The research methodology is based on a quantitative analysis of data obtained through psychometric assessment, using descriptive statistics and comparative analysis to identify key and differentiating indicators. The study generated a profile of Management students based on their inherent individual characteristics, and cross-professional skills and defined professional clusters (managerial-entrepreneurial, creative-innovative, and executive-analytical), the most attractive for students with specialization in Management. Directions of future research are more rigorous mathematical analysis of the influence of individual student characteristics on their professional preferences, monitoring the career development of respondents, and a comparative analysis of preferred professional roles among students at different Russian universities.

Keywords: career guidance, career profiles, work motivation, management.

JEL: J210, J230.

For citation: Zolotina, O.A., Serpukhova, M.A. (2026) The Relationship between the Individual Characteristics of Management Students and Their Preferred Professional Roles. Scientific Research of Faculty of Economics. Electronic Journal, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 218-238. DOI: 10.38050/2078-3809-2026-18-3-218-238.

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