Career strategies and salary progression: A study of their relationships in a municipal bureaucracy

Abstract

Utilization of career strategies by 414 employees of a large municipality is investigated using the Career Strategies Inventory. The results of the study indicate greater use of career strategies by managers (versus nonmanagers) and nonplateaued (versus plateaued) employees. Additionally, the following career strategies were related to the rate of salary progression: (1) other enhancement, (2) creating opportunities, (3) extended involvement, and (4) opinion conformity. For managers only, networking and self-nomination were also associated with salary progression. There were few differences between the reported use of the career strategies by males-and females. However, males were more likely to use the strategy of “extended work involvement” and females were more likely to report use of “seeking guidance.”