“I’M IN CONTROL!” Toward a Moderated Mediation Model Predicting Graduates’ Employability

Abstract

Recent graduates face an increasingly challenging transition from higher education to the labor market. Against this challenging backdrop, this study examines whether job search self-efficacy mediates the relationship between political skill and self-perceived employability and whether internal locus of control moderates this process. Data were collected from 5,310 graduates of a large university in Northern Italy; 63.8% were women and 78.5% had prior work experience. Moderated mediation analyses showed that political skill was positively associated with self-perceived employability, both directly and indirectly through job search self-efficacy. Internal locus of control strengthened the positive relationship between political skill and job search self-efficacy. These findings clarify how interpersonal and personal resources jointly enhance graduates’ confidence in navigating the labor market and their perceived employability under challenging employment conditions.