Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether young people’s peer networks can be an asset in finding employment during the transition from school to work. It examines whether peer networks size and peers’ self-efficacy regarding their own job search are associated with job seekers’ career-relevant behaviors and outcomes, i.e., the number of applications completed and the number of job offers received. Design/methodology/approach Associations between job seekers’ peer networks and their job search behaviors and outcomes were investigated during their final year of vocational training. Sociometric measures were used to assess young people’s peer network size. Sociometric and self-report measures were used to establish the characteristics of the peers that comprise each job seekers’ network, resulting in the overall self-efficacy across each job seekers’ network. Findings The results show that peers’ efficacy beliefs are positively associated with young people’s engagement in job search activities (i.e. a greater number of applications completed) and indirectly associated with their job search outcomes (i.e. a greater number of job offers, which are mediated by the number of applications) that are independent of the peer network size. Originality/value The results underline that although peers might not provide instrumental support, encouraging interactions with (efficacious) peers may nonetheless be beneficial to young job seekers. Methodologically, the results demonstrate that the operationalization of self-efficacy as a network characteristic might provide us with valuable insights into the characteristics that turn social networks into beneficial social resources.

This study investigates the types and behavioral associations of peer status in school-bound young adults in the Netherlands. We argue that adolescent peer popularity and its link with aggressive and norm-breaking behavior result from adolescents' desire to create an image of maturity among their peers. We expect that in young adults who are approaching working life, peer status is defined by affective measures of status and prosociality rather than adverse behaviors. Analyses revealed a three cluster solution of (1) liked, (2) liked-popular and (3) neutral members of the peer group, showing that status is primarily defined by being well-liked, though popularity remains relevant. Status was primarily associated with prosocial behavior, especially for females. Peer status in young males remained associated with overt aggressive behavior.

Despite the growing body of research on the transition from school to work, an important aspect of young people’s social realities in this phase has been largely overlooked: their peers. This study investigates to what extent peer networks in late adolescence, and particularly peers’ appraisals of their own career goals, are related to young people’s subjective early transition outcomes in a Finnish sample ( N = 322) between the ages 17 and 20. The results show that having peers who positively appraise their goals as attainable is associated with more positive transition outcomes as young people more often reported having reached a (temporarily) satisfactory transition outcome which they intended to maintain unchanged. Negative peer appraisals showed no associations with transition outcomes. The present study offers an important step toward a comprehensive understanding of the social lives of young people in career transitions and provides new directions for research and counseling.