Career resilience in 21st century Australian labour markets

21st Century labour markets are experiencing rapid changes. As individuals struggle to manage careers and constant change in workplaces, the importance of resilience increases. Little information exists about career resilience or the application of resilience to career development. This paper outlines a qualitative research project which sought to identify resilience development factors in working graduates, whether this resilience transfers to workplaces and to identify career resilience factors required in labour markets. Findings suggest resilience transfers easily, and that career resilience, defined as the capacity to ‘persevere’, ‘cope’, ‘hang on’ and ‘carry on’ in turbulent labour markets, is crucial in ‘demanding’ and ‘competitive’ 21st Century workplaces. Results indicate labour markets stand to gain increased efficiency and productivity from a resilient workforce.