Table 1.
Exploratory factor analysis
| Translated items | Factor 1 (growth) | Factor 2 (pessimism) | Factor 3 (flexibility) | |
| 4. | There are so few vacancies per applicants that getting an opportunity is almost impossible | .106 | .611 | −.056 |
| 5. | Sometimes, accepting a job that is not the ideal one may lead to promising new opportunities | −.129 | −.073 | .684 |
| 11. | I am seeking to evolve professionally to work with great autonomy and responsibility | .752 | −.037 | .005 |
| 13. | If a professional experience goes wrong, we should learn from our mistakes and do it better | .709 | .024 | .100 |
| 15. | Accepting a challenging job may be an opportunity to develop skills and abilities | .584 | .019 | .215 |
| 18. | Even if a job is temporary or uncertain, it is worth taking it because it is an opportunity to have new experiences | .103 | −.007 | .639 |
| 19. | One day I will be able to do my work with plenty of autonomy | .784 | −.068 | -.056 |
| 20. | My professional future might be rough | .058 | .689 | -.084 |
| 21. | It is important to develop our skills to the fullest and always improve as a professional | .772 | −.079 | -.020 |
| 22. | It is not worthy sending curricula to companies because one never gets an answer | −.051 | .542 | -.064 |
| 24. | Even if a professional situation is not ideal, it is always an opportunity to learn something | .241 | −.028 | .622 |
| 26. | It is better not to have high professional expectations so that we are not disappointed for not meeting them | −.077 | .620 | .109 |
| 27. | In order to progress in career, one must take gradually bigger responsibilities | .654 | .058 | .040 |
| 28. | Professional challenges and barriers help us improving ourselves | .633 | .005 | .202 |
| 31. | A good way to build our future is to take initiative in finding or creating our own job opportunities | .521 | −.105 | .102 |
| 32. | Even if a job does not match what we want, accepting it may be an opportunity to prove what we are capable of | .025 | .022 | .802 |
| 34. | When I do not succeed in school or work, I think I am not capable | −.196 | .575 | .076 |
| 38. | One day I want to be able to do my work with autonomy | .785 | .052 | −.109 |
| Factor 1 (growth) | Factor 2 (pessimism) | Factor 3 (flexibility) | ||
| Eigenvalue | 6.93 | 2.12 | 1.49 | |
| % variance | 38.5% | 11.8% | 8.3% | |
| α | .91 | .76 | .81 | |
| Spearman correlations | Factor 1 (growth) | Factor 2 (pessimism) | Factor 3 (flexibility) | |
| Factor 1 (growth) | 1.00 | −.394* | .549* | |
| Factor 2 (pessimism) | 1.00 | −.194* | ||
| Factor 3 (flexibility) | 1.00 | |||
n = 1012, *p < .05