Negative career feedback and career goal disengagement in young adults: The moderating role of mind-set about work

•We tested a cross-sectional model of career feedback•Negative feedback was positively related to career disengagement•A growth mind-set about work buffered this relationship•A Destiny mind-set about work strengthened this relationship

Based on self-regulatory theories, this study examined the cross-sectional relationship between negative career feedback and the likelihood of career goal disengagement, and tested whether implicit theories about work moderated this relationship, using a sample of 184 young adults (MAGE = 19.44 years). We found that negative feedback was associated positively with goal disengagement, and consistent with our hypotheses, also found that this relationship was weaker for those with stronger growth beliefs and stronger for those with stronger destiny beliefs. These findings highlight important roles for career feedback and implicit theories of work in young peoples' career goal pursuit.