Self‐ratings and supervisor ratings of graduate employees' competences during early career

Self‐ratings and supervisor perceptions of employee work competences are likely to have substantial effects on work performance, supervisor–subordinate relationships and perceptions of training needs. Yet little is known about how people in early career view their competences; whether their supervisors share their views; or whether ratings of competences vary between organizations and/or with tenure. This paper draws on the self‐assessment and other literatures to identify seven questions which are then addressed using ratings on five competence dimensions from 784 graduates and 531 managers of graduates in eight UK‐based organizations. As predicted, mean ratings differed between competence dimensions and organizations, and self‐ratings were higher than manager ratings. The magnitude of the discrepancy between graduates and managers varied between competence dimensions, but not between organizations. Self‐ratings did not generally increase with tenure. The implications of the results for graduate career development are discussed, with particular reference to organizational practices for fostering feelings of competence, and the role of the supervisor in such practices.