Abstract

This systematic review examines the relationship between resilience, self-esteem, and career outcomes among assistant professor job seekers in Psychology at Indian state universities, with specific focus on job expectations, career adaptability, stress and burnout, and job search duration. A comprehensive literature search across multiple databases retrieved 219 unique peer-reviewed academic journal articles. After systematic screening and relevance assessment, 30 papers were analyzed in depth. The review reveals a critical evidence gap: no studies directly examined assistant professor job seekers in Psychology at Indian state universities with the specified outcomes. However, available evidence from related populations—including Indian college students, Ph.D. scholars, and early-career academics—demonstrates that resilience and self-esteem are significant predictors of career adaptability, stress management, and career optimism. Resilience shows consistent positive correlations with self-esteem, psychological well-being, and adaptive coping strategies. Self-esteem components (self-liking and self-competence) differentially predict career adaptability and optimism. The review identifies substantial methodological limitations, including predominance of cross-sectional designs, convenience sampling, and lack of longitudinal data on job search outcomes. These findings underscore an urgent need for targeted research on Psychology faculty job seekers in the Indian state university context.