Abstract
Implicit theories, otherwise known as mindsets, are beliefs about the fixedness or plasticity of one’s personal attributes that have important implications for self-regulation, judgments, and performance. In this paper, three decades of social psychological, educational, and organizational research on mindsets is reviewed before qualitatively investigating whether job seekers simultaneously hold differentiated mindsets in the realms of networking, interviewing, and negotiating. This study provides evidence for the existence of differentiated mindsets. It also reveals fresh insights into the distinct and shared characteristics of fixed and growth mindsets, illustrating how qualitative methods may enable detection of more nuance in how lay theories manifest than is currently captured in the almost universally quantitative mindsets literature. Implications and future directions are also discussed.