Paper short abstract:

Paper long abstract:

Based on my ethnographic research at two university career services in Germany, I analyze how staff and clients, including undergraduate and postgraduate students, view contemporary work relationships. Although there seems to be a general understanding among the experts that flexibility, entrepreneurship, self-management and self-marketing constitute necessary central market requirements, there exists no dominant and homogenous expert discourse. My paper focuses on how different ideas of successful and desirable working lives are discussed and negotiated between the experts and clients in courses and coaching sessions. I will point out the ambiguous and contradictory perceptions of contemporary working life and market requirements. What is understood as flexibility, entrepreneurship etc. is constructed and continuously re-negotiated within the career services. Thus, ideas of work relationships evolve which only partly correspond to the individualized images of contemporary working life.