Job and employment are important factors in the identity of people and their satisfaction with life and are considered essential values in societies (Moghaddas & Nilforooshan, 2020). In every society, for people of working age, having a job and employment is of particular importance. Employment benefits have caused a large part of this population to seek employment (Paoloni, et al., 2020). In the current labor market change and transformation are one of the most important features. To increase the probability of success in employment, job applicants must keep their employability capabilities up-to-date prospectively (Okolie, 2022). In response to rapid transformations, it is not only the quality of the work environment that is important. Instead, how people overcome these successive changes is also important (Gupta, et al., 2022). Transitions are from the most important stages of human life, which depending on the type and conditions of occurrence, can be focused on role, communication, or environment (Vrasmas & Vrasmas, 2012). In this regard, one of the most critical and challenging transitions of the entire human life span, which includes all three types of roles, communication, and environmental changes, is the transition from university (Pan, et al., 2018). Preparation for the transition from university to work means preparation for choosing and facing career options, and economic and social situations determine the quality of life and the long-term future career path of people (Geertsma & Lanzendorf, 2017). The lack of preparation for the transition from university to work causes students to experience periods of confusion and Complex and challenging experiences of prolonged unemployment and stagnation (Sharifi & Sadeghi, 2021), part-time work with low income, severe financial need (Ling & O’Brien, 2013), periods of part-time employment or employment in institutions that do not match their goals and interests. (Sadeghi, et al., 2017). This issue is particularly important for the population of university graduates. Usually, university education is presented without considering the demands of the labor market and in a past-use context. This makes this very complex and important transition period stand out, which has been the focus of countless research (Hlad’o, et al., 2019). Recent research points out that in addition to being equipped with hard skills that include technical and executive abilities to perform job duties and tasks, graduates should be equipped with soft skills including employability skills, self-expression, and optimism, and be equipped with appropriate job seeking behaviors (Albandea & Giret, 2018). One of the ways to increase the probability of people's success in the process of transition from university to work is to properly prepare them long before, for a suitable job that will help people enter the labor market as soon as possible and cause the positive consequences of their career path increase (Sharifi & Sadeghi, 2021). Applied psychologists and researchers in organizational behavior and human resources are more aware of the role and importance of having a positive or optimistic work attitude than how they used to be in the past (Faraghi, &Jenani, 2018). According to the theory of career path constructivism, career path optimism is a rational motivational factor that reflects the expectation of the best possible outcome or emphasis on the best aspects of one's future career path growth and relaxation in performing career path planning skills (Manoharan, et al., 2021). More optimism is related to increasing personal, social, and scientific adaptation, life and career satisfaction, career planning, self-confidence about career decision-making, and purposefulness in career development (Eva, et al., 2020). Optimistic people are interested in the future of their career path, are enthusiastically involved in learning, and are directly related to the future of their career path. Also, they feel relieved that they are on the right way to success in career path (Alipour Esfahani & Sadeghi, 2020); they are less likely to be helpless or give up in stressful situations and are more likely to maintain a positive outlook and deal with work pressures. They develop action plans, so they are optimistic about the path considering the economic upheaval of today's world. Development in positive career insight can lead to an increase in the success of a person in his career development (Maftei, et al., 2023). The research literature on career path optimism shows that positive perceptions of the future indicate career path maturity and adaptability (Rottinghaus, et al., (2012), Tolentino, et al., 2014). Improving people's skills, abilities, and capabilities in the form of strengthening the capital of the career path and developing forward-looking career path behaviors, which is necessary to increase employability in future businesses, is considered an essential research area in human resources studies (Peeters, et al., 2019). Studies have shown that flourishing training can lead to the improvement of positive relationships, positive emotions, meaningfulness, success, and satisfaction (Mirzakhani, et al., 2017) and increase the level of well-being and decrease the level of fragility in life (Lambert, et al., 2018). Flourishing means bringing more life to physical health, more creativity in work, and more peace and success. This concept can be summarized through following the framework of “PERMA” which is an acronym consisting of initials as follows; Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. (Seligman, et al., (2006); Abbasian, et al., (2022). The flourishing hypothesis emphasizes that a person's life should be optimal and desirable and have experienced personal growth, productiveness, and resilience. Therefore, flourishing training as a behavioral intervention helps people focus more on empowerment, values, and important goals (Hine, et al., 2022). People who have a high level of flourishing are ready to grow and improve and expand their abilities and can establish sincere and reliable relationships with others. Flourishing people experience both positive emotions (hope and optimism) and negative emotions (anger, fear, and suffering) and use adaptive coping skills more than showing weakness (Cele, et al., 2021). The results of studies by Baranov, et al., (2020) showed that flourishing training also improves people's decision-making in economic matters.
Another strategy that can be used to empower students in communication skills is teaching transactional analysis which is one of the theories that has paid much attention to interpersonal relationships, the process of life events, and the mutual reactions of people. It has provided practical solutions to interpersonal issues (Ashrafian & Salehi, 2022). It was presented based on the concepts of states of "self" put in this theory several parts are divided into; parent, adult, and child (Berne, 2013). The parent constitutes that part of the personality and the whole existence of the person that deals with the parent's values, beliefs, and behavior. The Adult state causes emotions to appear at a desirable and appropriate level, the Child's state is basically in search of pleasure and playfulness, and mischievousness is also a characteristic of this state (Sloot & Scheibehenne, 2022). Transactional analysis helps people reduce conflict, anticipatory, and decrease avoidant relationship patterns and increase constructive reciprocity patterns by teaching parallel reciprocity. It does this by teaching parallel mutual relations, applying caresses, conducting adult-to-adult conversations, and bringing the person to the state of "I'm good, you're good" (Inoui, et al., 2022). Generally, transactional analysis teaches a person to use their thinking capacity to develop one’s communication approaches while considering the felt experience (Stewart & Joines, 1987). In line with the research objectives, the results of the studies showed that the transition from university to work is significantly affected by individual factors such as the belief in the source of internal control, optimism, and social support network (Murphy et al., 2010). Increasing the adaptability of students' career paths can facilitate the success of their university-to-work transition process, in addition, students' assessment of their competencies and capabilities is an influential factor in the degree of career path adaptability and readiness for their transition from university to work (Sharifi & Sadeghi, 2021). Perceived support of the individual in the psychological, behavioral, and quality of relationships plays an influential role in the growth of the career path, resilience, self-efficacy of job seeking, and removal of career obstacles (Oh & Jun, 2018). Brosnan (2020) showed that the positive attitude of educational institutions toward the career guidance of students affects their career growth. The more eligible a person is for the job, the more eligible the person would be for the organization. in the meantime, the structure of optimism towards the path of career development can have such a relationship. (Aghaz & Tarighian, 2015). The optimism of career progress depends on belonging and its dimensions (sacrifice and fascination) and on success it positively and significantly affects work and its dimensions (vitality and learning) (Faraghi & Jenani, 2018). The results of studies by Arshadi et al., (2018) indicate the effectiveness of flourishing training in increasing psychological capacity and its components (hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience). Teaching flourishing with predictors of cognitive well-being, such as discovering one's talents in various aspects of life and trying to improve them, is practical (Gokcen, et al., 2012). flourishing training in employment leads to positive employment results (Mirzakhani et al., 2017). flourishing training also improved students' positive psychological capital, including self-efficacy, optimism, and hope (Asghari Soleimani et al., 2021). Education based on the psychological model of flourishing creates lasting changes in the level of happiness and social participation of students (Ziaee et al., 2021).
Based on frequent surveys and research, finding a job that brings inner satisfaction and provides material needs is very difficult and, like any other purposeful action, requires seriousness and continuous effort. On the other hand, our country is on the path of industrialization and self-sufficiency. Like industrialized countries, part of the work should be given to young and educated people, including students and graduates. First, the general knowledge of students in the field of employment and job search should be increased so that they can follow the job search process in a proper way, therefore targeted, voluntary, and organized activities with the aim of achieving employment are necessary. According to the studies, nowadays students expect to be in the work cycle, and considering the consequences of unemployment, employment and prior to that, finding a job is an important issue. Such consequences include social problems such as the prevalence of poverty and difficult living conditions, as well as the occurrence of physical and mental diseases. Effective factors in employment and their mutual influence are needed. In addition to this, the research gap and the lack of its background are other complications. In the field of local employment in Iran, there is a significant gap can in research and its background. Therefore, the main question of the research can be stated as “Is there a significant difference between the effectiveness of flourishing training with transactional analysis training on the optimism of the career path and the readiness of students for the transition from university to the labor market?”