The career development literature extols the benefits of active involvement in the management and monitoring of career decisions before and during the school-to-work transition. Using a retrospective recall design, a sample of 300 recent university graduates were asked to report on their career decision-making processes. Those who were occupationally engaged were significantly more likely to have a clearer, salient view of their future work selves and exhibited greater confidence when making career decisions. Moreover, recent graduates' future work self salience significantly explained the positive association between occupational engagement and career decision self-efficacy. Finally, recent graduates who were occupationally engaged and displayed high levels of grit were significantly less likely to exhibit career decision distress than those low in both occupational engagement and grit. These findings shed light on the psychological and motivational mechanisms associated with adaptive career decision-making among individuals who have recently graduated from university.