<![CDATA[This study aims to examine the effect of soft skill and work readiness on career anxiety among fresh graduates in West Nusa Tenggara Province, and to test the moderating role of social support on those two relationships. A quantitative causal-associative design was applied through a survey method, with data collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire distributed online to 100 fresh graduates in West Nusa Tenggara who were determined through purposive sampling based on the criteria of having graduated within the last two years, being domiciled in West Nusa Tenggara, and not yet employed, with the number of respondents referring to the ten-times rule for the largest number of structural paths directed toward a construct. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the assistance of SmartPLS 4, covering the evaluation of the outer model (convergent validity, discriminant validity, and construct reliability) and the inner model (R-Square, F-Square, path coefficients, and moderation testing through bootstrapping with 5,000 subsamples). The results show that soft skill and work readiness each have a negative and significant effect on career anxiety, and that social support is proven to significantly moderate and strengthen both negative relationships, with the structural model explaining 46.5% of the variance in career anxiety (R² = 0.465), while the effect size of each exogenous variable falls into the small category (f² between 0.041 and 0.082). These findings imply that universities, families, and career development institutions need to jointly strengthen fresh graduates' soft skill and work readiness while also expanding access to social support, since the two internal resources are proven to be more effective in reducing career anxiety when reinforced by a supportive social environment. Future research is recommended to extend the model with additional variables, adopt a mixed-method or longitudinal design, and broaden the sampling coverage beyond West Nusa Tenggara Province.]]>
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