2004
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Gedrag & Organisatie
  4. Volume 37, Issue 3
  5. Article
Volume 37, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 0921-5077
  • E-ISSN: 1875-7235

Abstract

Abstract

The current global labor market tightness is creating more jobs than ever before, resulting in both opportunities and uncertainties. Job seekers, especially recent graduates, often experience significant uncertainty due to limited knowledge about available jobs. Given that the risks of a low-quality job are similar to unemployment and can hinder future career success, finding a suitable job is crucial. In the past, research has generally focused on the quantity of job search behavior. Recent scholarly interest is, however, shifting to the quality of the job search process. The current article presents the results of a doctoral dissertation that conceptualizes job search quality as a four-dimensional model consisting of goal formulation, planning, goal pursuit, and reflection. Throughout four empirical studies, evidence was presented that work search quality (a) adds value above and beyond job search intensity and metacognitive activities, (b) is positively related to various outcomes including job quality, (c) is predicted by personality, attitudes, and context, and (d) can possibly be improved by an online (positive) reflection intervention. These findings highlight the importance of searching smarter for a job instead of harder, and offer valuable insights for both job seekers and policymakers.

© Jolien Stremersch & Greet Van Hoye
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/GO2024.3.001.STRE
2024-09-01
2024-12-21
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Asebedo, S. D., Seay, M. C., Little, T. D., Enete, S., & Gray, B. (2021). Three good things or three good financial things? Applying a positive psychology intervention to the personal finance domain. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(4), 481-491. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1752779
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Baay, P. E., De Ridder, D. T. D., Eccles, J. S., Van der Lippe, T., & Van Aken, M. A. G. (2014). Self-control trumps work motivation in predicting job search behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(3), 443-451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.09.006
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Boswell, W. R., Zimmerman, R. D., & Swider, B. W. (2012). Employee job search: Toward an understanding of search context and search objectives. Journal of Management, 38(1), 129-163. http://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311421829
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D., & Klesh, J. (1983). Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of organizational members. In S. E.Seashore, E. E.Lawler III, P. H.Mirvis, & C.Cammann (Eds.), Assessing organizational change: A guide to methods, measures, and practices (pp. 71-138). Wiley.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D. (2004). The positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS): Construct validity, measurement properties and normative data in a large non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 43(3), 245-265. https://doi.org/10.1348/0144665031752934
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Da Motta Veiga, S. P., & Gabriel, A. S. (2016). The role of self-determined motivation in job search: A dynamic approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(3), 350-361. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000070
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
     [Google Scholar]
  8. House, J. S. (1981). Work stress and social support. Addison-Wesley.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). (2001). A scientific collaboratory for the development of advanced measures of personality traits and other individual differences. Retrieved from http://ipip.ori.org/
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Kanfer, R., Wanberg, C. R., & Kantrowitz, T. M. (2001). Job search and employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(5), 837-855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.5.837
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Koen, J., Klehe, U.-C., Van Vianen, A. E. M., Zikic, J., & Nauta, A. (2010). Job-search strategies and reemployment quality: The impact of career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(1), 126-139. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.02.004
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Koen, J., Van Vianen, A. E. M., Van Hooft, E. A. J., & Klehe, U.-C. (2016). How experienced autonomy can improve job seekers’ motivation, job search, and chance of finding reemployment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95-96, 31-44. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.07.003
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2013). Social cognitive model of career self-management: Toward a unifying view of adaptive career behavior across the life span. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(4), 557-568. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033446
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Liu, S., Huang, J. L. & Wang, M. (2014). Effectiveness of job search interventions: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 1009-1041. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035923
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Lord, R. G., Diefendorff, J. M., Schmidt, A. M., & Hall, R. J. (2010). Self-regulation at work. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 543-568. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100314
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Okay-Somerville, B., & Scholarios, D. (2021). Focused for some, exploratory for others: Job search strategies and successful university-to-work transitions in the context of labor market ambiguity. Journal of Career Development, 49(1), 126-143. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453211016058
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Saks, A. M. (2005). Job search success: A review and integration of the predictors, behaviors, and outcomes. In S. D.Brown & R. W.Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 155-179). Wiley.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Steffy, B. D., Shaw, K. N., & Noe, A. W. (1989). Antecedents and consequences of job search behaviors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 35(3), 254-269. http://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(89)90029-8
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Stremersch, J. (2022). How to hit a home run on your next job search: Covering the four bases of job search quality [Doctoral dissertation]. Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Stremersch, J., Bouckenooghe, D., & Kanar, A. M. (2024). Exploring job seeker profiles through latent profile analysis. Journal of Career Assessment. Online first publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727231201670
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Stremersch, J., & Van Hoye, G. (2020). Searching hard versus searching smart: The role of search process quality in an internship context. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 28(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12274
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Stremersch, J., & Van Hoye, G. (2024). Fostering metacognitive activities during job search: The Three Good Job Search Things intervention. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 32(2), 279-291. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsa.12462
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Stremersch, J., Van Hoye, G., & Van Hooft, E. (2021). How to successfully manage the school-to-work transition: Integrating job search quality in the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 131. Article number 103643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103643
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Turban, D. B., Stevens, C. K., & Lee, F. K. (2009). Effects of conscientiousness and extraversion on new labor market entrants’ job search: The mediating role of metacognitive activities and positive emotions. Personnel Psychology, 62(3), 553-573. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2009.01148.x
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Van Hooft, E. A. J., Born, M. Ph., Taris, T. W., Van der Flier, H., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2004). Predictors of job search behavior among employed and unemployed people. Personnel Psychology, 57(1), 25-59. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2004.tb02483.x
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Van Hooft, E. A. J., Born, M. P., Taris, T. W., Van der Flier, H., & Blonk, R. W. B. (2005). Bridging the gap between intentions and behavior: Implementation intentions, action control, and procrastination. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 66(2), 238-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2004.10.003
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Van Hooft, E. A. J., Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., Wanberg, C. R., Kanfer, R., & Basbug, G. (2021). Job search and employment success: A quantitative review and future research agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(5), 674-713. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000675
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Van Hooft, E. A. J., Van Hoye, G., & Van den Hee, S. M. (2022). How to optimize the job search process: Development and validation of the Job Search Quality Scale. Journal of Career Assessment, 30(3), 474-505. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727211052812
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Van Hooft, E. A. J., Wanberg, C. R., & Van Hoye, G. (2013). Moving beyond job search quantity: Towards a conceptualization and self-regulatory framework of job search quality. Organizational Psychology Review, 3(1), 3-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/2041386612456033
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Van Hoye, G. (2018). Job search behavior as a multidimensional construct: A review of different job search behaviors and sources. In U. C.Klehe & E. A. J.Van Hooft (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of job loss and job search (pp. 259-274). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199764921.013.009
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Van Hoye, G., Saks, A. M., Lievens, F., & Weijters, B. (2015). Development and test of an integrative model of job search behaviour. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 24(4), 544-559. http://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.964214
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Van Ryn, M., & Vinokur, A. D. (1992). How did it work? An examination of the mechanisms through which an intervention for the unemployed promoted job-search behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(5), 577-597. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00941773
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Dewitte, S., De Witte, H, & Deci, E. L. (2004). The “why” and “why not” of job search behavior: Their relation to searching, unemployment experience and well-being. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34(3), 345-363. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.202
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Vinokur, A., & Caplan, R. D. (1987). Attitudes and social support: Determinants of job-seeking behavior and well-being among the unemployed. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17(12), 1007-1024. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1987.tb02345.x.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Wanberg, C. R., Ali, A. A., & Csillag, B. (2020). Job seeking: The process and experience of looking for a job. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7, 315-337. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044939
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Wanberg, C. R., Basbug, G., Van Hooft, E. A. J., & Samtani, A. (2012). Navigating the black hole: Explicating layers of job search context and adaptational responses. Personnel Psychology, 65(4), 887-926. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12005
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Wanberg, C. R., Hough, L. M., & Song, Z. (2002). Predictive validity of a multidisciplinary model of reemployment success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(6), 1100-1120. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.6.1100
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M.Boekaerts, P. R.Pintrich, & M.Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13-39). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50031-7
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5117/GO2024.3.001.STRE
Loading
Zoek slimmer naar werk in plaats van harder: De rol van werkzoekkwaliteit
G&O 37, 241 (2024); https://doi.org/10.5117/GO2024.3.001.STRE
/content/journals/10.5117/GO2024.3.001.STRE
/content/journals/10.5117/GO2024.3.001.STRE
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Keyword(s): career development; job search; job search quality; school-to-work transition; unemployment

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error