scholarly journals The Intensity of Job Search and Search Duration

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Jason Faberman ◽  
Marianna Kudlyak

We use online job application data to study the relationship between search intensity and search duration. The data allow us to control for job seeker composition and the evolution of available job openings over the duration of search. We find that, within an individual search spell, search intensity declines continuously. We also find that longer-duration job seekers search more intensely throughout their search. They tend to be older, male, nonemployed, and live in areas with weaker labor markets. Our findings contradict standard assumptions of labor search models. We discuss how to reconcile the theory with our evidence. (JEL E24, J24, J63, J64)

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1139-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANNES ZACHER

ABSTRACTLong-term unemployment of older people can have severe consequences for individuals, communities and ultimately economies, and is therefore a serious concern in countries with an ageing population. However, the interplay of chronological age and other individual difference characteristics in predicting older job seekers' job search is so far not well understood. This study investigated relationships among age, proactive personality, occupational future time perspective (FTP) and job search intensity of 182 job seekers between 43 and 77 years in Australia. Results were mostly consistent with expectations based on a combination of socio-emotional selectivity theory and the notion of compensatory psychological resources. Proactive personality was positively related to job search intensity and age was negatively related to job search intensity. Age moderated the relationship between proactive personality and job search intensity, such that the relationship was stronger at higher compared to lower ages. One dimension of occupational FTP (perceived remaining time left in the occupational context) mediated this moderating effect, but not the overall relationship between age and job search intensity. Implications for future research, including the interplay of occupational FTP and proactive personality, and some tentative practical implications are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1082-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Zacher ◽  
Angelika Bock

Purpose – In the context of demographic and economic changes, helping mature age job seekers find employment is imperative. The purpose of this paper is to examine mature age job seekers’ proactive personality as a moderator of the relationship between age and job search intensity; and to examine job search self-efficacy as a mediator of this moderation effect. It was hypothesized that the generally negative relationships between age and job search self-efficacy and intensity are weaker among job seekers with a more proactive personality. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 188 job seekers between 40 and 64 years completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – Consistent with previous research, age was negatively related to job search intensity. Proactive personality was positively related to job search intensity and moderated the relationship between age and job search intensity. Extending previous research, proactive personality also positively predicted job search self-efficacy and moderated the relationship between age and job search self-efficacy which, in turn, positively predicted job search intensity. Research limitations/implications – Potential limitations of the study include the cross-sectional design, sample selectivity, and the omission of possibly important control variables. Practical implications – Practitioners, organizations, and societies concerned with helping mature age job seekers find employment could provide additional support to those with a less proactive personality and low job search self-efficacy. Originality/value – This study extends previous research by showing that mature age job seekers’ job search self-efficacy mediates the moderating effect of proactive personality on the relationship between age and job search intensity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 551-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshie Nakai ◽  
Stephen C. Hill ◽  
Andrea F. Snell ◽  
Jared Z. Ferrell

The purpose of the current study is to explore the changes in participants’ attitude toward job search and perceived utility of training during job search interventions, called job clubs, designed for older adults. Latent growth modeling was used to examine the trajectories of these outcomes during 3-week-long job clubs. In addition, the study examined the relationship between participants’ self-regulatory skills (emotion control and motivation control) and the training outcomes. In Study 1 (20 job clubs, N = 200) and Study 2 (36 job clubs, N = 385), participants showed continuous positive change in the attitude and perceived utility of training. Although self-regulatory skills in the beginning of job club were not related to the improvement in the outcomes, dynamic measures of emotion control predicted change in attitude and motivation control predicted both attitude and perceived utility of training.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Petruzziello ◽  
Marco Giovanni Mariani ◽  
Rita Chiesa ◽  
Dina Guglielmi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general self-efficacy (GSE), job search self-efficacy (JSSE), extraversion and job search success within a sample of new entrants in the labour market. It is hypothesised that JSSE acts as a mediator between GSE and job search success. Evaluation of the hireability – made by expert interviewers – of new entrants involved in a job interview simulation is proposed as a job search success criterion. Moreover, the moderating role of extraversion on the relationship between JSSE and job search success is explored.Design/methodology/approachData were collected on 177 graduates from an Italian university. Participants were involved in a simulation of an interview conducted by experts of the personnel selection process, who gave an evaluation. Macro PROCESS for SPSS was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsGSE has an indirect effect on job search success via JSSE. Moreover, extraversion has a moderating effect on the JSSE–job search success relationship for more extraverted job seekers.Practical implicationsJob search and counselling practitioners should consider extraversion and personal differences to improve the effectiveness of interventions aimed at fostering new entrants' self-regulatory resources and behaviours during the job search.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing research about the job search process by testing a new and important job search success criterion, showing that GSE could help new graduates in establishing a specific self-efficacy, such as JSSE, and demonstrating that extraversion interacts with JSSE.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 742-753
Author(s):  
Dana L. Haggard ◽  
Serge P. da Motta Veiga ◽  
Melody W. LaPreze

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to adopt an approach/avoidance coping framework to examine the relationships of job search co-rumination (i.e. engaging in repeated and excessive conversations with a friend about job search problems) and job search talk avoidance (i.e. persistently seeking to escape conversations about the job search) on job search intensity and job search procrastination. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed 196 new labor market entrants (i.e. graduating students) at two points in time during their last semester in college. Findings The authors found that job search co-rumination is positively related to job search intensity, while job search talk avoidance is positively related to job search procrastination. Interestingly, though, the expected negative relationships between job search co-rumination and job search procrastination and between job search talk avoidance and job search intensity were not significant. Practical implications This study has implications for both job seekers and career counselors. For job seekers, understanding how their communication patterns influence their behaviors (and ultimately their success) can help them to see the benefits of a balanced approach to sharing about their job search. Furthermore, career centers could organize either job search mentoring or peer group programs to help job seekers navigate the intricacies of the job search process. Originality/value This study contributes to understanding whether and how talking (or not) with others (i.e. friends and relatives) about one’s job search influences one’s job search behaviors, such as intensity and procrastination.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Dalla Rosa ◽  
Michelangelo Vianello ◽  
Elisa Maria Galliani ◽  
Ryan D. Duffy

We examined the relationship between calling, job-search clarity, and job-search intensity in a cross-sectional study of Italian unemployed job seekers (N = 315). Structural equation modeling with observed variables and latent moderated structural equation models were adopted to test whether optimism, self-esteem, and perseverance moderate the relation between calling, job-search clarity and job-search intensity. Perceiving a calling was positively related with job-search clarity and intensity and these relations were stronger in individuals with lower levels of optimism, self-esteem, and perseverance. This study suggests that perceiving a calling is an important personal resource that is related to a clearer job-search goal, more intense job-search activities and can support job seekers in personal adverse condition. These results suggest integrating job-search behaviors in the Work as Calling Theory and that incorporating the construct of calling into career counselors’ practices may increase the efficacy of job-search activities.


Author(s):  
Girum Abebe ◽  
Stefano Caria ◽  
Marcel Fafchamps ◽  
Paolo Falco ◽  
Simon Franklin ◽  
...  

Abstract We show that helping young job-seekers signal their skills to employers generates large and persistent improvements in their labour market outcomes. We do this by comparing an intervention that improves the ability to signal skills (the ‘job application workshop’) to a transport subsidy treatment designed to reduce the cost of job search. In the short-run, both interventions have large positive effects on the probability of finding a formal job. The workshop also increases the probability of having a stable job with an open-ended contract. Four years later, the workshop significantly increases earnings, job satisfaction, and employment duration, but the effects of the transport subsidy have dissipated. Gains are concentrated on individuals who generally have worse labour market outcomes. Overall, our findings highlight that young people possess valuable skills that are unobservable to employers. Making these skills observable generates earnings gains that are far greater than the cost of the intervention.


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