Should we talk? Co-rumination and conversation avoidance in job search

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.

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.


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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Guerrero ◽  
John-Paul Hatala

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of job search on perceived overqualification by applying the theory of planned behavior and including financial need and openness to experience as moderators. Design/methodology/approach – Three questionnaires were given at weeks 1, 8 and 12 to 436 practice firm participants. A total of 119 completed all three questionnaires. The authors used partial least squares to analyze the data. Findings – Job search self-efficacy was positively related to job search intentions and to outcome expectations. Job search intentions were positively related to job search intensity. Financial need acted as a moderator of the relationship between job search intensity and perceived overqualification such that for those with high-financial need higher levels of job search intensity resulted in higher perceived overqualification. Research limitations/implications – The authors found little support for the theory of planned behavior in the model. The authors found strong support for the role of job search self-efficacy and job search intentions. The use of a three-wave design resulted in a relatively low sample size and the use of the practice firm reduces the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – The results suggest that increasing job search self-efficacy and job search intentions while managing the anticipations of job seekers is likely to yield better job search outcomes. Originality/value – This study investigates the role of job search on perceived overqualification. Findings suggest that malleable attitudes during job search such as job search self-efficacy, job search intentions, and anticipations are likely to impact perceived overqualification.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ans De Vos ◽  
Anneleen Forrier ◽  
Beatrice Van der Heijden ◽  
Nele De Cuyper

Purpose In the current war for talent employers are concerned about the idea that the best employees are more likely to leave the organization for another employer (i.e. the management paradox). This study tests this management paradox. The purpose of this paper is to advance our understandings of how employees’ occupational expertise is associated with job search intensity, through its assumed relationships with perceived internal and external employability in the internal and the external labor market. The authors thereby tested the research model across three different age groups (young, middle-aged, and senior employees). Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey among 2,137 professional workers and applied multi-group structural equation modeling. Findings Perceived internal employability negatively mediated the relationship between occupational expertise and job search intensity, whilst there was a positive mediational effect of perceived external employability. Age had a moderating effect on the association between perceived internal employability and job search intensity. Research limitations/implications The findings contribute to the scholarly literature on the management paradox, and the empirical work on employability and age. Practical implications Organizations can recoup their investments in expert workers’ employability and enhance their retention by providing opportunities for internal career development. Originality/value This study is original by including both internal and external employability. By doing so, the authors thereby shedding new light on how occupational expertise might explain job search and how this relationship differs depending on employee age, thereby using a large sample of respondents.


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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
AN DE COEN ◽  
ANNELEEN FORRIER ◽  
NELE DE CUYPER ◽  
LUC SELS

ABSTRACTAlthough studies on job search implicitly presume that relationships between antecedents and indicators of job search are similar for job seekers from different ages, few studies have tested this assumption even though lifespan theories state that individual motives and behaviour significantly change as people age. From this theoretical perspective, we examine how age moderates the relationships between re-employment efficacy, employment commitment and financial hardship, on the one hand, and job search intensity and wage flexibility, on the other hand. Path analysis on a sample of 240 Belgian job seekers who were at the start of an outplacement programme showed that re-employment efficacy relates positively to job search intensity and wage flexibility for older job seekers, while we find negative relationships for younger job seekers. For employment commitment and financial hardship, we do not find any interaction effects with age. Employment commitment relates positively to search intensity, whereas financial hardship relates negatively to wage flexibility, irrespective of age. We discuss implications for theory, practice and future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunjoo Im ◽  
Hae Won Ju ◽  
Kim K.P. Johnson

PurposeLittle research has been done to understand how individual elements (e.g. advertisements) within a webpage are processed and evaluated when visual complexity is increased. Thus, this study aimed to investigate how consumers allocate attention and evaluate products and advertisements on complex webpages when they are casually browsing.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted two experiments to test the causal effects of different degrees of visual complexity on consumer responses to products and advertisements. An eye-tracking experiment (n = 90) and a follow-up online experiment (n = 121) were conducted using undergraduate students as participants.FindingsParticipants formed a global impression from the overall webpage complexity, which spilled over to evaluation of individual elements on the webpage (e.g. product, advertisement). The inverted U-shaped relationships (vs. linear negative relationships) between webpage visual complexity and attitude toward the webpage, products, and advertisements were observed. The focal product was given a consistent level of attention regardless of the complexity level.Practical implicationsThis study provides implications for website organization and design to maximize positive consumer experiences and marketing effectiveness. The findings provide implications for retailers and advertisement buyers.Originality/valueThis study expanded the knowledge by examining the interplay between individual elements of webpages and the whole webpage complexity when consumers browse visually complex webpages. It is a novel finding that the overall webpage complexity effect spills over to locally attended products or advertisements.


2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aharon Tziner ◽  
Efrat Vered ◽  
Limor Ophir

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