Dynamics of the job search process: developing and testing a mediated moderation model
Shuhua Sun1, Zhaoli Song, Vivien K G Lim
1Department of Organization and Strategy, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University.
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|July 17, 2013
Summary
Job seekers with a prevention focus benefit from higher job search efficacy, while those with a promotion focus do not. Job search effort mediates these effects on interview offers.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Vocational Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Self-regulation is crucial for effective job searching.
- Understanding how individual differences in regulatory focus interact with dynamic self-perceptions like efficacy is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interactive effects of within-person changes in job search efficacy and chronic regulatory focus on job interview offers.
- To examine the mediating role of job search effort in these relationships.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study design was employed with 184 graduating college students.
- Participants provided monthly reports on job search activities over 8 months.
- A mediated moderation model was developed and tested.
Main Results:
- Job search efficacy positively predicted interview offers for individuals with a strong prevention focus.
- Job search efficacy negatively predicted interview offers for individuals with a strong promotion focus.
- Job search effort mediated the interactive effects of efficacy and regulatory focus on interview offers.
Conclusions:
- Job search efficacy's impact on interview success is contingent on an individual's regulatory focus.
- Job search effort acts as a mechanism through which these interactive effects operate.
- Findings deepen the understanding of self-regulatory dynamics in the job search process.
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