Not Again! I’m Looking for a Job but I Don’t Know Why It Is Taking So Long!

written by Silvia Barriga

Overall, individual differences in job hunting will determine the type of jobs we will pursue, and how fast we will get what we want. Finally, personality traits and foraging strategies will help us to accept rejections and keep on looking for the job we desire, and to make the right decisions when a job offer is on the table.

References

Bandura, A. (1989). Self-regulation of motivation and action through internal standards and goal systems. In L.A. Pervin (Ed.),Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology (pp. 19-85). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Barrick, M.R., Mount, M.K., & Strauss, J.P. (1993). Conscientiousness and performance in sales representatives: Test the mediating effects of goal setting. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 715-722.

Feather, N.T. (1990). The Psychological Impact of Unemployment. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Goldberg, L.R. (1990). An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality, 59, 1216-1229.

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, 837-855.

Kaplan, H., & Hill, K. (1992). The evolutionary ecology of food acquisition. In E.A. Smith & B. Winterhalder (Eds.). Evolutionary Ecology and Human Behavior (pp. 167-202). New York: Aldine.

Kinicki, A.J., & Latack, J.C. (1990). Explication of the construct of coping with involuntary job loss. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 36, 339-360.

Krebs, J.R., & Davies, N.B. (Eds.). (1997) Behavioral Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach (3rd edn). Oxford: Blackwell.

Wieczorkowska, G., & Burnstein, E. (2004). Hunting for a job: how individual differences in foraging strategies influence the length of unemployment. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 7, 305-315.