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JOB SEARCH ACTIVITIES: AN EXAMINATION OF CHANGES OVER TIME
Author(s) -
BARBER ALISON E.,
DALY CHRISTINA L.,
GIANNANTONIO CRISTINA M.,
PHILLIPS JEAN M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
personnel psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.076
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1744-6570
pISSN - 0031-5826
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1994.tb01574.x
Subject(s) - graduation (instrument) , psychology , vocational education , sample (material) , job analysis , applied psychology , social psychology , job satisfaction , pedagogy , mathematics , chemistry , geometry , chromatography
Existing job search research has been criticized for ignoring the dynamic nature of search. This study examined three models of changes in search behavior over time: sequential, learned change, and emotional response. Data on search behaviors were collected from a sample of 186 college and vocational‐technical school graduates early in their search, at graduation, and again 3 months following graduation for individuals who remained unemployed. Job searchers decreased the intensity of their search, increased their use of informal sources, and reduced their emphasis on information related to the availability of jobs between early search and graduation. These changes were reversed following graduation. This pattern is most consistent with the sequential model, which suggests that individuals first search broadly to develop a pool of potential jobs, then examine jobs within that pool in detail, reopening the search only if the initial pool does not lead to an acceptable job offer.