Effects of Conscientiousness and Extraversion on New Labor Market Entrants' Job Search: The Mediating Role of Metacognitive Activities and Positive Emotions

Abstract

Job seekers' Conscientiousness and Extraversion show consistent relationships with their job search activities and success, although the explanatory mechanisms for these relationships are unclear (Kanfer, Wanberg, & Kantrowitz, 2001). To explore these mechanisms, we developed and tested a model in which both Conscientiousness and Extraversion influenced metacognitive activities whereas Extraversion alone influenced positive emotions; these mediating variables in turn were predicted to influence resumé submissions, first interviews, second interviews, and job offers. Using longitudinal data collected from 232 job applicants, we found support for these predictions. Interestingly, meta-cognitive activities appeared to be more important in predicting resumé submissions and first interviews, whereas positive emotions predicted success in obtaining second interviews and job offers. We discuss the implications of our results and suggest future directions for research.

Biomarkers and long-term labour market outcomes: The case of creatine

“…It could be that creatine has positive effects on cognitive performance particularly in stressful situations. Positive effects of creatine on cognitive behaviour have been found especially in situations associated with reduced brain creatine, such as sleep deprivation, mild exercise and stressful mathematical tasks (Allen, 2012 Turban et al, 2009). Therefore, apart from Extraversion, these results suggest that higher levels of creatine might be associated with better performance in the labour market.…”

New job market entrants' future work self, career adaptability and job search outcomes: Examining mediating and moderating models

“…To obtain a job offer, job seekers usually go through a series of tasks like assessing personal characteristics (e.g., values, needs, abilities), searching job market information, submitting applications, participating in interviews, negotiating with potential employers and making decisions on which job offer to accept (Brown et al, 2006;Wanberg et al, 2010). As university graduates generally have little familiarity with these tasks, job search is often regarded as stressful and full of unexpected difficulties (Turban et al, 2009). Based on career construction theory, we argue that the multiple psychological resources underlying career adaptability promote university graduates' self-regulation capacity in job search, and therefore will increase the likelihood of employment.…”

“…However, the results also showed that job search self-efficacy did not fully Career Adaptability and Job Search Success 18 mediate the relationship between career concern and employment status, as well as the relationship between career control and P-O fit, which suggests the existence of other important mediators in this process. For example, career concern may enable individuals to form meta-cognition to guide the job search process (e.g., Turban et al, 2009), which in turn will predict their employment status. On the other hand, as career control facilitates individuals' being deliberate and organized in making career decisions and transitions, it may relate positively to individuals' job search clarity, which in turn mediates its effects on fit perceptions (Wanberg et al, 2010).…”

“…As career curiosity refers to the open-mindedness in accessing career-related information, the positive effect of this dimension should be more salient in predicting individuals' career exploration behavior (Savickas, 2005). Career confidence represents individuals' positive perceptions on their problem-solving skills across different situations and should be significantly related to individuals' positive emotions and resilience in career transitions (Turban et al, 2009). In sum, these results suggest that although the four dimensions of career adaptability share commonalities with each other, they can also play different roles in predicting different types of career-related outcomes across different contexts, these important questions should continue to be examined in future research.…”

Impact of employer brand-equity promotion for effective talent recruitment of fresh graduates in Pakistan

“…First, there is a long history of the study of organizational attraction and secondly, there is tremendous growth in cross flow of research merge branding concepts from the consumer psychology (Turban et al, 2009) literature of organizational attraction and applicant job search behaviour (Gardner et al, 2010). This merging of employment brand with product and service brands is proficient, simply by recognizing employment as a monetary exchange between workers and employers and also resulting into improved brand equity promotion along with improved recruitment *Corresponding author.…”