mainaining a sustained work search (ppt.2003)

MAINTAINING A SUSTAINED WORK SEARCHFinding reemployment

Laura BraeunigBeth El Community Network January 11, 2011

DON’T BE FOOLED BY A GOOD DAY

"The standard advice to the unemployed is to treat a job search like a full-time job. Yet, only about 7 percent of our sample devoted six hours or more daily looking for work."

"The Job-Search Grind: Perceived Progress, Self-Reactions, and Self-Regulation of Search Effort," August issue, The Academy of Management Journal.

VARIABLES AFFECTING JOB SEEKING INTENSITY Self-regulation

Metacognitive activities

Learning Goal Orientation

Conscientiousness & Extraversion

Positive emotions

Collaborative self-concept repair

Resilience

SELF REGULATION

Reeve (2005) believes self-regulation strategies are learned behaviors which can be taught. Emotional control

Individuals who manage stress and negative affect associated with unemployment are in a better position to find reemployment.

Motivational control Motivational control in individuals who have the

capacity to maintain concentration and effort in the face of difficulties are better placed to find work.

Work commitment Having the goal of being reemployed, is positively

related to job seeking intensity

METACOGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Goal setting Plan development Monitoring Analyzing progress

Individuals who plan for goal accomplishment and monitor progress toward the goal perform better in training and learning contexts (Schmidt & Ford, 2003).

LEARNING GOAL ORIENTATION A person’s set of beliefs that reflect the reasons

why they approach and engage in academic and learning tasks.

A Learning Goal Orientation (LGO) reflects a focus on task completion and understanding, learning, mastery, solving problems, and developing new skills.

A Performance Goal Orientation (PGO) is exemplified by a concern for personal ability, a normative social comparison with others, preoccupation with the perception of others, a desire for public recognition for performance, and a need to avoid looking incompetent.

WHICH GOAL ORIENTATION ARE YOU?

Learning Goal

Individuals with this orientation: focus on increased

competence and mastering something new

evaluate competence according to whether a task is mastered or a skill developed

more likely to choose difficult and challenging tasks, which enable individuals to develop competencies

(van Hooft & Noordzij, 2009)

Performance Goal

Individuals with this orientation: focus on demonstrating

competence and gaining positive judgments and avoiding negative judgments about one’s competencies

evaluate competence according to how they compare to others

interpret effort and outcomes as diagnostic of their ability (high effort levels →indicator of low ability →results in withdrawal from further effort)

CONTENTIOUSNESS & EXTRAVERSION

Conscientiousness, the extent to which people are achievement striving, self-disciplined, and dependable is one such trait.

Extraversion, the degree to which an individual is energetic outgoing, warm, assertive, and optimistic showed the strongest relationship with job-search behavior (Turban et al., 2009).

POSITIVE EMOTION

Research by Wanberg et al. (1999) showed that controlling negative, intrusive thoughts wasn’t related to job-search activity or reemployment.

However, results from the 2009 Turban et al. study showed that positive emotions played a larger role in job search when the length of unemployment was extended.

POSITIVE EMOTION

There is a tendency for job seekers to let up when they seem to be making progress. This can be particularly problematic among those who are low in emotional disengagement -- that is, those who have little ability to detach from thoughts that may interfere with achieving a goal.

(The Academy of Management Journal, August, 2010.)

COLLABORATIVE SELF-CONCEPT REPAIR

Social psychologists theorize that self-concept formation comes from three sources: Reflected appraisals about the self

Social comparisons Self comparisons

People desire, seek, and try to create positive reflected appraisals, favorable social comparisons, and self-perceptions that display competence and morality (Rosenberg, 1981).

JOB SUPPORT GROUP & SELF CONCEPT REPAIR

Redefining the meaning of unemployment How have you redefined your meaning of unemployment?

Realizing accomplishment List some accomplishments you have experienced before and

during your period of unemployment

Restructuring time How are you structuring your time to assure a continued search

and still engage in a life balance?

Forming accountability partnerships Are you connecting with others?

Helping others What does helping others do for you?

CHECKLIST

Variable What it looks like Yes/No

Self-regulation Emotional ControlMotivational Control Work Commitment


Goal settingPlan developmentMonitoringAnalyzing progress


Mastering task Increasing learning


Achievement striving, self-disciplined, and dependable Energetic outgoing, warm, assertive, and optimistic

Positive emotions


Redefining the meaning of unemploymentRealizing accomplishmentRestructuring time Forming accountability partnershipsHelping others

WHY DO ALL THESE VARIABLES HELP YOU? Self-regulation




Positive emotions


RESILIENCE

Resilience is not and either/or trait. It is a continuum and people can be taught how to overcome obstacles, steer through everyday adversities, and bounce back from major life-altering events.

Pillars with which people can alter their perceptions and reactions to life events: Believing life change is possible Thinking accurately about self, others, and

circumstances Refocusing on human strengths

LIVING YOUR VALUES

Values Clarification from a peak experience Recall two or three peak experiences you can

easily remember (personal or work related).

Ask, “What makes that story or experience significant for you?”

(Partner) Listen and note the values that you believe are coming from the storyteller.

“To land a job in a tough market, you don’t need to be brilliant, you need to be resilient” .

References

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