Job Search Intervention Research Articles

Job Search Interventions for Long-Term Unemployed Job Seekers: Comparing Approaches to Effective Support

Drawing from the psychology of working and social resilience frameworks, this study introduces a novel intervention program to address the complex needs of long-term unemployed individuals. We examine the effectiveness of this novel intervention with a randomized, controlled field experiment where we test two versions of this program: one-on-one coaching and group coaching. Our findings show that long-term unemployed job seekers who received either form of coaching had higher reemployment rates and lower levels of self-blame than a control group that did not receive any support. Our in-depth interviews with group and one-on-one support receivers reveal that each type of support helped the long-term unemployed in distinct ways. Our findings suggest that a combination of group and one-on-one coaching to assist long-term unemployed individuals would help diminish the self-blame associated with unemployment and foster reemployment.

Systematic Adaptation of the JOBS Program for Use with Adults with Visual Impairments.

The purpose of this study was to use a systematic process to adapt the JOBS program, an evidence-based job search intervention, for use with unemployed adults with visual impairments and implementation via videoconferencing. The Planned Adaptation approach, an established framework for adapting evidence-based practices, guided the adaptations. The four-step Planned Adaptation process comprised examining the program's theory of change, identifying population differences, adapting the program content, and adapting the evaluation strategy. The original JOBS program has five key components, two critical causal mechanisms, and several potential moderators. Differences between the original and new target populations include needs, experiences, and employment barriers. Adaptations included activity changes, new processes to enhance outcomes, and changes to the implementation procedures. The evaluation plan for the adapted program includes a pilot study to test the updated activities, processes, and procedures, followed by an efficacy study to assess outcomes. The JOBS program was a strong candidate for systematic adaptation due to its theoretical foundation, thorough documentation, and established active ingredients. Stakeholder input increased the relevance and feasibility of the adaptations. Future research is needed to evaluate the adapted program and its outcomes. After completion of the evaluation plan, the new JOBS adaptation will be available for practitioners to use with adults with visual impairments. Practitioners may find the Planned Adaptation approach useful for adapting other programs to better meet the needs of the population they serve.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Implementing a Job Search Intervention for Adults With Visual Impairments via Videoconferencing.

Research supports the benefits of job search interventions in improving employment outcomes for various populations, but previous studies involved face-to-face implementation and did not include adults with visual impairments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a job search intervention designed for synchronous distance implementation with adults with visual impairments. Two trainers implemented a 5-day job search skills training program with 12 job seekers with visual impairments, ages 22 to 63 years, via Zoom videoconferencing software. Researchers documented participant attendance and intervention fidelity during the program. Participants completed electronic surveys that included quantitative measures of cognitive load and acceptability, plus open-ended questions about their overall perceptions of the program. Attendance, intervention fidelity, and germane cognitive load were high, whereas intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load were low. Most implementation issues resulted from participants' technical difficulties, which were most prevalent on the first day. Acceptability ratings indicated high levels of engagement; relevance; interactivity; and satisfaction with the trainers, group processes, and virtual format. Participants commented on many positive aspects of the program, and some acknowledged the technical issues that occurred. The results support the acceptability and feasibility of the job search intervention. The trainers successfully implemented the program via videoconferencing with adults with visual impairments and developed a positive group atmosphere with high social support. Our findings have implications for facilitating group interventions through videoconferencing, including strategies for building group cohesion and social support.

Job-Search Behaviors During Involuntary Unemployment: A Social Cognitive Approach

Job-searching following involuntary job loss is critical. However, as lifetime employment is a defining characteristic in Japan, few empirical studies have examined job-search behaviors after involuntary job loss. To fill this gap in the literature, a survey of 400 unemployed individuals explored the relationship between job-search behaviors and life satisfaction, including investigating self-efficacy, support, work volition, and dispositional optimism. Path analyses found that life satisfaction was predicted by optimism, job-search self-efficacy, and work volition, while job-search behaviors were facilitated by support and self-efficacy. No significant associations were found between job-search behaviors and life satisfaction. Results suggest that job-search interventions attempting to improve an individual’s optimism, feelings that the job search will be successful, and perceived support can facilitate job-search behaviors.

Job-Search Activities, Job-Seeking Barriers, and Work Experiences of Transition-Age Youths With Visual Impairments

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe the job-seeking and work experiences of transition-age youths with visual impairments. Methods: We analyzed follow-up data from a quasi-experimental study of a job-search intervention conducted from 2016 to 2019. Participants were 88 youths with visual impairments from three states; approximately half received the job-search intervention, and the other half served as a comparison group. Measures included job-search activities and outcomes, job-seeking barriers, volunteer and work experiences, and parental support for job-seeking. Results: Commonly reported job-search activities were preparing or revising resumes, talking to people about jobs, submitting applications, and submitting resumes, but most participants performed these activities infrequently. Many job-seekers encountered barriers during their job search, and few searches resulted in paid employment. Participants generally reported moderate levels of preparation to handle job-seeking barriers and parental support for job-seeking. Intervention and comparison participants had similar results on most measures, with few exceptions. Discussion: When youths actively search for a job but do not find one, their motivation to continue job-seeking may be reduced, particularly if their preparedness to overcome job-seeking barriers is low. Although many participants had some engagement in volunteer or work activities, short-term work experiences were the most common—and perhaps most misunderstood—work activity. Implications for practitioners: Youths with visual impairments may benefit from feedback on their job-seeking approach, application materials, and interview skills so they can make changes and determine how to focus or refocus their efforts. In addition to offering feedback, service providers can provide ongoing support to youth job-seekers and encourage them to persist in their job search. Explicit discussions about different types of work activities may help transition-age youths understand how short-term work experiences differ from paid jobs.

Long-term effects of a job search intervention for transition-age youth with visual impairments

BACKGROUND: Research supports the short-term benefits of a job search intervention for youth with visual impairments, but its effectiveness over time has not been explored. OBJECTIVE: We examined the long-term effects of a research-based job search intervention on job search knowledge, job search behavior, job search self-efficacy, and employment outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal study with 92 youth with visual impairments using a two-group, quasi-experimental repeated-measures design. The intervention group received 35–40 hours of job search skills training, and the comparison group received usual services. Data collection included telephone surveys at pretest, posttest, 8-month follow-up, and 14-month follow-up. RESULTS: Intervention group participants had increases in job search knowledge, job search behavior, and job search behavior self-efficacy at posttest; they maintained increases in knowledge and self-efficacy, but not behavior. Comparison group participants also had increases in job search behavior and job search behavior self-efficacy at the end of the study. Changes in job search outcomes self-efficacy were not evident for either group; neither were differences in post-intervention employment. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention had lasting effects on job search knowledge, but findings for other outcomes over time were mixed. Both groups had low employment rates throughout the study.

Job Seeking: The Process and Experience of Looking for a Job

This review distills available empirical research about the process and experience of looking for a job. Job search varies according to several dimensions, including intensity, content, and temporality/persistence. Our review examines how these dimensions relate to job search success, which involves job finding as well as job quality. Because social networking and interviewing behavior have attracted significant research attention, we describe findings with respect to these two job search methods in greater detail. We provide examples of the relevance of context to job search (i.e., the job seeker's geographical region, country, and culture; the economy; the job seeker's current or past employment situation; and employer behaviors and preferences) and review research on bias in the job search. Finally, we survey work on job search interventions and conclude with an overview of pressing job search issues in need of future research.

Confounder detection in linear mediation models: Performance of kernel-based tests of independence.

It is well-known that the identification of direct and indirect effects in mediation analysis requires strong unconfoundedness assumptions. Even when the predictor is under experimental control, unconfoundedness assumptions must be imposed on the mediator-outcome relation in order to guarantee valid indirect-effect identification. Researchers are therefore advised to test for unconfoundedness when estimating mediation effects. Significance tests to evaluate unconfoundedness usually rely on an instrumental variable (IV)-that is, a variable that is nonindependent of the explanatory variable and, at the same time, independent of all exogenous factors that affect the outcome when the explanatory variable is held constant. Because IVs may be hard to come by, the present study shows that confounders of the mediator-outcome relation can be detected without making use of IVs when variables are nonnormal. We show that kernel-based tests of independence are able to detect confounding under nonnormality. Results from a simulation study are presented that suggest that these tests perform well in terms of Type I error protection and statistical power, independent of the distribution or measurement level of the confounder. A real-world data example from the Job Search Intervention Study (JOBS II) illustrates how the presented approach can be used to minimize the risk of obtaining biased indirect-effect estimates. The data requirements and role of unconfoundedness tests as diagnostic tools are discussed. A Monte Carlo-based power analysis tool for sample size planning is also provided.

Effectiveness of a Job Search Training Program for Youth With Visual Impairments

Early work experiences predict future employment for youth with visual impairments, particularly when youth find jobs independently, but research has not supported the efficacy of sponsored work for this population. The most effective work experience programs include additional components such as job search assistance, and job search interventions are effective at improving employment outcomes. Thus, we conducted a quasi-experimental study to evaluate the effectiveness of adding job search training to a summer work experience program with 42 youth with visual impairments. Intervention group youth significantly increased job search knowledge and behavior compared with comparison group youth, and both groups increased in job search self-efficacy. Although additional research is needed, this study provides initial evidence of the job search program’s effectiveness.

Long-Term Effects of Research-Based and Practice-Based Job Search Interventions: An RCT Reevaluation

Objective: This study reevaluates the effects of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of job search interventions on labor force participation. In the trial, various methods of job search interventions were included, of which about half were research-based JOBS (Job Opportunity and Basic Skills) interventions and the other half were practice-based, that is, without a theoretical or empirical base. This study compares effects of the research-based and practice-based interventions. Methods: The trial included data from 1998 to 2000 of 1,013 unemployed people in Finland with 3-year follow-up data from official labor market records. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the intervention effects on labor market outcomes. Results: The results demonstrated that beneficial long-term effects were produced only in interventions based on the research-based JOBS method for participants at risk of baseline depression. In contrast, the practice-based interventions seemed to have adverse effects on employment. Conclusions: These findings indicate the importance of research-based interventions within active labor market policies.

A Job Club for Older Job Seekers

The purpose of the current study is to explore the changes in participants’ attitude toward job search and perceived utility of training during job search interventions, called job clubs, designed for older adults. Latent growth modeling was used to examine the trajectories of these outcomes during 3-week-long job clubs. In addition, the study examined the relationship between participants’ self-regulatory skills (emotion control and motivation control) and the training outcomes. In Study 1 (20 job clubs, N = 200) and Study 2 (36 job clubs, N = 385), participants showed continuous positive change in the attitude and perceived utility of training. Although self-regulatory skills in the beginning of job club were not related to the improvement in the outcomes, dynamic measures of emotion control predicted change in attitude and motivation control predicted both attitude and perceived utility of training.

Self-control trumps work motivation in predicting job search behavior

Current labor market entrants face an increasingly challenging job search process. Effective guidance of job seekers requires identification of relevant job search skills. Self-control (i.e., the ability to control one's thoughts, actions, and response tendencies in view of a long-term goal, such as finding employment) is assumed to be one such relevant job search skill. The current study is the first to empirically assess the importance of self-control in the job search process. This is compared to the role of motivation, which is generally considered a crucial predictor of job searching. Based on a sample of 403 Dutch prospective vocational training graduates, we found that higher levels of self-control were related to higher levels of preparatory job search behavior and job search intentions half a year later, shortly before labor market entrance. Self-control was a significantly stronger predictor of job searching than work motivation. Moreover, relations between self-control and job searching were largely independent of motivation, which may suggest that job-seekers benefit from self-control through adaptive habits and routines that are unaffected by motivation. We propose that job search interventions, which traditionally focus on strengthening motivation, may benefit from a stronger focus on improving self-control skills.

Effectiveness of job search interventions: A meta-analytic review.

The current meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of job search interventions in facilitating job search success (i.e., obtaining employment). Major theoretical perspectives on job search interventions, including behavioral learning theory, theory of planned behavior, social cognitive theory, and coping theory, were reviewed and integrated to derive a taxonomy of critical job search intervention components. Summarizing the data from 47 experimentally or quasi-experimentally evaluated job search interventions, we found that the odds of obtaining employment were 2.67 times higher for job seekers participating in job search interventions compared to job seekers in the control group, who did not participate in such intervention programs. Our moderator analysis also suggested that job search interventions that contained certain components, including teaching job search skills, improving self-presentation, boosting self-efficacy, encouraging proactivity, promoting goal setting, and enlisting social support, were more effective than interventions that did not include such components. More important, job search interventions effectively promoted employment only when both skill development and motivation enhancement were included. In addition, we found that job search interventions were more effective in helping younger and older (vs. middle-aged) job seekers, short-term (vs. long-term) unemployed job seekers, and job seekers with special needs and conditions (vs. job seekers in general) to find employment. Furthermore, meta-analytic path analysis revealed that increased job search skills, job search self-efficacy, and job search behaviors partially mediated the positive effect of job search interventions on obtaining employment. Theoretical and practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

Sensitivity Analysis and Bounding of Causal Effects With Alternative Identifying Assumptions

When identification of causal effects relies on untestable assumptions regarding nonidentified parameters, sensitivity of causal effect estimates is often questioned. For proper interpretation of causal effect estimates in this situation, deriving bounds on causal parameters or exploring the sensitivity of estimates to scientifically plausible alternative assumptions can be critical. In this paper, we propose a practical way of bounding and sensitivity analysis, where multiple identifying assumptions are combined to construct tighter common bounds. In particular, we focus on the use of competing identifying assumptions that impose different restrictions on the same non-identified parameter. Since these assumptions are connected through the same parameter, direct translation across them is possible. Based on this cross-translatability, various information in the data, carried by alternative assumptions, can be effectively combined to construct tighter bounds on causal effects. Flexibility of the suggested approach is demonstrated focusing on the estimation of the complier average causal effect (CACE) in a randomized job search intervention trial that suffers from noncompliance and subsequent missing outcomes.

The Use of Propensity Scores in Mediation Analysis

Mediation analysis uses measures of hypothesized mediating variables to test theory for how a treatment achieves effects on outcomes and to improve subsequent treatments by identifying the most efficient treatment components. Most current mediation analysis methods rely on untested distributional and functional form assumptions for valid conclusions, especially regarding the relation between the mediator and outcome variables. Propensity score methods offer an alternative whereby the propensity score is used to compare individuals in the treatment and control groups who would have had the same value of the mediator had they been assigned to the same treatment condition. This article describes the use of propensity score weighting for mediation with a focus on explicating the underlying assumptions. Propensity scores have the potential to offer an alternative estimation procedure for mediation analysis with alternative assumptions from those of standard mediation analysis. The methods are illustrated investigating the mediational effects of an intervention to improve sense of mastery to reduce depression using data from the Job Search Intervention Study (JOBS II). We find significant treatment effects for those individuals who would have improved sense of mastery when in the treatment condition but no effects for those who would not have improved sense of mastery under treatment.

A general approach to causal mediation analysis.

Traditionally in the social sciences, causal mediation analysis has been formulated, understood, and implemented within the framework of linear structural equation models. We argue and demonstrate that this is problematic for 3 reasons: the lack of a general definition of causal mediation effects independent of a particular statistical model, the inability to specify the key identification assumption, and the difficulty of extending the framework to nonlinear models. In this article, we propose an alternative approach that overcomes these limitations. Our approach is general because it offers the definition, identification, estimation, and sensitivity analysis of causal mediation effects without reference to any specific statistical model. Further, our approach explicitly links these 4 elements closely together within a single framework. As a result, the proposed framework can accommodate linear and nonlinear relationships, parametric and nonparametric models, continuous and discrete mediators, and various types of outcome variables. The general definition and identification result also allow us to develop sensitivity analysis in the context of commonly used models, which enables applied researchers to formally assess the robustness of their empirical conclusions to violations of the key assumption. We illustrate our approach by applying it to the Job Search Intervention Study. We also offer easy-to-use software that implements all our proposed methods.

Job-search preparedness as a mediator of the effects of the Työhön Job Search Intervention on re-employment and mental health

Previous studies that have demonstrated the beneficial effects of the Työhön Job Search Intervention for job seekers on re-employment and mental health have not revealed the specific mediators of these effects. The present study examined two specific mediators that were targeted by the intervention, job-search self-efficacy and inoculation against setbacks, as components of a global construct referred to as job-search preparedness. The hypothesis that job-search preparedness is the main mediator of the effects of the intervention on the outcomes was then tested using data from the 1261 participants of the Finnish Työhön Job Search Intervention study. ANOVA demonstrated that the Työhön intervention produced a significant increase in both job-search self-efficacy and inoculation against setbacks (both p<0.001). Further structural equation modelling demonstrated that the intervention increased job-search preparedness (β = 0.21, p<0.001) which had statistically significant mediating effects on increasing re-employment (β = 0.12, 0.10, p<0.01, 0.05, respectively), and decreasing financial strain and depressive symptoms (β = from −0.09 to −0.14, p<0.01 to 0.001). Future studies should expand the conceptualization of job-search preparedness with assessment of job-search skills as an additional component. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An extended general location model for causal inferences from data subject to noncompliance and missing values.

Noncompliance is a common problem in experiments involving randomized assignment of treatments, and standard analyses based on intention-to-treat or treatment received have limitations. An attractive alternative is to estimate the Complier-Average Causal Effect (CACE), which is the average treatment effect for the subpopulation of subjects who would comply under either treatment (Angrist, Imbens, and Rubin, 1996, Journal of American Statistical Association 91, 444-472). We propose an extended general location model to estimate the CACE from data with noncompliance and missing data in the outcome and in baseline covariates. Models for both continuous and categorical outcomes and ignorable and latent ignorable (Frangakis and Rubin, 1999, Biometrika 86, 365-379) missing-data mechanisms are developed. Inferences for the models are based on the EM algorithm and Bayesian MCMC methods. We present results from simulations that investigate sensitivity to model assumptions and the influence of missing-data mechanism. We also apply the method to the data from a job search intervention for unemployed workers.

Impact of a Preventive Job Search Intervention on the Likelihood of Depression Among the Unemployed

Drawing on coping resources theory, we evaluate the impact of a job search intervention on depressive symptoms in a randomized field experiment at three follow-up periods covering two and one-half years. Baseline depressive symptoms, low social assertiveness, and financial hardship were identified as significant risk variables predicting depressive symptoms at follow-up. These variables then were used to identify high- and low-risk individuals in both experimental and control groups. Results indicated that the job search intervention had its primary impact on persons identified as being at higher risk for depression. Furthermore, the intervention had an impact on both the incidence and prevalence of more severe depressive symptoms among high-risk individuals.