Have a Happy Job Search

"We found it most interesting that metacognitive activities -- thinking about a plan, acting on a plan and reflecting upon that a plan -- were important early in the job search while having positive emotions were important later in the job search," said Daniel Turban, professor and chair of the department of management in the MU Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, in the article.

Turban and his colleagues' work shows that "metacognitive activities, including goal setting and plan development, affect resume submission and success in first interviews, while the ability to maintain positive emotions plays a larger role during second interviews and receiving a final job offer."

The scientists also looked at "personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness" to see how these might alter these "metacognitive activities and positive emotions." Both traits were strong indicators of success in the job hunt. People with greater conscientiousness, especially, tended to get more job offers.

So what's a depressed slob of a job hunter to do?

Work at it, Turban said, adding that "job seekers [should] make a plan and continuously assess their progress. It also is important to expect rejections and develop a coping strategy ahead of time. This should help maintain positive emotions throughout the process to improve" your likelihood of landing a good job.

"Some of these recommendations seem like they are common sense, but they are just not that common," Turban said. "People don't have strategies, they don't assess their plans, and they don't think about their strategies and reflect on whether it's working or how to make them work better. They just don't do it."

An article on Turban and his colleagues' work appear in the most recent issue of Personnel Psychology.

Photo courtesy of greenforall.org, via Flickr